AFL winning the marketing battle on the Gold Coast

Adelaide Oval is not a novelty - It is much easier to access with a much nicer atmosphere.

Just looking at Suns v Port and honestly there would only be 2-3,000 there. Will be interesting to see what crowd they announce. Anything over 5,000 its a lie. Surely AFL fans can see the pics, even camera side is empty.

Great article. I went to the titans vs parra game a few weeks back and u would have sworn u were in parra. The titans have a good footing on the coast but by no means dominant and they have a tarnished brand. As per previous posts titans need to secure a marquee player that has a good reputation and piggy back of this players good will. Put up a under new management sign. Stick with their inaugural jersey and only make slight tweaks like the origin jerseys and start building a 20yr plan so today's kids will be rusted on fans and can promote it to their kids. I don't have kids so can't comment on what is happening in schools but if we aren't selling it and being present then this needs to happen. We need to also work the touch footy angle better to get girls and more kids on board. Finally all teams need to get the live experience right. It's not just about the footy it's about everything else. The atmosphere, the interactivity on your phone with constant games and prizes, give out those playing cards, get some player nicknames and chants, get more mascots to do dance offs, cheer leaders to lead the cheering, allow kids on the field at full time, get a unique team song, sing the national anthem. Just don't go through the motions as u want the customer who bought the one off ticket to want to come back with more friends. PS league as an overall product needs to add some randomness. There is not enough attack due to slow play the balls and every team bar the warriors unwillingness to throw the ball around.

Stupid comment "any game less than 2 hrs has no value". Tell the NBA, tell Channel 9 who have the highest rating show of the year I.e state of origin. I do agree with one comment and would like to see more chaos and less predictability.

Tony, I *think* you're the fake fan and I'm the deluded AFLer...but regardless, you can be certain of one thing...we're both "trolls".

My humble apologies Cathar, I didn't realise we weren't allowed to have an interest in any other code other than rugby league. Please forgive my mis-guided posts. By the way you are correct in one aspect at least, my kids are SUPERHUMAN. Thanks for at least recognising that. Good day to you. By the way AR, I'm confused. Am I the fake fan and you the deluded AFLer, or are you the fake fan and me the deluded AFLer. It's all too much. I think I might have a lie down as well.

Cheers Tony. Cathar...have a lie down.

Again, you take one incident and this is the norm? How about St Kilda AFL clinics, you know, the ones where they pick up teenage girls. is this the norm for AFL's interactions with schools?

AR, pee off & take your fake, "I'm a league fan but my kids are superhuman and play AFL", with you. You lot dismiss the hard work many NRL players do in the community & schools. You speak as though you have never heard of such a thing. being a league fan one would have access to the information that would confirm this. A fake fan backed up by a deluded AFLer in the likes of AR, exposes the sham. Until then I take these posts with a grain of salt.

Thanks AR, Even though he played AFL for 9 years, he is also a Bulldogs supporter like myself and we have been to more NRL games than AFL games, he just preferred to play AFL. The important thing is that my kids are playing sport, regardless of the code.

hey Cathar "By your reckoning over the years 10 million kids should be playing NRL now" I don't think Tony is suggesting that this happens to every kid - just his kids, and there ain't nothing wrong with that. My kids had NRL players go to their school and they all play soccer. It will affect the decisions of some kids and not others but... you have to be in it to win it.

I've just read the above thread, and I must say, Cathar seems to be getting more bitter and deluded with every post. The fact that Tony shared his son's experience, and has then been attacked and derided for it, is pretty outrageous really. Regardless of AFL/NRL/FFA whatever, Cathar has the audacity to declare that Tony's son "if he continues AFL, will never represent his country in any meaningful way". What a myopic, shoddy and pathetic comment.

Hey Cathar, What a short sighted and ignorant comment. By your reckonong, any kid who plays any other sport other than league will never represent their county in a meaningful way.or to put it another way, you can only represent your country in a meaningful way by playing league.So playing a sport that you love for years as well as winning multiple grand finals doesn't mean anything unless you play league. For the record, my son is also a voluunteer firefighter who spent last summer fighting the bushfires in the Blue Mountains, sailed on the Young Endeavour from Hobart to Sydney earlier this year after being awarded a scholarship, is walking the Kokoda Track in 5 weeks time after been nominated by the RSL as part of a youth leadership programme and will be joining the Navy when he finishes school. Not bad for a 17 year old. I really don't think he gives a stuff that he won't play league for Australia.

Rubbish, do you know how many school visits the NRL does to schools Australia wide each year? By your reckoning over the years 10 million kids should be playing NRL now. Despite what you hear, the NRL does have an extensive schools program in conjunction with clubs. Too bad your son, if he continues AFL, will never represent his country in any meaningful way. Hope those free bag of goodies was worth it. AFL sounds like the EKKA of sport. All flashy but in the end you come out with a stomach full of fatty foods & landfill from tacky plastic rubbish.

I think my hearts with RL but my last game of any football was AFL. Reason - free tickets. I am always bemused how RL gets "dumbed down" by so many peiople. I have often wondered how it has survived. You rarely ever see a negative article about AFL or for that matter Soccer - the supporters of these codes are always defensive about what they have. Personally i find soccer totally boring but the fans seem passionate and thats great. They love their game. AFL to me is a brilliant crazy game where anything can happen. Its great too. Now League. I watch Souths on Tv last night against the Broncos and was mesmerised - what a brilliant performance. Yet only 14k there to cheeer them on. Whats the probleM? i think there has been so much criticism labelled at RL that some of it sticks in peoples mind. People love atmosphere and I believe thats one thing you can make and produce. An example Souths play the Club song after (sometimes before) the game. The crowd loves it. Why not make that something for a start for the fans who attend to have and to enjoy - clap along with. League is a good product it really is. Ok the Soccer people might not think so or the AFL types and thats okay but it is a good game. Millions like it. But people will only attend if its done right. Something is missing in League and I am not sure what it is. I do know one thing i believe if TEN (thats channel TEN) had got the TV Rights things would have been done a little different.

I think once you scratch the surface there are some canaries in the coalmine for the AFL and it's current business model and that with it's latest expansion it might just have bitten off more than it can chew,and there are some warnings there for the NRL as well. Any customer interface business that starts ignoring it's loyal customer base in an attempt to expand it's market it is taking a very big risk as your loyal customers are the foundation stone on which your business is built. The AFL has become so obsessive about growing market share in the northern states and attracting "casual sports fans" in those markets that it has manipulated it's salary cap and draft in such a way that life has become very difficult for the smaller Melbourne clubs and there are signs grass roots supporters in Victoria are starting to get sick of watching their teams get flogged. The problem with chasing casual sports fans is they are incredibly fickle and get bored if you are not a chance of winning,you can't build a business model around them unless you can guarantee you will always be winning. In Brisbane in the eighties the Brisbane Bullets were all the rage for the casual sports fan, then they got bored with that and jumped on the broncos bandwagon after their ninetyy two premiership wjn, in the early 2000's they shifted to the Lions until they started losing and then they lost interest in that,,,get the picture! They are not a sustainable market for a customer interface business like spectator sport..if they want to come to games fine,if they don't..fine, because they will not stay for long anyway. The AFL know this and are manipulating the competition so at least one (and soon at least two) of the northern clubs will be a premiership threat in any given year but the fans of the Snt Kildas and Footscrays and Melbournes etc are just being taken for granted, they assume they will remain loyal to the code even if their teams are cannon fodder most seasons...a very dangerous business model indeed.

What do you think they play with on weekends? The point is the quality of the Sherrin so we can completely knock your nonsense off this page.

Once again these comparisons come out when the league side is struggling. I remember the same when the Lions were winning their 3 manufactured premi9erships. Now look at them, a basket case. Now the AFL fans have moved on to the Titans & the GC, just like you hear from union fans when the reds are doing well. But comparisons have disappeared this season. Funny that.

False Terry. If your such a big AFL why do you come on these league threads and spout your misinformation? You are & have never been a league supporter. Try again Trex.

So wouldn't the same apply for the NRL? A reconfigured ANZ, a roof & redevelopment for Allianz, a new Western Sydney stadium, a new Canberra stadium with roof, a redeveloped Brookvale etc? I am confident the NRL has 2 major issues-inadequate stadiums for a number of clubs & scheduling. Merchandise figures, social media figures, TV monies etc suggest the code is not on the 'nose' as the AFLers try to portray.