Do teams from interstate really have it so bad?

Last week on The Roar Dylan Matthews suggested it was ‘Time to scrap the AFL grand final replay’. His reasons for doing so were based mostly upon the disadvantages a replay would have on teams based outside Victoria.

Dylan’s argument is sound as interstate teams would without doubt be at a distinct disadvantage should they ever be involved in a replayed grand final.

The article of course triggered not only a debate on the fairness of a replay, but also about other issues that affect interstate teams. And as is usually the case when discussing the parity of a national competition, the arguments were split predominately between supporters of Victorian and interstate teams.

However while there are definitely disadvantages for non-Victorian clubs, there are also positives that come with being located interstate. Whether or not those positives make up for the former is debatable, but they are there.

The most obvious disadvantage for interstate teams of course is travel. Teams outside Victoria have to travel interstate every second week, and travel takes time.

At least a day is wasted by having to fly to any given game and back, which means a day of either preparation, personal time or rest is lost.

Travelling interstate not only takes time, flying can have a detrimental effect on the body in a number of ways. The longer the flight, the worse the effects can be.

Perhaps the most common is blood pooling in the legs due to sitting in fairly cramped positions for long periods. This can cause swelling in the feet and even blood clots, which can eventually lead to Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).

Former Test Captain Steve Waugh was diagnosed with DVT in 2009, as was England’s Andrew Flintoff in 2009.

However both of these notables were international cricketers, and the risk of DVT doubles in flights of eight hours or more, compared to those under four hours that AFL footballers face.

Even for the two teams from Western Australia, the risk of DVT is low, and is further reduced in a number of simple ways.

The Eagles and Dockers do however have to fly west over two time zones every second week, which apparently affects the body clock far more than it does going the other way due to the loss of daylight hours. The result is jet lag.

Flying also causes dehydration, sleepiness and perhaps worst of all for a group of footballers and support staff spending a lot of time together in planes, buses and dressing rooms – flying makes you fart.

Another issue that faces interstate teams, at least those in the northern states is player retention. This has particularly been a problem for Brisbane in recent years, and to a lesser degree the two expansion clubs in GWS and Gold Coast.

A major reason these clubs can sometimes struggle to keep their players is that many come from traditional football states and miss family and friends. Draftees have little if any say in where they are originally drafted, so if they do end up interstate some will always attempt to return home once their initial contract expires.

Unfortunately for these clubs based in rugby league heartlands, AFL football is not the be all and end all as it is in the southern and western states. While some players like Dayne Beams are more than happy with the relative anonymity and respite from football these states provide, many others are not.

Clubs based in these states also face a greater challenge than their southern counterparts when it comes to publicity, sponsorship and attracting new supporters. In both NSW and Queensland AFL is only the fourth most popular code behind rugby league, union and soccer.

An AFL club is expensive to run. Last year the Lions spent $18,631,664 on their football department, up from $17,336,070 in 2013. Their total expenditure for 2014 was $52,876,065.

In the same season the Lions’ revenue was $46,538,187. This hardly compares to that of Victorian powerhouses Collingwood and Hawthorn, whose revenue in 2014 was $76,819,714 and $67,663,161 respectively.

An important part of that income is provided by club memberships of which Brisbane, Gold Coast and the Giants have the least of all AFL teams. At the beginning of this season the Lions had 17,357 members, the Suns 10,560, and GWS 6,940.

A far cry from the three teams with the highest memberships in Collingwood (64,179), Hawthorn (60,650), and Richmond (56,329).

Being only the fourth most popular code in their respective states also affects attendances at their home games, another vital source of income.

In 2015 Brisbane, Gold Coast and the Giants also filled the bottom three places in terms of home ground crowd averages with 18,810, 12,361 and 10,786 respectively.

The same three sides have filled the same positions since 2013.

For the expansion sides an as of yet small supporter base is to be expected given they have had very little time as of yet to build one. Brisbane did ‘merge’ with Fitzroy, however while many of their supporters continued following the Lions many chose not to.

However, problematically for both the AFL and the clubs themselves, Gold Coast’s average home crowd numbers have fallen each season since their debut year in 2011 when they averaged almost 20,000 per game. The Giants’ averages are similar to their 2012 figures. And while both clubs’ membership numbers have increased over the last three years, it has not been by much.

Brisbane’s attendance and membership figures are even more of a concern. From 2005 to 2011 the Lions averaged around 30,000 at their home games. That figure dropped to 20,334 in 2012, and has been under 20,000 since.

In the last three seasons the Lions’ membership numbers have dropped from 24,130 in 2013, to 23,930 last year and as was mentioned previously 17,357 at the beginning of this season.

While Sydney have fared much better recently than the other three northern clubs, they do have the advantage of being a one-time VFL club that has had a presence in the harbour city since 1981.

Therefore not only do the Swans have a traditional supporter base from their South Melbourne days, they have also had over 30 years in Sydney to attract local fans and build corporate relationships.

They have also for the last two decades been a fairly successful team, and Sydneysiders love a winner.

Although the northern states survive on handouts from the AFL – much to the consternation of many in Victoria – this is the price of having a national competition.

It is possible that one day in the future these clubs will be able to prosper on their own, but that day is a long way off, and until then these clubs will need financial support.

Unfortunately for the northern state clubs – including Sydney, although to a much lesser degree – due to their locations and lack of support they do not get the same two major advantages the two South Australian and Western Australian teams enjoy.

AFL football is the number one sport in both these states. As such their major competitors in the sporting market are their cross city counterparts, second tier competitions, an A-League and NBL team, and in Western Australia the Western Force.

Fremantle and the Eagles compete in a market of just over 2 million people, while Port Adelaide and the Crows do the same in a city of 1.3 million.

That compares quite well to Victorian and NSW clubs who although having larger markets, compete with many more major players for both corporate and fan support.

Melbourne has a population of almost four and a half million people. However it also has 10 AFL clubs, the Melbourne Storm and Rebels, two A-League clubs, Melbourne United and the VFL.

The Swans and Giants vie for support with nine NRL clubs, a Super Rugby franchise, two A-League clubs, two NBL teams (counting the Hawks), and two second tier competitions in a city of 4.8 million.

Brisbane on the other hand have a little less competition in a marketplace of 2.27 million people. Admittedly one of those is the Broncos, and another the Queensland Reds, but besides them there is only an NBL and A-League side, and the local rugby league and union competitions.

The Suns are in a unique position. Although they share the Gold Coast with just the Titans, the area only has a population of just over 600,000, and is historically a grave yard for professional sporting sides.

Both the AFL and NRL have previously had teams based on the Gold Coast, as has the A-League and NBL, yet all have failed to survive. In February this year the Titans went into voluntary receivership after losing their coach, founding CEO and director of football over the off season.

The NRL now run the club. Although league boss Dave Smith said at the time of taking over the Titans the NRL are in for the long haul, many believe it is only a matter of time before the club follows its predecessor and folds.

The other major benefit to interstate teams – particularly for those from SA and WA – is their home ground advantage.

Due to ground rationalisation in Melbourne, the only time a Victorian team has the home ground advantage is when they take on a side from interstate. There is no more Victoria Park or Moorabbin where visiting teams and their supporters were made to feel anything but welcome. Now ten sides share two grounds – the MCG and Etihad.

That is not the case for teams outside of Victoria who share their home ground with at most, their cross city rivals.

Every ground is different, in terms of both size and local conditions, and therefore more familiar to the home side. However add local supporters to the mix, and Domain Stadium and Adelaide Oval become the two most daunting road trips for visiting teams.

Unlike in the northern states where the crowds are relatively small and have no effect on the game, in Adelaide and Perth the home crowds are hostile towards any team other than their own – and not backward in showing it.

Add to this the travel aspect and that home ground advantage is increased even further. How much is hard to measure, however over the last three seasons Fremantle have won 32 from 38 games at home winning 84.2 per cent, compared to 20 from 36 away at 55.5 per cent.

In 2015 West Coast played 12 games at Domain Stadium winning all but two at 83.3 per cent. Away from home they also played 12 games losing four and drawing one, giving them a win rate of only 66.6 per cent.

It is a similar story for the two Adelaide teams. In 2015 the Crows played 12 games at home losing only four, which included two losses against Port. Away they won six from 12. Taking out the two games against Port where there was no home ground advantage, Adelaide won 83 per cent of their games at home, and 50 per cent away.

Although not applying to the four teams from SA and WA, there are two other areas where interstate teams have an advantage of those based in Victoria, and they are also the most controversial – COLA and player academies.

A cost of living allowance of 9.8 per cent of each club’s total player payments (TPP), was brought in to cover the extra costs involved in living in Sydney. Although when first brought in the COLA could be justified to a degree, the same cannot be said now.

COLA is also open to abuse. Indeed, the Swans have been accused of doing just that, after being able to sign Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin in consecutive years.

Despite playing within the rules as they stood, if perhaps not the spirit intended, Sydney were punished by the AFL.

One of the penalties handed out was being stripped of the allowance. But so should GWS.

When COLA was introduced, Sydney was by far the most expensive city in Australia. It still is, but only by a small margin, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics has predicted Melbourne will take over that mantle in the next year or two. Perth is not far behind.

The other controversial advantage the northern clubs have is their academies. This was brought to a head last season when the Swans were able to select Isaac Heeney with pick 18, despite him generally considered to be worthy of a top three selection.

There is no doubt that being able to develop a player from such a young age as the academies allow clubs to do, is a distinct advantage. Particularly so if they can be retained by the club whose academy they attended.

However unlike in Victoria there is no elite under age competition such as the TAC Cup in NSW or Queensland, therefore the academies play an important role in the development of young players from these states.

Despite the angst towards the academies from south of the border, what also must be taken into consideration is that as the academies grow and produce more players, other clubs besides those running the academies will benefit.

This season GWS have eight players from their academy eligible for the national draft. If all eight are nominated, the Giants do not have enough draft picks to take them all.

Under the new points system, with their current selections of 8, 27, 45, and 63, GWS have a total of 2,713 points. Two of their academy players – Jacob Hopper and Matthew Kennedy – are expected to be selected around picks five and 10 respectively.

With the 20 per cent discount applied, at present they only have enough total points to draft these two players if they were to go at five and ten. Unless they acquire more picks through trades they will not be able to select any of the other six.

These players could then be taken by any other club. Yes, GWS get who they consider to be the most talented and promising players, but as the academies grow so will the depth of quality players produced. This can only be a good thing for a national competition.

There is no doubt in a national competition that some teams are disadvantaged more than others, and that will remain to be the case for the foreseeable future.

However some of these discrepancies can be easily solved.

As has already been stated, COLA should be scrapped completely and immediately. No matter how it is spun there is no longer any justification for it.

No interstate teams should be forced to play in Tasmania. Regardless of the size of the crowd, all games involving sides from outside Victoria should be played either at Etihad Stadium, or preferably the MCG which is home to the grand final.

Games should also be scheduled to suit teams travelling interstate more, despite how much money the broadcast rights are sold for. The media should be reporting on and televising the game, not running it.

Unfortunately there is little else that can be done to solve the travelling issue other than those mentioned above – at least until teams and their support staff can be teleported to their interstate destinations.

Beam me up Scotty!