- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Easter, a time for a significant part of the Australian community to reflect, has just passed us by.
Within the family of Australian Rules Football, the only sport invented in this country, it is a time of great excitement.
After a summer that has seemingly stretched forever since last we played a game when Hawthorn claimed a third successive premiership, we are back with 18 teams ready to start the race again.
Is there anything better than the start of the season?
The promise, the anticipation, the stories.
As we celebrate the start to another season, our game is in great shape. Our crowds, our ratings, our participation numbers are strong.
We are the most tribal and passionate supporters of any game in the world – one in 28 Australians are members of an AFL club; man, woman and child.
No game or league in the world can touch that number. No one
And beyond the top line metrics, as an industry we are making great inroads on our broader strategic goals
Last season net club debt and profitability went the right way collectively for our clubs for the first time in many years. We are getting close to having 18 competitive clubs, both on-field and off.
We are starting to be a game that is played as much by women as it is by men.
And we are focused on making all Australians feel this is their game, no matter their background.
This is why we’re investing in the National Women’s Competition, in club academies, in multicultural and indigenous talent concessions.
And now, we have a new $2.5 billion broadcast agreement which we must invest for generational returns, not just the next six years. The goal is to secure our game for decades.
It may also be our biggest challenge, as we are now a bit like a family that won the lottery. Investing the fruits of our landmark broadcast deal will be the story off the field for the first half of 2016, but it will be the right debate as it will govern our future. If it’s a problem, then it’s a pretty good one to have.
But now it’s time for the footy again, and what a relief.
We have been talking about talent, and rebuilding around talent. Jacob Weitering at No.1 and Josh Schache at two.
Jacob and Josh are former Vic Country teammates, they are likely to play on each other for a decade, they are the future of our game.
We have been talking all summer long about trades – especially the big trades.
In Geelong there is Danger Mania, the raging bull from Adelaide returning to have Geelong supporters talking about flags again. Some of the greats of our game are also poised for magnificent milestones.
Nick Riewoldt will play his 300th game early in the season and Round 1 will be his 200th as captain, becoming only the fifth player in history to captain 200 games along with Dick Reynolds, Ted Whitten, Sticks Kernahan and Michael Voss. I think that says enough.
Incredibly, it may not be as remarkable as Brent Harvey, who could break Michael Tuck’s remarkable games record as early as Round 19. That will be something extraordinary, a tribute to talent and resilience.
The reality is that most supporters deep down think their can win it, and we are all replete with possibility and hope.
The possibilities are endless. We are ready.
Gillon McLachlan’s exclusive column for The Roar is part of our 2015/16 CEO series. You can read the rest of here.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.