At the end of most weekends, I take a moment to reflect on how lucky I am to live in a country like Australia – a country that loves sport as much as I do.
This weekend alone we saw two major upsets in the NRL, with the Tigers defeating the Broncos on Friday night, and the Dragons edging out the Cowboys on Saturday.
In AFL the Adelaide Crows ended the Greater Western Sydney Giants’ six-game winning streak, while the Queensland Firebirds’ 21 wins on the trot were brought to a halt by the Swifts.
To cap off the weekend, our women’s rugby sevens team made history in France by becoming the first ever Australian team to win a World Series.
And it’s a State of Origin week this week!
I live in Sydney, so live sport is on my doorstep every weekend. Two weekends ago, I went to watch the Giants play on Sunday afternoon at Spotless Stadium, then on the Monday night I cheered on the Eels at Pirtek Stadium (despite there not being much to cheer about). Too much sport is never enough.
More AFL:
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» AFL Power Rankings: Round 10
» The Roar’s AFL MVP: Round 10 votes, leaderboard
» Can Hawthorn win the flag without Jarryd Roughead?
The opportunity to not only watch NRL and AFL, but also netball and rugby union in winter, has always been something I have enjoyed, which is why articles inciting code wars frustrate me.
Tom Heenan, a teacher of sports studies at Monash University, wrote an article on the weekend, explaining why, despite the Giants’ on-field success in 2016 (currently sitting fourth on the AFL ladder, with seven wins and three losses), GWS will lose the code battle that Heenan would have you believe is currently being fought in western Sydney.
He went one step further, suggesting no one really cares about the Giants.
Sport has the capacity to unite people and to create a sense of community. Any attempt to undermine this community by inciting code wars is frustrating. I see no utility in it, because people can enjoy more than one sport. As long as people, particularly kids, are being active and enjoying sport, there are only winners.
The article is an unfounded attack on a Sydney-based team – a team which, over the last couple of months, I have fallen in love with.
I want to ask Heenan who the enemy is here? Is it the Giants, or is it the other codes in western Sydney that GWS are in competition with?
Let’s start with Heenan’s attack on membership numbers. The Giants have 12,780 members in 2016, numbers Heenan says “aren’t flash”.
Compared to what? Is it that they aren’t flash against the AFL clubs in Victoria, which have membership numbers spanning from 34,000 to 70,000? If that’s the case, the comparison is irrelevant, because sport is fundamentally different in Sydney than Melbourne and almost no club in Sydney (bar the South Sydney Rabbitohs) has membership numbers that even come close to those of the Victorian AFL clubs.
If we are waging a code war in western Sydney, surely it would be more useful to compare the Giants’ membership numbers to those of the Eels or Bulldogs, who only eclipsed 20,000 members for the first time this year. No surprises that GWS’s membership numbers are fairly consistent, if not slightly lower, than most of the other Sydney based teams (regardless of sport). A reasonable achievement considering how young the Giants are as a club.
Not only is it enough for Heenan to attack membership numbers, but he also attacks the Giants’ crowds, which have averaged 10,300 in 2016. Disappointing according to Heenan, but unsurprising due to the lack of success they have had on the field in recent years.
To someone in Victoria, to have just over 10,000 people at an AFL game might be considered a national embarrassment. In Sydney though, a crowd of that many is a reality. For example, while the Giants’ crowd for the game against the Western Bulldogs was 9612, in an overcrowded Sydney market where the sun was out, the NRL was on next door (a match which had a crowd of about 18,000), and the Giants were playing against a club with fans that do not traditionally travel. I was not surprised.
Nor was I surprised at the 17,000-person attendance at last year’s ‘Battle of the Bridge’ between the Swans and the Giants. 17,000 is a healthy Sydney sporting crowd and nothing to be ashamed of.
What I found most offensive about the article though was the suggestion that no one cares about GWS.
I want Heenan to come to a Giants home game and say that to the group of men and women who sit in the cheer squad. He could perhaps start with the young man who paints his face in a different design each week with the colours of grey, black and orange. Then he could speak to the mother and son who have been to every single Giants game since the club’s inception.
He might want to finish with the passionate man that leads the cheering, whose voice is hoarse and bare at the end of the game.
Do you know who else cares about the Giants? People that support women’s sport. With the AFL set to announce any day now which clubs will receive a licence to have a women’s team in 2017, the Giants were the only club in Sydney which put in a bid. The Swans did not have the resources, while the Giants’ continuing relationship with the Auburn Giants and their female academy program demonstrated their commitment to women’s football.
If the Giants are successful with their bid, Giants fans have two teams to call their very own and the team will become club of choice for people in Sydney who are passionate about women’s football. Not to mention GWS’s intention of partnering with a team for Australia’s new-look netball competition set to launch next year, which will generate even more interest in a growing club.
This suggests that the number of people who care about the Giants is only set to increase.
Heenan may also want to do his geography. The Giants are located at Homebush and find themselves very close to what is being described as the new centre of Sydney – Parramatta. Western Sydney is a growing region and spans as far as Penrith, to Campbelltown, to Blacktown, to Parramatta to Homebush.
Tom, you can stomp your feet and raise your voice about how the Giants will never be successful in Sydney, pointing at their smallish crowds and membership numbers. Meanwhile, I’m going to have some fun and continue to love sport. I’ll love my NRL and the Parramatta Eels. When the Eels and Giants don’t clash, I’ll head to Spotless to watch Phil Davis, Jeremy Cameron, Stephen Coniglio, Callan Ward and Adam Tomlinson, who have been with GWS since the beginning, much like many of their fans, who really do care about the squad.
And let’s chat again in ten years, because only then can the long-term project named the GWS Giants be judged. I’ll give you a hint though, get used to the orange, black and grey, because the Giants are here to stay.
This is @mary__kaye from @ladieswholeague
Norad
Guest
Lol! Front page of http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ has headline "Bunyip to Bondi" about a neville nobody GWS player. I think the HS needs a a GPS to find GWS. Bondi!!!!
Tricky
Guest
You're right again Epiquin, clubs that come to mind are the Dees, North, Dogs, Saints that would like that same type of assurance, in saying that Dalgety is also right in mentioning that all clubs at least for the forseeable future are assured of existence from the AFL - not to the same level as the Northern clubs though.
Tricky
Guest
Excellent point there Epiquin!
Tricky
Guest
"This is probably the first instance in which a team that nobody has asked for is trying to win over hearts and minds." Actually - you could put all clubs north of the Murray in that category, nobody in those states asked for Bris, Syd, GC or GWS
Tricky
Guest
There's merit in your comment Ken, after all the money and effort the AFL has put into GC and BL it has not been fruitful obviously there is more optimism with Sydney and GWS the swans are a good example of money worth spending and I hope the giants travel a similar path. I do however see some light at the end of the tunnel for BL and GC, in saying that I reckon the AFL would be tentative on the amount of further funds if any they spend on the lions.
ken
Guest
In Brisbane AFL is dead. .No one follows or really cares about the Brisbane Lions anymore.. It used to be on the sports news channels 7 9 and 10 etc etc every week a couple of years ago, but now they have just given up and you never here about them ..I suppose no one wants to hear about losers .. Only when the Pies or Hawks come here do they get a decent crowd, and they are mostly pies and Hawks fans that make up the majority of the crowd.. Don't get me started on the SUNS...Oh dear
Agent11
Guest
"Any other talk of other countries is more or less on the lines of Aussie Rules international footprint" Not aware of any Fijian or PNG aussie rules teams entering into the VFL or NEAFL...
rasty
Guest
Looks like you got smoked mate.
duecer
Guest
Talking about France's renaissance is a tad premature. Just to get close to where they were before the 70's would be a monumental task, those days have gone. NZ's strength relies mostly on the strength of the PI population, as does Australia's dominance - alas the opposite is true in England where the waves of immigrants have significantly helped Soccers rise. Any other talk of other countries is more or less on the lines of Aussie Rules international footprint - when teams can match it with the big three with home grown players, it may be different. The Giants will struggle out west, there has been no AR culture and the significant immigrant population has no interest in the game, but has propelled the WSW into a huge success story. Still, if they can lay the grass roots and hang around for generational change, then there may be a chance.
marron
Guest
Mary I won't bother you again and apologies about going on when I should perhaps give it a rest.... I will after this! Just want to say firstly thanks again for engaging with the readers, and I hope you continue to do that and enjoy sport in whatever way you do (no doubt you will) and write about it. But very simply The idea is the Giants are having a minimal impact on the fabric of western Sydney. (Obviously, some people care - saying "nobody cares" is wrong, of course - but the idea is that it's not that many) In response to that people say "they have X numbers and that's comparable to other clubs". But, a large percentage of those are from the footy starved population of canberra who get them to watch afl in their home town. Which means the actual number of people in Sydney who are members are much lower than what is quoted for evidence . Which means they are having much less of an impact in Western Sydney than it appears, which was the original assertion. This is borne out by other factors too, the numbers don't tell the full story; if they are going to be used to discuss western Sydney though i think it's important that they're used properly. Anyway. below clipper touches on what sport represents and that's perhaps part of it too on my part but that's a whole other debate.... I'll leave it there.
marron
Guest
Heh. This is what happens when the swans are on telly every week ;)
marron
Guest
Emblematic was the word used AR, or something similar. I.e., the nonsensical ploy from an outsider to win over the bemused locals is kind of like the approach in general.
marron
Guest
Have never ever suggested there's an issue with following more than one sport fts. I like the game of aussie rules myself as it happens. Played at fullback - heath shaw style in my head, dunkley style in reality :lol: The Giants are a terrific young side. They have a lovely ground too, albeit in the wrong place. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but the AFLs lack of foresight given the millions at their disposal, and especially given the nsw goverment typically opened up the coffers to them, is insulting. Maybe i will give it a rest when the constant suggestion that the plan to engage western Sydney is working is rested.... :lol:
clipper
Guest
Mary, Republicans points hark back to the days when sport was more grass roots driven and commercialism hadn't seeped into every crevice. While I sympathise that it is a shame in some ways that Aussie Rules and most other codes have gone down this route, the commercial realities of today mean that to chase the big dollars, this is what the landscape now is. So, while Tassie would've been a good bet in a Aussie Rules state, it would've added nothing in the long term in potential growth. Whether GWS will are better is yet to be decided.
Sydneygirl
Guest
Will do Mary. And enjoy watching the Giants on tv when I can.
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
Thanks Sydneygirl! Enjoy your Swans!
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
Hi Republican Thank you for your response. Your response confuses me a little bit. So many people have brought up this 'membership' issue, whereby there are a lot of GWS members in Canberra. So what? Does it matter where the members are based? The Rabbitohs have over 30,000 members yet never get crowds that high - is that a dailure on their past? Your issue seems to be that the Giants were created in the very first place. I cannot pretend to have been following the Giants in their first years or to be privy to where new teams in the AFL should be based. My article was about the Giants now and that there are people in Western Sydney who care about them, despite the views of Tom Heenan. I can't go back in time and give you a team in Canberra or Tasmania, but I'm not sure what that has to do with the relevance of GWS now. And apologies that getting involved in my local team is in denial of a systemic culture in elite sport - but I'm having fun and that's all that really matters to me at the moment.
Agent11
Guest
League is probably bigger in NZ than its ever been. And while it has gone backwards in England it is very gradually growing in other countries like France who are bidding to have a 2nd team in the English Super League - Toulouse. Canada will have a team in english 3rd division. Then there is the PNG hunters in QLD cup and the Fiji team which are planned to join the NSW cup.
Republican
Guest
Mary Thanks for the read. Of course there will be people who 'care' about the Giants as there are for many niche sports across the nation, as Australian Footy is in GWS presently. That Australian Footy is a good fit for the GWS demographic, only time will tell and as we know, time is money and the AFL have plenty of it. To put membership numbers in perspective, GWS derive half of theirs from the Canberra region, a proud footy city that has NO cultural affinity with GWS. The Giants have forged an expedient relationship with the national capital, providing them with the safety net required to ensure they are sustainable as well as an well established catchment for talent. As I have already alluded to, the AFL will continue to support the idea of a team in GWS as long as they can afford to, courtesy of the potential tele $'s Western Sydney offers, so time is very much on their side. That said true footy heartlands i.e. Canberra and Tasmania, that boast footy pedigrees and heritage of time that is clearly not valued, should have been acknowledged long before now. Instead we continue to be usurped by the likes of GWS and this sort of disrespect on the AFL's part, is unlikely to change in my life time. GWS are integral to a mercenary model of growth that disenfranchises traditional patronage across respective codes, reflecting poorly on the culture that supports it, while viability is often based on spurious economic hard sell projections. So a handful of punters i.e. yourself may grow into something more substantial, but this is not the point really. The point is that an abject lack of respect for the footy faithful, like the long suffering cities i.e. Canberra, continues in the guise of a custodianship that has no concept of duty of care for the games heritage. The sentiment you express is clearly in denial of a systemic culture in elite sport, that unconditionally justifies the collateral damage that is synonymous with the GWS's of today.
Sydneysider
Guest
"I only follow Afl" so you aren't a multi football code watcher. No worries.