It was 1994 and the Wallabies were battling New Zealand in a Bledisloe Cup clash at the Sydney Football Stadium.
An eight-year old sat inquisitively in front of his television in Sydney’s west as George Gregan crumpled Jeff Wilson in half and over the sideline for a famous Australian win.
What was this, the boy wondered?
This wasn’t rugby league.
The next morning the boy was throwing line-outs to himself, scoring tries and kicking goals on his front lawn. But before long, not even an hour, it was back to rugby league.
Chips and chases, Western Suburbs Magpies victories, Brad Clyde cover tackles and Terry Lamb intercepts.
Kids will try anything once.
A few years later the Sydney Swans were making a beeline for the AFL grand final. Big Tony Lockett was larger than life and the boy was again intrigued. The next day he was again on the lawn, only this time he’d haggled with his mum for one of those plastic red footballs from the two dollar shop.
Again it was all over after a few kicks and a couple of self-marks. Rugby league won in a landslide.
If you haven’t worked out, that boy is now writing this piece.
A lot has changed since the mid-90s. Sport is a runaway juggernaut and forever on our TV sets. Whatever your choice, it’s only ever one click away. And who would have thought that the AFL would have a second side in Sydney under the banner of ‘Greater Western Sydney’?
All this got me thinking. The AFL and GWS don’t want you. They don’t care about you. Their plans are longer lasting than all of us.
They want our kids.
You can only tip your cap at their lofty goals and what they see as the Sydney sporting landscape in two or three decades’ time.
Over the weekend, I shared a couple of beers with mates. I asked them, with this article in mind, how many players they knew from the Swans and Giants. All three of them named Buddy Franklin and Adam Goodes but when we realised Goodes had retired we were down to one.
That was until I pulled Giants superstar and former Carlton premiership-winner Shane Johnson from some obscure memory bank. Again we were down to one when Google informed us that Shane was in fact Steve and Steve had never played for Carlton.
The plan for now is simple: Give GWS a winning side as quickly as possible through a mountain of draft picks, and accumulate fans at whatever rate it takes. Their future is in the grassroots level work they do now.
But the problem is that the National Rugby League and new CEO Todd Greenberg are finally getting their house in order.
Greenberg, a slick operator and a rugby league man, knows no sport can stand without its legs. The war for hearts and minds has already begun in the little boys and girls running around training paddocks across our great land.
AFL can’t win Sydney today, but they think they can win it through our children and our children’s children.
Now I can already imagine the AFL types are beating their chests and raging that the NRL is only played in three states, while Aussie Rules has at least two teams in each state.
For argument’s sake, we won’t mention the NRL has a chokehold on markets in Sydney, Newcastle, Canberra, Brisbane, Townsville and the entire country of New Zealand.
We won’t mention rugby league was played in some form in over 50 countries in the last fortnight.
We won’t mention the Australian markets the NRL are yet to return to, despite its TV ratings success and the indisputable, endless growth left ahead.
We won’t mention any of that, because I can acknowledge the success and support AFL has in our great country.
And, as a side note, I’m actually not Sydney-centric, nor do I believe the NRL hasn’t got many hurdles of their own to overcome. The NRL needs to cull the amount of teams in Sydney.
There is however another worrying problem for the AFL and GWS.
Yes, the Swans are a success and they have the crowd figures and membership to prove it. But it always tapers, numbers have never ballooned. You’ll get 20,000 to 25,000 to the Sydney Cricket Ground for a Swans match, and one day the Giants may reach that mark too. Is that enough of a success to the AFL in a city of 5 million people?
Probably, if you consider the Giants were theoretically created for a TV rights deal.
Does the AFL want to win Western Sydney or is it merely looking for a share?
The other question in all of this is how does the AFL turn mild success into ratings in Australia’s biggest market? AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan would give both his feet and hands for that answer, because, despite all the Swans’ success, AFL can barely break 40,000 viewers in the Harbour City.
And if you’re banking on kids being won over by victories and victories alone, the AFL has another think coming. Just ask the eight-year-old version of myself all those years ago.
Only time will tell if the Giants and Swans are a big enough force in a rugby league-mad town.
They say the kids are our future.
It will be up to them to decide if the NRL wins by knockout or a unanimous points decision.
M hughes
Guest
They were backs gogws go ask forwards who continually get contact constantly they would have a different opinion anyway the two u talk about went for the money
M hughes
Guest
The super league is not in decline they keep on producing players for the nrl currently their are 14 England international s playing in the nrl just like kiwis and all the pacific islands it strengthens their national sides rugby league in the uk would have a larger following than the afl has in oz just watch the interest in this years 4 nations Rugby league has more history vs England or gb than the wallabies v england
M hughes
Guest
Worked at Sydney Showground for years what gws post as crowds are definitely inflated eg when they say 9,000 it's more like 4-5 k apart from the show the ground record is over 22,000 parra v Bulldogs and that was with the old hill
M hughes
Guest
Harry not correct south Sydney still have an 8 team comp the Sydney combined comp has 25 teams over 3 divisions yes that is correct but above the local a grade teams we have the Sydney shield 13 teams and Ron Massey cup 14 teams and nsw cup 12 teams all these competitions are played at a high level
J
Guest
61k for a Sydney derby is terrible. In general the author's claim is accurate.
81paling
Roar Rookie
Harry you have not taken into account the NSW cup, the Ron Massey cup or the Sydney Shield. If you add those teams in you have another dozen senior teams, this presents a very different picture, it also presents a different picture.
81paling
Roar Rookie
Why would you want to promote the fact that AFL has the most people hospitalized every yearof any sport that is played in Australia, that is something the AFL themselves are certainly not promoting. Even when you look at the amount of people hospitalized compared to the participation rate AFL is higher. Perhaps it is a sign of how tough a game or activity is by how many are hospitalized per year from it but, I would not consider scooter riding a sport taken up by particularly tough people.
Steve L.
Guest
So how come it moved from the west to Homebush in the middle of the city?
GoGWS
Roar Guru
Spoken by someone who clearly has not played aussie rules before. Not everyone can play into their 30s let alone 40s - very few amateur aussie rules players go past mid 20s because it's such a demanding game. KHunt said he was much sorer after AFL games than NRL games, and that he took longer to recover and feel OK. AFL took a bigger toll on his body than NRL. Folau was quoted as saying similar.
GoGWS
Roar Guru
No 80% empty is next door at ANZ stadium for NRL club games... I've seen NRL highlights from games played there and sometimes you can't see a single fan in shot. Pretty amazing.
M hughes
Guest
Kids registrations don't pay the bills
Renegade
Roar Guru
If you've never seen half empty stadiums at an AFL game than you've never been to GWS games..... they are usually 80% empty.
Renegade
Roar Guru
but it doesn't have more of a following in either areas.... so yes, its still laughable.
Norad
Guest
They are all playing touch and tag. League is like NFL. How many senior teams are there outside of the NFL? Zip. DOesn't the NFL is a pip squeak sport does it. AFL is already touch/tag. Like soccer anyone can play it into their 30s or 40s. You only play rugby league if you are lover of pain or trying to get into the NRL. Playing RU or touch or tag is the way to go. Its surprising that Sydney has any senior teams at all outside the NRL and NSW Cup.
Norad
Guest
AFL has been live on Sydney tv every Saturday afternoon since the 1970s. It's not like people in Sydney have no idea what AFL game is. The culture of AFL is you go to games. It's not the same in NRL in Sydney. The tv ratings are the true indicator of interest. AFL in Sydney gets beaten by cooking shows. And when did Martin Place become part of Sydney's western suburbs?
concerned supporter
Guest
GOGWS, Thank you for your reply I use Martin Place Station, train from Bondi Junction. There was a bloke in Martin Place near George Street about 5 -6 weeks ago in the late afternoon spruiking the Giants and handing out free tickets. Australian Rules is not a new innovation in Sydney,it was played well before Rugby League was established in 1908. When I was a kid I went to matches on Sundays at Trumper Park, East Sydney playing Sydney Naval,St George, Balmain, Newtown and other teams. Club Rugby League & Union was played on Saturdays. I know Easts have amalgamated with Uni of NSW,as one of my mates is involved with the club.It would be interesting to know if the other clubs are still around.I will ask him next week. I guess back in the 1960's & 70's the AFL or VFL had no money, they did not seem to want to promote Aust Rules in the past. Tonight's Rugby Test should be worth watching. Cheers
duecer
Guest
Don't think you could ever say the Easts area was RL heartland - RU has always had a strong presence there and Balmain's demographics have changed significantly over the last few decades - it is no longer the working class area that had a strong junior participation. As I have illustrated above, all sports have to try harder just to stay where they were and if you're complacent then it makes it even harder to stay in the mix. Luckily for RL in Australia, the wave of immigration from the PI and NZ has lessened the decline, otherwise it might have found itself in a similar situation to England, but the figures illustrated must be worrying.
harry houdini
Roar Rookie
In a area that millions of people live and 4 NRL teams operate - Canterbury, Wests Tigers, St George and Easts there are only 25 mens senior teams ( not clubs but teams ) playing rugby league, that is a startling statistic, it is actually 5 clubs if you include the Balmain area. I find this unbelievable in RL heartland, surely RL is on its last legs in these areas. Combined Sydney comp. http://www.foxsportspulse.com/comp_info.cgi?a=LADDER&compID=406532&c=0-7901-0-0-0
harry houdini
Roar Rookie
Not the same at all, people have changed opinions and values in the last 20 years, demos have changed in WS as well.
GoGWS
Roar Guru
Concerned supporter - I work in Martin Pl and have been going through there three times a day every day since the inception of the Giants - before/after work and at lunch. Over five years I've not once seen these mythical people handing out free Giants tickets. Not once. That's a bit odd don't you think since these free ticket giveaways are supposed to be so widespread. I mustn't be paying attention. And at Giants games I don't hear anyone talking free tickets.... I pay to go every time, as do all the Giants fans I know. If it was free to go to Giants games why even have tickets? Why charge for memberships? Wouldn't the AFL just throw open the gates and give free memberships? This 'free tickets' stuff is just churlish nonsense thrown about by some RL supporters who don't like seeing fledgling AFL team successfully establishing its fan base. Kids are free on Sundays, and there are some 'free' tickets given as part of Auskick (not really free though, as kids have paid to be junior AFL players), and possibly there is limited promotional tickets given to kids/families after footy clinics etc - that's as far as 'free' tickets goes. I wish Giants games were free but they're not. I've been going to Giants games since inception and I've never once been offered a free ticket. To say Giants are bumped up materially by free tickets is just a comforting lie some RL people like to tell themselves. As to your questions - 1. I don't know, and 2. a lot - tens of millions. AFL's annual report addresses the spending on Giants/Suns and I think in the past there has been some detail on this. Whether they publish exact details in the future I wouldn't know, but the ALF is accountable to all the AFL clubs about the cost and progress of the expansion clubs. The Suns/Giants are a long term investment with a 'generational' timeframe - they're not expected to be independently profitable at this stage, and they're not.