When you think of sporting cities in Australia, Canberra is probably not one that comes to mind.
The Australian capital is known more for its museums, public servants and political institutions, rather than sport. As an AFL destination, Canberra is in a strange situation, being an autonomous territory in the middle of rugby heartland in New South Wales. And its major stadium, Manuka Oval, is hardly an iconic venue.
When I first moved to Canberra from Melbourne four years ago, I had the above assumptions, and wondered what sporting life in Canberra would be like. I quickly discovered that Canberra’s AFL culture is developing in leaps and bounds.
GWS’ prescient decision to play three home games a year at Manuka Oval, the advent of the AFLW and the development of first-class sporting culture in Canberra in general, make Canberra a viable AFL growth destination going forward.
One of the biggest factors here is the make-up of Canberra’s population. Most of Canberra’s residents have moved to the city for work, bringing with them different sporting cultures and views. Canberra is partly a rugby town, with both an NRL and rugby union team, but AFL is equally as followed, with the city’s large number of Melbourne expats driving an expanding AFL industry.
This bodes well for AFL head office in its attempts to grow the game. It’s become evident over the past few years that sports which have tried to expand outside the major sporting cities have struggled to find a foothold in the environment – Gold Coast Titans and Suns are two that come to mind. Canberra’s willingness and desire to embrace footy makes it ripe for investment.
In Manuka Oval, Canberra has what we might term a ‘boutique’ stadium, with a maximum capacity of around 15,000-17,000 people. At capacity, the atmosphere is as good as any AFL ground in Australia.
What sets Canberra crowds apart is the diversity of allegiances, as evidenced by last weekend’s GWS vs Melbourne game. While large portions of the crowd supported one of those two teams, many others (myself included) attended as neutral fans.
This makes for a collegial atmosphere of fans brought together by their love of footy, rather than support for a particular team.
GWS’ decision to play three of its home games each year at Manuka Oval has proved a masterstroke. The Giants played their first game in Canberra in 2012, and have a ten-year deal to play three games in the ACT each year.
Not only has it brought the club more members thanks to its three-game Canberra memberships, it has put AFL front and centre of the sporting landscape in Canberra. It helps that GWS is performing well. In the first few years of its Canberra deal, the Giants were thrashed by their opponents, but their good form over the past two years has given them a solid base of Canberra supporters.
Fixturing has been a big factor in AFL’s expansion in Canberra as well. This year, GWS hosted matches against Port Adelaide, Western Bulldogs and Melbourne, three clubs vying for a spot in the top eight. The game against the Bulldogs was Manuka’s first ever night game and first played in a prime-time slot on Friday evening.
While playing football in Canberra in winter is certainly a chilly experience, the atmosphere around the stadium was electric, and the growing rivalry between the two teams is certainly something Canberra fans have bought into. For footy to continue to grow in Canberra, the AFL should ensure it continues to schedule high-performing teams and more marquee games.
At a grassroots level, the game has also gone from strength to strength. AFL Canberra figures from earlier this year show that junior participation rates in Canberra are at their highest level for 30 years, with 125 junior teams involved in the competition this year.
In total, the number participants from across the ACT and NSW has reached 237,549, an increase of 10.4 per cent from 2015 numbers. This has largely been driven by a 23 per cent increase in women’s participation numbers.
The main issue facing AFL expansion in Canberra is the future of Manuka Oval as a sporting precinct. Cricket Australia noted that one of the main impediments to Manuka Oval hosting a Test match was the ground’s relative sub-standard facilities, including change rooms and broadcast booths.
With an eye to this, in 2016 GWS and construction company Grocon presented the ACT Government with an $800-million plan to redevelop the precinct, which would include new apartments, a hotel and retail stores.
Earlier this year, the ACT Government pushed back on this plan, noting that it was unrealistic in scope for a small city such as Canberra. While it has acknowledged the need for some redevelopment to make the stadium into a first-class venue, it has stated its desire that any such works be led by the Government, rather than GWS (who, for its part, has noted its desire to remain involved in the development).
The AFL has shown it is eager to expand the game into new areas, and in Canberra, it has a ready and willing audience, and all the ingredients to develop a new football heartland.
Gerry
Roar Rookie
wow its been a year but yes I say relocate North Melbourne to Canberra and incorporate the present Canberra Demons side. They can be called the Canberoos. Catchy isn't it? It could work AFL bosses any commments? haha. I am serious though. AFL has shown to be the number one football code in terms of attendance and media value and still outperforms its rivals of NRL, The A League and Super Rugby. Like or not they are the facts.
Go Giants
Guest
Aussie Rules was played almost 50 years before the Rugby League code in this country. Sydneysiders only brought RL over at the start of 20th century because they wanted their own code up there. 1858 > 1896 and 1908 Lastly, Aussie Rules was a stronger code locally before the Raiders and RL fans crossed the border from NSW in the mid 80s. Canberra was settled by Southerners originally, not Sydneysiders or Qlders.
I ate pies
Guest
Believe what you want to believe.
republican
Guest
.........I reckon they have attracted some disaffected Union supporters...............
I ate pies
Guest
They're all expats. Adults very rarely change footy teams or allegiances to the sport they follow.
Paul D
Roar Guru
haha, I was just tr0lling pies mate, he has a long history of ragging on women's footy and women in general agreed though it's massively out of context and I look like a sjw if you didn't know the back story Nice name btw
Rip Snorter
Guest
Will you keep you misogynistic tendencies out of this Paul D. I love the way you you always think along the lines of man/woman, and yet nobody else even brought this train of thought into the discussion except for you. The simple fact that you think "weak" women, need defending by a supposedly "strong" man as yourself really speaks volumes about your true character.
spruce moose
Guest
Considering you live in Adelaide, I think you should recuse yourself from this debate. Both AFL and NRL are called footy depending on your preference. As Sydney is enlightened enough to have all 4 codes, I do know as fact that fans of any of said codes will call it footy.
republican
Guest
Maddy, Canberras participation rates are higher than anywhere in the nation I believe, so while we are small and perhaps less engaged with the fickle elite tier of sport, we are more actively involved than most Australian demographics.........
republican
Guest
......more power to them. One thing I will say about the Raiders and the NRL, despite their recent arrival to Canberra relatively speaking, is that they have been loyal & steadfast to this city, which is more than I can say for the expedient AFL and even the ARU, who have long been divided about whether to maintain the Brumbies in the capital - or relocate them to Melbourne.........
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
The Raiders are back republican - can't believe the big home crowds they have been attracting this season - despite some pretty average performances at times. The crowd this Sunday should be massive for the blockbuster game against the Panthers. Can't wait
TomC
Roar Guru
This year the giants played three likely finalists including the reigning premier. I'm not sure what you are expecting.
Timewaster
Guest
Good that footy's making up lost ground. Nice article, but the author should be aware that footy has been healthy in Canberra for a long time. I played for Belconnen in the early 80s and my father for Manuka in the 70s. The club's weren't new then. The link with GWS is a good one though, and hopefully the code will continue to thrive
clipper
Guest
Concur, Beavis, as I've mentioned above. Now that Sydney is an all code city, it's hard to know what footy refers to.
Mickyo
Guest
ATM it is about 20% with about 4,000 Canberra members
Martin
Guest
I don't like the term 'footy' myself and much prefer to say 'football'. If I said to someone that I going to watch a football match then everybody would understand that I am going to watch a football match. Whereas if I were to say I was going to watch the footy, people could be confused into thinking I'm going to watch the rugby. So it's much better to use the term football to avoid any confusion.
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
In my 19 years of life, I have never heard NRL referred as as footy. That's just me, though.
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
With all due respect, Mr Lyrebird - you'd be pretty thick if you didn't realise footy - when referred to as such on the AFL tab - meant AFL. Who gives a stuff if it's a national forum - there's three distinct tabs - AFL, league and football. Even the most casual of observers would be able to tell the difference, one would assume.
Magic Lyrebird
Guest
Kicking is a key component of Rugby League footy. By your logic, AFL should really be known as 'handy kicky', and the only code with a strong claim to being called footy would be Soccer.
Magic Lyrebird
Guest
That's right - and given that The Roar is a national forum, footy could mean anything.