Finals series illustrate the gulf between AFL and NRL

No Transgender's support the Swans?? surely they don't ask members this question though

Do the Pets have a say in who they support though?

Are the AFL bring back Meatloaf??

RL is nothing like RU- No Rucks/Mauls/Lineouts for starters- No to bringing in the distance concept from NFL-nothing wrong with the 6 tackle concept- only things I would change is the 7 Tackle rule - this was brought in to stop teams from kicking the ball dead on purpose to set their defence - change it if an attacking kick is made inside the 20 that goes dead or the attacking side knocks the ball on in the in goal area- 20 metre tap and only 6 tackles. Also for repeated penalties inside the 20 by the defending side - the player is sin binned for the duration of the next set of six - have an area beyond the dead ball line for the sin binned player to stand in

Incorrect on Gus Gould not being a promoter of the code - see below including the link to this article extract Penrith is expanding its footprint further into the western corridor in what the club and the Country Rugby League believe will serve as the blueprint for saving bush football. The Panthers, the CRL and the NSWRL have rubber-stamped a landmark initiative that will allow the club to field teams in the Southern Pool of the Country Championships in what could be the first step towards fielding a Panthers-branded Intrust Super Premiership side in the western region by 2022. The commitment builds on the work Penrith already does in the region, which includes taking NRL games to Bathurst at least until 2028. They will expand their reach further with the establishment of academies in the Central West, including Bathurst, Dubbo and Forbes, to provide youngsters with a genuine rugby league pathway, at a time when there will be limited scope for clubs to sign or relocate players under a new contracting system that is being finalised by the NRL and the players' union. http://www.mudgeeguardian.com.au/story/4846871/penrith-to-field-sides-in-country-championships/

Concerned supported - I share your frustration over Rugby's poor handling in the Western Suburbs, although it's not really AFL's fault that they don't receive sufficient funds. They had the opportunity to do something out there, but, as per usual, procrastinated and AFL and the A league have both moved in, making it almost impossible with their shallow pockets. Mickyo - I can see Sydneysiders points - it's a hard slog out there, although demographics are changing - Football's been the one that's gained the most, but I think it will be the next generation. I think there will be a 3rd A league side in Sydney before a 3rd AFL side, but the AFL do have very deep pockets and the introduction of GWS did not cannibalise the Swans at all, unlike the Suns and Lions.

@ Sydneysider, whether you like the game or not is by the by really, i like reporting facts and stats and i am pretty sure they are in the main correct. I think everyone knows that it will never be the number 1 code in WS, i have never thought it anyway, but TBH i expect there at some stage to be 3 AFL teams in Sydney down the track sometime - Sydney is way big enough, eventually it will get to the point where the negativity surrounding it will die off and it will be accepted as part of the WS sports community. Like the Swans are now. I am no development officer, just like the game and after reading this, that and the other over a number of years decided to investigate to get some real facts.

That's true, they receive more money than Collingwood for EX, but every team receives about 10/11 million $ to cover at least the salary cap. If that money was not going towards GWS, it would be just put back through the established clubs who would all have a bit of a salary cap bump, it is footballs to use how it sees fit. I may point out that St Kilda was granted 18 million, North 15 million It may also be pointed out that the ninth game is worth an estimated 57 million according to an article i read.

Looks like the administrators have edited my comments. Anyway, good luck to you Mickyo. GWS will never be self sustaining. They will forever live off mega handouts from the head body, just like the Gold Coast Suns. Btw, you are doing a great job as the development officer for AFL ACT/NSW. You sound like you are preaching to the unconverted on here. Us heathens who haven't discovered that Aussie Rules football is the greatest sport in the world. LOL.......

Sydneysider/Micyo, I said that I was a Rugby Man who also follows Rugby League.here are what the GWS Giants received in 2016, "GREATER Western Sydney received nearly $11 million more than the AFL’s financial heavyweights in distributions from the league last year. The Giants were handed $21,548,374 by the league in 2016" Penrith Emus & Parramatta Two Blues were given NIL in 2016 by the ARU. They, and ALL Sydney Shute Shield clubs are struggling to survive financially. If Penrith Emus were handed AUD $21 million or even AUD $1 million by the ARU , they would become powerhouses.They at present lose all games each year in all grades.Money would make all the difference. The ARU has no money.

WA could take a third team pretty easy IMO, there is actually other places, a Darwin team would probably get bigger crowds or crowds on par with GWS but the population is to small and corporate support not big enough. I would say you are wrong and plenty of people do support the Giants, but i would also agree and say people have joined because they support the code, pretty sure that happens everywhere though. I think it is the right move in the long run and as it happens the AFL and before them the VFL have always played the long game, that has enabled them to now own a billion $ asset in Etihad stadium, the same foresight that enabled the SANFL to own its own ground and the WAFL to have a 99 year peppercorn lease at Subi, due to football wanting to control its own destiny rather than held at ransom by the Cricket associations. A stat that is interesting is regards the amount of junior teams in Sydney. 2012 -67 junior teams in GWS's zone 2017- 155 2012 - 210 junior teams in Swans zone 2017 - 366 2012 - 0 private schools teams playing on saturday morning (year 5 to 12) 2017 - 50 That is from under 9's up in GWS and under 8's in Swans zone, plenty of club auskick under that pushing up. That is where the next generation of WS GWS fans will come from.

Yes, I do realise that GWS aren't going anywhere and the AFL really have nowhere else to expand to in Australia (apart from Canberra or Tasmania who both probably would really love to have their own team in the AFL) but they are going to have to pump $1 billion minimum into Western Sydney and even then I doubt they will be self sustaining as a sporting entity, EVER. But that's ok for the AFL and their disciples. What I have noticed from social media is the fans of other AFL clubs who actually think it's a joke that this unwanted entity gets all this money and draft picks and still can't draw a crowd. Those are the true fans who get disillusioned with the socialism system that AFL head office employs. Those 20,000 memberships are just AFL fans who want to support the game in Western Sydney because they love the game, not the actual sporting entity. Your points on TV ratings actually illustrate my point, if Melbourne Storm were terrible for a few seasons, then their ratings would be even worse than they are in Melbourne. Swans ratings are pathetic in Sydney for the money received (although I do agree that they are embedded in the Sydney landscape). GWS on the other hand......

44 pet memberships - not counted in end of season AFL tally Age range 0-19 - 36,4% 20-29 - 22.1% 40-60+ - 41.5% Just some other stats. 62% male 38% female 0% transgender In Sydney, Swans average 57k on FTA and 37k on Fox - market average of 94k in 2017 In Sydney, GWS average 40k on FTA and 23k on Fox - market average of 63k in 2017 Im Melbourne, Storm average 34k on FTA and 28k on Fox - market average 63k in 2017.

Hi MickyO,, Of course it is not the end of the world. 1/Wallaby Crowd of 14 K was the second lowest Wallaby Crowd since professionalism in 1996, it was only a few hundred more than the crowd in Melbourne in June for Wallabies v Fiji. 2/ Thank you for giving area splits on the GWS member base. But can you tell us how many of the 21,000 GWS members consist of, a/ Pet Members b/ Infant Members Age 1-3) c/ Junior Members (Age 3-14) You may think that Gil is infallible, but I think that the AFL Marketing & Propaganda machines are sometimes liberal in their sprouting of ideas and facts. Seriously, to give the AFL enormous credit they started GWS from nowhere. They had no players,coaches, staff, grounds, juniors etc etc It is amazing what $$$$ canb do as last year the AFL gave GWS the largest grant of any club, AUD $ 21,000,000. This huge amount, and coupled with their favourable draft picks are surely the reason for their playing success this year.

LOL....

the thing lost in all this commentary on finals attendances is the undeniable fact that sydney folk are talking about it ..... agonising over it ...... examining its entrails to find some deeper meaning on what it means for the future of sport in that city ..... countless articles have been written about it ...... and commented on by folks of all persuasions from across the sporting codes offering their 2 cents worth on what it all means ..... to press the point again as i think its worth repeating - sydney people alone ...... are talking .... and debating .... sporting crowds .... in the mean time, the rest of australia goes on ..... secure in the knowledge that their code of preference is as it should be this code war nonsense is a sydney anxiety pure and simple ..... and because sydney cant exist without knowing that the rest of country must see it as the centre of the universe, the rest of australia has to endure every comical mood swing it goes through during the winter sporting months ( we can in part thank media concentration for this peculiarity) this crowd attendance anxiety has become very predictable and if im honest, a little boring ..... but every now and then a gem arises to keep the lol's bubbling along - case in point, some nrl folk on a well known nrl website argued fans didnt show up to last weeks round of finals fixtures because 2 of the games were not properly marketed as sudden death ..... and there you have it folks ..... sydney sports fans in a nutshell

14,000 is about the same as the Wallabies got in Canberra, the Matildas got in Penrith and 2 NRL finals got last week, so working on those figures it is going ok. Did not compare favorably to Parramatta’s crowd last night, but it is also not the end of the world Not sure of ticket prices at those events, but would gamble a fair bit that the AFL finals tickets were way more than the Matildas or NRL final. I may also point out that GWS got 15k a month ago against WCE in the H & A season that was actually a record for a home match besides derbies against the Swans which also points to ticket prices. I guess it is disappointing when you compare standard AFL attendances but not so much when you compare to Sydney standards. Every year since their inception GWS have increased average home crowds and membership, ATM the biggest area for GWS memberships is actually Blacktown with around 1,000 members, followed by the Hills with 850 and then Parramatta 550. Out of 21,000 members 14,400 are in NSW and 4,250 are in Canberra. Lets see where GWS are at the end of next year and indeed in 5 years. The club is being built on a mens and now women’s football team with also a netball team in the National comp, there is no doubt they will continue to attract new fans and especially young families. Sat TV *updated* #AFLGiantsEagles 1.083m: M 827k (Syd 71k) FTA (NSW 17/32k NNSW, SNSW Sat STV #AFL #AFLFinals #FoxFooty #AFLGiantsEagles National 304k: Metro 247k (Syd 24k) 159k either watched the 3 hour telecast in NSW or were at the game in Sydney + whatever watched on fox in NSW rural areas Be interesting to see what the peak is That is probably an incorrect total anyway as some areas in southern NSW are funnily enough included in Victorian ratings areas

Some good points there Concerned Supporter. The most interesting point to come out of the weekends sport was the small crowd for the GWS Giants. They have 20,000 members who pay a minimum of $50 for a membership, yet got around 14k to their sudden death game against West Coast. The stadium looked very empty. So it looks like the AFL will continue to pump $30 million per year into Western Sydney. The TV ratings in Sydney were also dreadful. Swans have been knocked out of the finals too. Watch the ratings plummet in Sydney next week (even though they were already low last week). NRL dying?? AFL number 1 in Sydney? A 3rd Sydney AFL team to come into the competition in the future? Too funny. Giants are irrelevant to the Western Sydney market. The AFL will have to spend billions and I'm not even sure that will work.

You took the words right outa my mouth Concerned Supporter.

Sunday Morning,Andrew Costi & AFL Fan boys, Just read the papers, and guess what happened this weekend 1// The NRL attendances exceeded the AFL attendances, even with a gamne being held at the MCG with all their Cricket members, who do not pay to get in. MCG 55 K Suncorp 38 K ANZ 41 K Spotless 14 k. 2/ Again both the AFL games were blow outs,whereas the NRL games kept spectators & TV viewers interest till the finish. I guess there will not be much comment this week.Andrew are you doing an article? PS, I am firstly a Rugby Supporter,mostly watched the Wallabies game, but was disturbed last week on the AFL bias on the Rugby League site. The only people that I know who go to Swans games are Melbourne/ Victorian expats and the SCG members.There are supposed to be more than 200 K Melbourne/Victorian expats living in Sydney alone. PPS, The code that needs a massive shake up is the ARU, they have lost major sponsors this year, their crowds are down and they are treating the Rugby people on a "need to know" basis.Typical big end of town thinking.