This weekend's grand final justifies the AFL's Giant investment

Happy with that result, for reasons already expressed on this thread.

The Richmond Tigers sure did come, in possibly the most dominant display of total football in the modern era. Well done . The Giants will be better for this if they can see clearly the nature of Richmond’s athleticism and tactical mobility in all facets of this wonderful game.

''This weekend's grand final justifies the AFL's Giant investment'' After seeing the result the AFL should be asking for a refund. But just goes to show how hard it is for non Melbourne teams playing in Melbourne.

That’s not nepotism. Try again.

“Cultural DNA” for starters. Cringe.

......really. On what basis? Tassie has long offered the established fan base and culture for the code, while GWS do not and probably unlikely to realise this cultural currency in our life time. Time is money after all......

......as Canberra 'prop up' GWS'.

........I expect those 3 Victorian recruits to the Storm are of Maori or PI heritage, to boot.

.....not at all. The Raiders have been a constant for their Canberra faithful, originally a NSW entity based in Queanbeyan. It is a credit to the NRL that they have persevered with this town, despite its initial lack of status here and especially considering the professional era of fickle support. Conversely the ARU have conspired to relocate the Brumbies since their inception at different times, while the AFL have been mostly expedient of the Australian footy community here. I hope the Raiders can pull off GF victory I truly do. What I do have to challenge however, is the misconception that League and even Union have always been the preferred footy codes in this town. This is historically incorrect, while the indigenous code continues to be as strong if not stronger, than its adversaries at the GR, across the city. There is no reason codes can't coexist, especially in this culturally diverse demographic, in terms of its sporting preferences. I grew up exposed to Union and Australian Footy during the 60's through 80's learning more about League as the Raiders became promoted as a Canberra sporting entity. The Raiders are certainly far more reflective of the surrounding regions DNA than are the Storm in Melbourne, while GWS are akin to the Storm, for the illusion that has been engineered for and by television.

......he is indeed but that doesn't mean he hasn't exposed some home truths to this end.

......concur Seymorebutts.

........Australian Footy has sustained its support, despite the AFL's expedient neglect of the capital, long before the Giants inception. You should never assume to lump GWS as a region with the ACT, in respect of any historical footy DNA. This is why the ACT were integral to any Giants success, as a safety net for its fledging years.

........the Australian code has long been inherent of Canberra's sporting DNA, more so than League, with an historically impressive honour list throughout major state leagues and the AFL. Canberra boasts over 100years of formal presence of the code in the ACT while its pedigree is strong. It is a testament to this support that an entity i.e.GWS, which holds little symbolic affinity or real commitment to Canberra, can still attract a larger crowd at home and away fixtures than either the Raiders or Brumbies. If the AFL had chosen Canberra as its base for the Giants, this support would have been far greater I believe.

.......to be sure, spot on.

.......but are the profits used effectively? I would argue the AFL's profits are perpetually feeding the elite, multinational aspects of the code, while any historical or cultural currency is simply a veneer, an exercise in lip service to appease those who still care about that stuff. This is why the AFL created plastic entities in non heartlands, it's only about profit, big end of town profit and will continue to be, expediently milking traditional footy markets i.e Tasmania, NT and the ACT to this end.

Interesting supposition Slane . That would equate to every Tasmanian I think...as the population of Tasmania is almost exactly 500,000. Mind boggling - not sure the southerners of Hobart would all be on board with an AFL franchise. Maybe staying with a passion for the game through a union with Hawthorn is a better option although I would love to see a stand alone Tassie team!????

Well put Slane. This is very much one conflated Giant leap and small step for the future pathway and growth of the game in Western Sydney.

I'm from Giants territory and I can't decide if I want them to lose, or want them to win. A loss would represent the failed marketing strategy. But a win would too, when the Victorians parade the trophy up to the Opera House or whatever they are going to do and no-one is there to see it.

........I take your point after all the AFL, the codes esteemed governing body, is exclusively about commercial viability, mores the pity. That said the AFL surely need to strike some parity in respect of 'growth', or they risk disenfranchising their historically loyal heartlands, if they haven't already. A criteria for growth has to be more than simply feeding the commercial behemoth ie television rights et el. You overstate the old immigration chestnut to the north, which happened decades ago while population is fluid, so any growth should be viewed in the context of real growth. Any historical cultural social traits should be integral to growth and this is why per cap figures should be included in any expansion criteria. If not, you compromise the DNA of the sport. Unfortunately today we are a society obsessed with cost and oblivious to value. The Storm are a perfect example of this devolution being a very successful commercial brand akin to GWS, that has had diddly impact on increasing the real growth of League in the state of Vic. If GWS is such a compelling market, then why not grow the code steadily from the GR 1st, rather than a top down approach, throwing good $'s after bad and expediently creating a safety net out of established demographics i.e. the ACT? Canberra would have been far more culturally compatible as a base as would Tassie, from the get go, while the former boasts the second fastest growing city in Australia after Melbourne right now. Combined with Queanbeyan the population currently sits at around 440k. Add to that the outlying regions including the footy heartland of the Riverina, you have a compelling criteria to base the Giants in the nations capital.

Silly boy Slane. Right out of your depth here. Pretty much the whole country outside Victoria want Richmond to lose. Little boys like you only see Victoria. That is why little boys like you are out of their depth talking about growth.