It's time for a second Brisbane AFL team

It's only because it's more fun.. the whole thing is kind of silly fun anyway... why not have more?

Yes let’s promote Geraldton Railways from the great northern football league with their 39 members because some people think it’s a great way to make the finish of the season exciting.

Half of Victoria is stacked up at the border trying to get in. Assuming the game can devolve back to one on one- people will go and watch. I was at the Gabba- Rich v Swans game that neither wanted to lose/change their defensive structure. Play that crap every week in Melbourne and you won’t get 10k

Even though it would be great to annoy the NRL, the reality is that this idea is a no go at present. The best you could hope for is a shared top end team as suggested by several below. WA or even SA would be next in line to make up the 20 - both should have 3 teams before QLD, especially with a poor performing gold coast team (although the NRL aren't much better in that area).

The tv figures for the lions have been pretty good of late - sometimes better than the NRL game that week. I think the 90% of players are from Victoria is a made up one - even if it wasn't, it's still better than the local born Storm players.

Crowd, the AFL can’t afford another team in Brizzy. As it is they are ripping through money with Covid. The biggest thing is kids in QLD have so many sports. Rugby Union is the main sport in private schools. League is the main sport in public schools, cricket, basketball and swimming are now sports for 12 months of the year. There is also soccer, surf lifesaving and minor sports like baseball and athletics. The climate accommodates many outdoor activities which takes away kids from AFL. It’s not like Vic where the kids only play AFL at lunch. We don’t have the depth in QLD and you would then be spreading the talent at a cost to the AFL.

Thom I like your logic. As a parent of two boys playing youth footy, I traveled as far as Noosa, Toowoomba and Southport this season. Please don’t give me a carnival in Mackay though. The junior comp isn’t big enough, hence the travel. Essentially there are 3 teams on the North side of town and 3 on the South side and another 2 in the West. Generally though there are rep games happening during the year which travel to regional areas. There just aren’t the numbers and dollars to support another team in Brisbane.

Hang on a sec? Who's buying a full season membership for this team if it's shared between NQ and NT. I am assuming they are playing home games in Cairns/Townsville and Darwin/Alice Springs. Basically the supporters will have half a team because it won't be feasible to travel to the away-home games on a regular basis. There is too much space in Northern Australia. Whoever gets a team needs to have it on a permanent basis.

You've got to be kidding me. The AFL is bleeding money propping up the Suns and you're talking about putting another team in South East Queensland (presumably around Redcliffe) ? Cuckoo?

The point is more administrative than rules based. It's equal for Softball or tiddlywinks. Thats the beauty of the suggestion. It bypasses the obvious biases inherent in the idiots that pepper the blogs with illogical conclusions and their AFL protection (which only weakens the brand). The AFL don't benefit from you sheltering them from creative suggestions that would cause more pleasure for a greater number of people. Smalltime baby. Relegation makes for more exciting season finishes and the chance to share the national spotlight with regional centres. The only thing that will never change is that all things will change. You know how English Public schools tend to own the history of Aussie Rules beginnings? That's as good as wrote that that is exactly what didn't happen. For Austalia to own it's own brand it has to face up these influences that still operate via the MCC and through Governement. Regional centres in England get a national spotlight why not Australia.

Let’s face facts. The AFL first tried to have a successful team at Carrara in 1987, to no avail. Time to give up on the Gold Coast. They will never be successful no matter how many top draft picks, Gary Ablett type superstars or even bringing in a supercoach like Clarkson. The Gold Coast is a city for tourists, parties, property sharks, druggies and retirees and not the sort of place conducive to AFL sporting excellence. If Qld really must have 2 teams, then relocate the Suns to Brisbane or Townsville or my home town of Mackay. I think Tasmania and the Northern Territory should be the primary focus of any future expansion. Their populations take AFL seriously, unlike the Gold Coast population.

I’ve seen two clubs established in Queensland and followed them both through their foundation years. Send a willing Victorian club and find a growing regional city. Be prepared for 15 years of low crowds, poor results, players wanting to go home and 98% of supporters saying the team should go to Tasmania.

The development in Qld would surprise many Thomas. Without the leap of faith into traditional League territory, many of these would not be drafted. With the predicted growth of Brisbane north (not to Townsville;) & much of this from Victorians escaping Covid, and realising that remote work is sustainable, why not use the timing to grow again?

Interesting. My gut feeling was 'no'. I'm from Brisbane myself and I think that there are too many fairweather sports fans here. I can remember the hype around the Brisbane Roar a decade or so ago now, when I go to games, 3/4 of the stadium is empty. For a while, it looked like the hype around the Lions from the early 2000s was a thing of the past, but crowds have returned to the Gabba now that Brisbane are a Top Four team. Obviously, no team is gonna stay on the Top Four forever. Time will tell whether the new fans will stick around when this successful era eventually comes to a close. I'm hoping the fans will though. The Lions have a strong culture and good players in the early years of their careers so hopefully, there will be positivity around the club even if they aren't making four and hopefully their plunge is not quite as dramatic as after the Premiership years. In my mind, the AFL should wait until the Lions' success is consolidated and ideally, I'd like to see the Gold Coast a bit less dependent on the AFL and hopefully making finals. Too much expanding too soon could be costly. By the way, I'm generally against a second Brisbane NRL team. I just don't know what would be gained. Right now, everyone who wants to watch NRL in Brisbane has a team they can follow and the Broncos have a certain privileged status by being the only NRL team in Brisbane. My fears are that the creation of a second NRL team in Brisbane would simply pluck fans away from the Broncos. I think this could be a lesson for the AFL so it may be worth waiting and seeing how the NRL's efforts go. In hindsight, maybe the AFL should have observed the challenges the Titans faced before rushing ahead with the Gold Coast Suns

Another Brisbane team might be nice, but it is not 'time' for it to happen. Tasmania, Canberra, Northern Territory, 3rd W.A. team and a 3rd S.A. team would all be better options before another Brisbane team; and only one of those is likely to happen in the near future. The best chance for another Queensland team might be a 'Top End' team representing the N.T., North Queensland and Northern W.A. We'd probably have to drop a few Vic. teams back to the VFL before any of this could even be considered, which won't happen anytime soon.

Just like having two WA teams is ridiculous to any West Australian. Pot kettle black?

That's great but Ange and Celtic aren't part of the AFL therefore how they play soccah is of no relevance to this conversation. You obviously enjoy the round ball game, so keep watching and enjoying it but we don't need to bring in soccah style promotion and relegation. Conferences ala NFL make so much more sense for AFL.

Central and North Queensland are in the Suns zone. The club has spent 12 years developing pathways and playing games in Cairns, Townsville and Mackay. Last year we drafted Alex Davies out of Cairns, Caleb Graham in 2018 and Jack Bowes in 2016. This year we have Austin Harris from Cairns and Will Bella from Mackay (both have been invited to the 90 player Draft Combine, so Kevin Sheehan's top picks). The Suns also picked 2 NT players in the past 2 years and will take another this year named Ned Stevens. The Lions actually have no Academy players in the 90 top rated, so there might only be 3 QLD kids drafted this year. You can't split an already undersized resource a third way. Maybe if the Suns and Lions were both competing for flags with their lists bulging with local players, but that isn't happening.

A bit myopic Thomas. 1) Melbourne has more than one rivalry 2) Having another stadium north would help overcome these issues 3) See above- just requires some timing between the two/three (Metricon) 4&5) No extra games/revenue with 1 extra team, but a 20 team comp has an extra game a week 6) In partnership with the AFL 7) No ceiling on participation - there are people playing AFL outside of the Gold Coast 8) For kids in the talent pathway in the north, travel to Brisbane is clearly an issue - the Bruce Highway….. but that’s another can of worms! 9) This attitude has not served Rugby Union well - remember it was the original, and League the offshoot 10) Not worthy of response. The migration from Vic due to Covid boosts numbers without trying to “convert “ anyone. Suns and Brisbane should both be trying to engage these “immigrants “ now. Some families have been starved of community footy for 2 years. Having summer night competitions in AFL hubs up to engage the FAMILY would provide an instant haven.

No way is this going to happen. Get Clarkson to the Suns for 2023 is the next target for Qld footy. He will draw good players Nth like a magnet.