It’s tempting to imagine a feel-good scenario where the Socceroos run out in front of a full house in Parramatta in a few weeks and Nestory Irankunda makes his debut off the bench.
Irankunda is the talk of the A-League after he came off the bench and scored his second goal in two weeks – and third in five games – in Adelaide United’s thrilling 4-2 win over league leaders Melbourne City on Friday night.
More than 10,000 fans turned out at Coopers Stadium to watch an exhilarating affair, as the Reds came from behind in a victory sealed by Irankunda’s thrilling goal on the break.
“You could call it a tap-in,” exclaimed the likeable 17-year-old, who is making a habit of scoring spectacular goals off the bench.
It’s not a question of if, but when Irankunda is called up by the Socceroos – not least because he’s still technically eligible to represent African nations Tanzania and Burundi at full international level.
But if the A-League has taught us anything over the past few seasons, it’s that as fans we have a habit of getting unreasonably excited about young talents before they’ve even had time to get their boots dirty.
Irankunda will get his chance in a green and gold jersey, but it would be nice to see the teenager really step up and make his mark on Carl Veart’s battle-hardened Reds side.
Nestory Irankunda of Adelaide United. (Photo by Sarah Reed/Getty Images)
And in the meantime, Adelaide United will set their sights on a top two finish as they look to reel in Marko Rudan’s similarly gritty Western Sydney Wanderers.
If you only watched certain fixtures in the A-League – and the Wanderers put Marcelo’s shock second-half send-off behind them to down the Central Coast Mariners 2-0 on Saturday – you’d get the impression the league was humming away nicely.
Adelaide continue to draw decent crowds at home, Western Sydney’s form under Rudan is a welcome resurgence, while Wellington Phoenix continue to fly under the radar despite the fact Ufuk Talay is clearly one of the best coaches in the competition.
But looking at half the fixtures each round only tells half the story, and as is so often the case with the A-League, every step forward is routinely accompanied by countless steps back.
The image the Australian Professional Leagues elected to broadcast to the television-watching public on Sunday afternoon – a day when the NRL’s newest club the Dolphins made their triumphant debut, while the Sydney Kings fought back to level the NBL’s championship series in Auckland – was one of empty seats.
When Macarthur downed Brisbane Roar 3-2 in a thriller in Campbelltown, they did so against the backdrop of thousands upon thousands of unoccupied seats.
Is there anyone, anywhere who thinks kicking off an A-League game at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon in the middle of a Sydney summer is a sensible idea?
Are there really so many viewers tuning into this timeslot on Network 10 and Paramount+ that it can’t be shifted to 5pm?
It all adds to the sense the APL is in charge in name only, given how incapable they seem of instituting any changes that actually benefit the competition.
Which is an interesting predicament, now that anywhere between 23 to 30 clubs are said to have submitted Expressions of Interest to join Football Australia’s National Second Division.
The NSD has understandably generated plenty of interest, but what hasn’t been much discussed is the fact that, without immediate promotion and relegation to the top tier, it looks very much like a rival competition to the A-League – run by a competing faction.
There’s no guarantee a second division won’t prove more popular than the A-League it’s designed to complement.
In the meantime, the APL had better hope for more spectacular goals from the likes of Irankunda.
Because there’s no point Macarthur and Brisbane Roar playing out a five-goal thriller on Sunday afternoon if no one’s watching.
Maybe the APL think it’s okay just to let this season slip away, but they could soon have a rival competition snapping at their heels.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
all good WMM, cheers.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Thanks for that link. Good listen. Rabieh gets it, 'no one's going to support a club they played against as a junior' is the barrier that will hold others back. He wrote the original submission for the nsd, only to have it rewritten with little change. Good luck to them.
Redcap
Roar Guru
Interesting start for the Strikers - a win at home to Apollo despite going down to ten early in the game, followed by a wild one at Mitchelton on Sunday where they went ahead, fell behind 1-3, before fighting back to 3-3 after Mitchelton had a player sent-off late in the first half. Interesting observations about the clubmodel from Krayem on the radio earlier in the week: https://4zzz.org.au/news/brisbanes-newest-football-club-setting-goals-new-competition-takes-shape
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
I don't know much about the NPL clubs but I'd back Raby Krayem and the United bid to be a solid one with the most potential. Their proposal is to use Perry Park and he says his talks with Council and State officials have been very very positive (re upgrades) for his community based plan. They will need to improve on the park as both Wynum and Strikers mens teams are in FQPL1 this season.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
it's not what I think that I'm talking about. I'm saying that the proposal document says they have discussed rights with some broadcasters who have shown an interest. I take that at face value.
Redcap
Roar Guru
The AAFC proposal is for P&R between the NSD and NPL from early on (maybe not the first season, but shortly thereafter), with no link to the A-League until '26-27 at the earliest (I think that's ambitious). Interesting mix of candidates here in SEQ, with a joint venture involving the Strikers among the applicants: https://www.espn.com.au/football/australian-a-league-men/story/4894221/football-australias-32-club-national-second-division-shortlist Of those, I think we can safely put a line through Olympic (they won't even play cup games at that ground in Yeronga), Gold Coast Knights in their current configuration (think Sydney United lite), and it's hard to see Brisbane City making it as a stand-alone entity (wouldn't be surprised to see them fall into the proposed joint venture. Also, very interesting to see the Cronulla Sharks getting involved down in Sydney.
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
Are you sure about that? There are four divisions in English football with promotion and relegation. The wealthier clubs in the top tiers have their own stadia, (built through success) but as you go down to the lower tiers, you'll find that many of them play on government-owned pitches.
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
Do you honestly think the NSD TV rights are worth more than zero?
Saffi
Roar Rookie
I think the A League is the only professional Football competition we will have operating for the foreseeable future. The NSD second division was requested by supporters of the previous leagues and by local clubs. It’s a response that the FA should be complemented for. I encourage promotion/ relegation based on the NSD clubs being professional/ financial and supported. In that regard, there should be a simple playoff model to decide which NSD team plays for an A League spot. Given the millions$ that A League club owners have already paid there has to be a cost to enter the promotion playoff. As It costs millions$ to run an A League club, and to confirm the clubs bonafides, at the start of the NSD finals, clubs must prove that they have at least $8m available in the bank if they are successful. If the A League bottom team drops out, those owners are compensated at least $4m to leave. The successful promoted NSD (now ALeague) team uses the $4+ in the bank to start recruiting and building its club. Newly promoted or demoted can’t go back down/straight up for two seasons.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
used to, but yes, no argument, nsd will struggle for a big tv audience. Don't think they'll want or need much, they're not aiming as high as some think, but they'll be followed by more than others think
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
Key difference: lots of people watch the BBL
WMM
Guest
@ Lionheart, I’m sorry you feel that way. Apologies if that’s how my comment came across mate, it wasn’t my intent at all.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Good on you. I don't claim to have knowledge of how academies are run, here or overseas. I can only go on what I read, other than what I hear first hand from someone at Ipswich FC academy. You should comment more, given your knowledge rather than pick apart my comments.
WMM
Guest
I’m not arguing that mate. I was simply pointing out players have left the academy willingly in the past while it was fully funded and that common sense suggests that the Roar Academy would loose good players to NSD teams for the opportunity to play at a higher level than the local NPL ( the competition they currently play in) And to potentially be paid more for doing it. As for what happens in UK academies I would argue I’m better placed than most on this forum as to how they’re run as well.
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
I think Football in QLD has proven time and time again that having teams outside of SEQ/Tweed is just far too expensive.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
they pay for bbl don't they
Jack Russell
Roar Guru
One thing to get your product on TV, but you reckon they expect someone to pay them for it? That's laughable. They'd be doing very, very well if they could find someone to cover production costs. Ideally they'd look to get it on YouTube or Kayo freebies. But nobody is paying for the rights.
Roberto Bettega
Roar Rookie
Rubens What you describe will remain a possibility for a long time to come, such is the financial strife currently facing the majority of A-League clubs, but such an upheaval would not happen without causing a good deal of disruption across the football industry.
Blood Dragon
Roar Rookie
Yeah it was for you WesDay I would of course still follow the Nix which is my club but would be torn between following Power and Gold Coast United for NSD despite the fact I live near the City these day as I grew up in Deception Bay but originally supported GC United when they were in the A-League
Grem
Roar Rookie
I understand you were talking about where the real revenue comes from, but I am interested about your thoughts on crowd increases in the NRL. As a casual NRL follower, their crowds seem to have increased to me. I remember pre pandemic that you could roll up to most games and just get a ticket. There was plenty of room. The Roosters were well known for exaggerating their crowds - 10000 meant 5000, etc. I went online the other day to buy a ticket to Sydney v South Sydney (I know it’s a premium game) and it was nearly sold out and the tickets were, in my opinion, well overpriced. Is the NRL doing itself a disservice and will eventually hurt crowds by inflating ticket prices? If you want kids to attend then how will that happen when seats in a lousy section are going for $60? How does a family afford that? And the State of Origin? A few years ago (I know NSW were on a losing streak) they were giving tickets away. Now premium seats are nearer $200! That’s more expensive than a Manchester United game after they have flown here! It seems to me to be a bad move - your thoughts?