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Well I give up. In the hours since their clinical grand final performance, I've run through all the potential contenders, and I seriously can't…
It hasn't worked out the way I thought it would, when all those weeks ago I declared Hawthorn were virtually good things to win…
I had a conversation with a colleague yesterday about the news Adam Goodes had announced his retirement for football. The response I received when…
Some call it a 'darby'. Others go with 'derrby' or 'derby'. It doesn't really matter whether you go with a hard E, a soft…
So here we are again. September. And while all the teams this season got to play September footy, the real stuff begins on the…
Well there it is for another season, and all with a round remaining. The top eight has been decided and in the midst of…
Pass or fail? I guess it's very black and white that way, but in sport, and in this instance a season of AFL, there…
With all the drama that the Essendon football club has been through in the past few years, right or wrong, foolish or not, one…
I wouldn't have been the only one at the start of the season when working out my top eight to have the Western Bulldogs…
An interesting email leapt into my inbox this week. It was from a corporate bookmaker who, like all of us, had been stunned by…
Thanks to those glorious sporting clichés, we hear about it all the time. “It's not about the money, it's about winning”. Or “It's not…
What we all witnessed on Saturday night at ANZ Stadium simply rubber-stamped what we saw in Tasmania the week before. While some wanted to…
Well that wasn't the AFL grand final preview it was supposed to be. Sydney, it's your turn. Sunday's fixture against Hawthorn was an acid…
Less than a month ago I suggested that while Port Adelaide were many rungs off the top teams on the ladder, they still had…
There is an absolute tidal wave of water still to pass under the proverbial bridge between now and the first weekend in October, but…
Every year around this time, I manage to get locked into a debate with someone about why the AFL doesn't have State of Origin.…
It was way back, what seems almost half a season ago now, when I wrote about how four teams in the competition were looking…
I'm all for optimism. Gee, in sport you need to own it. Seasons can be long and torturous for many football supporters, and if…
So there is was. Another round down, another step towards September. So what was the biggest story out of another weekend packed full of…
It's May, not even the midway point of the season, but regardless of the timing, it didn't stop one thinking ahead to September prospects…
Thanks for the kind words Gene. While world titles the year after the Olympics are usually a bit ‘softer’ than those leading into the Games, I’ve got a feeling, at least from Australia’s perspective, that these ones will be worth watching.
Swimming for Rio - redemption is ours?
Happy to Moonshine. I may have left the building but still read the paper, and I don’t believe there is generally negative AFL publicity in the SMH.
On the whole the Herald and it’s AFL writers gives both the Swans and Giants very positive coverage. Of course it doesnt get as much space as league does but look at NRL in Melbourne media – nature of the beast.
There are negative stories from time to time but that is the case in coverage of all sport, including NRL.
COWLEY: The AFL won't let the GWS Giants fail
I’m sure TV rights were not the only motive behind the AFL’s move in putting a second team in Sydney, but you’re right Midfielder that it doesn’t hurt having them in the competition for those reasons.
COWLEY: The AFL won't let the GWS Giants fail
+2
I always tell league fans to get to a game of AFL before they bag it too badly. It’s much better live than on TV.
As for getting oxygen in Sydney, the facts are Sydney is a rugby league town and always will be, especially fom a media perspective. AFL will have it’s niche, and so too will other sports such as football. It will never be a huge niche, but it will be part of the sporting landscape. The Swans have worked hard to make sure it is, and GWS have a much easier job than the Swans pioneers of the 1980s had when nobody wanted the game in town.
COWLEY: The AFL won't let the GWS Giants fail
Well the battle of the bridge (not the best name really) is bigger than the AFL’s old Allies Origin games.
COWLEY: The AFL won't let the GWS Giants fail
I like the way you ask and answer questions Australian Rules. Bottom line is, you are spot on. There’s only one way to go and that’s up. Being patient is the test for people.
COWLEY: The AFL won't let the GWS Giants fail
Some good points made Milksteak. I agree with your thoughts on Canberra. It was a good move for the club and made for sound reasons, but western Sydney is western Sydney, not North Western Canberra, and I wouldn’t be happy sharing my team either.
What Canberra does do is give the club some ‘home’ games early in the season while Skoda is getting readied after the Easter Show. It’s unfortunate that games – apart from the Swans clash – can’t be played in Sydney until then, and as a fan in Sydney you would feel like your missing the start of the season in some ways, but that’s just the way it is having that venue as home.
COWLEY: The AFL won't let the GWS Giants fail
Good point about the second year syndrome Mastermind, and experience is what these young kids need more than anything right now …. although some wins wouldn’t go astray for the sake of confidence and enjoyment.
COWLEY: The AFL won't let the GWS Giants fail
Hi Peter. I think we all knew from the beginning it was going to take time for GWS, and cost the AFL a fair amount of cash. They knew that too, and still went ahead with it and will continue to support the club, but bankrolling it is off the mark.
There will always be debate about whether the Israel Folau experiment was good or bad for the Giants. Certainly on the park it didn’t lead to much, but off field it did wonders for the club’s profile, and there is no way they would have got as much exposure as they did in the lead-up to, and in their first season in the competition without him.
There are expats at games, just as there are at most sports, and at Giants’ games some are watching the team they supported back ‘home’ but, having been to a few GWS games, I don’t think all those dressed in orange would be expats cheering the opposition.
COWLEY: The AFL won't let the GWS Giants fail
I think by 15 years’ time Tassie might eventually have it’s own team, and who knows with Canberra. I certainly think if Canberra had their own team not just part-owning GWS, the people would get right behind it and it could be a success as there are some sound footy roots in the capital.
I would also be very suprrised if GWS haven’t enjoyed some success by 2028 too.
COWLEY: The AFL won't let the GWS Giants fail
Spot on, it was a great swim by Jess to make her second world championship team. The experience of the London Olympics will have no doubt helped her swimming, and being part of a successful training squad will also continue to be a huge benefit.
Swimming for Rio - redemption is ours?