Kevin Sheedy, Shane Crawford and Andrew Demetriou interview
Glenn McFarlane | March 28, 2009
KEVIN Sheedy, Shane Crawford and senior writer Glenn McFarlane visit the office of Andrew Demetriou to discuss the game and its future. GM: Can you remember a time when the start to a season has had as much interest from the public.
AD: Our NAB Cup games exceeded expectations, starting with the Bushfire Relief game. Our crowds were up about 18 per cent and our TV ratings up 25 per cent. We did our NAB Cup first round over three weeks mostly at night, which seemed to work. Then you throw into the mix new players coming through and the normal theatre. And then you have the Judd v Cousins game, and the Hawthorn v Geelong rematch.
GM: Could Thursday night usurp Monday night as the next alternative time slot?
AD: We are trialling a couple of Thursdays and a coup le of Mondays to see what people think, particularly as we plan three years ahead with our broadcast rights. Opening a season on a Thursday night and getting a sell-out is not a bad start.
SC: Ben Cousins and Wayne Carey have been in some trouble. It seems as though the AFL is like a lifeline to those troubled souls. Do you agree?
AD: In some ways, yes. Someone said recently that they got into trouble when they were playing football, but ironically football could be their saviour. There is probably some truth to it. Football clubs are great places to be. I still hope that Ben does well, stays clean and can look back and say that football gave him another chance. In Wayne’s case, he has had a deep think about his life and gone back to the club where he started, to rehabilitate himself.
KS: Are you happy Richmond gave Ben a second chance?
AD: Yeah. It was always going to be a tough call for clubs.
KS: Would you have been embarrassed if he hadn’t?
AD: No, he got the green light from us after undergoing a process with the Commission. A couple of clubs were interested. Then Richmond put up a case that didn’t get through the Commission. At the end of the day, they wanted to give someone a chance. I commend them for that, because they could have easily said there is more downside to this than upside. The club and its faithful have embraced Ben.
GM: Have you spoken with Ben Cousins recently?
AD: Not personally. I sent him a message when he played his first NAB Cup game.
KS: Is it frustrating for you that grog and drugs are a part of the game, and a part of society?
AD: It is a tough time for society. I think most understand that young people come into the game from all over Australia, and some even come from overseas. We assume they have the same personalities and backgrounds. But the reality is they don’t. Some are from families that are broken and some don’t have a great deal of education. Some do come from successful families. It is a credit to the clubs that they get 40 individuals and mould them into a team. The values within a club almost take over as the influencing factor. It is not surprising that sometimes they make mistakes, they are only human. We will have more players in trouble. But we shouldn’t abandon them.
KS: Andrew, how do we stop Frank Lowy and Ben Buckley from calling soccer “football”, yet they still manage to call the national team the Socceroos?
AD: There were 87,000 people at the MCG on Thursday and a few million watching on television who know what footy is.
SC: We love Chris Judd as a footballer, but were you happy that he said he didn’t support new teams coming into the AFL?
AD: It’s a free world, and I encourage our coaches and players to speak whenever they want. I am doing a tour of the clubs now. In the presentation I talk about why we are expanding. In fairness to Chris, I haven’t been to Carlton yet. I think it is legitimate to raise concerns. Our clubs have raised concerns, and we are bringing them along on the journey. I am optimistic about the growth of the game. I am optimistic about Gold Coast and western Sydney, and having football games every week in Sydney and Brisbane/Gold Coast. It is all about growing the game. Every time we have grown it has been to the benefit of the other clubs.
GM: Can you understand why some think that the current economic climate might not be the right time to expand?
AD: My answer has been consistent. We are debt-free, we have got $45 million in the future fund, which will go up to $80 million. We have got all our agreements locked away to the end of 2011. We are in a very strong financial situation. I think we are stronger than our competitors, so it is a good time to capitalise. I think we all believe that, in 2012, the economy will have started to recover, otherwise we will all be out of a job.
KS: Should we give preferential treatment to media organisations supportive of the AFL?
AD: These are difficult financial times. You ask the businesses, the clubs, and the broadcasters. The AFL believes that we should be trying to help them, because they have helped us grow the game. The broadcasters came to us and said ‘we would like to get more access with players and coaches’. It is not just them. It is how can we help Toyota sell more cars, how can we help the NAB, because they are feeling the pinch. Thankfully, I think you will see that people are still going to go to the football.
KS: So you are confident the crowds will still be strong?
AD: It’s more than that. I am a genuine believer that we should do everything we can to generate the economy of football. Football, directly or indirectly, creates 13,000 jobs. We contribute $1.7 billion to the economic activity of this state and $3.3 billion nationally. I have said to my staff, I want to protect jobs, we have cut everywhere else, but we haven’t cut any jobs.
GM: How much have you cut?
AD: About $3.5 million. It is about doing things more efficiently, to the point of mobile phone use and business class travel. I want to protect people’s jobs. The last thing we will be doing in this place is look at jobs. We will not be putting extra people on, but I want to protect jobs.
GM: Are you bullish that all 16 current clubs will survive this economic crisis?
AD: Our clubs are great survivors. We have said our expansion cannot be to the detriment of clubs or players. They will still get their distribution, we are not going to rape and pillage their players. We have gone through a process of list development. But, in relation to this debate going on at the moment with the MCG and Docklands, the 10 clubs in Victoria drive the economy. The reason that 2.8 million went through the gates at the MCG last year was because of the 10 Victorian teams.
You take teams out of this town and it affects revenues for venues, broadcast rights, and the football economy. I want to do everything we can to protect the 16 teams while at the same time grow the competition.
GM: How far is the AFL and the clubs prepared to go in terms of pushing the stadium operators for fairer deals?
AD: I can’t remember a time where the clubs and the AFL are more united on an issue. We have got non-Victorian clubs supporting these clubs. We have got Frank Costa who has his own stadium deal at Geelong supporting this. In my view this is the most critical issue facing our competition for many, many years.
KS: Since Waverley was built?
AD: Probably, because it is a significant amount of money.
It is the difference between being a strong club and one that is forever trying to find the next dollar. If the Bulldogs were getting $1.5 million a year from stadium deals they probably wouldn’t have the debt they have got. They wouldn’t be staving off creditors.
GM: So would a revised deal save the clubs forever and take them off the endangered list?
AD: Absolutely, it would.
KS: Do we underestimate the amount of people who go to the footy to support the club and in doing so help the MCC pay for their stands?
AD: I think what has happened is that we, the clubs and the players, have over-delivered as a code. But they are not sharing in the upside. I heard a comment from the chairman of the (MCC) trust who said the reason for the crowds being up at the MCG over the last few years is because they go to the new northern stand. Yes, facilities help. But our players and clubs are putting on this incredibly good show. I don’t think the crowd on Thursday went to watch the northern stand.
GM: So how far do you push the stadium operators?
AD: The clubs are talking about doing things that have shocked me. They are so determined to be treated fairly. The only group that can resolve this is the state government.
Andrew Demetriou on ...
Good Friday –
“You know our position on that. I’m not even going to bet at Tabcorp.”
Twilight or night grand final –
“You know my view absolutely on that.”
Media analyst Harold Mitchell’s call that the next TV rights could yield $1 billion –
“We love Harold. We will take whatever we get at the time.”
Ugly footy –
“I’ve never used that terminology in my life. Every year in the pre-season we’re told the game is dead. Well, it isn’t.”
Lou as an AFL legend –
“The Hall of Fame have very strict criteria as far as legends go. Lou has been a legend of the game, make no mistake. But they have criteria about playing and coaching.”
The Big V –
“You never say never, particularly if Kevin (Sheedy) has his way.”
Full article at:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25258325-19742,00.html
