Gws and the rest including dogs

[Hard Roar Tiger]

The expansion teams are a necessary 'pain'. More than 50% of Australia's population lives in NSW & Qld and the Gold Coast & Western Sydney are two of fastest growing regions. Sydney is also a major chunk of the TV & advertising market. We may not all like it but Aussie Rules just can't ignore these regions even if best case scenario is only sustainable niche clubs in 25+ years time. For those of us old enough to remember, supporters of Victorian clubs and the Melbourne media were saying the same things in the late 80s-mid 90s about the Swans & Bears being a waste of the sport's time and money when the money could have gone to propping up Victorian clubs who were struggling at the time.

It's going to take time to judge the worthiness of the two new clubs and in GWS's case, to actually have a season where they win more than a couple of games per year to get people to come to their home games. Sydneysiders are the biggest bunch of sporting bandwagoners. Take the Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-league - all hype when they were winning in their first two years but their crowds have dived this season and tonight just 11k turned up to watch them while midweek it worse than that at just 7k.

If it was a zero sum game then it might be understandable.
But it isn't.

[Tigers of Old]

The expansion teams are a necessary 'pain'.

The only pain I care about is that we haven't won a flag in the past 35 years and with all the concessions the AFL seems determined to give it's expansion franchises in order to make them successful, I can't see us winning one anytime soon either much as I hope we do. That hope is what the AFL wants us to buy.

However the AFL cannot bear the thought of their precious experiments floundering at the bottom of the ladder.
It's as if there is a right of passage for many of the clubs in these areas to do well or they don't get the return on their substantial investment.
The Sydney Swans are the best example of this. How many finals series have they played in a row now??
'We built a stadium up there in Western Sydney that cost millions, we've got to fill it!!'
Sydney and Queensland in particular are incredibly fickle markets that are not the heartland of Australian Rules Football and if they struggle, so too will their crowds and TV viewers. As an example, the Lions who were virtually handed 3 flags in a row are now almost broke.

I might be getting older and a little more selfish but have quite decided that I really couldn't give a stuff about the 'game' (Australian Football League) moving forward in Sydney, Queensland, Tokyo or Timbuktu. Especially when the competition seems so fixed by the powers that be in order to make that happen.
3121 is all I care about.

Go Tiges.

[(•))(©™]

Modern footy sucks man.

Conceptually it's a try hard.

Like pop it will eat itself.

Hopefully sooner than later.

[Penelope]

The AFL is a business, simple as that. It would make poor business sense to bring in new teams, particulaily into non traditional territory in a way that they would constantly struggle. Whether you should bring in teams into those markets is a different debate, but once the decision is made they need to have a shot of success or they will definitely fail and that is poor business.
Lets not forget that the clubs all signed off on this expansion and its methodology.

If the VFL had not expanded out of victoria when they did some media mogul would have created a break away competition. There was plenty of talk about this happening in the mid to late eighties, and if i remember correctly Richmond was not one of the Victorian teams targeted. This would have left us languishing in a 8 team second rate Victorian based comp, which most probably would have been gobbled up in the same way the AFL has the VFA. Given Richmond's precarious position through this period, we may have even folded.

I understand the angst many feel with the way the AFL is being run, but as i have said before, if you truly like the game, go and get involved in local grass roots footy. It will give you a new refreshing perspective on the game itself helps to reduce the care factor of the bullcrap we see in the AFL- makes it easier to switch off as it is no longer the be all and end all - which actually increases your enjoyment of it

[mightytiges]

The expansion teams are a necessary 'pain'.

The only pain I care about is that we haven't won a flag in the past 35 years and with all the concessions the AFL seems determined to give it's expansion franchises in order to make them successful, I can't see us winning one anytime soon either much as I hope we do. That hope is what the AFL wants us to buy.

However the AFL cannot bear the thought of their precious experiments floundering at the bottom of the ladder.
It's as if there is a right of passage for many of the clubs in these areas to do well or they don't get the return on their substantial investment.
The Sydney Swans are the best example of this. How many finals series have they played in a row now??
'We built a stadium up there in Western Sydney that cost millions, we've got to fill it!!'
Sydney and Queensland in particular are incredibly fickle markets that are not the heartland of Australian Rules Football and if they struggle, so too will their crowds and TV viewers. As an example, the Lions who were virtually handed 3 flags in a row are now almost broke.

I might be getting older and a little more selfish but have quite decided that I really couldn't give a stuff about the 'game' (Australian Football League) moving forward in Sydney, Queensland, Tokyo or Timbuktu. Especially when the competition seems so fixed by the powers that be in order to make that happen.
3121 is all I care about.

Go Tiges.

I want the Tiges to win a flag as much as we all do, T.O.O. and no doubt the AFL wants these clubs to succeed. However, the expansion of the VFL to the AFL and into NSW/Qld had nothing to do with Richmond's past 35 years of failure. Our failure was our own doing:
- We didn't move with the times (semi-pro to pro-football)
- Trade wars with Collingwood that cost us a fortune both on and off the park.
- Losing $1.5 million in 1985. Equivalent to a club losing $15 million in one year nowdays. Just devastated the Club for a generation and almost sent us to the wall in 1990. We are only just now righting the financial ship 30 years later and still playing catch-up in some ways.
- A culture of instability off field and quick fixes on it that failed and then were repeated over and over again.
- A lack of funds meant everything was done on the scent of an oily rag including leaving recruiting to one individual and making every recruiting stuff in the book. Even with far more resources these days, we still brought in spuds like Hampson and Thomas only last year .

The only thing that has kept Richmond going over the past 35 years is us supporters. Most other clubs would've died like Fitzroy if they had gone through what we did as a club. Thankfully those senseless self-destructive eat your own days are over.

[cub]

I don't give a rats about logic, the slightest bit!

[Owl]

why not cub?  Did you find religion?

[Penelope]

LMAO

[tiga]

GWS already have a larger membership base than 2 thirds of rugby league clubs.
They are promoting the game in the grass roots better than any league club. My son is in his final year of primary and GWS have been to his school on at least 4 occasions to league clubs zero. I'm involved with one of the junior AFL clubs in Sydney's west and GWS have been a huge support. Took my son to the Giants v Suns game last week and about 6 players including Mumford shaw and treloar moved through the crowd chatting and signing autographs. anyone who says stuff off GWS has no idea just how much good they are doing for the game up here. My son and I are Richmond tigers forever but gee it's fantastic to see a club like GWS getting involved and being so accessible and generous with their time in the local community.

[The Big Richo]

x2 for the Gold Coast in SEQ as well, Tiga.

[tdy]

The expansion teams are a necessary 'pain'. More than 50% of Australia's population lives in NSW & Qld and the Gold Coast & Western Sydney are two of fastest growing regions. Sydney is also a major chunk of the TV & advertising market. We may not all like it but Aussie Rules just can't ignore these regions even if best case scenario is only sustainable niche clubs in 25+ years time. For those of us old enough to remember, supporters of Victorian clubs and the Melbourne media were saying the same things in the late 80s-mid 90s about the Swans & Bears being a waste of the sport's time and money when the money could have gone to propping up Victorian clubs who were struggling at the time.

It's going to take time to judge the worthiness of the two new clubs and in GWS's case, to actually have a season where they win more than a couple of games per year to get people to come to their home games. Sydneysiders are the biggest bunch of sporting bandwagoners. Take the Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-league - all hype when they were winning in their first two years but their crowds have dived this season and tonight just 11k turned up to watch them while midweek it worse than that at just 7k.

How are the Bears and Swans going now in NSW and QLD? Nobody up there would even notice if they disappeared and folded

Theyd notice the bears but most sydney siders would say swans who? Just as most melburnians would say What storm? I didnt know it was going to rain?

[tdy]

 

The expansion teams are a necessary 'pain'.

The only pain I care about is that we haven't won a flag in the past 35 years and with all the concessions the AFL seems determined to give it's expansion franchises in order to make them successful, I can't see us winning one anytime soon either much as I hope we do. That hope is what the AFL wants us to buy.

However the AFL cannot bear the thought of their precious experiments floundering at the bottom of the ladder.
It's as if there is a right of passage for many of the clubs in these areas to do well or they don't get the return on their substantial investment.
The Sydney Swans are the best example of this. How many finals series have they played in a row now??
'We built a stadium up there in Western Sydney that cost millions, we've got to fill it!!'
Sydney and Queensland in particular are incredibly fickle markets that are not the heartland of Australian Rules Football and if they struggle, so too will their crowds and TV viewers. As an example, the Lions who were virtually handed 3 flags in a row are now almost broke.

I might be getting older and a little more selfish but have quite decided that I really couldn't give a stuff about the 'game' (Australian Football League) moving forward in Sydney, Queensland, Tokyo or Timbuktu. Especially when the competition seems so fixed by the powers that be in order to make that happen.
3121 is all I care about.

Go Tiges.

You 3121ers suck 3131 is where its all at, so nyeh! 

[The Big Richo]

Don't agree with that, I've not watched 5 minutes of soccer in my life, don't know the rules or anything about the game but I know the Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City exist.

[Smokey]

x2 for the Gold Coast in SEQ as well, Tiga.

As it was for the Bears (believe it or not) when I was heavily involved in junior football in SE Qld circa early '90's and still is for the primary schools my grandkids attend up there currently.  AFL players are always available and always attending coaching sessions but the kids never see NRL players or have league coaching sessions run by them.  It's a war of attrition that will never be won overnight but we are winning every single battle where it will matter in the long term.

[tony_montana]

Its all about TV rights - they are currently being sold on the potential of these markets.

A pertinent question is - what do these fickle new markets matter if they heart is ripped out of the heartland? They will NEVER EVER garner the engagement from their fan base in SEQ and NSW like clubs do in Melbourne/Adelaide/Perth. Once the fanaticism and engagement dissipates in Melbourne(and it already is) the game will never be the same