AFL is done pinching rugby league players: Demetriou
Rothfield finally coming out of the closet with that pic...
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...layers-demetriou/story-e6frexnr-1226291160830
AFL boss Andrew Demetriou insists he's not at war with the NRL for Sydney's west. Sports Editor-at-Large Phil Rothfield reports. Buzz: A couple of curve balls early. Kevin Sheedy thought Nathan Hindmarsh was a stadium in Adelaide. Do you know who he is?
Andrew: Yes, Nathan Hindmarsh is one of the great NRL players. He's got the long hair, he speaks well. He's a good player.
Buzz: OK, which club does he play for?
Andrew: Hindmarsh, let me think ... he plays for Penrith.
Buzz: Wrong, he plays for Parramatta.
Andrew: I knew he was from the west.
Buzz: OK, name me four suburbs in western Sydney.
Andrew: Where do I start? Blacktown, Parramatta, Campbelltown, um, um, Punchbowl. Do you want me to keep going? ... Baulkham Hills.
Buzz: Well done. Now on to western Sydney. How are you going to win the war against the NRL?
Andrew: We don't plan on having a war. We've consistently said we're trying to create more options for young people and grow our market share. We've never said we're going into war with the NRL.
Buzz: The NRL sees it as a war. What you are doing is potentially damaging to their heartland.
Andrew: If that's how they see it, that's their prerogative. When the Storm came to Melbourne, they were embraced by the public, including AFL followers. It's not unusual to have supporters who follow the Storm, St Kilda and the Victory. I don't think it's a bad thing if people have choices and options. There's no rule that you can't follow more than one footy team. The NRL is respected enormously because they've been around for over 100 years. We're just trying to give more people the opportunity to enjoy our game as well.
Buzz: Will you pinch any more Karmichael Hunts or Israel Folaus?
Andrew: We always said with Karmichael and Israel they had to be unique, high-performance athletes. Karmichael had already played, albeit minimally. Israel was just seen as a super athlete. They had to be quality people who shared the values of our game. We're delighted with the way they are tracking.
Buzz: Wasn't it a marketing ploy more than buying footy talent?
Andrew: It was both. With Karmichael we were confident he could play. He was identified as a junior. His marketability has exceeded our expectations. It's fantastic what he's done in the community. Israel was more of a risk because he hasn't played but, because of his superb athleticism, he's getting better and better every day. He's also been fantastic in helping us promote the game. But it doesn't mean we are going after more NRL players. We're in the market for talented athletes from our traditional pathways. We get some from other sports, like those who chose us over cricket or basketball. We've got 850 jobs to fill. We get them from overseas. We've got a player from Sudan and we've got about seven or eight Irish lads. We're certainly not out there sourcing more NRL players.
Buzz: I feel sorry for the Swans. You're spending $100 million on a team only 20km or 30km away from their home base. How are they supposed to survive?
Andrew: We can only be having a second team because of the Swans. They have had 30 years in this market. The trailblazing they have done, the hits they have taken, the pain they have endured, the setbacks and then the recovery to win a flag - they have set us up to be able to put a second team in. In a bizarre way, one of the reasons we're putting a second team in is to help the Swans. When they started there were only 12 or 13 major sporting teams in Sydney. Now they're competing for space with the Super 15 and the A-League. They have been carrying the promotional burden for such a long time. They have been fabulous but we needed another team to make sure we had more promotional assets in the market place. We needed content every weekend instead of every second week.
Buzz: So they won't steal the Swans' fans?
Andrew: If history repeats what happened in WA and South Australia, people will make a choice. There may be some Swans people who choose to follow GWS now they've got a choice. This creates another great rivalry, it creates competition. The Swans did great on the footy field last year and they have grown their sponsorships. They have grown their crowds. It's been a good thing for them.
Buzz: You sound like you're closer to the Swans now Paul Roos is gone.
Andrew: No, Roosy was great for the Swans.
Buzz: Didn't you guys fall out?
Andrew: Apparently, from what I read. But no, I've seen Paul on many occasions. I've always said he's been a great ambassador for our game.
Buzz: You're spending $200 million on Gold Coast and Sydney's west. The AFL lost $23 million last year. It's a big risk.
Andrew: It's a massive risk, we've said that. We went to our clubs, who are our stakeholders, and said we want to spend $220 million over the next six years and that will mean we're going to invest in these new clubs. On top of that, we want you to support it and help us work out what draft concessions are available to the new teams. They need the best players. The club unanimously supported the expansion and draft concessions. It's a huge investment which the clubs have bought into and the club is like us in knowing we won't see the benefits for 15 to 20 years.
Buzz: David Gallop criticises your draft.
Andrew: I understand why there's no draft in the NRL. A lad from Newcastle can play for Newcastle. In NSW and Queensland that can happen now through our academies. We are unashamedly a socialist competition. We take a lot of money and give it to the poorer clubs. We have a draft which means if you finish on the bottom you get the best pick. We centralise a lot of the revenues. Every team gets a chance to climb off the bottom. It's a system we borrowed off the NFL and it works for us.
Buzz: How long until GWS makes a profit?
Andrew: Our funding model finishes in six years. By that stage we expect them to be breaking even or making a profit. The Suns exceeded our expectation and made a profit last year.
Buzz: How do you see the Sydney sporting landscape in 20 years? Will the NRL still be the No.1 sport?
Andrew: I'm sure it will be. Hopefully we can be No.2. This is a tough sporting landscape. You've got four codes. NRL dominates, as AFL does in Melbourne. I accept the history. I've got nothing but respect and admiration for rugby league. If we can achieve our awareness and market share and be second behind the NRL, we'd be satisfied.
Buzz: Will all your Melbourne clubs survive? I'm not talking next year but in, say, a decade.
Andrew: I'm sure they'll survive. We've been hearing they are not going to survive for years and years when we went from 12 teams to 14 to 16 and now to 18. We have 10 teams in Victoria. There is always growth. We've got 650,000 members. The majority of those come out of Victoria. A lot of the revenue from our broadcast rights is generated because we have 10 teams in Victoria. The Melbourne clubs and their use of the MCG and Etihad are big drivers of the AFL economy. It's going to be hard for them to win flags but they'll survive.
Buzz: Do you think David Gallop will match your TV deal?
Andrew: I'm not close enough to it. They rate very well. It's a great game as a spectacle on television.
Buzz: Do you watch rugby league and do you support a team?
Andrew: I watch it from time to time. I caught the end of last night's game - South Sydney and the Roosters. Great game, great try by Anthony Minichiello at the end. I watch some games if I'm home on Saturday night and flicking around the stations. I keep an interest in the Storm. They are a very well-run club. They got in to strife recently with the cap, but they've got a good following in Melbourne. Great players, great coach and they conduct themselves really well off the field.
Buzz: The strength of the NRL is the level playing field. Any team can win any weekend. The salary cap ensures that. With the AFL and its new clubs there are a lot of blowouts. Do the fans want that? Do the broadcasters want that?
Andrew: In the ideal world, the answer has got to be no. But we've always said we knew the Gold Coast and GWS would take two to three years to find their feet. Everyone understands the kids at these clubs are going to be very, very good players in a few years. The draft has been distorted to give them good players. There has to be some pain but you'll see a correction. In three years you'll see less blowouts and the competition will be like it's supposed to be. More even, much tighter games. In the main, all clubs in our competition and their supporters want to believe at the start of the season that they can go along and there team has got a chance.
Buzz: Private ownership: Will it work in the AFL? I know you've had it before with Dr Edelsten.
Andrew: No. One of the beautiful things about our game is that our clubs are membership-based. We're tracking this year to exceed the 650,000 members we already have. Our supporters who sign up as members feel a deep sense of having equity and ownership in their football clubs. They feel like they own their clubs. And in many ways they do. That's why if things aren't going well they can have an AGM and do things with their board. Importantly, they feel like they belong to the club. The sense of belonging is what drives the membership. People, even in difficult financial times, one of the first things they'll do with their disposable income is sign up for membership. One thing they can hold on to is their sport. It's a great release for them.
Buzz: What about a guy like Clive Palmer? If he offered to invest $50 million in the Suns, it would save the AFL from throwing in $100 million.
Andrew: Not interested at all.
Buzz: Why? Is it Clive personally?
Andrew: I've never met the guy.
Buzz: What do you think of the way Ben Buckley has handled the blow-up with Palmer on the Gold Coast?
Andrew: I think the FFA has been very strong and I think they have conducted themselves absolutely appropriately and professionally. I commend Ben and Frank Lowy for the way they have gone about protecting their code.
Buzz: What would you do to one of your clubs if they said AFL was shit, I prefer rugby league?
Andrew: I'd do what they have done. Thankfully, we don't have that. We've had vocal club presidents who in the main are very passionate about their clubs and we've copped our fair whack. We've had some beauties but none of them have sought to denigrate the code. We welcome a Jeff Kennett or a John Elliott. They're fighting for their club and we respect that. It's often because they challenge the AFL that we have to respond because they are our shareholders at the end of the day. One person having sole control is not what we're about. We're there for the people. We're the Australian game. That's going to be our branding.
Buzz: Thanks, I appreciate your time.
