AFL to launch 2nd sydney team in 2012

[Dogs Of War]

f**k me are u's just as thick as some of the Onion fans.
Give it 5-10 years when League is getting shafted by first AFL(which has happend)and then Scumball(trev/gavinball or Soccer).
The way Union is going in New Zealand and Australia and the way League is going(nowhere)money will talk and there will be one Rugby code.
Rugby Union and League is at a crossroads and soon Soccer will be number 1,followed by AFL and then League no 3 and Union number 4.

Soccer is not a direct threat as it is played in the summer. And I can't see them wanting to move that.

As for merging, you obviously have no idea about either game, if you did you would know that it will never happen.

And AFL, the product is sh*t, so I suspect that a West Sydney side will just be a big sinkhole in Sydney, and if anything will have the wrong effect on the game as it will force some Melbourne clubs to shutdown, and those supporters will not return to the game.

 

[Lockyer4President!]

f**k me are u's just as thick as some of the Onion fans.
Give it 5-10 years when League is getting shafted by first AFL(which has happend)and then Scumball(trev/gavinball or Soccer).
The way Union is going in New Zealand and Australia and the way League is going(nowhere)money will talk and there will be one Rugby code.
Rugby Union and League is at a crossroads and soon Soccer will be number 1,followed by AFL and then League no 3 and Union number 4.

You can't just say they'll merge in 5 years time, it'd take 5 years just to thrash out what the laws of the new merged game would be. That's ignoring all of the political bickering on both sides that'd surround even just the thought of a merger. Even if a merger went ahead and created a new set of laws I guarantee you that there will be some nations that don't accept the merger and continue playing by the old rules of their preferred code. Which'll mean that if anything all it'll be doing is further dividing 'rugby' into three codes...

All of that is ignoring the elephant in the room, the way that union has treated league since its formation and the reason why the codes split in the first place. There's no way in the world that I'd want to have 'rugby' in Australia controlled by some inbred bluebloods in London.

 

[LeagueXIII]

While these decisions to "merge" the codes make sense to an accountant they fail every time to take into account the emotion/passion supporters, particularly league fans, have for their game.

 

[gottabegood]

Wow...just listen to Gallop inspire the troops - it's almost Churchillian. I am now feeling so very positive about the future direction of the NRL. :shock:

Every other code bar the NRL has now put their cards on the table. For our mob uttering a peep about expansion is like getting blood from a stone. Utterly depressing. Christ reading some of Gallop's comments in today's media he may as well start handing over the silverware to the AFL already, he's dead-set got nothing.

Gallop has failed to instill a shred of confidence in the Rugby League community at this pivotal time in our code's history. Compare Gallop to John O'Neill, his product is on the nose like a three week old turd but he's still able to convey a sense of purpose and enthusiasm when he speaks about it's future. Read Gallop's comments and you could be forgiven for thinking he's preoccupied running up the white flag at NRL HQ.

No truer words have been spoken.

Gallop is a puppet and a fool, no man can continually / consistently talk down his product for it to be otherwise. Everytime he opens his mouth about RL it's not unlike you are at a funeral.

Rugby league continues to grow, simply on the back of it being the king of team sports.

Imagine if we had even average leaders, and leaders who can help turn the media/corporate world fractionaly into our corner.....

 

[El Diablo]

Wow...just listen to Gallop inspire the troops - it's almost Churchillian. I am now feeling so very positive about the future direction of the NRL. :shock:

Every other code bar the NRL has now put their cards on the table. For our mob uttering a peep about expansion is like getting blood from a stone. Utterly depressing. Christ reading some of Gallop's comments in today's media he may as well start handing over the silverware to the AFL already, he's dead-set got nothing.

Gallop has failed to instill a shred of confidence in the Rugby League community at this pivotal time in our code's history. Compare Gallop to John O'Neill, his product is on the nose like a three week old turd but he's still able to convey a sense of purpose and enthusiasm when he speaks about it's future. Read Gallop's comments and you could be forgiven for thinking he's preoccupied running up the white flag at NRL HQ.

this illustrates just how pissweak Gallop is

Angry Gallop's threat to Nine: use it or lose it

Did 9 use it? No
Did 9 lose it? No

 

[East Coast Tiger]

f**k me are u's just as thick as some of the Onion fans.
Give it 5-10 years when League is getting shafted by first AFL(which has happend)and then Scumball(trev/gavinball or Soccer).
The way Union is going in New Zealand and Australia and the way League is going(nowhere)money will talk and there will be one Rugby code.
Rugby Union and League is at a crossroads and soon Soccer will be number 1,followed by AFL and then League no 3 and Union number 4.

Guess what? RL isn't just played on the east coast of Australia.

 

[McCrud]

That's it, he talks down Rugby League. This was a great opportunity to communicate a plan - any plan - for our future, but he leads the public on a nice little diversion by crying about state taxes and painting a picture of despair for Sydney clubs. Nothing positive, just negativity.

If the AFL is the shark circling the boat, Gallop's comments are akin to slitting wrists and sticking both arms into the water. He's doing everything to encourage the enemy.

Gallop has had ample opportunity to articulate a blueprint regarding expansion, and the fact he has not can only lead to the conclusion that the NRL has no plan. You get the impression the moment the reporter mentioned the word 'expansion' Gallop did the barry bolt back into his office.

 

[choc_soldier]

One of the most f***ed ideas I have heard in ages. If the AFL want to burns millions of dollars though, then by all means go ahead with the project - they'll fold within 5 seasons.

I agree with what Raider 69 said earlier - you barely see anyone out here in western Sydney wear AFL gear - it's all NRL merchandise. It is RL heartland - the only national competition expansion that I would see as being feasible would be the A-League... a second team could work.

 

[McCrud]

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23226098-5001023,00.html

AFL blitz on league heartland

By Phil Rothfield
February 17, 2008 12:00am

THE AFL's $100million push into Sydney with a second team is a serious threat to rugby league and the sirens should be sounding in David Gallop's Fox Studios bunker.
The cashed-up code from down south is spending all of its resources from the huge television deal to attack rugby league in its very own heartland - western Sydney.
This could not come at a worse time, both for Gallop and the clubs that utilise the expansive areas and huge junior nurseries of the western suburbs.
If this battle is going to be fought on monetary terms, the NRL will be armed with a pop gun against a rocket-launcher. Every rugby league club is struggling to make ends meet because of the State Government's poker-machine taxes, reduced trading hours and more recent smoking bans.
As Parramatta boss Denis Fitzgerald says: "We're down on our knees and we've been kicked in the head by the State Government.''
St George Illawarra, for example, have had their leagues club grant cut by $2m. Parramatta, Penrith and the Wests Tigers are feeling the pinch as well. The marketing and promotional money is just not available to fight a fair contest against the might of the AFL.
Big money is being spent this year from NRL headquarters to promote the centenary year of the code - and rightly so. But the big problem isn't 2008.
It's 2012 when Andrew Demetriou and co will arrive in town to launch their second Sydney team out at Blacktown. It will be a fight for money, exposure and the state's best young talent.
The AFL is also mobilising for an aggressive surge into the Gold Coast, only a year after the Titans established a toehold in their debut year in 2007. They clearly have rugby league in their sights.
David Gallop and the NRL club chief executives most affected by the planned invasion need to begin urgent talks with NSW Premier Morris Iemma about securing their financial position.
Any business under threat can't sit passively by and allow the opposition to ride roughshod over them. With nine NRL clubs based in Sydney, it is already a competitive marketplace, especially for sponsorship dollars. With a second AFL club to join the Swans, that pie will shrink dramatically.
Rugby league has been the dominant game in Sydney since 1908 when it took over from rugby union. And in 2012, the war begins again.

 

[El Diablo]

i suspect a lot of these articles articles would be part of the deal the AFL does with the media for favourable coverage

if you go to the age site thaey don't even have a banner link to League HQ there

comare that to the SMH site and the first banner link is to Realfooty

 

[Lego_Man]

That always pissed me off. Realfooty? Couldnt be further from the truth, it's probably the worst code.

 

[El Diablo]

That always pissed me off. Realfooty? Couldnt be further from the truth, it's probably the worst code.

should be Realpoofy

 

[LeagueXIII]

The AFL is creating the perception that they are important and the national football code, even if they are not. Remember everything is about perception, this is what the media creates.

Why can't league do the same thing as the AFL and pay for comment and create a perception that it is on the move? Why are club CEO's such as Fitzgerald, throwing their hands in the air saying "oh it's too hard let's just get rid of another Sydney club?" Why are they crying about pokie taxes and not looking for other forms of revenue eg. property. How the hell Fitzgerald is still in power is a joke, this clown should have Parra up with Souths and Collingwood given the clubs support and resources. It's a joke, just sit back and cry about pokies. Pathetic.

 

[McCrud]

I get the feeling the pokies tax issue will be Gallop's 'out' concerning any off-field topic for the foreseeable future.

"Not our fault, blame the government"

Still can't quite believe the AFL are going to have a 2nd Sydney team before we cast the net anywhere. Unbelievable.

 

[griff]

The AFL is creating the perception that they are important and the national football code, even if they are not. Remember everything is about perception, this is what the media creates.

that's exactly it.

The AFL is able to command significantly more for their TV rights in large part due to being able to claim that they have Australia-wide geographical coverage.

In actual fact it is all illusory: NRL gets better ratings Australia wide.

It looks like NRL is only an eastern seaboard game. But guess what, that is where the majority of people in Australia live.

But because when you look at the distribution of teams on a map it looks to potential sponsors that the AFL is by far a better option.

The play here with the AFL is not to make money out of a Western Sydney team per se, it just isn't going to happen. What they are doing is trying to increase the value of their television rights. They get one extra game and the ability to sweet talk broadcasters and sponsors about access to so much of the Australian population. Given how easily the AFL has been able to screw hundreds of millions of dollars out of gullible broadcasters and sponsors, I think it will probably work.

We can blame the sponsors for not being smart enough to realise it, but really it should be up to the NRL to sheet the message home day in day out until everyone is sick of hearing it: NRL gets more television viewers Australia-wide.

 

[In-goal]

With the inclusion of the REDS for instance in say 2011/12 would the NRL then be able to claim it's the national code?

Truth be told the NRL covers Australia from Melbourne to Townsville and as far East as Auckland, where as the AFL covers Melbourne to Brisbane and West to Perth. I would like to see which has the biggest population market.

Eastern seaboard of Australia 15+ Million
New Zealand 3+ Million

S.A. and W.A. 2.5+ Million

I am at a loss as to why the money works the way it does.

 

[j5o6hn]

The NRL is hamstrung because of NEWs Ltd,and the fact that the clubs got complacent they thought that the pokies would always be there to pay for the footy.
Any CEO who could read should have realised yrs ago that the Govt was going to grab more money from the pokies and gone into mass marketing and tried to lift memberships to at least the level of the AFL clubs I mean 600 football club members at the bulldogs thats a joke.
But not Sydney club CEOs, larger pokie taxes wont happen, smoking bans wont happen,the people who run the clubs should be looking for new jobs as far as I,m concerned,a more self satisifyed bunch it would be hard to find and now the NRL is going to have to pull there fingers and do something,but like most things with the NRL it will huff and puff and do nothing.

 

[Teddyboy]

You can't just say they'll merge in 5 years time, it'd take 5 years just to thrash out what the laws of the new merged game would be. That's ignoring all of the political bickering on both sides that'd surround even just the thought of a merger. Even if a merger went ahead and created a new set of laws I guarantee you that there will be some nations that don't accept the merger and continue playing by the old rules of their preferred code. Which'll mean that if anything all it'll be doing is further dividing 'rugby' into three codes...

All of that is ignoring the elephant in the room, the way that union has treated league since its formation and the reason why the codes split in the first place. There's no way in the world that I'd want to have 'rugby' in Australia controlled by some inbred bluebloods in London.

There's no way i would want an inbred blueblood in London running the game either because there the f**kers who f**ked up first time.
But i see both Union and League in Australia and New Zealand needing to be one or the other.Check the new S14 rules and it's trying to be both codes.

 

[McCrud]

The NRL is hamstrung because of NEWs Ltd,and the fact that the clubs got complacent they thought that the pokies would always be there to pay for the footy.
Any CEO who could read should have realised yrs ago that the Govt was going to grab more money from the pokies and gone into mass marketing and tried to lift memberships to at least the level of the AFL clubs I mean 600 football club members at the bulldogs thats a joke.
But not Sydney club CEOs, larger pokie taxes wont happen, smoking bans wont happen,the people who run the clubs should be looking for new jobs as far as I,m concerned,a more self satisifyed bunch it would be hard to find and now the NRL is going to have to pull there fingers and do something,but like most things with the NRL it will huff and puff and do nothing.

Not only does Rugby League have to contend with the increasingly perilous financial situation of some Sydney clubs, we now have to face the prospect of another well-funded Sydney-based AFL side with the possibility of further A-League and Super 14 clubs thrust into what appears to be an already saturated sporting market. It's very concerning. David Gallop publicly stated no more then 6 months ago that there were too many RL clubs in Sydney - these new advances from the rival code are not going to help alleviate the pressure on our teams.

 

[El Diablo]

Gallop has to go.