http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...-about-to-change/story-e6frg7t6-1226125789329
Watch out, the rules are about to change
Imre Salusinszky
From:
The Australian August 31, 2011
IN western Sydney, rugby league officials have announced plans to set up a fighting fund, following reports local councils have developed 44 Australian football ovals in the region for 3000 junior hopefuls - an average of 68 players an oval.
Apparently, the followers and administrators of rugby league have realised the awful truth: the AFL is coming for your young men and is intent on converting them to the religion of the four big sticks.
What was your first clue, guys? Was it the fact rolled-gold league stars such as Karmichael Hunt and Israel Folau have started defecting to AFL, when we don't frequently hear Chris Judd or Lance Franklin toying with a switch to rugby league?
The dinosaurs must have had a moment like this: "Hey, Larry, have you noticed how much less there's been around to eat since that fireball in the sky our ancestors told us about?"
Sure, Sydney's west has twigged a little earlier than we anticipated, but that can only delay our plans, not defeat them.
Australian football is superior: not just marginally but to an extent that means soccer and the rugby codes are destined for extinction, at least as major spectator sports in this country.
Soccer: well, there's an ideal team sport for kids if ever there were one. (Professional soccer players appear to be wanting to make this exact point, with their childlike behaviour - that is, pretending things hurt a lot more than they actually do.)
As for rugby league and union: comparing these with Australian football is like comparing the instructions on a can of Pal with Milton's Paradise Lost.
First, let's state the obvious, which is too seldom stated: the distinction between league and rugby is a class distinction.
Second, the appeal of either code to women is way, way below Australian football.
In the four capital cities where AFL rules - Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide and Perth - it is a sport followed equally by men and women of all classes.
It has also become the most successful point of equal contact and exchange between indigenous Australians and the rest of the community.
So, as we approach the AFL finals next month, let's reaffirm that Australian football is a celebration of life, and the most significant cultural achievement in this nation's history.