Gloves off in the playground battleground

[El Diablo]

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/spo...he-playground-battleground-20100204-ng9c.html

Gloves off in the playground battleground
BRAD WALTER
February 4, 2010

FORGET about Johnathan Thurston, Berrick Barnes, Gary Ablett jnr and Simon Colosimo.

The most prized signatures in Australian sport at the moment are those of seven-year-olds from western Sydney, with the NRL, AFL and A-League sending $40 million of playing talent into the region next week as they vie for junior registrations ahead of the upcoming season.

Call it the battleground for the playground, but while the public focuses on stars coming off contract such as Thurston, Barnes, Ablett and Colosimo, sporting administrators are more focused on the future.

And western Sydney, with a population of 2 million and growing fast, is considered of strategic importance - as evidenced by the decision to establish new AFL and A-League teams in the area.

To further the cause of their codes, AFL premiers Geelong will conduct a three-day community camp in Sydney's west, while Sydney FC trained at Parramatta Stadium yesterday and will play a home game there on Sunday against Perth Glory.

The NRL is not lying back and letting the rival codes erode its heartland. It will next week conduct the biggest grassroots blitz in its history.

Starting with a coaching clinic run by the Wayne Bennett-coached NRL All Stars team at Blacktown on Monday, the four clubs based in Sydney's west - the Panthers, Eels, Tigers and Bulldogs - will ramp up the campaign on Wednesday when they combine for junior coaching sessions in Windsor, Campbelltown, Parramatta and Belmore. In a show of unity, the clubs will split their top squads into four groups so that each coaching clinic will feature players from Penrith, Parramatta, Wests Tigers and Canterbury.

''Rugby league is the dominant sport in western Sydney and our charter is to ensure we continue to be for future generations,'' Bulldogs chief executive Todd Greenberg said. ''To stamp our authority, we know we've got to use our profile and the profile of the key players at each club to promote the game to the kids, which is what the four clubs are doing with this initiative.''

Co-ordinating the clinics are officials from the NSW Rugby League's Western Sydney Academy, which was established after a discussion two years ago between Penrith chief executive Michael Leary and former Parramatta boss Denis Fitzgerald, who were concerned at the threat posed by the AFL.

The Bulldogs have joined the Panthers, Eels and Tigers as partners in the academy.

''The main reason for the academy was to protect our territory against the push from AFL and it's great to now have four clubs involved,'' Leary said. ''It started from a discussion between myself and Denis and other members of our boards … because we were seeing that the AFL was starting to creep into the west and we felt we had to do something.

''Usually at this time of the year, the Panthers will do coaching clinics and things to promote the game in our area but to do it together so that the kids can meet their heroes from the four clubs will make it a massive day for them.''

Parramatta chief executive Paul Osborne said: ''I think it is a great initiative to have the four clubs working together and I'm surprised it hasn't been done before.''

Aside from the youngsters who helped bolster playing numbers in Sydney's west to 24,000 last season, the NRL views coaching clinics as an opportunity to interact with parents, who are vital to the game's grassroots development.

''We may not have $20 million to spend as some other codes are touting, but we have 20,000 volunteers and that is in many ways better than money,'' academy boss Greg Mitchell said.

''Across the board last year, we had an increase of about 3 per cent in junior registrations in western Sydney and in some areas that was more. Penrith, for example, had 20 additional teams in 2009.

''But initiatives like next week's blitz are vital and to have access to the elite players of the four clubs, which represents 25 per cent of the premiership, shows the level of importance that is placed on these regions.''

 

[Mr Spock!]

Sorry but I teach at a regional centre in Queensland. The AFL have weekly clinics where for $50 kids get ball, bag, PC disc, journal, cap, stickers and 10 weeks of 1 hour Auskick sessions. This is happening at 3 or 4 schools in the area every day and around 30 kids from Prep to Year 7 turn up at each session. I have rarely seen the rugby league development officer in over 10 years. My boy did it and loved it and he was only 6 and had never played sport before. We can whinge about losing to AFL but they are marketing and targeting their game well especially at the grassroots. Something league needs to think about doing.

 

[coolumsharkie]

Sorry but I teach at a regional centre in Queensland. The AFL have weekly clinics where for $50 kids get ball, bag, PC disc, journal, cap, stickers and 10 weeks of 1 hour Auskick sessions. This is happening at 3 or 4 schools in the area every day and around 30 kids from Prep to Year 7 turn up at each session. I have rarely seen the rugby league development officer in over 10 years. My boy did it and loved it and he was only 6 and had never played sport before. We can whinge about losing to AFL but they are marketing and targeting their game well especially at the grassroots. Something league needs to think about doing.

Bingo!

 

[MsStorm]

Sorry but I teach at a regional centre in Queensland. The AFL have weekly clinics where for $50 kids get ball, bag, PC disc, journal, cap, stickers and 10 weeks of 1 hour Auskick sessions. This is happening at 3 or 4 schools in the area every day and around 30 kids from Prep to Year 7 turn up at each session. I have rarely seen the rugby league development officer in over 10 years. My boy did it and loved it and he was only 6 and had never played sport before. We can whinge about losing to AFL but they are marketing and targeting their game well especially at the grassroots. Something league needs to think about doing.

I agree.
That Auskick programme that the afl holds around Australia is surely going to convert a lot of young kids to the game who might be watching rugby league or other codes.
The nrl needs to work really hard with all the clubs to make sure these kids aren't going to be lost.

 

[Brutus]

Did anyone see Kelvin Shelby on the Ch 10 news last night?

They did a special cross with him and the ranger news reader from Mexico just about filled his pants in excitement.

I'm expecting this to be the norm over the next few years.

 

[bobmar28]

Sorry but I teach at a regional centre in Queensland. The AFL have weekly clinics where for $50 kids get ball, bag, PC disc, journal, cap, stickers and 10 weeks of 1 hour Auskick sessions. This is happening at 3 or 4 schools in the area every day and around 30 kids from Prep to Year 7 turn up at each session. I have rarely seen the rugby league development officer in over 10 years. My boy did it and loved it and he was only 6 and had never played sport before. We can whinge about losing to AFL but they are marketing and targeting their game well especially at the grassroots. Something league needs to think about doing.

Don't worry, they have a money tree at the moment, in the form of an 800 million TV contract but that is about to change. League will get a contract similar to AFL next time around. They won't be able to go on spreading money around like confetti. Why don't you get your kid into a junior league team? It can't be that expensive.

 

[Lossy]

Happening at a lower level here in NZ.

My daughter's primary school had the NZ AFL guys come around a few times last year with Kiwikick. While not as well resourced as Auskick they were doing something that none of the other sports have bothered doing and the kids really enjoyed it. The odd rugby or league player will come around but actually running coaching clinics, providing a starting kit, and trying to get the parents involved at primary school level? Not at our school anyway.

Slightly related, there was an interesting article in the Sunday News about Aussie Rules' focus in NZ. An interesting read so follow the link for the full article.

Aussie Rules chases Kiwis in tight shorts

AFLNZ CEO, Robert Vanstam is the mainstay of the article and his quotes are used by Aaron Lawton in the piece.

As CEO of AFLNZ, Vanstam's main desire is to grow the local competition –there's four leagues and 16 clubs throughout New Zealand – and ensure "every school kid in the country gets the opportunity to have a go".

As well as providing AFLNZ with a "six-figure sum annually", the AFL, in 2006, also launched an international programme in which AFL clubs can hand out scholarships to talented individuals outside of Australia who might have what it takes to succeed in the sport.

And from the AFL National Community Development Manager, Dean Warren:

"New Zealand is certainly a new talent pool for us but that's not all we are interested in," he says from his office in Queensland.

"We are really keen to grow the game over there as well. We're not interested in flying across and stealing the best talent for our game.

Lastly, Hawthorn's programme that mentioned in the article is worth a look.

Only small scale, but they seem to be pretty smart about it. I laughed a little at this comment from Vanstam, though:

The talent pool in Australia is not getting any bigger and the truth is, New Zealand – with four million people, who have the exact same genetic makeup as an Australian – has some prime candidates.

I think I get what he was trying to say. I think.

 

[bartman]

When I was a kid (1980s Sydney), players used to come to my school regularly and you always would hear of holiday clinics being held.

Now that our players are full time professionals (and don't have to hold down other jobs like back then), you'd think it would be easier for our clubs to get the players in any territory to do this routinely, and perhaps even more regularly than before? But alas, it seems no.

When people bang on about raising the salary cap :? (mainly to keep the money-hungry elite players from wavering and crossing codes) maybe we should remember what that money could otherwise achieve... If directed toward paying for some simple local development to attract kids to play the game, it might balance out what the other codes (AFL and soccer) are doing at that some age group, and give our code at least an equal chance of snaring kids in the future.

 

[Ronnie Dobbs]

Did anyone see Kelvin Shelby on the Ch 10 news last night?

They did a special cross with him and the ranger news reader from Mexico just about filled his pants in excitement.

I'm expecting this to be the norm over the next few years.

Mate it will be as long as 10 have therights to the AFL. It makes sense.

Don't watch it. Channel Tens production of sport has always been shoddy.

Seven on the other hand, lets hope Kerry Stokes makes serious play at the NRL rights next year.

This story has been done to death and the Staus Quo remains. The AFL will fail in Western Sydney.

 

[NorthShoreEel]

When I was a kid (1980s Sydney), players used to come to my school regularly and you always would hear of holiday clinics being held.

Now that our players are full time professionals (and don't have to hold down other jobs like back then), you'd think it would be easier for our clubs to get the players in any territory to do this routinely, and perhaps even more regularly than before? But alas, it seems no.

When people bang on about raising the salary cap :? (mainly to keep the money-hungry elite players from wavering and crossing codes) maybe we should remember what that money could otherwise achieve... If directed toward paying for some simple local development to attract kids to play the game, it might balance out what the other codes (AFL and soccer) are doing at that some age group, and give our code at least an equal chance of snaring kids in the future.

When I was a kid - 70's- 80's, I once had Dallas Donnelly and the boys doing the next door neighbours fence. Even though Dallas was really nice to me (top bloke) it always stuck in my head, what his head looked like (and the others in the group). My league/union days finished at age 17 (having played prop along side Cam Blades - future Wallaby & Waratah hooker). My melon was already rough, and I had no intention of making it any rougher.

If they do training camps, they must ensure that the pretty boys go out.:lol: (Thank god Ryan Cross went to union!):lol:

 

[East Coast Tiger]

The threat of AFL is overstated. They spend millions of dollars in NSW and Qld and haven't really made inroads. There might be more AFL teams in those states now than there used to be but there's also more Victorian ex-pats. Having 10 year old kids kick a ball around a couple of times a year at school is not going to convert many kids from league. Our biggest worry is still parents pushing their kids away from league because of a perceived danger of injury or because of the behaviour of NRL players. The fact is RL is doing almost as much development work and making inroads into non traditional areas too, we just don't bang on about it like the AFL does and we don't have a tame media banging the drum either. AFL constantly gets stories about international development (like signing some nuffy from Canada or South Africa) or expansion into other states in the press because a. they are obsessed with and deluded about the idea that they're a huge game and getting bigger, and b. because their friendly media think the same. RL people are the opposite. We generally talk our game down, especially when it comes to international football or expansion, and our media can't get enough of doom and gloom stories.

 

[El Diablo]

The threat of AFL is overstated. They spend millions of dollars in NSW and Qld and haven't really made inroads. There might be more AFL teams in those states now than there used to be but there's also more Victorian ex-pats. Having 10 year old kids kick a ball around a couple of times a year at school is not going to convert many kids from league

http://www.lions.com.au/portals/0/lions/newsletters/m091113.html

We've only converted 642 junior members from a total of 29,260 Auskick participants in 2009.

those 29,000 will be counted as registered players though as Roy Masters explained

How the AFL boosts its numbers to sell its game

none of this excuses the lack of work being done by RL though

 

[Ronnie Dobbs]

The threat of AFL is overstated. They spend millions of dollars in NSW and Qld and haven't really made inroads. There might be more AFL teams in those states now than there used to be but there's also more Victorian ex-pats. Having 10 year old kids kick a ball around a couple of times a year at school is not going to convert many kids from league. Our biggest worry is still parents pushing their kids away from league because of a perceived danger of injury or because of the behaviour of NRL players. The fact is RL is doing almost as much development work and making inroads into non traditional areas too, we just don't bang on about it like the AFL does and we don't have a tame media banging the drum either. AFL constantly gets stories about international development (like signing some nuffy from Canada or South Africa) or expansion into other states in the press because a. they are obsessed with and deluded about the idea that they're a huge game and getting bigger, and b. because their friendly media think the same. RL people are the opposite. We generally talk our game down, especially when it comes to international football or expansion, and our media can't get enough of doom and gloom stories.

Spot on mate.

 

[sooperdooper]

the worry for me is this problem is spreading into traditional rugby league schools.

St Pats Blacktown and St Doms at Penrith both field AFL teams in the MCS comp...
The AFL is also spending money at these schools to put in an oval to each school (in the process removing rugby league fields)

They are also sending Sheedy and co to these schools

 

[bazza]

the worry for me is this problem is spreading into traditional rugby league schools.

St Pats Blacktown and St Doms at Penrith both field AFL teams in the MCS comp...

They are both pretty big schools are they not?
I am sure there are plenty of kids there that don't play in the RL side

 

[Lossy]

The threat of AFL is overstated. They spend millions of dollars in NSW and Qld and haven't really made inroads. There might be more AFL teams in those states now than there used to be but there's also more Victorian ex-pats. Having 10 year old kids kick a ball around a couple of times a year at school is not going to convert many kids from league. Our biggest worry is still parents pushing their kids away from league because of a perceived danger of injury or because of the behaviour of NRL players.

AFL is an overstated threat? Sure, but what I notice is that code supporters have a black and white attitude. That's fine, but not if others are aiming for grey. It's not always about converting x players or taking over catchment areas. Sometimes it's just about softening perception and removing barriers, such as the perceptions those parents you mention may have. Little moves that add up longterm, and I mean longterm, not just in a single generation.

 

[Perth Red]

hopefully this push by AFL will force us to get our own house in order. Again it comes down to RL's age old problem of whose repsonsibility is it? NRL/ARL/local club. In theory it should be the ARL's but we need the $'s from NRL and the profile of players from the local NRL club.

 

[StinkyPete]

I don't know if it's still happening but up in North Queensland there was a "Adopt a Cowboy" program where each school in the region had a player dedicated to coming to school and running little clinics.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

Every part of NSW and Queensland is serviced by ARL, CRL or QRL development officers and some even have NRL officers (Sydney). If your local school has not been visited by one of these in the last 12 months it's not because the development organisations don't want to go there. Schools decide whether to accept invitations from these people to run clinics at their schools and all schools will be asked at one time or another. If no clinics are being run it's because the school has said no. It only takes a Victorian principal or some other anti-league bigot in the position to say no to us and yes to AFL and we miss out.

 

[Goddo]

^ True, but this will become the norm in schools and regions that used to have just league and soccer, AFL is now muscling in. Remeber, they don't need to convert everyone, just 1/10 kids will be huge growth for them. And once they have their foot in the door, they won't be going anywhere.