NRL Development: Codes fight for Western Sydney

[Gronk]

Codes fight to gain control

By Steve Mascord
August 02, 2006 12:00



THE gloves are off in a multi-million dollar battle between Australia's biggest football codes for the prized heartland of western Sydney.
Rugby league bosses have convened a council of war to discuss the threat posed by Australian football.


NRL chief executive David Gallop yesterday revealed a summit meeting had discussed ways to keep young players in the game in the face of a massive push from the AFL into one of rugby league's traditional breeding grounds.
The move comes just a week after the codes were involved in an ugly stoush on the Gold Coast over the use of Carrara Stadium.


"We're not complacent but we've got very solid foundations which will be hard to rock," Gallop said last night.


"We held our own western Sydney strategy session last week. It was attended by the NSW Rugby League, the ARL, Parramatta, Wests Tigers, the Bulldogs and the junior development foundation."

AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou yesterday boldly declared on Sydney radio station 2KY: "When we announce what we plan to do with our financial distribution strategy, which has got about $1.4 billion to invest, you'll see a huge, huge push. (into Sydney's west).


"It's a place we haven't been before. There's been huge uptake at junior levels but we haven't got clubs for them to go to or facilities . . . so I think you'll see a huge investment in grounds.


"It will be millions of dollars going into facilities."


But Gallop responded, saying rugby league won't ignore the fight: "There are massive amounts of money being poured into western Sydney rugby league. "We've recently established a funding and community relations department at the NRL, which is specifically targeting local council, state government and federal government funding.


"We've got increased numbers of development officers. We've had a focus on that area for some time now and it's producing quite staggering results.
"We've got 3000 volunteers in western Sydney."


Demetriou said he had also not given up hope of keeping the Gold Coast Titans' temporary seating off the surface at Carrara Stadium, in which the AFL has invested $1 million.


"I don't think the Gold Coast Titans will have it all their own way on the Gold Coast," he said. "They'll have some competition.


"Eventually – I wouldn't know when, I've got no timeframe – we will have a stronger presence in south-east Queensland . . . maybe two teams in Queensland and also one in the western suburbs of Sydney.


"They are two key focus areas for us."


But Titans CEO Michael Searle said: "The council is adamant that we will be on the ground and the AFL will put a proposal in the next two days which will allow us to co-exist.


"The council has done its research and has found it will have limited impact on the surface."

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,19984857-5001023,00.html

 

[thedux]

Don't the AFL realise that the swans crowd is dominated by expat melburnians, disenfranchised norths supporters and union fans who need to get some use out of their tweed jackets.
There's no place for them in western sydney!! We're full...

 

[bartman]

NRL mustn't be worried about Penrith, leaving them out of that meeting. Maybe they think AFL will target just the middle west, close to Telstra Stadium?

I had a couple of friends that played weekend Aussie Rules growing up, for a team at Greystanes. Seem to remember Campbelltown being a reasonably big area for Aussie Rules as well, that was before Wests moved down to play there.

I agree with the point about the crowd, I think Swans and Waratahs might draw more (regular) supporters from other parts of Sydney than they do from the West?

 

[thedux]

Yeah, having lived out this way my whole life, I don't have many mates who actually follow the AFL, other than passing interest. And none have actually been to a game. I do follow the game but not the swans, because I started following before they were in sydney. Not sure how many more bandwagoners the AFL think they can get. Maybe the tigers can lend them some...:sarcasm:

 

[Gronk]

My observation with the demographics of Swan and Rah Rah supporters in Sydney is that they are more white collar than blue collar. I would think that if the AFL was to make inroads into the west, it would impact on the ARU rather than the NRL.

 

[strider]

I grew up in the Hills and played aussie rules from age 15 - 22 ... at that stage (late 80s - early 90s) the Hills District was probably the biggest emerging area for Aussie Rules, with strong Junior and Senior clubs at both Baulkham Hills and Pennant Hills. The Hills always had strong junior participation - when i was in the juniors at baulko we had 2 teams in each age group.

I look at the Sydney AFL (the sydney senior competition) ladder a bit and right now the East Coast Eagles (formerly Baulkham Hills) are leading the comp and Pennant Hills are 2nd .... so the Hills is obviously still alive and well in terms of Aussie Rules. The team coming 3rd is Western Suburbs which I believe is still based around Ashfield (ie inner west). Other areas which have been traditionally strong are the North Shore, Balmain, St George and Campbelltown. There have also been clubs around Penrith, Holroyd/Parramatta and Blacktown but I don't think they have grown as much.

Don't just discount Aussie Rules as all victorians or you'll end up eating your words .... I think alot of parents who are concerned about their kids playing contact sport would be likely to look to Aussie Rules over League - while contact is part of aussie rules and its possible to get some big hits, it plays less of role in the game - so parents would see it as a safer alternative ... and the AFL have gone hard to try and stop fighting etc in the top level of the game, which will filter down to the kids leaving parents less worried their kid will get his head knocked off.

I've always liked League more, but Aussie Rules is a very enjoyable game to play - you get to do a bit of everything in wide open spaces - league is more a in your face type of game. I think alot of kids would really like playing it and if the AFL gets it into schools more (even just for PE) then I think it could get a bigger following.

 

[forward pass]

I started a thread about this on the NRL forum a few months ago. My sons school in the hills is AFL only. They have regular visits from AFL players and play AUSKICK for sport every week.

This is a very real threat and it has taken a while for the NRL to finally kick into gear. Too late for my sons school unfortunately. The AFL culture has been developed already and will be near impossible to change.

Too little - too late !!

 

[Freak2]

I think the big thing holding AFL back in Western Sydney is school participation. League has stranglehold in school competition as does Rugby through our private schools, and I really cannot see AFL being a force unless it breaks down this massive barrier.

To secure this though I think the league should be promoting and throwing plenty of coin into School boy competitions more & more.

 

[Twizzle]

cant see AFL working in the west

 

[Angry_eel]

they'll target blacktown and the hills and they'll fail miserably.

 

[forward pass]

they'll target blacktown and the hills and they'll fail miserably.

Wrong. Read my post above. They have targetted Hills already with huge success !!!

Blacktown - I can't comment on !

 

[strider]

The Hills is well and truely taken .... and don't forget that there's a tonne of housing going up in the North West just past the Hills .... a whole new series of communities that have no real local league team to corrupt :lol:

When the article says Western, I don't think it just means Blacktown to Penrith - North West and South West are growing areas of sydney ripe for the picking.

FP, do you know if other schools are like that too? primary or high school?

 

[Angry_eel]

Wrong. Read my post above. They have targetted Hills already with huge success !!!

Blacktown - I can't comment on !

I think its because the hills aren't that mixed in population, people are mainly caucasians. ok maybe huge success in the hills but their main stadium will be near rooty hill and they are bound to fail miserably. Main reason being Mt Druitt-Rooty Hill-Doonside have a good sized NZer and Polynesian population. they love both codes of rugby but not AFL.

 

[thedux]

I live in the hills and stand by my previous comments. No-one is talking about the AFL in my street and the only banter between myself and the neighbours centres around Parra and Manly games. Am heading down to Kellyville shops and will personally count the number of NRL and AFL stickers etc on cars.

 

[Hollywood Jesus]

excuse me while I roll around on the floor for a bit.

Now I don't mean to talk myself up, but i AM the west. You don't get any more westie than me, and I know the pulse of my people greater than anyone.

I can't comment on the inner-west, Parramatta etc, but once you go past Westmead you have ZERO chance of finding any real interest in the AFL. Let them spend their money - I'd love to see them waste it.

They can have the Hills district, just gives us real westies another reason to hate Hillites

 

[True EEL]

GAY-FL it really sickens me.....

and for mine i truely think theye are trying to go too hard, too fast and are reminding me of how the NRL (ARL) went back in the Wetsern Reds, Adelaide Rams days and then into the SuperLeague War - trying to bite off more than they can chew - and i'm sorry but they will never "take" QLD.....

 

[Angry_eel]

Demetriou is just testing the water. All NRL needs to do is advertise our code as much as possible in the new north-west and south-west suburbs.

 

[The Engineers Room]

Baulkham Hills is apparently the big area for Aussie Rules. If they try this and it turns out to waste their time and money then that would be great. The problem is that the media outlets will once again back the AFL and try and push it on Western Sydney.

 

[Angry_eel]

Ye but Baulkham hills isn't the only area in western sydney. it doesn't even make up 1/8 of it. Also, baulkham hills has alot of expats. Infact, Strider, didn't u say your family was from melbourne or was it some else?.

 

[caylo]

HOLLYWOOD i have to agree with you. im located in wentworthville, and went to parramatta marist high. my parents grew up in melnourne, so all my uncles are majority afl supporters, so i have been exposed to it, but sydney basicly play less than a quater of their games in sydney. no real oppurtinity to go out and wotch them... so the intrest can't realy be their 4 kids. i have also play league for school, we had a alf comp thing going, which is basicly a whole group of leagies... didn't realy work, because they dumb down the rules which is crap. also facilities are not their, not in western sydney anyway... in the hills mabey, but u need a larger field to play afl, and d it would be harder to maintain. also marist high, has 3 footy feild and 0 afl feilds, they even have a soccer feild. this just shows the difference in intrest. i don't think it will work, kids have to want to play the game from a young age because you can't simply have leagies playing afl, the games are so differnt.