Interesting thread.
Funnily enough, I missed it because I was in Germany!
Anyway, there certainly are some interesting times ahead.
The move into Asia, regular games etc mean that Australian Football has a very significant financial base in the long term.
The Asian Cup and World Cup qualification will be a financial bonanza for the national federation....continental club competition likewise for the A-League clubs. While the A-League clubs suffered start up losses, I think you'll see them become more stable in the next 5 years with this cash flowing in....as well as the lucrative fox sports deal they have.
They have plenty of work to do though to build on last season. They have made a mark, and on an international level. Who would have thought 3 years ago, that a domestic club in Australia could poach a manager from a mid table, Scottish Premier League side?
I dont think its necessarily the case that the A-League need the best Australian players - that will never happen, because of wages, and because Europe is where it is at. There are plenty of vibrant leagues in the world where that countries best players play outside their native league.
Do they need Dwight Yorke to attract crowds? 40,000 went to Telstra Dome on the weekend without him.
Also, the Socceroos are now, in my view, Australia's number 2 sporting side besides the cricket team. No other Australian side is a turly national team. The Wallabies, for example, really are just an east coast side. Who would have thought a home based Socceroos side would attract over 30,000 to watch Kuwait.
Is it a threat to the NRL?
In terms of attracting sponsorship dollars, yes.
Taking crowds away, probably not, at least in the long term. Rugby League is so ingrained in our culture, as is AFL in Melbourne. There are challenges facing the league though, the not so solid financial stability of some clubs, who without poker machines would go bust...or other clubs who without news limited money, would cease to exist.
As I said....interesting times!