The AFL's boast of vast increases in participation numbers in western Sydney is misleading, according to a report commissioned by one of its key stakeholders.
This month's report, prepared by a Melbourne University academic at the request of AFL NSW/ACT, supports what many rugby league administrators have been saying for some time - the AFL is using registrations in its modified game of Auskick to bolster actual playing numbers.
The research appears to seriously question a claim last month by an AFL NSW senior official that participation numbers in the western Sydney region have grown by 27 per cent, or 10,000 players, in a single year.
Under the heading, ''Western Sydney - The Reality versus Perception Gap'', the report's author, David Lawson, notes: ''The reality is that junior club maturity and participation numbers appear to have stalled. There are 6 [per cent] less junior/youth players in 2012 than in 2009. The perception, however, is that the game is growing well. This perception is supported by masking low junior club numbers with Auskick numbers (Club, School and Community Auskick) and school program numbers. This optimistic, bullish perception is needed to market the game, however this perception urgently needs to be underpinned by committed junior club participants.''
Advertisement
Government officials at federal, state and local levels, who have poured millions of dollars into Auskick programs believing it encourages children to play regular sport, might also be alarmed to learn it can undermine actual playing numbers in Australian football.
The report says: ''In the chase for participant numbers in NSW and ACT, a shortened and often subsidised version of Auskick has been aggressively rolled out in primary schools (In-School Auskick) and after-school centres (Community Auskick) … Junior club feedback has indicated that the In-School and Community versions have, at times, harmed Club Auskick.''
It appears Sydney kids, brought up on modified versions of other football codes, might be different to children from other capitals, preferring competitive games to skill practices.
The report says, ''Soccer, rugby league and rugby union introductory programs essentially comprise modified games whereas Auskick centres concentrate on skill acquisition drills. Interviews and surveys have suggested that in Sydney there is a preference for more game-based activities to complement skill-based content.''
No surprise, therefore, the section on juniors concludes: ''Converting young Australian football samplers into regular club participants with the subsequent engagement of parents, friends and colleagues, has not yet been as successful.''
The report is at odds with a media report on September 14, quoting AFL NSW's Dean Connors, that Australian football participation in western Sydney rose 27 per cent this year, with administrators confident the full impact of the region's new AFL club, GWS Giants, is yet to be felt.
''We've grown at this stage by 27per cent from last year's participation, which was 28,306,'' Connors is quoted as saying. ''There's been substantial growth from a very high base, so we're up around that 36,000-37,000 mark in participation in greater western Sydney.''
Both AFL surveys and Connors define a ''participant'' as a ''no-less-than-six-weeks paying customer'', but according to the AFL NSW/ACT report, playing numbers in junior Australian football across all of Sydney last year was 7694.
When AFL NSW applied to Leichhardt Council to install AFL goal posts on rugby league's birthplace, Birchgrove Oval, it withdrew when asked to verify its playing numbers.
Nor is there any reason to boast about Sydney's senior numbers.
The report says: ''With the growth of senior numbers halving (from 8 [per cent] to 4 per cent]), under-18s growth dropping from 12 [per cent] to 4 [per cent] and significantly more 100-point victories in 2012 in U18 division 1 and premier divisions, there appears good reason to maintain a watching brief.''
While the figures were tallied before the Swans won this year's AFL premiership, this might merely widen the perception of the gap between the best and worst clubs.
The Giants also come in for criticism for not focusing on community programs, although the federal government recently advanced them $2 million for this purpose.
The report says: ''It appears that the principle [sic] objective of the Giants Academy is to identify recruits to draft for the GWS Giants. Altruistic objectives such as improving the standard of club football in the region and positioning Australian football as the sport of choice do not currently appear high on [its] agenda.''
The Giants' Nick Johnston defended the role of the academy, saying: ''We had about 300 kids aged between 13 and 18 through our academy program this year. They included kids from Indian, Sudanese and indigenous communities in western Sydney as well as regional NSW. We think it's been a great success, albeit that it is still in its infancy.''
