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AFL and Tasmania


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#1 Amelia Jane

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Posted 22 November 2007 - 02:33 PM

It is interesting that the AFL is always on about a team on the Gold Coast. I think 2 new teams should be bought into the league. I do not want to lose any of our Victorian teams, just add 2 new clubs. Those teams are Tasmania and Northern Territory. I find it highly insulting that the AFL keep going on about a national presence and yet are happy to totally ignore a football mad state. Tasmanians love their footy and are totally discriminated against. While the AFL million-dollar men chase Gold Coast corporates and tourists who basically don't care about Aussie Rules, Tasmanians are supposed to be happy with having Hawthorn play games there.

If the Afl was true to their word ( Developing the code in all states ) then surely both Tasmania and Northern Territory should be rewarded with their own teams. Instead they keep trying to convert rugby fans into changing years and years of history by switching to AFL. I know people from both NSW and QLD and find it amusing that the AFL wants to dictate to them about their sporting preferences. These people I know often refer to Aussie Rules as aerial ping-pong and honestly prefer rugby. I know that I hate rugby and would rather watch Aussie Rules anyday but that is a personal choice. People from NSW and QLD do have a team in their state and don't need anymore due to their lack of interest. Whilst Tasmanians and Northern Territory supporters are wishing and praying for their own team. The AFL are only interested in the corporate dollars and high flying executives in the Gold Coast, not the average fan.

#2 Lisbon

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Posted 23 November 2007 - 06:40 AM

Giving Tasmania and the Northern Territory their own AFL teams would make a lot of sense to me. I understand that both Tasmanians and Territorians are keen Australian Rules fans, but the AFL sort of takes them for granted and only gives them a few Footscray and Hawthorn games each season. Trying to "convert" people from one sport to another is tricky business and usually has limited success.
I compare this to FIFA's efforts to increase soccer's popularity in the USA. I personally think that if anything is to cause soccer to become popular in America, it will be the presence in that country of millions of Latin American emigrants who already liked it to begin with. Besides, although I love soccer, I'm more than willing to accept that that might not be the case with everyone and I understand perfectly that other people may like other sports and be emotionally attached to them. Maybe the AFL should think along those lines and reward those who have followed the game passionately for a long time, perhaps, if they are so keen on a national league, even creating a multi-division competition like Caveman suggested in another post.

#3 Caveman

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Posted 24 November 2007 - 11:05 AM

What you say is correct, the AFL though are just about money, money and more money.

They claim that the population of Tasmania and the *Northern Territory don't justify being granted a team, yet as the AFL is mainly about television rights- then that wouldn't matter how many turn up. When Brisbane were the Brisbane Bears before they took over Fitzroy and became the Brisbane Lions, they played at Carrara on the Gold Coast. Hardly anyone would go to the games- I went to the Brisbane v Footscray game in 1992- there were more Footscray supporters there than Brisbane supporters in a crowd of under 5,000. Yet they still played there until moving to Brisbane. The television money was and still is too good.

A bigger competition would be much better- especially for the armchair supporter- more games on tv- imagine having two games on a Friday night- the 2nd one could be from Perth with their time difference being two hours behind Victorian time. As for the Sunday that would be even better- 3 or 4 matches on the tv all at different times- there could be any early game here in the Eastern States then it could finish with a night game in Adelaide or a late game in Perth again, having watched two games in between. Then Monday night football- have a game Monday night- though it would probably need to be in Perth- 7pm start over there is a 9pm start here in Melbourne- Melbourne would NOT be a good place for Monday night games- too hard on a work day for crowds to get to the game- certainly the same case for Adelaide or Perth but their population is markedly smaller than Melbourne's, they could manage it better than we could here.

The two divisions is just paramount in my view. It is really a joke when you play some teams once during a season and other teams twice. To be fair and consistent it should be two clashes against all teams in your division. A one division with lesser teams will only turn people off the competition- very few people convert after their religion has been destroyed in Melbourne.

Anyhow that is just a very sketchy 'blueprint.' More work would need to be done to work out a feasible model.



* By the way- 'Northern Territory' the rest of the world must could quite rightly believe we Australians love boring, mundane, unimaginative names for our cities, states and FOOTBALL CLUBS- Western Bulldogs being the ultimate example




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