What's happening out West?

[Mug Punter]

Juniors are already dead in campbelltown mug have been for years. The only strong juniour club in the area is camden.

Sorry to hear that. I guess I am showing my age but I remember not that long ago when they had a thriving junior comp of their own out there.

There are some real areas of growth in the game in Sydney at the moment - the Northern Breaches are really benefitting from finally having a SFL club and the likes of North Shore and Penno are adding teams that will ultimately make them stronger. Then there are the Unis and also Randwick/Maroubra.

The West, however, seems to have gone backwards since GWS came to town. It's something almost shameful when you consider their sponsorship of Manly. Btw I know a number of current Manly players and I can tell you that they absolutely HATE the "Giants" tag and pretty much everything that has come with it. They basically just try and ignore it, they still call themselves the Wolves even though their Pres pushed this dumb deal through and it has caused a LOT of angst at that club. The guys down there are a pretty tight unit though

I was very very critical of the GWS project from the beginning and I copped a bit of flak here early on but I always stated that they could turn me around by investing seriously in the game in their area. In fact they have done almost everything they could to alienate the people they should be supporting. It is insane and incredibly stupid.

if GWS are hated by the people in Western Sydney who actually play the game what chance do they have of ever being accepted and even loved in this city. They are just an irrelevance, people do not even care enough about them to hate them. Having Sheeds and him being a halfwit generated a bit of genuine dislike from me but even that has passed for me now. And has anyone ever been to a game out there, I'm sorry but seriously half the crowd seems a little special needs. Have you seen their "away" fans that are at the Melbourne games? I seriously reckon those guys get paid to travel down there by the AFL

They are just an embarrassment

[red dragon]

Moorebank and Camden have both declined the offer of a merger with Campbelltown. I'd say C'Town must be disappointed but they didn't have much to offer.

[The Student]

The fact that you suggest a group of fans is 'special needs' really shows what sort of a cretin you are. But you do know some Manly players and that's pretty impressive.

Norris, is this true - do the AFL pay the Giants fans to travel to games in Melbourne? How much did you get paid last week?

And has anyone ever been to a game out there, I'm sorry but seriously half the crowd seems a little special needs. Have you seen their "away" fans that are at the Melbourne games? I seriously reckon those guys get paid to travel down there by the AFL

They are just an embarrassment

[The Student]

You talk such rubbish, yet you carry on like you are some sort of oracle. Rosedale and Fairfax are equidistant to Monarch Field. Have you ever been to any of those venues, or even to the south west in general? Or are you one of those people who looks at those places on a map and rolls your eyes? Judging by your sneering comments on GWS fans and the less fortunate in general I'd have to guess this is the case.

In many ways Camden would be a better geographical fit and, no offence to Moorebank , but if you want that deep western Sydney presence then Campbelltown is the place for a major club to be based out of - it has the ground and the history. Moorebank to Campbelltown is well over 20kms, not a small trek.

[Mug Punter]

You talk such rubbish, yet you carry on like you are some sort of oracle. Rosedale and Fairfax are equidistant to Monarch Field. Have you ever been to any of those venues, or even to the south west in general? Or are you one of those people who looks at those places on a map and rolls your eyes? Judging by your sneering comments on GWS fans and the less fortunate in general I'd have to guess this is the case.

You really are a knob....

[Norris Lurker]

The fact that you suggest a group of fans is 'special needs' really shows what sort of a cretin you are. But you do know some Manly players and that's pretty impressive.

Norris, is this true - do the AFL pay the Giants fans to travel to games in Melbourne? How much did you get paid last week?

I've never seen any money from them, although I did get an airfare to the Gold Coast paid for as part of a Virgin Australia promo.

[cartman48]

I'll continue to support the Giants, my former club may not be in the west but I've seen the work they have put into some (Bankstown is a debacle I know) junior clubs and mainly into schools out West and they are moving in the right direction. I too questioned the Manly deal but likely out of a Sutho / Manly hate thing. End of the day I want AFL football to succeed in the west and decimate that Mongo's game. In all my years at Sutherland we rarely saw the Swans (they have improved in recent years) and if not for Craig Davis I reckon we would have never seen them.

[justabaraker]

I've never seen any money from them, although I did get an airfare to the Gold Coast paid for as part of a Virgin Australia promo.

Oh bugger, here was I, thinking that MP does thorough research, thinks through before he writes and is 100% accurate. And now, Norris, you show that I was wrong about MP - this is indeed devastating for me.

He is not the Messiah (like he wants us all to think and...yes....what he had ME thinking), he's just a very naughty boy.

And not worth paying attention to, it seems.

Perhaps I privately knew that all along.

[justabaraker]

And has anyone ever been to a game out there, I'm sorry but seriously half the crowd seems a little special needs. Have you seen their "away" fans that are at the Melbourne games? I seriously reckon those guys get paid to travel down there by the AFL

They are just an embarrassment

Sensitive, compassionate, positive, embracing....he shows ALL the great features of being an Sydney AFL fan.

Not.

[unconfuseme]

How would a 'town / Camden marriage work? ... wasn't Camden born out of irreconcilable differences at Monarch Oval in the first place ...?

... love the AFL's lopsided view on things too ... a "merger" implies that each side comes to the table as equals ... can just imagine what "Great News this was and what a Fantastic Opportunity this will be for Camden, or Moorebank"

Exactly the words they brought to Bankstown Juniors before they decimated the game in that area.

Run like hell Colesy, and accept nothing from these idiots! ... you are successful, because the AFL DOESN'T know how to get to Rosedale!!!

Surely it's just a matter of keep doing what you do, sit back and start planning for a Premier Division Team in 2016.

After 'town forfeit 5 of their first 6 games before withdrawing from Sydney's 2015 "Premier" Division, there will be some handy players looking for a kick, and they won't want to be playing with a Div 3 team at Monarch next year (that ends it's season the same way).

[red dragon]

Campbelltown won't be forfeiting any games in prems this year as they will just be playing in Div4. Look for an official announcement from Sydney AFL on the website tomorrow morning some time.

[tara]

Obviously there was a meeting at rosedale last night about a possible merger.

Firstly I will say that those reps from Campbeltown who attended spoke openly and honestly about the proposal and their reasons for seeking a merger. They are passionate about their club and I wouldn't have expected less.

We made a conscious decision to present the facts to our members in an unbiased manner to hopefully ensure a decision was made with level not emotional heads.

As president I'm proud of the way our members conducted themselves on the night and the way they came to their decision.

Ultimately we agreed we want to see premier div footy at rosedale however it had to be under our own steam. What was agreed was to take no short cuts. We may never realise these ambitions but we will ensure rosedale will see footy for a very long time.

It means that their for the near future there will be no one from the south west representing the region at the highest level in Sydney which is sad for footy in general

For Kieran to approach me took a lot of guts and after speaking I'm sure that they are prepared for the work involved in rebuilding. As someone that has been involved in a long rebuild I can assure them the work is with the effort and wish them well because despite being opposing clubs no one wants to see another club disappear. More to the point the afl doesn't need it after the debacle of bankstown. Hopefully over the next few years we can see a resurgence off footy in the south west.

[King Zog]

AFL Sydney Fixtures already have a bye in Premier Division.

Just gotta shake my head in disbelief, the key to all this is the Junior's and their continued progress to senior local footy.
Clubs in the West are disappearing because the model forced on them is broken, and driven by the great AFL catchment divide.
Their single minded and deliberate destruction of the Bankstown Junior club was to ensure no more players from the West played in the Harbour comp. Like everything else they do it didn't work and the migration continues, they just have to travel further to reach a Harbour club. The reasoning being they had to stop the code being weakened out West, instead of focusing on the real problem which is the comp is too wide-spread.
Without a steady stream of kids coming through what hope has any club.

[saviour01]

This is pretty amazing (in a bad way). 2 days before season kicks off and a premier div team pulls out for the season.

Balmain back up next year?

[Norris Lurker]

This is pretty amazing (in a bad way). 2 days before season kicks off and a premier div team pulls out for the season.

Was before my time in Sydney footy, but it's happened before - when the Goannas pulled out after the first round mid-1990s.

In those days, Campbelltown was the powerhouse club in Sydney footy. There'll be a lot of heartbroken footy people in the south-west with what's happened now.
They'll have a strong Div 4 team this year, with any Premier Division standard players who stick around. But it'll be a long way back for a Div 4 club to get back to Premier Division.