Gary Rohan Article - Battle for the Bridge

[Swanny40519]

[QUOTE=Doctor;679830]I like having two teams in Sydney. I generally barrack for the Giants except when they play us. I know there are some problems but this is a long terms project. The Gold Coast crowds are lower than the Giants' crowds of late btw. Not the only indicator I know.

Sorry but will never support the Giants. They are a made up AFL side that the "bright sparks in AFL house" thought would grow and combat League and Soccer in the west of Sydney. They didn't even think or knew that a lot of Swans supporters live in the West.

Based on the ground attendances I have seen published the Gold Coast are getting bigger crowds than GWS. Most of the Sydney games have been around 9k-12K this year.

[Mug Punter]

[QUOTE=Swanny40519;679858]

I like having two teams in Sydney. I generally barrack for the Giants except when they play us. I know there are some problems but this is a long terms project. The Gold Coast crowds are lower than the Giants' crowds of late btw. Not the only indicator I know.

Sorry but will never support the Giants. They are a made up AFL side that the "bright sparks in AFL house" thought would grow and combat League and Soccer in the west of Sydney. They didn't even think or knew that a lot of Swans supporters live in the West.

Based on the ground attendances I have seen published the Gold Coast are getting bigger crowds than GWS. Most of the Sydney games have been around 9k-12K this year.

Poorly thought through and hastily conceived, next year is their fifth year, they are not a new club any more. Sure they'll attract a few glory hunters in the years ahead but they'll struggle to get their support past a baseline of 10,000 - 12,000

[dimelb]

Sorry but will never support the Giants. They are a made up AFL side that the "bright sparks in AFL house" thought would grow and combat League and Soccer in the west of Sydney. They didn't even think or knew that a lot of Swans supporters live in the West.

Based on the ground attendances I have seen published the Gold Coast are getting bigger crowds than GWS. Most of the Sydney games have been around 9k-12K this year.

So about the size of your run-of-the-mill League match?

[TheAgent]

If GWS struggle, the AFL can always send them to Canberra where they probably should have been located in the first place.

[Mug Punter]

If GWS struggle, the AFL can always send them to Canberra where they probably should have been located in the first place.

I've always felt they were their Plan B, even with the 4 games they are allocated the games are much more "real" down there in terms of crowd engagement, the atmosphere at Spotless is surreal to say the least. When they move to Canberra they should also drop that awful moniker and stomach turning strip why they are at it.

The game in Canberra is in dire straits at the moment and an AFL team of their own would go a long way to solving that issue. You'd think that Ainslie Football Club, with their massive financial resources would be able to take a stake in that club. Plus the whole academy pathway would make a lot more sense.

I suspect that they'll try and play the long game in Sydney for another 10 years, of course the real catalyst will be when they start winning flags which should be in about 3 years - if they cannot turn close to break even when that happens the cries from south of the border of the AFL subsidising their premierships will be deafening and an exit strategy will be on the cards. If they don't start winning flags then I think interest will just peeter out.

As for Gold Coast, their cupboard is bare now in terms of concessions and they have a long long way to go.

I am going to really enjoy how this plays out

[stellation]

Hmmm...is that "Performance Enhancing?"

I believe ASADA allow iron supplements.

[TheAgent]

I've always felt they were their Plan B, even with the 4 games they are allocated the games are much more "real" down there in terms of crowd engagement, the atmosphere at Spotless is surreal to say the least. When they move to Canberra they should also drop that awful moniker and stomach turning strip why they are at it.

The game in Canberra is in dire straits at the moment and an AFL team of their own would go a long way to solving that issue. You'd think that Ainslie Football Club, with their massive financial resources would be able to take a stake in that club. Plus the whole academy pathway would make a lot more sense.

I suspect that they'll try and play the long game in Sydney for another 10 years, of course the real catalyst will be when they start winning flags which should be in about 3 years - if they cannot turn close to break even when that happens the cries from south of the border of the AFL subsidising their premierships will be deafening and an exit strategy will be on the cards. If they don't start winning flags then I think interest will just peeter out.

As for Gold Coast, their cupboard is bare now in terms of concessions and they have a long long way to go.

I am going to really enjoy how this plays out

At least the Gold Coast wanted a team. If you recall they had a group of businesses that were pushing for one and ready to sponsor it.
I also recall that Southport Sharks wanted to be the 17th team and the AFL refused for some reason. Personally I would have thought that established teams like Southport and Ainslie would have been the way to go having their own history and facilities to begin with if the AFL really needed 2 extra teams.

Currently the spend on Gold Coast and GWS would exceed $200m, a few of the struggling clubs would probably have liked a bit of that to keep them going....

[dimelb]

I believe ASADA allow iron supplements.

[aardvark]

I believe ASADA allow iron supplements.

Maybe we could send the whole team off for titanium leg inserts during the off season. It might improve our kicking!

[GongSwan]

Do any fans refer to it as the battle for the bridge?

It's dumb - reeks of some clueless VFL employee's idea...

someone who has never been to Sydney

[jono2707]

The Big Sports Breakfast on Sky Sports Radio interviewed Callan Ward this morning - they kept referring to the match as the 'Battle for the Bridges' which made me chuckle. People don't seem to know what bridge/s we are even battling for, nor how many....

[bloodspirit]

I've always felt they were their Plan B, even with the 4 games they are allocated the games are much more "real" down there in terms of crowd engagement, the atmosphere at Spotless is surreal to say the least. When they move to Canberra they should also drop that awful moniker and stomach turning strip why they are at it.

The game in Canberra is in dire straits at the moment and an AFL team of their own would go a long way to solving that issue. You'd think that Ainslie Football Club, with their massive financial resources would be able to take a stake in that club. Plus the whole academy pathway would make a lot more sense.

I suspect that they'll try and play the long game in Sydney for another 10 years, of course the real catalyst will be when they start winning flags which should be in about 3 years - if they cannot turn close to break even when that happens the cries from south of the border of the AFL subsidising their premierships will be deafening and an exit strategy will be on the cards. If they don't start winning flags then I think interest will just peeter out.

As for Gold Coast, their cupboard is bare now in terms of concessions and they have a long long way to go.

I am going to really enjoy how this plays out

They may be a manufactured team and I suspect they will take a long time to take root but, for now at least, I like them and I'm glad they're here. They are an exciting team to watch and they've got grit as well as flash. I love Callan Ward, Jezza and that Mummy bloke goes ok too. And I rejoice in seeing them stick it up the Victorian teams, indeed most of the other teams in the comp.

I think even if they win one or more premierships in the years ahead (which will certainly help) it will be the efforts at the grassroots level that will see them flourish or wither in the longer term. A premiership might see some people jump on the bandwagon while the ride is fun, and a few would stay on beyond, it is teaching the people of western Sydney to understand and appreciate the game that will do it. So developing the talent in the area as well as community engagement seem vital to me. And from what I'm seeing people post on RWO (possibly not the most reliable guide in this instance) they have a way to go to get better at this. You have to remember they are coming from a long way back compared to soccer where the game is familiar, people already know the rules and it is the world game - in an area with huge cultural diversity and a lot of 1st and 2nd generation Australians who will naturally gravitate more readily to what they know. If they can develop some superstars from the local multicultural communities that, I think, will auger well for their future much more than a premiership.

I can't see them relocating to Canberra - the market of Western Sydney is just so much bigger - and they already get the benefits of playing a few home games there. Not even Tassie has been able to get its own team - and that's a whole State full of passionate Aussie rules followers.

Incidentally, I too hate the name 'Battle of the Bridge'. What's more it seems stupid that the 'Bridge' being referred to is the one I think of as the Glebe Island Bridge when it's a different Bridge that Sydney is famous for - never mind that Swans fans come from all over and not one side of the Bridge. Why not just call it the derby? I know that's what they call it in WA but so what - it's a common term for when two sides from the same city play each other the world over. Anyway, we could pronounce it 'DARBY' instead of 'DERBY' as it seems they do in WA for some reason.

I don't know why I'm posting this in a thread about Gary Rohan (you champ!) but I'm not sure where else to put it.

[bloodspirit]

I love Gazza saying of him and BJ "We?ve both been trying to put in a bit of excitement into the team.? Is he giving everyone else a bit of a wind up?!

[R-1]

I'd like Canberra to get our own team, not just a GWS relocation from that project failing. I want it to succeed up there and I think it will.

The new TV deal proves the expansion's worth, and the Giants will be fine. They currently get about 5m in extra money a year which will wind up soon. It's not a huge gulf to bridge. Their stadium breakeven is 7000 people, they have the naming rights income from two stadiums, an attractive sponsorship presence in the largest city in the country. Their target market is 2 million people of which they need maybe 1%. A pretty good set of fundamentals to run them on a modest financial basis.

Hope we smash them.

[swansrob]

I'd like Canberra to get our own team, not just a GWS relocation from that project failing.

What have you got against teams that relocate?