Can AFL make a footprint in NZ?

[TWLS]

After a quiet period of news AFLNZ has opened up their 2020 Schedule.
Have to say a lot of planning involved in preparing it.

2020: NZ set for biggest year in Footy – AFL New Zealand

In 2020, AFL New Zealand will see one of its biggest years in the organisations history. With a number of new programmes and tours planned throughout the year, it is an exciting time for AFL in New Zealand. The International Cup will be held in July/August and New Zealand will field both a...

aflnz.co.nz

 

[sirasputin]

That's the only meaningful approach.



I understand what you're saying but not who are you referring to or wht's it got to do with New Zealand.



That statement seems to be at odds with your "meaningful" statement.



Tell us something that we don't know. That is why the AFL has learned from past expansions and is taking a holistic approach.
It is important to focus on what support there is for Australian Football in New Zealand.
You have Australian Football played in New Zealand (and even a long history of it being played there)
You have the AFL investing in school and youth programs.
You have the 25,000 that turned upto an AFL game in Wellington, a miserable city of only 400,000 people.
You have beautiful Auckland, a city of 1.7 million people and the centre of Australian Football in N.Z
You have the support of New Zealand cities that want to broaden their sporting base.
AFL is televised on Duke TV.
That's meaningful and yes it's optimistic and there are no guarentees but AFL has the product.
Product does count. If you look at the NFL it has overtaken rugby league in BBC ratings and American Football
has spread throughout most of Europe.

You Aussie rules types have no idea about NZ. there are only one group of people who have more contempt for AFL than Queenslanders ( and Papua New guineans) . And that's new zealanders. Just talk to a kiwi about Aussie rules. They hate it with a passion. The reason why the NRL, NBL and A League field teams from NZ is because those sports are actually followed there. There is organic base for those sports. If the AFL bosses think they can manufacture support in NZ ghey should seriously check themselves into a psyche ward. NZers view AFL as only marginally more masculine than football. They love real contact sports no pansie stuff. The migrant populations drive football. There is no organic support for AFL. None

 

[Over The Post]

Thank you for your input.

Please don't troll again.

 

[RedV3x]

You Aussie rules types have no idea about NZ.

Actually, I have spent some time in N.Z. with representative Australian Football and I do keep abreast of what's going on there.
The AFL has produced some pretty impressive results for N.Z. and development is only really held up by lack of a stadium.
There isn't AFL in Auckland because Auckland doesn't have a big enough stadium. It's as simple as that.

It is completely against nature to state that certain people are hard-wired to certain sports.
Preferences towards sports are geared by the dominant sports, choices and even the weather.
I know plenty of people in N.Z. who love Australian Football and I know plenty of Kiwis in Australia that love Australian Football.
Anyone suggesting that the current status is stone is set up for disappointment.
Australian Football has been doing very well so that is encouraging to a supporter of Australian Football.
Rugby is not doing well in Australia and there are issues in N.Z. that must be troubling to a rugby supporter.
Are you trolling Australian Football because you are worried about the state of rugby?
The fact that certain people use the word "hate" just shows how threatened some people are.

 

[sirasputin]

Actually, I have spent some time in N.Z. with representative Australian Football and I do keep abreast of what's going on there.
The AFL has produced some pretty impressive results for N.Z. and development is only really held up by lack of a stadium.
There isn't AFL in Auckland because Auckland doesn't have a big enough stadium. It's as simple as that.

It is completely against nature to state that certain people are hard-wired to certain sports.
Preferences towards sports are geared by the dominant sports, choices and even the weather.
I know plenty of people in N.Z. who love Australian Football and I know plenty of Kiwis in Australia that love Australian Football.
Anyone suggesting that the current status is stone is set up for disappointment.
Australian Football has been doing very well so that is encouraging to a supporter of Australian Football.
Rugby is not doing well in Australia and there are issues in N.Z. that must be troubling to a rugby supporter.
Are you trolling Australian Football because you are worried about the state of rugby?
The fact that certain people use the word "hate" just shows how threatened some people are.

No, I'm just stating facts. Auckland is becoming a rugby league centric city very quickly, much to the dismay of union loyalists. Look at tonga and the Pacific tests. Absolutely unbelievable passion and atmosphere. Aussue rukes people will never understand the pacific. This is the sort of ingrained thinking that AFL can not penetrate. When AFL moves into foreign territories, they simply assume that the locals will set their traditions and preferences aside. It's as arrogant as saying Aussie rules could be displaced in Melbourne. It just won't happen. Much the same way Aussie Rules is not going to displace the rugby codes on NZ. Look at who plays and excels in the rugby codes. The islander populations. They love the brutality of rugby. They just aren't going to get into Aussie rules. This is why league has been so successful in Polynesian communities. Rugby union is so ingrained in the NZ psyche and culture. Aussie rules isn't ever going to to displace that. Rugby league has found a substantial and growing niche market among the burgeoning islander communities in south Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. They will never play Aussie rules. This isn't trolling, this is just facts. The vast majority of kiwis who follow the all blacks and the warriors have nothing but contempt for Aussie rules. Speak to them. You think the "gayfl " comments from queenslanders are bad. NZers have even less time for AFL. You may get a few ppl play, but we all know that the AFL tries to manufacture support. What they don't understand is that you can't manufacture passion. The all blacks in NZ. the kumuls in PNG. no amount of money is going to overturn that sort of passion. It's just strange seeing afl development officers going to these places. It reminds me of JWs and Mormons going door to door trying to convert people. It just seems so fake. Never mind the extreme arrogance of just expecting whole communities to overthrow their traditions and passions. I've always thought AFL types never seem to quite understand that some people just don't want to participate. They like their traditions and these give meaning to their lives and are an integral part of their identity.

 

[Gigantor]

even if we get the occasional (deleted) following Australian Football, that's ok isn't it?


Edit: I know it's purely sarcasm and I'm good with that, please don't cross the line into racism or what can be perceived as racism - OTP

 

[sirasputin]

Thank you for your input.

Please don't troll again.

Not trolling. It's just that AFL people like yourself can't conceive of anyone not liking your sport.

 

[Over The Post]

And that, in itself, is trolling. Have a day off to think about why someone who went to school in Mangere and played in the same school team as John Kirwan doesn't like being called "AFL people like yourself."

 

[RedV3x]

They will never play Aussie rules.

The facts say the opposite.
It's not a question of playing or not playing Australian Football.
It's a question of what percentage of people will take up Australian Football.
The percentage of people taking up Australian Football depends on a number of inputs.
1. Media coverage.
2. High level promotion.
3. Grassroots promotion.

AFL New Zealand Annual Report 2018

Read AFL New Zealand Annual Report 2018 by Hurst Design Co. on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

issuu.com

 

[RedV3x]

I'm just stating facts.

Like annual reports?

AFL New Zealand Annual Report 2018

Read AFL New Zealand Annual Report 2018 by Hurst Design Co. on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

issuu.com

 

[Aussie in exile]

The facts say the opposite.
It's not a question of playing or not playing Australian Football.
It's a question of what percentage of people will take up Australian Football.
The percentage of people taking up Australian Football depends on a number of inputs.
1. Media coverage.
2. High level promotion.
3. Grassroots promotion.

AFL New Zealand Annual Report 2018

Read AFL New Zealand Annual Report 2018 by Hurst Design Co. on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

issuu.com

If the AFL was ever going to have a club in New Zealand it would have happened by now.
It's never going to happen

 

[RedV3x]

If the AFL was ever going to have a club in New Zealand

Then the AFL would need a suitable stadium and that currently doesn't exist.
Yet Another pathetic trolling attempt and not serious discussion.

 

[TWLS]

Well things have livened up a bit around here.
Same old arguments and back and forth however and the game keeps going over there particularly the Womens game which is very slowly expanding.
Driven by the prospect of playing in the AFLW and getting paid each week for a full season.
Definitely need that stadium in Auckland but not likely in the future it seems for now.

 

[RedV3x]

Same old .....

Ignorance (and trolling) on the part of some people.
Nobody in their right mind could ignore the progress Australian Football has made in N.Z. in recent years.
The lack of a suitable stadium is disappointing for AFL but even more concerning for cricket in N.Z.
Even more disturbing than the lack of a decent cricket/AFL stadium in Auckland would be the cessation of international connections.
RU, RL and soccer have all been severely affected by their international connections.
If the AFL had travelled further down the N.Z. professional path they too would be closing that avenue.
The problem is not just surviving in the current environment but also planning for the future.[/QUOTE]

 

[jd2010]

Then the AFL would need a suitable stadium and that currently doesn't exist.
Yet Another pathetic trolling attempt and not serious discussion.

Even with a stadium do you see it getting on average more than 10,000 people per home game?

 

[Aussie in exile]

Then the AFL would need a suitable stadium and that currently doesn't exist.
Yet Another pathetic trolling attempt and not serious discussion.

You always appear to struggle with facts and the fact is that if the AFL was even going to have a team in New Zealand in would have happened by now. The AFL can't keep piggy backing of of Cricket to expand. Perhaps if the AFL wants a team in New Zealand it should built its own stadium.
Are you conversant with the New Zealand sporting landscape?
Have you any longer than 2 weeks there, if any time at all?

 

[RedV3x]

if the AFL was even going to have a team in New Zealand in would have happened by now.

Yes, because it was stymied by lack of a suitable stadium.

The AFL can't keep piggy backing of of Cricket to expand.

Actually it's the other way around. We only have big cricket stadiums because of Australian Football.
New Zealand is the odd case but that's not say AFL could have eventually carried the torch.

Perhaps if the AFL wants a team in New Zealand it should built its own stadium.

That's a suggestion and the AFL has contributed to stadiums in Australia unlike the NRL.
I would imagine discussions would follow usual procedures and ask a contribution from all stake-holders.
Unlike rectangular stadiums, a major oval stadium would support cricket, AFL, athletics and international fixtures.

Are you conversant with the New Zealand sporting landscape?
Have you any longer than 2 weeks there, if any time at all?

Yes and yes, a number of times, unlike a certain person purporting to be in Thailand.

 

[Aussie in exile]

Yes, because it was stymied by lack of a suitable stadium.



Actually it's the other way around. We only have big cricket stadiums because of Australian Football.
New Zealand is the odd case but that's not say AFL could have eventually carried the torch.



That's a suggestion and the AFL has contributed to stadiums in Australia unlike the NRL.
I would imagine discussions would follow usual procedures and ask a contribution from all stake-holders.
Unlike rectangular stadiums, a major oval stadium would support cricket, AFL, athletics and international fixtures.



Yes and yes, a number of timers, unlike a certain person purporting to be in Thailand.

Without Cricket there wouldn't be any Australian football
MCG, SCG, Adelaide Oval,The Gabba and the Waca are all Cricket grounds
and what's this "Yes and Yes a number of timers"

 

[RedV3x]

Even with a stadium do you see it getting on average more than 10,000 people per home game?

I wouldn't see the point in going down that path unless the AFL was confident of getting better than NRL crowds.
The AFL was on track to for a good result, with Auskick programs, school competitions, senior competitions and AFL games.
That was in Wellington which has only a population of 400,000 and a very windy disposition.
A move to Auckland with a population of 2.5 million and a stadium would be very attractive.
IMO an Auckland AFL team could achieve very good results but it does depend on the usual criteria.
One of the most important criteria would be onfield success. Without that, any team is struggling.

 

[RedV3x]

Without Cricket there wouldn't be any Australian football
MCG, SCG, Adelaide Oval,The Gabba and the Waca are all Cricket grounds
and what's this "Yes and Yes a number of times"

If you cannot read/remember your own questions then you shouldn't be here.

 

[Aussie in exile]

If you cannot read/remember your own questions then you shouldn't be here.

Say the man who thinks he's been to New Zealand, MANY MANY TIMERS

 

[RedV3x]

Say the man

who laughs at his own misquotes. By the way it's "says" not "say".
It's amazing you can laugh at a simple typo when the future of many competitions like the NRL, the rugby and soccer are severely threatened.
Do you think the that situation the NRL faces is a joke ?
The crisis has just begun and already the NRL are talking of folding unless the government stumps up $200 million.
What's it going to be like at the end of the year?

 

[Aussie in exile]

who laughs at his own misquotes. By the way it's "says" not "say".
It's amazing you can laugh at a simple typo when the future of many competitions like the NRL, the rugby and soccer are severely threatened.
Do you think the that situation the NRL faces is a joke ?
The crisis has just begun and already the NRL are talking of folding unless the government stumps up $200 million.
What's it going to be like at the end of the year?

Your Fear of NRL is showing and Rugby League in general.
It will give you ulcers many many timers

 

[jd2010]

I wouldn't see the point in going down that path unless the AFL was confident of getting better than NRL crowds.
The AFL was on track to for a good result, with Auskick programs, school competitions, senior competitions and AFL games.
That was in Wellington which has only a population of 400,000 and a very windy disposition.
A move to Auckland with a population of 2.5 million and a stadium would be very attractive.
IMO an Auckland AFL team could achieve very good results but it does depend on the usual criteria.
One of the most important criteria would be onfield success. Without that, any team is struggling.

Very fickle crowd Auckland even for sports they grew up with. Very doubtful mid season even with a full sized stadium Auckland vs GWS on a cold July afternoon gets more than 4000

 

[sirasputin]

I spoke to a NZ colleague today. He only confirmed that there's no appetite for Aussie Rules in NZ. I won't go into his personal opinion of AFL otherwise I might get banned again. But let's just say he didn't like the game much at all.

I don't think suitable stadiums is really the issue. You've got cricket grounds in NZ and Westpac stadium in Welly. More than adequate facilities. I thin the AFL, once they saw the ground swell of league support in Auckland, the success of Tonga, they knew they couldnt compete there. The conversation in NZ is actually about union guys looking over their shoulders at rugby league. As i stated before, there's a real fear in union circles that they are losing Auckland to league. This is despite the poor NRL admin over the years. The popularity of the game is simply due genuine affection for the game, particularly from the working class and the Polynesian communities.