World Series Aussie Rules

[jazzadogs]

With a lot of fans becoming disillusioned with the AFL organisation and their monopoly on the game of Aussie Rules, including their frequent rule changes, fixture fixing, interstate inequality etc...

IF a new league was formed (ala LIV golf, World Series cricket) with:
- a lot of the best AFL players moved across
- new franchises - none of the existing clubs continued
- reverting to rules from the early 2000s...

...would you support the new league?

What would it take to get your support?

[hujsh]

Unless the club moved I'd stay and that's probably why a rival league will never really work

[Hotdog60]

I'm only in for the Dogs if they disappear so do I.

[bulldogtragic]

With WSC, Australia was still Australia. Say with the Big Bash, I don’t warm to the Stars or Renegades. That’d be the issue with no clubs and no heritage. So I don’t think it’d take off despite being better probably to watch. That’s the problem with the AFEL monopoly, they know the bastardise the game and still keep the masses.

[bornadog]

It would be hard to break up club tradition of over 130 years for most. Most members are rusted on supporters and they love their club.

The other issues would be:

1. Where do they play their games? There are no spare grounds with capacity of 30k, 40k, 100k.

2. Revenues - it takes over $50 million now to run a club

3. TV rights would be a challenge

[HOSE B ROMERO]

Good thread but it wouldn't hold any interest for me,

[jazzadogs]

It would be hard to break up club tradition of over 130 years for most. Most members are rusted on supporters and they love their club.

The other issues would be:

1. Where do they play their games? There are no spare grounds with capacity of 30k, 40k, 100k.

2. Revenues - it takes over $50 million now to run a club

3. TV rights would be a challenge

Yeh it was veeerrrryyy hypothetical but I agree with the general sentiment. I think the tribalism of footy would make it very hard to get anything with new franchises off the ground.

The idea was prompted by a friend saying "is there anyone involved in footy with LIV golf type money?" and I thought "assuming it was possible, would it even be successful?"

[Rocket Science]

Reckon I could warm to a rejuvenated, properly independent VFL shorn of its AFEL affiliations while tapping back into the sort of grass roots tribalism that fuelled its glory days.

Not even as a rival entity, simply a smartly managed alternative for the increasingly disaffected yearning for a product that feels less processed.

Total pipe dream, of course.

Up the Towners.

[soupman]

The club thing would probably be a deal breaker from the get go, but putting that aside...

I'd have serious question marks over who would even run a league like that? Someone/s with enough power and money to basically take try and buy their way into being a better league is typically not a good person (Clive Palmer springs to mind as a possible example) and a league and clubs whose only point of difference from the "real thing" is that they a shinier and a bit more "loose" with their rules is not something you can build around in anything but the very short term.

If they were serious about making the sport better they'd find a way to influence the incumbent rather than start what is essentially a protest party.

[mjp]

Reckon I could warm to a rejuvenated, properly independent VFL shorn of its AFEL affiliations while tapping back into the sort of grass roots tribalism that fuelled its glory days.

Not even as a rival entity, simply a smartly managed alternative for the increasingly disaffected yearning for a product that feels less processed.

Would be me and you sitting in the stands (standing in the outer) together mate.

There is so much broken about the AFL Game-Day experience...going to games (and to be fair, my team plays on the other side of the country) is just so 'UN-FUN' these days...BUT: Crowds are pretty good. In general, I guess people like the flashing scoreboards, blaring music and plastic chairs.

Not sure. I guess if you want that stuff, then you go to the state league or the Ammos and have that experience...the challenge of course is the FOOTY isn't the same...

[Flamethrower]

A breakaway Super League would cost way too much money.

A better idea would be once the AFL reserves competition is created, reinvent the VFA with the stand alone clubs from the current VFL plus the best clubs from community football as a Victorian Premier League.

Have promotion and relegation for the community league clubs like those from the EDFL, EFNL, VAFA, and WFNL to give all clubs an opportunity to join a "best of the best" competition. It would be great to have an opportunity to watch Keilor v Balwyn or Werribee Districts v Williamstown CYMS.