Australian Football (A-League)

Aye it definitely has improved from what I can see from my vantage point over here now. I don’t think it’ll ever completely consume the country like it does in Scotland though, I’ll never forget that culture shock. Hard to comprehend.

 

Football at Jnr level has always been huge here, its the sport most people here play first mainly because its safe and parents dont want there kids getting * up in physicals sports like rugby league and afl same with basketball, basketball is the next biggest ball sport participation wise in the country main reason being because its safe. Keeping kids in the game past the age of 14 is the real challenge, the pathways and development to take kids to the next level is a * joke tbh.. Compared to other sports like rugby league and afl where they are actual subjects to study in some high schools where football is not even mentioned.

 

Similar experience to this. Played as a young kid in the 80s in Sydney and participation was huge. But AFL wasn't really a thing in Sydney at that time, at least not that I remember. It was all Rugby League and 'soccer'.

 

It was just a thing for us Sydney folk. I played League for my school ( couldn’t crack the soccer team lol ), basketball and volleyball, but my weekend sport was soccer. And each age division had multiple teams. It was very very popular.

 

Ange Postecoglou was a good player.

 

Geez this thing just died.

Sent from my SM-T500 using Tapatalk

 

Bit like the league itself.

But its off season. Finals series start for the afl and nrl next week, so should be football/cricket season soon down here.

 

Agree, the league is struggling. I went a western United match in Ballarat last year. Honestly about 350 people there

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

 

Yeah, it's always going to be tough for a team they have made out of thin air to get a decent fan base. Pretty sure they won the league last season so I'd say they would have picked up a few fans after that.

Hopefully we can put in a decent showing at the world cup and get people interested again, that's the only hope.

 

They are meant to be building a new stadium in bear Werribee but yeah the won the league and had no followers. I went cos a mate got a free 5 person 3 game membership

Sent from my SM-A528B using Tapatalk

 

People sometimes find the most daft things, and this is a perfect example of a stupid choice of the hill upon whih to die, so to speak.

The NSW Govt have made a fair offer, in order to host the Grand Final for 3 years, so long as the A-League's governing body thinks tht the valuation is fair for what is on offer. But it's not like this is at all odd in Australian sport - after all those Melbournites are protesting, even though literally every AFL Grand Final is played at the MCG - and here would be a * of a stink if it were ever proposed to be hosted elsewhere, regardless of if a Melbourne/Victorian team is involved or not.

To put it in context, it's like why can't they play Scottish Cup Final in Edinburgh (as an example). Obv the SFA now actually own Hampden, so that is not going to happen, but historically it was still played there. Or Wembley down in English FA Cup etc, when there are stadiums/cities elsewhere that could handle it, and often would be more appropriate.

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on a-league players that could make the step up (eventually) to Celtic?

I actually really like the look of Jacob Farrell from CCM. He is playing left back at the moment but I saw him play most of his junior football for CCMA as a center-half. He never loses a challenge, tackles clean as a whistle and already has 56 senior games under his belt 38 of them as a professional and he is only 20.

I was chatting to one of the higher-ups at CCM about him last year and he reckons he was going to earn CCM their biggest transfer fee ever when he goes.

Out of left field so to speak but I was lurking in the hearts forum checking on the aussie players there and saw a similiar thread so thought i chuck a post here.

 

Sydney derby on just now. Half time at the moment for anybody looking for non coronation * tv. Good standard and atmosphere