I'd hate to be forced to watch Reuben Bloody Thorne taking the field in every bloody game.
UPDATE: Better news from Melbourne for fans of the world's most libertarian sport, and of the AFL's best team. Firstly, 2007 saw record crowds at AFL games:
[the final round] attendance figure of 289,440 took the 2007 season total to 6,475,521, eclipsing the previous record mark of 6,283,788 spectators, established in 2005. “The 2007 season clearly affirms the AFL as the No.1 spectator sport in Australia,” [AFL CEO Andrew] Demetriou said...Sort of makes the numbers showing up at rugby league games looks pretty sad, doesn't it: 2,880,987 fans showing up to 2007's games at an average attendance of just 15,658 per match [ref Wikipedia]. A fair reflection of the difference in quality out on the field, I'd say.The final attendance figure for 2007 represented a rise of 4.38 per cent on the 2006 numbers. More than two millions fans attended matches at the MCG, with 2,123,400 fans at the ground seeing an average match attendance of 47,187.
Telstra Dome averaged crowds of 36,396 this year, with 1,674,219 patrons going through the gates for matches at the ground.
So the second piece of goood news is that in finishing in top position with 18 wins out of 22 matches, Geelong look the goods :
the AFL finals begin on Friday night with most pundits agreeing on one thing - the premiership is Geelong's to win or lose.With World Cup and AFL finals, it's going to be a busy sporting September ... and hopefully one to remember!
7 comments:
Won't it be Jack and Williams on the field most of the time?
"Won't it be Jack and Williams on the field most of the time?"
That's the problem. The chances go up exponentially for tiredness and injury when we hit the main games if Robinson doesn't come right, and it was for just this reason we developed Ryan and Eaton with Flavell and Rawlinson as backup.
Bugger!
JC
They should fly Troy Flavel to France now. Send Robinson back home, as sitting out on the early games and hope that he would be right before the big crunch games is like flipping a coin. Flavel should get use to the environmnet now, rather than a late call during the knockout stage of the competition.
FF.
It's the one area of really bad luck and serious risk that the selectors have taken. I know why they gambled on Robinson.. to get the sort of mongrel so desperately needed in 1999 and 2003 at the sharp end of the competition.
IMO, Flavell didn't show that when it counted this year and Rawlinson never had it.
JC
After watching some ARL on the telly and now some AFL I couldn't give a tinkers about the ABs and the IRB game. It's too stultifyingly banal.
Forget the ABs. Rugger union is dead. The real footy players of skill, daring and art are located in the lucky land of Oz. They play those "other" codes.
Go West young man. Go to Sydney or Melborne.
Little Johnnie
Writing from Sydney, I find it shocking that anyone could find Rugby Union more boring than Rugby League.
The ball is far less likely to be turned over in league and you can watch it on your mobile. Union you need a decent sized TV. AFL you have to go to the game and turnovers are abundant.
"The ball is far less likely to be turned over in league"
Oh, come on!
Ever hear of the six-tackle rule? Guess you must have got the games confused.
As for that endless mauling around, touching, feeling, engaging or whatever physical atrocity they commit on each other under a pile of elevated backsides, how boring is that? Most of the time you can't even see where the damn ball is or who has it. Just some fool back & bum shots.
Naaah. It's gaaaay maaate!
The Ozzie codes are better. When Rupert's had enough of the banalities and poor TV that is the Union game he'll give the IRB the choice:
a) amalgamate with League
b) adopt rules to make the Union game more like League.
And if he doesn't, I will. Vote Howard for Bennelong!
Meanwhile the Aussie Rules crowd will go on slowly growing at 4,5,6% per annum.
You know it's true.
Little Johnnie
Post a Comment