TOPIC:

thewest.com.au/sport/wafl/tuesday-wafl-t...indle-ng-b881191685z

Not one ounce of surprise here - it isn't the WAFL any longer it is just a way way over diluted extension of the Victorian comp , there's precious little incentive for fans to attend seeing as it doesn't really have a brand
The sickest part of it all is that the AFL is only too quick to take stocks out of Grassroots footy but never promotes it outside of Victoria or it's East Coast expansion jokes

Not a good look for the comps standing either when one of the it's best players pulls out of representing the comp with an injury, yet plays anyway the following weekend...it is what it is sadly

Really, really disheartening to witness how our once great footy competition has been allowed to flounder!
The low ground attendances has been spoken of previously, and apparently doesn't raise any concerns.
Apparently more people are accessing the Wafl online and this somehow is better than achieving more crowd numbers
at the games from what was said earlier. If anyone can make sense of that, they are doing better than I.
A area mentioned is diminishing Wafl promotion and mainstream media interest - a more accurate description
would be, a distinct lack thereof !!!
Which has also been extensively covered in numerous previous postings.
The article is nothing new.
What I find disturbing is the Wafl will continue to struggle and hobble along
The problems are all to evident and yet nothing positive is being done!!
All very sad

Aren’t crowds up 20 per cent this year obviously with the advent of West Coast. Get down to Lathlain on game day and the big crowds and positive vibe is brilliant. The bars after the games are jam packed and the mood of the crowd is electric. The WAFL is not dead it is alive and well at Lathlain. You won’t get that same vibe at any Subiaco or Claremont game we’re the atmosphere is sterile after too much success. Imagine how great the League would be if Perth , East Perth and Swan Districts were the top 3 clubs.

bolter wrote: Aren’t crowds up 20 per cent this year obviously with the advent of West Coast. Get down to Lathlain on game day and the big crowds and positive vibe is brilliant. The bars after the games are jam packed and the mood of the crowd is electric. The WAFL is not dead it is alive and well at Lathlain. You won’t get that same vibe at any Subiaco or Claremont game we’re the atmosphere is sterile after too much success. Imagine how great the League would be if Perth , East Perth and Swan Districts were the top 3 clubs.

Crowds and membership is through the roof at Lathlain Park. A new club president being a club legend, ongoing development of Lathlain Park due to the co sharing arrangement with the Eagles all bringing a sense of optimism and the work of Earl Spalding into his 5th year is turning into a winning culture.

Whilst I acknowledge WCE reserves crowd's have been very good the figure attributed to the Derby curtain raiser of about 5600 is ridiculous. How do they attribute that to WCE v Peel crowd? Perhaps they did a count at half time at that game but there will be lucky if 1500 attend at Rushton or Lathlain between those two clubs.

Peel are the worst supported club by a mile, always have been before and since the alignment with Fremantle. The East Perth alignment with the Eagles killed the traditional rivalry with WP and South's dominance over EF over the last 5 years or so has killed their traditional rivalry. Then there is Subiaco's ongoing dominance which kills off interest in the WAFL as a competition.

Then there is the financial struggles of Swans and WP and the appalling dilapidated state of EF's Moss st oval. So I think there are too many clubs atm in an unhealthy state for one reason or another. Perth has injected life into the competition but the competition needs all clubs to be healthy on and off the field to bring crowds to the WAFL. There won't be much point in Perth having long term success unless there is a healthy and vibrant WAFL competition.

Spot on post their DD....though you did forget to mention the inability of over half of the comps clubs to play finals and win flags over extended time periods has surely played a part in diminishing public interest in the WAFL.....EF 20 year premiership drought and 2 GF appearances since 98, SD 1 flag in nearly 30 years and 2 GF appearances since 1990.....EP no flags(without any form alignment) since 78 and no GF appearances since then too, Perth last flag 77, last GF 78 and no finals since 98....Peel playing 15+ Freo players to gain success....just not healthy for an even comp....not saying it's the other clubs fault, they have adapted and found ways of winning flags and providing hope of winning a flag for their fans....yeah success is cyclic, but look at the twenty year period prior to WCE forming when the WAFL was booming...despite SD 3 peat, Perth winning 2 on the bounce, every WAFL club won a flag or 2 and played in a GF or two in that time period when the comp was in its pomp.....can't say that now sadly.....

Freezin wrote: Spot on post their DD....though you did forget to mention the inability of over half of the comps clubs to play finals and win flags over extended time periods has surely played a part in diminishing public interest in the WAFL.....EF 20 year premiership drought and 2 GF appearances since 98, SD 1 flag in nearly 30 years and 2 GF appearances since 1990.....EP no flags(without any form alignment) since 78 and no GF appearances since then too, Perth last flag 77, last GF 78 and no finals since 98....Peel playing 15+ Freo players to gain success....just not healthy for an even comp....not saying it's the other clubs fault, they have adapted and found ways of winning flags and providing hope of winning a flag for their fans....yeah success is cyclic, but look at the twenty year period prior to WCE forming when the WAFL was booming...despite SD 3 peat, Perth winning 2 on the bounce, every WAFL club won a flag or 2 and played in a GF or two in that time period when the comp was in its pomp.....can't say that now sadly.....

Yep spot on also Freezin about the 20 year period prior to the WCE, we can all cop having a lean stretch if we can see the corner coming. It is when clubs such as yours and mine can't see the corner or the light at the end of the tunnel that interest wanes and fans drop off. I guess that is what I was saying when i referred to Subiaco's dominance over such a long period of time. It is all well and good for some to say other clubs have to come up to the standard Subiaco set but the reality is no one else comes close to have the resources they have had. At least now their mighty revenue stream has dried up but you can't beat having a few million sitting in the bank. We can't take that off them but the WAFC needs to ensure all WAFL clubs have a sound foundation to be able to grow and be competitive.

The WAFL introduced zoning in the late 60s Freeze which obviously had the desired effect of evening up the WAFL competition with as you say had every club winning 2 or 3 Premierships and all playing in multiple Grand Finals in the first 20 years of zoning.
But after the introduction of WCE and the vfl drafts which came with it, then Fremantle & finally Peel came along so the zones have got way out of whack, plus we have had 2 lots of Alignments and the Subiaco deals too made them rich whilst all others suffer this has all added up to the WAFL we currently have- dominated by 1 or 2 clubs for the last 20 years!

good points people.

A few remarks about zones:

a zone premiership takes 4 or 5 years Exs., SD 1978-1982; Subi 1980-1986 --Keene played colts in 1980
they need to raise the draft age as high as possible over time

but we need to recognise that, even if players had been playing 100 games befrore going east, both Peel and EP would not have had the talent to win the flag.