TOPIC:

Custodian wrote: Yesterday I had occasion to visit a primary school in the hills and met with a small group of Year 3 - 6 students who had attended their presentation night at the local junior football club on the weekend. During our discussion about football I asked what they could tell me about the WAFL competition. Not one response! How sad and depressing that a group of boys keen about Aussie Rules could not tell me anything about the WAFL! It would seem that based on this sample the WAFL and clubs have a major identity crisis.

Hardly surprising mate , its been well over two decades since the WAFL was important to the WA public . kids are all AFL now and have been for years and so are there parents, once the link is broken from the generation that knew WAFL as the no 1 league in WA , it is gone forever.

but what is going to be in its place? the AFL clubs need a second tier comp of some sort so not sure how that would work if there was no WAFL

Recent WAFL interest peaked (print, radio, TV, crowds- collectively) post Swans winning the GF in 2010 in amazing circumstances, everyone across town and the state were talking about it, then the WAFC introduced alignments etc and that has extinguished interest.
Interest was there between 08 and 2013 but the alignments are the single biggest reason attendances are down make no mistake!
East Perth as one of the bigger drawing clubs has been reduced to a shell of a club which is in fact West Coast masquerading as East Perth and their fans have left in droves as their club died. Peel have been a basket case now lifted to a fraudulent club thanks to alignment.
The wettest footy winter since the 70's is also a factor

BC wrote: but what is going to be in its place? the AFL clubs need a second tier comp of some sort so not sure how that would work if there was no WAFL

Something will be there, but it wont have a spectators or any mass public interest.

Swandog wrote: Recent WAFL interest peaked (print, radio, TV, crowds- collectively) post Swans winning the GF in 2010 in amazing circumstances, everyone across town and the state were talking about it, then the WAFC introduced alignments etc and that has extinguished interest.
Interest was there between 08 and 2013 but the alignments are the single biggest reason attendances are down make no mistake!
East Perth as one of the bigger drawing clubs has been reduced to a shell of a club which is in fact West Coast masquerading as East Perth and their fans have left in droves as their club died. Peel have been a basket case now lifted to a fraudulent club thanks to alignment.
The wettest footy winter since the 70's is also a factor

Just because your team was going (drug assisted) well doesn't mean everyone else gave a toss. I saw no peak in interest in 2010 you should probably open your other eye.

Swandog wrote: Recent WAFL interest peaked (print, radio, TV, crowds- collectively) post Swans winning the GF in 2010 in amazing circumstances, everyone across town and the state were talking about it, then the WAFC introduced alignments etc and that has extinguished interest.
Interest was there between 08 and 2013 but the alignments are the single biggest reason attendances are down make no mistake!
East Perth as one of the bigger drawing clubs has been reduced to a shell of a club which is in fact West Coast masquerading as East Perth and their fans have left in droves as their club died. Peel have been a basket case now lifted to a fraudulent club thanks to alignment.
The wettest footy winter since the 70's is also a factor

BS, crowds peaked in 2009 , and actually dropped in 2010 and then picked up slightly in 2011 , but feel well short of 2009, from there it was all downhill.

No idea what your going on about re the media interest there was zero discernible difference from previous years. If everyone was talking about it as you claim, which is extreme one eyed hyperbole, they weren't talking about it enough to even meet the 2009 peak never mind pass it.

Theouterseagull wrote:

Swandog wrote: Recent WAFL interest peaked (print, radio, TV, crowds- collectively) post Swans winning the GF in 2010 in amazing circumstances, everyone across town and the state were talking about it, then the WAFC introduced alignments etc and that has extinguished interest.
Interest was there between 08 and 2013 but the alignments are the single biggest reason attendances are down make no mistake!
East Perth as one of the bigger drawing clubs has been reduced to a shell of a club which is in fact West Coast masquerading as East Perth and their fans have left in droves as their club died. Peel have been a basket case now lifted to a fraudulent club thanks to alignment.
The wettest footy winter since the 70's is also a factor

Just because your team was going (drug assisted) well doesn't mean everyone else gave a toss. I saw no peak in interest in 2010 you should probably open your other eye.

You wouldn't see peak interest when at $ubiaco games now would you!

Bazza wrote:

Swandog wrote: Recent WAFL interest peaked (print, radio, TV, crowds- collectively) post Swans winning the GF in 2010 in amazing circumstances, everyone across town and the state were talking about it, then the WAFC introduced alignments etc and that has extinguished interest.
Interest was there between 08 and 2013 but the alignments are the single biggest reason attendances are down make no mistake!
East Perth as one of the bigger drawing clubs has been reduced to a shell of a club which is in fact West Coast masquerading as East Perth and their fans have left in droves as their club died. Peel have been a basket case now lifted to a fraudulent club thanks to alignment.
The wettest footy winter since the 70's is also a factor

BS, crowds peaked in 2009 , and actually dropped in 2010 and then picked up slightly in 2011 , but feel well short of 2009, from there it was all downhill.

No idea what your going on about re the media interest there was zero discernible difference from previous years. If everyone was talking about it as you claim, which is extreme one eyed hyperbole, they weren't talking about it enough to even meet the 2009 peak never mind pass it.

For a start all 4 games were covered on radio back in 2008- 2013 now there are only 3

Swandog wrote:

Bazza wrote:

Swandog wrote: Recent WAFL interest peaked (print, radio, TV, crowds- collectively) post Swans winning the GF in 2010 in amazing circumstances, everyone across town and the state were talking about it, then the WAFC introduced alignments etc and that has extinguished interest.
Interest was there between 08 and 2013 but the alignments are the single biggest reason attendances are down make no mistake!
East Perth as one of the bigger drawing clubs has been reduced to a shell of a club which is in fact West Coast masquerading as East Perth and their fans have left in droves as their club died. Peel have been a basket case now lifted to a fraudulent club thanks to alignment.
The wettest footy winter since the 70's is also a factor

BS, crowds peaked in 2009 , and actually dropped in 2010 and then picked up slightly in 2011 , but feel well short of 2009, from there it was all downhill.

No idea what your going on about re the media interest there was zero discernible difference from previous years. If everyone was talking about it as you claim, which is extreme one eyed hyperbole, they weren't talking about it enough to even meet the 2009 peak never mind pass it.

For a start all 4 games were covered on radio back in 2008- 2013 now there are only 3

As they were in 2009, no idea what diff that makes. Or are you saying broadcasters rushed back in 2010 and 2011??? just because of your mob??? as someone else says open another eye ffs...

Swandog wrote: Recent WAFL interest peaked (print, radio, TV, crowds- collectively) post Swans winning the GF in 2010 in amazing circumstances, everyone across town and the state were talking about it, then the WAFC introduced alignments etc and that has extinguished interest.
Interest was there between 08 and 2013 but the alignments are the single biggest reason attendances are down make no mistake!
East Perth as one of the bigger drawing clubs has been reduced to a shell of a club which is in fact West Coast masquerading as East Perth and their fans have left in droves as their club died. Peel have been a basket case now lifted to a fraudulent club thanks to alignment.
The wettest footy winter since the 70's is also a factor

There hasn't been any widespread saturated WAFL media coverage of a GF since the pre Eagles days except for after the 2010 GF where the SD 1 point victory and the Krakouer story was in the media for weeks after even on the East Coast mate and was the talk of the town for months afterwards ...every other year has barely made even the local media!
Pity the WAFC didn't capatilise on the great work of SD & CL there after!