TOPIC:

Time For a Flag wrote: Jardine you are just pissed about the negativity. You haven't even address my idea of making the AFL a true AFL getting rid of the excess teams and corrosponding baggage and cost of them and seeing 7 blockbuster AFL games leaving time for people to engage in an interest of a local team.

no Im not p#$$ed at all, its a very good subject. Im very passionate about it that is obvious. your opinion is yours & you are entitled to it. I don't ridicule people for having an opinion my friend.

but cutting AFL teams just isn't going to happen. so I tend to discuss things that are "possible" perhaps. that is all. Im not saying your idea is wrong, im just saying it wont happen. My idea probably wont happen either, but its at least worth exploring.

Bazza is right in what he says too, I am just looking at a way to retain all traditional clubs both here and in SA. If it where possible. Id rather discuss that first and put it out there.

Bazza wrote: Just cut the comp to 6 teams, rationalise grounds down to 3, , stick to Friday nights and Saturday Arvos, play double headers at a central venue, play the gf on Saturday , push for pokies as an income stream,

That's it, problems solved.

Surely you are taking the pi$$ Bazza with your idea of going back to 6 teams?
The population of Perth alone is projected on current trends to be 5.5 million from its current almost 2 million by the year 2060 and you are suggesting we cull teams ...bizarre!
In 1934 Perth would have had a population of only 200,000 and yet we had 8 sides way back then!

Beasley Hutton wrote:

Bazza wrote: Just cut the comp to 6 teams, rationalise grounds down to 3, , stick to Friday nights and Saturday Arvos, play double headers at a central venue, play the gf on Saturday , push for pokies as an income stream,

That's it, problems solved.

Surely you are taking the pi$$ Bazza with your idea of going back to 6 teams?
The population of Perth alone is projected on current trends to be 5.5 million from its current almost 2 million by the year 2060 and you are suggesting we cull teams ...bizarre!
In 1934 Perth would have had a population of only 200,000 and yet we had 8 sides way back then!

Not in the slightest

only way forward, forget the past, when it was a stand alone comp without competition from the AFL it was a different story.

consolidation and concetration of players, would lift the standard of the comp. much higher standard of games on far better teams, more exciting for spectators. higher quality games, far more efficient to run fewer clubs than it is to run more, fewer overheads fewer costs, share the financial burden across stronger clubs,

population is irrellevnat in the curernt market place, we have 5 or 6 WAFL clubs on brink of going broke and yes we have a lot more people - do the extra people pay the bills, are the crowds flooding back - NO on both counts,,irrellevant.

If population growth equates to success - how do you explain the abject failure of Peel, if your saying the introduction of extra teams ( or the maintenance of blatantly bloated near broke outdated comp) is a good thing or expansion into a crowded and a disinterested market place is also good - you have no idea, and probably demostrates why with thinking like that the comp is on the way to oblivion.

Bazza....It's very rarely I agree with an 'doggie', but you're suggestion of cutting the comp to 6 teams and ground rationalisation etc is the best suggestion I have heard yet. The WAFC /WAFL need to seriously look at this sort of idea to keep people/supporters interested in our great game.

One Eyed Royal wrote: Bazza....It's very rarely I agree with an 'doggie', but you're suggestion of cutting the comp to 6 teams and ground rationalisation etc is the best suggestion I have heard yet. The WAFC /WAFL need to seriously look at this sort of idea to keep people/supporters interested in our great game.

yep - thanks mate.

have a strong "super league" , get the young people back and interested again.

some other ideas,

think about starting the season a bit earlier, or maybe later to avoid clashing with AFL, go for night games under lights on warmer nights, promote it as a fun alternative to AFL, get the marketing up , I envisage the marketing along the lines of 20/20 cricket, lower cost fun entertainment for families, a new exciting comp played at rationalsied but much betetr and improved venues, aim to make Leederville the home base for it get the lights and facilities really spot on, play the finals series there as well. Perhaps a night GF as well.

Gotta get thinking and moving guys!

You'd have to be careful cutting teams out ... it would have to potential to lose more crowd given the tradition - the merger scenario would be the better option if that was decided to be the future

The costs & threat to that charade of a national Vicco comp would be real , I havde my doubts as to whether WCE & Cockburn FC would be happy with that sort of caper but you never know do you

Interesting concept

One Eyed Royal wrote: Bazza....It's very rarely I agree with an 'doggie', but you're suggestion of cutting the comp to 6 teams and ground rationalisation etc is the best suggestion I have heard yet. The WAFC /WAFL need to seriously look at this sort of idea to keep people/supporters interested in our great game.

cutting the WAFL to 6 clubs means we have to lose 3 traditional clubs. Cant see that happening. Peel/Freo & EP/WCE are not going anywhere, so that would leave 2 traditional clubs to merge and 1 to fold. The foreseeable future that is unlikely, beyond our lifetimes a possibility for sure.

starting the season earlier or later wont happen either. No matter how we look at it we are & always will be governed by the WA based AFL clubs. Our comp must always align with them. That's not what I think, its what it is.

Cutting AFL clubs to assist domestic leagues will not happen - dead issue.

We again talk about promotion, which is simply not & wont be forthcoming. Getting the networks involved through a completely different format will. The promotion would come with the general package.

Friday night games I personally like, but again its been tried and it makes no real difference. Most people don't know a game is on. Again it comes back to promotion (lack of it). Friday nights have been done with little difference.

Getting young people back - How?
All we are doing is covering the same turd with a new lettuce leaf. Young people know the product. Perception is what kills the WAFL. A total change is the only way. Not repeated idea's.

Once again we seem to be going over the same idea's or asking for things that are never going to bear fruit for us. It just doesnt happen while under the rein of the WAFL alone.

jardine your putting up the shutters on IDEAS.... shutters mean DEATH...

Bazza wrote: jardine your putting up the shutters on IDEAS.... shutters mean DEATH...

I don't think I am bazza, I am merely stating the idea's are nothing that hasn't already been tried for years.

My other rebuttle is in regard to the likelihood of certain events occurring
(ie 6 clubs and reducing AFL teams?). Im not saying they are not possible or incorrect, but Im clearly explaining my reasons on most points put up.

To be honest Bazz I think the comp will keep going as it is, with no real solid changes. And eventually some clubs will die or be encouraged to, and the comp will be played on public reserve grounds with barely 250 people in attendance.

Unless we get serious in the next 3-5 years, it will be non-recoverable. How many generations have we already lost by being acceptable of what we have.

Well I agree with you on the points you make that with no change the comp will be on public reserves in front of 250 people , basically we are approaching Sunday league status now, in a decade or two it will be little more tha A grade amateurs.,,with zero profile.

But to be honest I think so far I am the only one that has come up with some realistic and achievable vision and ideas on this topic.

The way to go would be for the WAFC , to offer a one off cash incentive of say 1 Million dollars each to , two sets of clubs who agree to merge, that is with the Newley formed club getting a million as a bonus , so a total of two million for the two new clubs...on top of that assistance in any relocation and establishment of a new shared ground, My feeling is the more financially savvy clubs with a view to the future would take up this offer, I would imagine the two clubs that would consider it would be Subi and Claremont,...they are pretty switched on,

On top of that they would retain , their original a HOST club payments , so the new merged club would received double for a period of say five years.

Watch the boards come together after you put that out there.