Kiwi AFL fan here, totally agree. Better off recruiting players from here. And generating a bit of interest that way. Think AFL missed a opportunity with Dusty and using him as a poster boy over here. On a side note, expansion has the added worry that the talent is being stretched a bit thin.
agreed, I think the AFL should go hard on using Lefau (when he returns from injury) as a poster boy for kiwi kids, particularly maori kids who want another sporting option other than rugby
@@damobdaking hmmmm good question, maybe wait til he gets back next year then probably something as simple as contacting the Richmond football club via email or something particularly if you are involved with the AFLNZ in some way.
but the hopefully he can have a full season next year and build on the impressive start we have already seen, then the AFL should be going all out in using his image to market to people in NZ, yep sure the majority wont buy in but its gotta start somewhere. I lived over there for about a year and I very much say that whilst Rugby is and probably always be king, there is a very real hunger amongst a good amount of people for something new, actually a fair few of my Maori mates, in Timaru where I lived, who I showed the game too were intrigued and curious more than anything....although none were the standard rugby crazed type to begin with, they were more into basketball and ufc
I'm a Aucklander and I can say you are spot on with this. I am myself mostly unfamilar with AFL (have watched a little bit of AFL and can say it looks like an interesting sport to get into) but for most people, they probably wouldn't care to see it here. One point you did miss is that Aucklanders tend to be picky when it comes to sports teams. When they're hot you here about them everywhere but when they're not there's very little interest (This does apply to most cities tbf but its espically present in Auckland). Before the Warriors (at last) came good last year, we struggled to get more than 20K for most fixtures but now we're selling out every game now that the team is finally competitive among the NRL best (though this season has been more up and down than last year).
Forget New Zealand. Establishing Canberra as the 20th AFL team while reallocating Greater Western Sydney Giants' games from Canberra back to Western Sydney offers multiple strategic advantages for the AFL. This move could intensify the AFL's presence and growth in Western Sydney, an area with a high potential audience but currently underrepresented in terms of local game offerings. The Giants have already shown significant influence in the region; however, the current arrangement that includes playing several games in Canberra may dilute the potential impact and fan base consolidation in Western Sydney. Greater Western Sydney's coach, Adam Kingsley, has expressed the need for a stronger local league presence to boost grassroots participation and overall interest in the AFL within Western Sydney. This area represents a largely untapped market with a population of 2.5 million people, providing a unique opportunity for substantial growth in viewership and fan engagement
Seems the most logical tbh, AFL is played a lot in schools here and there are rep teams for it already so the next step is probably creating a franchise in Auckland or Wellington. Wellington probably being the favourite because of their stadium being more suited for it.
AFL was starting to get a solid following several years back when we had several live games free to air on tv. Then Sky tv noticed and took them all back to pay per view. That stopped it dead in its tracks
Having a team in New Zealand would be interesting. 4 major leagues in Australia have at least a team in NZ. The NBL has the Breakers, NRL has the Warriors and a potential second team, A-League has the Pheonix and another team coming in, Super Rugby has 4 teams from New Zealand. It wouldn't hurt to try New Zealand again, even though ten years ago crowd number haven't been good when the AFL staged three games over three season. But a lot can change in ten years.
6 Super Rugby Teams, Blues (Auckland), Chiefs (Hamilton), Crusaders (Christchurch), Highlanders (Dunedin) Hurricanes (Wellington) and Moana Pasifika (Auckland based with mostly Pacific Islander Players)
@thequartersfooty A (2nd Second) New Zealand Football (Soccer) to enter both the Women's & Men's A-League Football (Soccer) Competitions at towards the end of this year which is Auckland along with Wellington Phoenix who had already been in our A-League Football (Soccer) Competitions for a Number of Years of course. Canberra will enter their new Men's A-League Football (Soccer) Team also towards the end of this year & so far right now that Canberra Women's A-League Football (Soccer) Team who been playing in their Women's A-League Football (Soccer) Competition for a Number of Years of course.
If a New Zealand Team was to make a Grand Final like the GWS did I have no dought that they would get bigger crowds than what the GWS did in 2019. The new Tasmanian Team will also have bigger crowds on day one than what both the Suns and GWS have gotten.
Basin Reserve in Wellington could be another option for an AFL venue. It's a cricket ground with seating for just around 12,000 but I'm sure they could upgrade it for an AFL team. With a lot of Kiwis in Australia, an NZ AFL team would be better based in Aussie as I'm sure it'd get more support from the Kiwis over your way. Until/if it happens, I'll keep supporting my Adelaide Crows.
Auckland need a stadium that can play footy. Once cricket move from Eden Park then cricket and footy can combine. Makes sense to start with 2 games and then take it from there. Even play in Wellington in some years. If they can be getting 15-20k regularly then they keep expanding. But you need good crowds for the matches there first. But just playing matches there consistently would be great for NZ and great for tourism.
Cricket is never moving from Eden park. What this clown making tis video was too lazy to research is that there is also a good and large cricket oval at Eden park with a proper cricket pavilion, seperate from the big ugly stadium. And they will never build any cricket ground at Victoria park, that was just some brain fart that was quickly shot down. If they want to spread Aussie rules to NZ then they need to get a community of people playing in local club competitions and growing up playing it. Just having some fake team starred up,from nowhere and based here will just fail and lose millions.
@@danieleyre8913 Yes it will. The plan is to move cricket when the venue becomes available. AFL is working with NZ authorities, like they did with the Wellington stadium. Fact is, that Eden park no longer suits cricket.
Sydney, Brisbane and Gold Coast all had at least a bit of logic behind having an AFL team because of the large ex-pat Victorian populations in each of these centres which provided an initial audience. There is no significant Victorian ex-pat population in NZ and there would be next to zero interest from Rugby mad locals. The whole thing would be an exercise in burning through cash for very little result.
I think we need to start taking games back to New Zealand and I think the best team to do that would be either the Lions or Suns as there is a huge Kiwi Expat Population in South East Queensland the issue is there is nowhere to play in Auckland the only suitable Oval Stadiums would be Sky Stadium in Wellington with a Capacity of 34,500 or Seddon Park in Hamilton with a Capacity of 10K, Hamilton is about 2 and a half hours south of Auckland
Aussie Rules first needs to establish a community of people who play the game here. Doesn’t have to be very big; it just needs to be dedicated and enough o support a local competition. Otherwise you’ll just be wasting money trying to play games here. People don’t know anything about Aussie Rules in New Zealand. It’s like lacrosse or Euro handball; we’re vaguely aware it exists.
Almost nobody in New Zealand plays Aussie rules. Or even knows much about Aussie rules. If you want to spread your game here; try spending a decade or two building up a local competition and a community of people who play it and follow it. And producing players who can play it at the top level. As there is with Soccer, Basketball, and Rugby league. Otherwise you are dreaming.
Well said, I live in Auckland and I'm massively into multiple sports but would struggle to name more than 5 AFL players. I also don't really understand most of the rules (am interested in it though and might get into it more if/when I move to aus.)
As a Kiwi and long time Aussie rules fanatic, sadly I can't see this ever being a thing. The anti Aussie sentiment you talked about is strong, Kiwis just totally ignore Aussie Rules like doesn't even exist, Yip I agree this would fail... hard.
Personally the best option would be having a team for Newcastle, Cape York Peninsula, Darwin, and Canberra with a mix of moving Melbourne teams and expansion teams need to happen first. Maybe a 3rd team in SA and WA. That said. If New Zealand going to have a team. The AFL might as well plain decades ahead by not only farming out Melbourne home games in to New Zealand, but also have a TV deal where all games are free to air, and have plains in having two teams. One on the north island, and the other South island. Maybe call one the Te Ika-a-Māui All Blacks for one of the island, and Te Waipounamu All Whites for the other. Just putting it out there.
Why don't we look at the Island nations? Like Naru? AFL is very popular there and is evern considered their national sport. Or another idea take the game to America when a lot of Americans actually follow the sport.
It’s called AFL for a reason it’s Australia’s only real Australian Sport Cricket England same as Rugby and Basketball American we need a Tasmanian Team only
I can't see a NZ team happening anytime soon, especially in the home and away season. The main issue with that would be teams traveling to NZ and back each week. Possibly one option is to create a separate international league and expand that way.
As he said in the vid, other leagues (some of which are smaller) manage trans-tasman travel just fine so I can't see why AFL can't. The bigger issue is the fact there's not much interest and the lack of a suitable stadium in Auckland's case, (where any NZ AFL team should go imo).
@@samwansbone2790 It might be possible with smaller leagues, especially if they don't play as many games as the AFL, but to setup a team in NZ (or another country) is still a lot of work. Especially if you include them in the home and away season, you would expect the team to play roughly half of their games in NZ and the other half in AUS. The other issue you could face sometimes is with travel, if a team can't get to NZ or back that could cause problems with other games in the season. Unlike the current setup we have with teams on the mainland (except for Tassie when they're added) it's easier for teams to get around the country. I still think creating a separate international league would be a better option to expand the league.
@cmac_415 But not only both Rugby League & Union are both popular but also Football (Soccer) in New Zealand is popular as well too is because of the (2023 Twenty Twenty Three) Women's (FIFA) World Cup Football (Soccer) Tournament from last year which was shared & hosted by our Countries both of Australia & New Zealand of course.
No it would never work because Draftees would never want to live in NZ, you have Victorian teenagers unwilling to live in Adelaide which is 900kms away let alone in NZ. the only way you could do it if the team had quadruple the salary cap from the rest of the competition , so a first round drafteee would be on 400K and the highest played player would be on 4M,
A majority of Aussies especially those who are living &/or coming from all of Football (Soccer) & both Rugby League Football & Rugby Union Football States & a Territory all of Queensland, New South Wales & including the ACT Australian Capital Territory who would refer Australian Rules Football (Aussie Rules Footy) Code as Aerial Ping Pong as reference for which has been known for so many donkey's years & decades from &/or of our Past of course.
How about the Basin Reserve for a Wellington AFL team? Its a cricket ground but its capacity is like 10,000 and its on thr other side of thr CBD to the Cake Tin. Also its the world's biggest roundabout
If have two teams NZ you at least two sold game year. When Sydney first VFL in 1983, Sydney pubic not understand in game it took then over ten yrs to get use to the game n the rules it takes NZ public ten yes ti use to the game
Great vid mate. I went to one of the Wellington AFL games - it was the 2nd year and the crowd had definitely declined from the first year. The game itself is great - and definitely one that is better enjoyed as a spectator at the stadium rather than on TV. I'm a Dees fan btw. I think the game is too niche for it to really take off in NZ. It's not like rugby league or basketball where there's actually a good base of players in NZ but not quite enough to have as many teams as Super Rugby. I think having one off games would be best but not sure after the failed Wellington experiment that will happen again for the foresseable future. And Sky Stadium in Welly is really a dinosaur in this age. Terrible for rugby and football and too big for cricket. Needs a roof.
@@MegalodonNZReally? Who? I’m a New Zealander from the Hutt Valley and living there again after living in Christchurch, Dunedin, Auckland and Palmerston North at different stages (and in London and Sydney). I have only ever known one person who followed Aussie rules. 25 years ago. And only because he lived in Melbourne for a few years as a teenager. Most people don’t even know how goals are scored in Aussie rules.
Ridiculous, if they had a team, would they send them to Perth to play a game ,& a perth team to travel all that way ,& then expect them to play the following week , it's not in the players best interest & injuries would be a higher possibility.
New Zealanders have a large chip on their shoulders against Australians for starters. The other thing is, the sport is Australian football. It is for us Australians. Giving them a team would be akin to feeding sows foie gras.
I don't think it would work. Prove that the AFL can dominate Sydney first before trying another rugby mad country. Could try a gather round in NZ one year.
AFL with St Kilda need to take a risk and get games back in Auckland for Anzac Day and another match later in the season after Round 20 once a studium is built and then simply just go from there already taken a risk with Hobart for Tasmania so it wouldn’t be a disaster before it happens it’s an alternative to Rugby so Kiwis will pick up on it quickly are a mad sporting country without too much hostility worth the punt 🇳🇿🥝🏉👌
It's not realistic with the Perth based teams who as well known in Australia have travel inequality. It's not the same as the NBL with 40 minutes a game and less endurance running. Financially it struggle for years sorry not happening in our lifetime.
Newcastle Nth Qld Darwin are highly unlikely. But they should certainly be playing at least 2 matchs there each year and get the Tourism industry to support it. You'd get a couple thousand flying over from Vic or NSW. If a Melb club and Sydney Swans.
Australian football had a strong following in Newcastle in the late 1880s and early 1890s after Victorian gold miners brought the game with them to the coal fields during a recession in the gold industry.. Melbourne teams used to tour up here and play games against the local sides. When the recession ended the miners returned home and support for the game went with them leaving the door open for Rugby to become the most popular sport. The oldest continuously played for sporting trophy in Australia is the Black Diamond Cup which a Victorian tobacco company donated in the late 1880s to promote the northern Australian football league. It sits in the Newcastle Regional Museum and is still played for each year by teams from both Newcastle and the Central Coast. Players like Isaac Heaney actually played their junior football in Newcastle. Nowadays it would be pretty hard to establish a team in the Hunter as it has been a Rugby League stronghold since 1908 ever since Newcastle became a foundation clup in the Sydney competition. Having said that people in this city tend to support any team wearing the Newcastle colours regardless of the sport they play.
@@user-bi8wp6wy3l Aussie rules was popular in NZ at one stage. And Sydney. But times change. Newcastle only has 300,000 people. 169km from Sydney is easy enough for fans to drive. Bunbury is virtually same distance from Perth. People travel up for games if they're keen. But its more of an occasional outing than every fortnight, considering travel time, parking etc. I think Sydney and Giants just need to tackle different parts of Sydney and NSW/ACT. If Perth a football heartland has 2 two teams then its impossible to consider that NSW/ACT can have anything more than two. ACT and country NSW to west must belong to the Giants with fans willing to support them. It will take decades, considering NRL and multicultural soccer cricket fans, for AFL to be a success. So getting fans from elsewhere is critical. Certainly Sydney can play preseason matches in Newcastle and have training camps etc.
Super Rugby is Struggling in NZ as well, Rugby Union is declining in NZ as well through not to the same extent as Australia the main threat would be the NRL rather than Super Rugby also Auckland now has an A-League Team just FYI
@@danieleyre8913 I disagree. We've become really big among younger people and the public that I think we'll retain a good amount of them when we go through our next lean period (which might be some time away). Maybe not to the extent of selling out every game but we'd still likely have bigger attendances than most games during the 2010s.
@@samwansbone2790 Nah don’t kid yourself. League is inherently boring, repetitive, low-skill and small time, restricted to the small market of two Australian states. Half of its interest is tied in with sports betting. People are just jumping on a bandwagon. Especially since the All Blacks aren’t so dominant. The hype will die out again just like it did back in the 1990s.
@@danieleyre8913 Even during the 2010s, Warriors consistantly averaged over 10K. And the All Blacks made the World Cup final last year yet the Wahs interest remained high (albeit they did have a crossover for a small portion and interest in Union isn't as strong anymore). If you think League is boring, that's your opinion but recently a super rugby semi was moved to not compete with the Warriors. The fandom is here to stay (and its not comparable with the 1990s because things are much different today).
@@samwansbone2790 Rugby league always had core following in West Auckland and south Auckland though. Yet I seem to recall seeing reports from about 5 years ago talking about how dismal Warriors attendances had been over the years. It was after they had been sold (yet again). Yeah they get a lot of bandwagon jumpers when they’re doing well (as do all sports teams). But be honest: Outside of Auckland & gang Māoris; it’s never been all that big across NZ as a whole. How many people actually play league when they’re growing up? It’s got a deserved stigma of the underclass attached to it. Some guy rolling a ball backwards with his foot only has so much appeal.
They are never going to build that Cricket ground at Victoria park. Just because someone had that brain fart and produced some CGI renders doesn’t mean that there is any serious plan. They could play aussie rules at the cricket ground also at Eden park. You should research your videos better and see that there is more to Eden park than that one big hideous stadium.
I agree that it won’t work. But New Zealand has a population larger than Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania. And it’s not really “rugby mad” at all, at least half the population are not really into Rugby. It won’t work because there is no foundation of support for the game in NZ. It’s a very fringe sport there. There’s no existing community of players and supporters like there is for basketball, Soccer, rugby league, etc.
I went to Sky Stadium for the T20 Series against NZ this feb. Here's what i noted. 1. It's incredibly windy. 2. There is only one entrance in the entire stadium with three very long lines to get in. (Aisles 1-9, 10-18 and the corporates) 3. The only way to get in is through the train station. 4. The Seats are not very nice. Same flimsy plastic as Ikon Park. 5. The Scoreboards do not work properly, one is only displaying 75% of it's screen and the other is very flickery. 6. There are photos of those afl games on the wall and it is referenced in the stadium history wall. It's not that great of a stadium, kind of poorly designed and cheaply made. It's also probably too thin. Probably once we annex nz, would be when it happens. But I doubt we'll vote in a brutal totalitarian dictator crazy enough to do that. Or would we...
