Imagine if GCS had to pay real stadium rents like GCU & the Titans have to pay, didn't get stadiums handed to them for a pittance and didn't get to keep any of the profits from food and drink sales.

And we all know how that ended for GCU, I think it was nearly 5 times by the end.

I dunno. It's strange, because he had this club running in the right direction. The tail end of last season was incredibly positive. He's built a very promising, young side. But thing's are just falling apart this season. I don't get it.

The GCS just killing it in the Queensland market, to match their 10.5k crowd with a 54k Pay TV rating. Nice stadium though and they do have the best player in the AFL.

Suns entering a 3rd season of finishing bottom 4, still getting triple the crowds that GCU got, who finished 3rd in their first two seasons.

One day, the suns might win as many as they lose, and their crowds will be greater than GCU by five-fold, and that would be more than ok.

Brisbane has been a bit of a basket case for four seasons now, still getting 20k to games - can't see the problem myself.

The AFL's 3rd newest team, Port, now getting crowds of 26k at a venue their fans don't like - when they move to Adelaide Oval, their crowds will be a minimum of 30k even in a bad season.

Can't see too much of a problem myself.

I dunno. It's strange, because he had this club running in the right direction. The tail end of last season was incredibly positive. He's built a very promising, young side. But thing's are just falling apart this season. I don't get it.

I dunno. It's strange, because he had this club running in the right direction. The tail end of last season was incredibly positive. He's built a very promising, young side. But thing's are just falling apart this season. I don't get it.

Ok so the Suns are going great guns glad we cleared that up. So we are agreed then that if your
- Crowds half within 3 years
- You can average over 50k on Paytv
- You can get more than 30k viewers on your home state FTA TV

then you are classified as a successful team.

I think you've got to give the guy another season or two. I mean, he inherited a side which was on the decline.

That's not exactly true, we did have an older team but the team he inherited was good enough for sixth in his first season at the club. It was his recruitment that has really fucked us over. We do have some good kids coming through now but we can't keep getting belted.

That's not true at all.

The team he inherited was good enough for 6th that season, but it was an older team. He decided to have a go at a premiership the next season, hence the recruiting plan the club took, but it didn't work. Since then though, his, and the clubs recruiting have been spot on. Even the recruitments we made that one window, bar Fev, have been good ones.

But we eventually lost both Bradshaw and Rischitelli to try and bring in Fev. IIRC we are still paying out some of his contract. It was a silly gamble. Both Buchanan and Clarke were a waste as well. (Although injuries played a part). I agree that his recruitment has been much better but we can't keep getting spanked. Hopefully it's just a NAB cup hangover.

Bradshaw who barely lasted half that season before retiring because of injury, and Rischitelli, who isn't even a guaranteed starter for The Suns. Neither player would make our current team. Buchanan did well when he played, and was apparently a great leader for the reserves. Clarke was average, true. But then look at who we gained from that period. Raines is a key player. McGuire and Staker have been important too

Our Recruitment isn't responsible for what's happening to us this season.

North Melb - 32,127 (Target - 40,000)

Got some serious marketing to do if they want to get to 40k...

THE AFL needs a third team in Sydney.

Think it's crazy? The GWS Giants already have 12,000 members in our second season. That's more than Wests Tigers, Cronulla, Manly and Penrith in the NRL.

Look at what we have already achieved in western Sydney and tell me the AFL couldn't support a third team here.

We have a first-class venue in Skoda Stadium in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct. It's a 25,000-seat stadium that we reckon we can fill on a regular basis within five years.

We have an elite training facility with the Tom Wills Oval being opened this week.

We have a great facility in StarTrack Oval in Canberra.

This didn't exist four years ago. The AFL should be planning now to have a team in southern Sydney, representing the Shire down to the South Coast.

They need to be just as brave as they were with the Giants, when they made a $200 million investment in western Sydney.

Still, the AFL was 15 years late in starting the Giants in western Sydney. We can't make that mistake again.

We're building the foundations of the Giants now. They are strong foundations that will allow the club to be on its feet and firing in five to 10 years.

We've got to make up for lost time. The AFL needs to be thinking now about planning for another Sydney-based team in the next 15 years. Yes, it should be that soon.

If you really want to get AFL in a much stronger position, you really should have a team in the north, west, east and south of Sydney.

Sydney's population is expected to be pushing six million in 2030.

Three teams means two million people for the three clubs. It means all three have the scope to be among the biggest in the AFL. The potential is limitless.

The Giants might be just finding our feet now, but we'll be ready when the third club comes in.

The Swans have been here for 31 years and have 33,000 members as well.

The game is bigger than the Swans and it's bigger than us.

We have to be quicker with our development than the Swans were.

There is no plan B to slow down or scale back the ambitious targets we have set. We already have the foundations in place for the Giants to become a big club.

Even Andrew Demetriou thinks we'll one day become as big as the West Coast Eagles are in Perth.

Many people in Sydney will be worried and shocked by this. We've just arrived and we intend to make western Sydney proud.

Sydney is only going to get bigger and all those people deserve another team that's going to represent them and make them proud, too.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/afl/afl-needs-another-sydney-team-says-gws-giants-coach-kevin-sheedy/story-fn865146-1226637120320

:lol: