Sydney, GWS success means AFL has never been stronger in NSW according to new figures
Neil Cordy, The Daily Telegraph
November 23, 2016 8:00pm
AUSSIE Rules is still a long, long way from challenging rugby league for supremacy in NSW but statistics reveal the code has never been stronger north of the Murray.
A solitary Western Bulldogs goal in the preliminary final was all that prevented the first All-Sydney Grand Final between the Swans and Giants. That on-field success has been converted into record-breaking membership, attendances, elite talent production and participation.
Registered players in NSW and the ACT are up 10.4 per cent to 237,549 with Auskickers leading the way with 61,037 (more than any other state or territory), an increase of 18.24 per cent on last year.
The game’s governing body is looking to keep the momentum going with Sydney hosting major events in the coming days including Friday’s national draft and the AFL 9s Classic at the SCG.
Two of the highly regarded prospects, Will Hayward and Ben Ainsworth, got a taste of Sydney yesterday when they dropped in at Taronga Park Zoo.
“There’s been a lot of work over a lot of years to get to this point,” NSW/ACT AFL CEO Sam Graham told the Daily Telegraph.
“On all our key metrics we are at record levels. The game is strong at the elite level with the Swans and Giants but it’s also very robust at the grassroots level. We’re enjoying double-digit growth and the interest in the game is enormous. Kids in school programs and that’s leading to talent outcomes.”
There is also quality underlining the quantity of players with NSW talent more prominent than ever with a record 11 players from the region participating in the draft combine last month.
Last year there were four top-20 picks from NSW and the ACT — Callum Mills, Jacob Hopper, Matt Kennedy and Harrison Himmelberg — compared to 13 top-20 picks from the area over the 30-year history of the draft.
The highly successful seasons enjoyed by the Swans and Giants also helped their memberships grow by 15.74 and 13.59 per cent respectively with Sydney rising to 56,523 (sixth in AFL) and the Giants to 15,312 (17th).
Crowds pushed past the half-million mark in Sydney and Canberra to 620,000. A figure helped by three finals in the Harbour City for the first time.
The biggest area of growth has come in the women’s game — the Giants will feature in next February’s inaugural national women’s competition.
There are nearly 86,000 female players in NSW and the ACT, an increase of 23 per cent on 2015. The women’s AFL has grown 400 per cent nationally since 2011.
The Giants, AFLPA and the NSW Government announced a partnership with not for profit organisation Ladder aimed at tackling youth homelessness in Western Sydney. The government is investing $1.3 million over the next two years in ‘Ladder Step Up Western Sydney.’
Ladder was established by a group of AFL players in 2007 in a bid to empower young people to break the cycle of homelessness, is the official charity of the AFLPA and a national partner of the AFL.
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