The Money Era

[@6Thouxaan]

Babe wake up Gaz Man just uploaded

[@Leaforator]

Something that often goes unmentioned in regards to the AFL's attitude towards other codes is that back in the '90s, they fought a war against another rapidly growing global sport and won handily. The near-death spiral the NBL found itself in during the '00s is partially the fault of the AFL seeing it as a potential rival. The NBL was the only national league that regularly held night games in the 90s, and they were doing great TV ratings and getting sellout attendances with them. Then the AFL took note, and started shifting more and more matches into night timeslots. Usually games in Melbourne, and usually up against a Tigers/Magic/Giants derby (or a large market interstate team). This also just so happened to be at a time when junior basketball participation rates were skyrocketing. Interesting. That said, the NBL's own mismanagement problems at the time didn't exactly help proceedings. They were about to lose a quarter of their teams, and the shift from a winter season to a summer one wasn't exactly smooth either. But still, that may explain some of the AFL's arrogance. Big fan of your videos btw. I got hooked on the Crows and Saints history series last summer, and I'm looking forward to the inevitable Icarus story whenever my beloved Bluebaggers eventually get covered.

[@thegaz-man]

I'd have liked to cover the rivalries between codes in recent years, just couldn't find the right resources to do something in a manner I felt confident in. The Blues would certainly be an interesting team to give the old history series treatment. The Kangas and Fitzroy are my next projects, Blues would probably be after the Hawks and South tbh, but perhaps the most interesting pre-war team of the VFL.

[@philosophyfraillon9362]

Can't wait for the AFLW video. People don't understand how important it is for the game as a whole.

[@thegaz-man]

It really is critical for participation rates. Luckily for the AFL, the A-League is shooting itself in the foot of late but it'll really matter in the next few years.

[@jacobrichardson2396]

Great work as per usual Gaz. Just a quick correction though. Although the Dockers made many, many mistakes in their early years (and some could say in recent years as well) passing on Matthew Lloyd was not one of them. At the end of 1994, the Dockers grabbed Todd Ridley from the Bombers and as compensation, the Bombers effectively pre selected a 16 year old Lloyd. Frankly this myth simply takes credit from an incredible selection move done by Essendon.

[@thegaz-man]

Thanks, and you're absolutely right. There's also no guarantee that the Dockers would have picked up Lloyd in his proper draft year, especially as they were targeting Waterhouse and seemed to prioritise WA talent, and they got a handy forward out of it in Ridley. Also while Lloyd got bags against Freo, he never ended any of their finals runs, unlike selections from the McPharlin trade. I'm looking at doing a video detailing just how bad the Dockers were at trading in the 90s some ways down the line.

[@adelaidecrowshighlights4413]

The AFL now has an expectation that ALL Training Facilites and Stadiums are paid for by the Taxpayer. This Corporate Welfare is one of the main reasons why AFL Revenue has exploded.

[@mikespearwood3914]

This is a problem that are lot of the professional corporate sports bodies just expect taxpayers to pay for their product. The NRL was trying to pressure the NSW government to pay for their stadiums to be upgraded. CA claimed WA missing out on a test in a 4-match test series against India was due to the WACA ground. WA gov built the Perth stadium that the WACA agreed to host all tests in...CA STILL overlooked Perth for a test in a following series!

[@louquay]

I live in Sydney and can say that fans in Sydney just don't go to games unless their team is winning. This is the case for every code, not just the AFL. Unless GWS do a three-peat and Penrith, Parramatta and Canterbury are all shit at the same time, then GWS will always struggle.

[@alexjones9038]

gws isn't too bad nowadays, was bad 5 years ago tho

[@warfradio4287]

Looking forward to the AFLW video/series. It's true that the AFLW is very important to the code's (and league's) long-term future, but in the short-term, it's about to head into very stormy waters.

[@thegaz-man]

Thanks! The original plan was a 30min or so vid next month, but with my travel I've pushed it back a bit, might make a 2-parter. Really want to get it right, as I genuinely feel it's important to cover.

[@SainstationalComeng7366]

GAZ MAN UPLOADED *treats video like a movie

[@thegaz-man]

I almost made it about 10 minutes shorter bc of time restraints but wanted to keep as mich as I could, just finished editing it before catching an international flight 😅😅

[@Quolltech]

Some of the best footy content on KZbin. Thanks for your hard work.

[@thegaz-man]

Thanks, glad you think so!!

[@JaydenWilliams-jh6hw]

Elite content mate, thoroughly good work

[@thegaz-man]

Cheers!!!

[@lucaseric8679]

Only channel i have notifications turned on for. Awesome work mate, hopefully youll keep this channel going after you undoubtedly get poached by one of the footy networks.

[@thegaz-man]

Thanks, that means a lot to get that sort of praise! Would be legit my dream job but I might have burned my bridges there with my Demetriou hate tho 🤣🤣

[@Sammy25100]

Seriously underrated content Gaz

[@thegaz-man]

Thanks! Hope it's as fun to watch as it is to make!

[@Linda-tv6fn]

The way that the AFL has treated Tasmania since the AFL was formed is an absolute disgrace.

[@thegaz-man]

Agree. Made them and Canberra jump through hoops by teasing them with a team.

[@TBoneTony]

Always wanted a Gold Coast team to succeed, when I was a kid I used to have the Brisbane Bears as my 2nd Fav team because of the Gold Coast Theme Parks like Movie World, Sea World and Dream World being the theme parks I heard so much about, but had to wait until I was a teenager to go there with family on a few special holidays. Gold Coast Suns could have been a good side if they didn't rely on one man to hold the team on his shoulders. And of course, when his shoulder went, so did the team's game plan and their season. All I wish for is the current Gold Coast team to learn lessons of the past and make sure their next push for the finals is done by a well balanced team with some consistent talent.

[@thegaz-man]

Gold Coast were also somewhat hard done by with training resources - The Boys Club by Michael Warner tells a really good story as to how development was limited in the early stages bc the whole thing just wasn't set up well. Relying on Ablett definitely didn't help the club or its players develop on their own as well as they could.

[@TBoneTony]

This was the part of AFL history where Corporations took over everything. I never went to many games from that point onwards as life took other priorities and it was far cheaper for me to just watch Footy on TV and even use the Radio like an old school 1920s man to know what was going on in each game. When it came to internet, I just use Live Scores while entertaining myself with other stuff.

[@thegaz-man]

A mate of mine tried to get Adelaide Oval tickets last week, and some of the nosebleed seats cost upwards of $100. Way too expensive to attend regularly. Hell, I use the radio myself sometimes, mainly because commentary standards on TV have also fallen off a cliff. Agree that the game feels really sanitised and somewhat soulless right now.

[@TBoneTony]

@@thegaz-man Even if the 90s were hectic when it came to the future of each club being a battle of survival in regards to memberships being low for a number of clubs, at least the cost of the games in the 90s were cheep enough for my family to take me to the games. Maybe I was lucky in the 90s to enjoy going to the game at MCG and Kardinia Park back in the day. Even went all the way out to Waverley Park one time with my aunt who had a senior Geelong membership. Sure wasn't cheep but at least you can manage your budget around it. I feel for you in Adelaide, the best part of the 90s you had to go all the way to Football Park, and when you finally got the Adelaide Oval the footy became expensive.

[@benjaminrowley]

Another great video

[@thegaz-man]

Thanks!! Ngl the script kinda got out of control and wandered a bit but glad it seemed to hold together

[@Angela-ob9ei]

The AFL cares about two things Perception and Money. They have successfully manipulated the Membership figures to make it look like the game is growing when it's not. They simply generated more money by selling everything to the highest bidder be it the SA Government for Gather Round, TV Rights or Grand Final Tickets. The TV ratings and participation rates do not lie though. The game of Rugby League has grown more than the game of AFL.

[@thegaz-man]

The NRL has done way better in managing itself than the AFL in the last five year imo without question. Will be interesting to see how the new PNG team affects that

[@banliveexport325]

The New Stadium in Tasmania is just another delaying tactic from the AFL. If the AFL really cared about the Facilites for AFL patrons, why are they allowing games of AFL Football to be played in Ballarat, Norwood, the Adelaide Hills? How can the two current AFL stadiums in Tasmania be up to AFL standard for Hawthorn and NTH matches but not a Tasmanian AFL Team?

[@thegaz-man]

Absolutely - surely UTAS is a good enough stadium to host a side, with occasional games being played in Blundstone to cater for the other half of the island?

[@banliveexport325]

@@thegaz-man The AFL will do anything to delay the Tasmanian Team.

[@most6771]

Canberra should be the next team imo

[@thegaz-man]

Absolutely agree. What do you reckon, new team or relocation, and send the 20th licence to NT or NZ?

[@benjaminrowley]

⁠​⁠@@thegaz-manNT should get the 20th and last license and either a relocation of a smaller vic club or the giants relocate to Canberra as for the suns well if they don’t succeed in terms of attendance or whatever they should either fold or send them to the cairns where it’s actually passionate about footy then recently asked the hawks to come up there since tassie will obviously take the attention away and the saints abandoned cairns to

[@mlmisfraud305]

SUBBED awesome video.

[@thegaz-man]

Awesome thanks so much!!!

[@detroitpistonsbasketball2273]

One place that jas been scammed the most is newcastle nsw, I live on newcastle and the sydney Swans have done nothing for us they refuse to play pre season games here the local sydney comp takes our player and umpires and the sydney swans signed an agreement with the scg to play 11 games there a year until 2030 and the population of the hunter central coast region is over 1 million people and we have newcastle number one sports ground that can host afl games the facilities is about the same as Tio in alice springs with a capacity of 10,000 people.

[@thegaz-man]

Would love to do an exploration one day on sports teams in the Hunter! What's your thoughts on the infrastructure/fan support as a local? Also my sympathy is dented a bit after the Knights did my Raiders in golden point last year 😅😅

[@benjaminrowley]

Also What u could have mentioned is that how the clubs are money making machines without the pokies/ gambling showing other sports in the country that they can stand on their own two feet unlike the nrl where if they lose the pokies there pretty much fucked but u could mention this in ur next video in months time

[@thegaz-man]

The relationship between sports and gambling is a pretty interesting topic I'd be tempted to cover one day!

[@benjaminrowley]

I actually though the pet memberships where just a meme thing for bandwagon supporters mainly Richmond lmao didn’t know they actually allowed pets lmao

[@thegaz-man]

Yeah, it was a proper thing that caused a bit of debate! My first memory of it was Port bringing them in around 2010 but I can't find concrete evidence as to who was the first to start them up. Perhaps no one wants to own up to the idea, which would make sense.

[@MyCaptainPugwash]

How does the news recently that the A League is in a bit of financial strife with dropping crowds attendance and problems meeting their broadcast targets effect this. I agree with you, the AFL is run by a group of drugged up overlords who have lost touch with their supporter base. But the A League is looking at financial hardship, my god the only way some of these teams survive is by selling talent to overseas clubs, and that cant be good for the sport in the long term, and Football Australia couldnt run a piss up in a brewery due to multiple self interest groups. Also agree with you that AFLW is something that could turn this around, it is 50% of the population that you are appealing to here, but the AFL are pretty ham fisted when it comes to this sort of thing.

[@thegaz-man]

Yeah that's a real blessing for the AFL. Unbelievable how incompetent the APL are at running the sport. If even a single team folds, soccer may be relegated to a secondary sport for years

[@albertmiller2electricbooga897]

A-League's Unite Round was the dumbest thing, it was only organised to appease Sydney after the Grand Final deal debacle, and they didn't even do the NRL's trick of playing all the games at one venue, they had Perth and Wellington playing across the city at the same time as a game in Parramatta so fans couldn't even watch all the games in full

[@thegaz-man]

Absolutely, I went for it and it was a joke. Had a video scripted for it but had to bump it for tine constraint reasons

[@carncats07]

I always felt the Demetriou regime was very sneaky and secretive with its rhetoric being all "smoke and shadows behind the windows". Although they are still a secretive organisation, I have found that the post Demetriou era has been more upfront and transparent.

[@thegaz-man]

Absolutely agree, think Demetriou's secrecy lost the AFL a significant amount of trust from the public. Game needs simplification, transparency and accountability.

[@TBoneTony]

AFL should have invested money to get exhibition games in Japan instead of China. Sure the country of China has the largest population and then comes the second largest population in India. However the poorer areas of China and India will never get the ability to travel to see a foreign game. If the AFL had invested into Japan instead, sure the population is smaller, but the Japanese people have had the ability to take a Western Sport/Entertainment and make it their own later on. Baseball and Soccer as well as Super Rugby are sports that have had a strong showing in Japan. Even Japanese Entertainment have their own Western origins. So when the AFL gets their act together with Tasmania and eventually a 20th team later on, maybe if the want to look at growing the sport beyond Australia maybe they should look at Japan and perhaps promote the AFLW over there as an experiment to see if there is any interest. Only thing that I wish for is for the AFL to allow Japan entertain the idea and promote it the Japanese Way instead of the Western Way. Not only that but Shonen Manga can make the AFL look like an Ablett highlight reel on each page considering the stuff they have done in shonen sports manga like Soccer, Basketball, Baseball and of course the women only sport Keijo.

[@thegaz-man]

Absolutely agree that marketing of overseas games has to match their local culture. Japan is an interesting market to break into, I'd have to wonder if there's enough large fields that could service AFL over there. AFL needs to put more effort into the International Cup, for mine.

[@TBoneTony]

@@thegaz-man The largest stadium in Japan is Saitama Stadium that is often used for Soccer matches featuring the Blue Samurai. Would love the international cup to be put into more effort to promote that but maybe start off with 6 to counties first before trying to expand it. New Zealand as well as Pacific Islands gave it a good crack from what I remember. Even Naru has a armature Australian Football association.

[@BDub2024]

your criticism of Folou and Hunt is a bit ridiculous. Yes it created publicity but also was an experiment in how the AFL in the future could take good rugby athletes from NSW Qld and NZ and turn them into AFL footballers. Swans had done it with Pike, a rugby player who got picked as a 24 year old. Hunt was good but ended up with injuries. Folou to be fair was put at full forward in a team that won a single game. Very difficult. The AFL is still getting some sportsmen from Ireland, but the flood of players from US and other places hasn't occurred.

[@thegaz-man]

Hunt ended up being okay, as I said, but Folau was the wrong type of player. They needed a half back or full back (in rugby) to make the transition - in modern terms, I reckon a Dylan Edwards or Jamal Fogerty would excel at AFL level. The problem was that they needed a couple of years at least to adapt. Their high profile status prevented that, and when they failed because of that, it became a PR disaster because it deepened the divide between fans of the two codes. Pike was also a Union player, with a certain identified skillset that was seen to match AFL norms, and was allowed time to develop as he was a lower profile recruit. Also as a ruck, his disposal skill was less critical than Hunt (half back) and Folau (forward). It was also a shame the US pipeline dried up. I liked Brisbane’s Archie Smith, rated him but just didn't get the chances he perhaps needed.

[@Codewordthecerealkiller0]

I would've done North QLD not Gold Coast

[@thegaz-man]

How far north? We talking Toowomba or Townsville?

[@laurens4561]

Goodness you really travelled for this video! It's a shame that a sport competition setting up teams in the country the sport is native to is being referred to as a 'war'. Does this happen anywhere else in the world? Baseball setting up teams in the US or rugby sides being set up around England. I don't think it would be seen as a war against the EPL? Is there a reason why this is done? Seems a bit dramatic. I think GWS was a big mistake and the success of them playing in Canberra shows how much of a missed opportunity it was for the next team to be placed there. Also the branding of the new teams has been underwhelming, hard to believe it got approved! When considering whether a team has been successful or not a few metrics can be looked at. Within AFL circles crowd numbers seem to be the holy number to consider without any consideration of tv numbers for some reason. You mentioned the storm being successful, certainly on the field. Off the field they have been incredibly unsuccessful. There are more NSW players playing currently for the swans than the number of NRL players from Victoria to any NRL team in the past 25 years. TV and crowd numbers are poor also. Hard to imagine what things would look like if they had the on field success similar to the Suns.

[@thegaz-man]

I think it all goes back to the breakdown in the relationship between the VFL and NSWRL after their merger fell through. They insulated their games within their respective state's culture during the Depression and WW2, and any opposition was seen as a threat, especially with such low population bases to retain compared to the UK. I think a lot of that sentiment carries through to this day unfortunately.

[@Andy-o2f]

Quality work again. Far too intelligent for the generic AFL media. Watch The GAZ-man and sleep safe in the knowledge that this has contributed to ZERO Happy Meal sales.

[@thegaz-man]

🤣🤣🤣 thanks!!! Would recommend reading The Boys Club by Michael Warner, really good insight into the insular nature of the current AFL structure - especially now that Gil's gone on to shill for a gambling company just like his predecessor.

[@BDub2024]

The sarcasm about the non selection of Tasmania is unnecessary. The AFL is not a charity. New teams have to make their way financially or bring something to the table (such as growing the game, increasing TV royalties, increasing participation). Tasmania does none of that and instead is more of a drain. It was unfortunate that Roos didn't embrace Gold Coast. It would been good for AFL as a whole. North stayed in Melb which was good for the fans, but have still failed to really find a good revenue stream and a means of increasing support. They rely on AFL help more than ever.

[@thegaz-man]

It's true that the clubs need to be solvent in their own way, but the Gold Coast and GWS are still yet to achieve this due to low fan interest, relying on the highest assistance packs from the league. My point was that Tasmania not being selected earlier was the prioritisation of money and expansionism trumping traditional fan interests in markets with a proven AFL support. Tasmania would have generated double the gate receipts and membership revenue of GWS based on attendances, which was proven with the popularity of their $10 member pack being popular all over the nation thanks to tremendous goodwill amongst the entire AFL fanbase. Thanks to this, and thanks to York Park and UTAS not needing the upgrades that GIANTS Stadium did, plus the likely recruitment of Jack Riewoldt and Ben Brown as well as the draft concessions the 2012 team got, a Tassie team would likely have generated far more interest, and cost the AFL less money to run. Totally agree about North though. $100m plus a potential partnership with the Southport Sharks, and an already handy list at the time...they would have been fantastic, even without an Ablett.

[@trevorbower4716]

Gold Coast should have been the tasmania devils and gws should have been a Canberra team

[@thegaz-man]

Agreed, with the caveat that North relocates to the GC. In hindsight I personally think it works out better for both city and club if the Roos moved in 2008.

[@benjaminrowley]

@@thegaz-man north will be relocated to the NT always then Canberra gets the license then finally all states and territories are represented in footy

[@trevorbower4716]

That penalty get Italy got at the 2006 world cup killed any chance soccer had of over taking the afl in the afl states

[@thegaz-man]

Imagine the hype if Australia beats Italy in that game. Would be an unstoppable force, we haven't had a team like that since. And now with the APL slashing funding, that really does them in for the next few years.

[@smartoperator7716]

$69. Nice.

[@christophersimons128]

This is your magnum opus! The usual hilarious wry humor, but with a savage sting in the tail, truth bombs highlighting the utter decadence, corruption and intellectual dishonesty of the afl. But with the USA seemingly falling over themselves to end their republic voluntarily, and the world going to hell in a hand basket in countless ways in this post jumped the shark world, somehow ludicrously appropriate.😂

[@thegaz-man]

Thanks, that means a lot!! Was hoping all these different threads and tangents would come together neatly. As I said, I love the game, but it's absolutely being run by corrupt people - as you mentioned, that seems to be a theme across the globe!

[@BDub2024]

Andrew Demetrios political correctness was the worse thing of all.

[@thegaz-man]

He was hypocritical in that he would preach for inclusiveness, but ran his private offices in the exact opposite way. Definitely can't say I ever warmed to that man.

[@BDub2024]

@@thegaz-man Anyway, inclusiveness isn't always the best thing either. Some people get special privileges and Demetrio appears as Mr Nice Guy. But those given special privileges mean others unfairly miss out. My view is that many people (in particular Executives) that preach inclusiveness are often particulary narcissistic and sociopathic. They are good at talking in slogans to make themselves appear great guys. They just can't naturally act in a decent and empathetic manner. Anyone like Ellen degeneres that talked "be kind" you can be guaranteed have not idea about how to be a decent human being.

[@thegaz-man]

@BDub2024 true, actions always speak louder than words.

[@BDub2024]

@@thegaz-man I've come across many CEOs that preach inclusive and run all these programs. Yet you find out how they treat directors or managers under them and its totally sociopathic. There seems to be a trend. With the execs not actually wanting or knowing how to be a decent human being, so find it easy to force slogans and policies on everyone. (that will be enough they think and i don't have to change my behaviour either).