Welcome!

By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

Sign Up Now!

The Australian Championship 🇦🇺🏆

southmelb said:
We've scored from it on other grounds but the bulk of them have come at Lakeside. Some grounds like Preston or Hume its almost pointless cos they're really big. Dont think Mikkola played in the away game against Heidelberg this year and my memory is failing me on previous visits, the main one i remember is the 2022 gf where we got smashed in the driving rain at the village, he couldnt reach the box with the slippery ball. I vaguely remember another encounter there where Heidelberg had a really tall.keeper and he was just grabbing them.

Whilst the goals are important, the use of it is as much about building pressure and keeping field territory, more and more teams are doing it now, the Wanderers won the Sydney derby off the long throw as well.
Click to expand...
Keep in mind there was nobody in the farkin box for Max to throw the bloody ball too in 2022... YET we persisted.... just dumb... No Riak the follwing year either, yet we persisted....

Well 100% use it on Saturday, getting balls into the box from a wide position wont be easy against Marconi fullbacks... I predict direct through Uchida and set plays will be the attack du jour...
 
Beretta said:
But do you think most EX-NSL clubs would of preferred this format? i mean no-one knew until months out what was going to happen

Not making excuses for my club or Olympic, but once the format deviated from the 8 league format, maybe some clubs weren't as interested.
Click to expand...
Yeah I get that... I don't think anybody is truly happy...
 
Glenardo said:
Was interesting to see one of the guys on the champagne football podcast who is involved with spirit talking about how it’s not just a dumb long throw and hope for the best, how there’s a systems to it with blockers who know where to be and what to do etc to maximise chaos and how it’s one thing to identify what’s going on but another thing to combat it
Click to expand...
Anecdotally, when Max came to the club, he did it a training and Esteban almost shat his pants... Asked him how far he could throw, tested a few things and then fobade him from doing it on a pitch again for teh ret of pre-season... It caught a lot of clubs by suprise that first season.... Conservatively we scored 12-15 goals off it before defences started protecting their keeper forcing Max to go shorter and have the front of the box flick on....... There a reason its being used in the top leagues these days (apart from the world copying SMFC) systems football is making way to set piece football for better or worse.
 
grazorblade said:
Id say a better approach would be "hey look, western united and macarthur are allowed in with small crowds and are making it work, why not let us in too?"

If you say they shouldnt be allowed in because of small crowds then that is a danger of sawing off the branch u are sitting on
Click to expand...
The time for begging is over Grazor... Let the APL live or die by its own sword I say.
 
Monoethnic Social Club said:
Keep in mind there was nobody in the farkin box for Max to throw the bloody ball too in 2022... YET we persisted.... just dumb... No Riak the follwing year either, yet we persisted....

Well 100% use it on Saturday, getting balls into the box from a wide position wont be easy against Marconi fullbacks... I predict direct through Uchida and set plays will be the attack du jour...
Click to expand...
Good old hoofball.
 
Glenardo said:
Correct as I’ve said before, if you’re going to justify inclusion in the national league at the expense of the traditional clubs being actively excluded you have to atleast be getting much better crowds ala Melbourne victory, Sydney fc or wanderers at their height.

If you’re to deem MacArthur and western as acceptable/worthy then it all of a sudden becomes much harder to justify the continued exclusion of the traditional clubs, who again, offer more than just what you see on a spreadsheet. they were established football factories for players, had people with football know how who had been involved in the game for decades, many of whom have their own facilities etc etc
Click to expand...
Don’t deem MacArthur or Western as acceptable at all but their owners stumped up the cash and MacArthur continue to. Same with Auckland. And that’s basically the bottom line right? I’m very sceptical that any NPL clubs - including South Melbourne - can actually afford to go national. But it’s a moot point because at the moment there’s no path to do that is there?
 
Son of Sam said:
Many of the likes of Sutherland Bear, Kitwally et al, come here to this forum subject (Australian Championship) thinking they are speaking to the likes of those back at the dawn of the A League who predicted '5 years tops'.

You make a lot of assumptions. I went to NSL games and I’ve followed football in Aus for almost 50 years. I was at probably at NSL games before you were born.
Click to expand...
 
Glenardo said:
Correct as I’ve said before, if you’re going to justify inclusion in the national league at the expense of the traditional clubs being actively excluded you have to atleast be getting much better crowds ala Melbourne victory, Sydney fc or wanderers at their height.

If you’re to deem MacArthur and western as acceptable/worthy then it all of a sudden becomes much harder to justify the continued exclusion of the traditional clubs, who again, offer more than just what you see on a spreadsheet. they were established football factories for players, had people with football know how who had been involved in the game for decades, many of whom have their own facilities etc etc
Click to expand...

Everybody knows Macarthur and Western United were a joke. Us fans didn't make that decision, Foxtel and Gallop did.

Calling us plastic fans because our team is in the A-league is just a cop out.

If South Melbourne were in the Aleague from day dot, I am certain the championship would not exist in 2025.
 
Kitwally said:
Don’t deem MacArthur or Western as acceptable at all but their owners stumped up the cash and MacArthur continue to. Same with Auckland. And that’s basically the bottom line right? I’m very sceptical that any NPL clubs - including South Melbourne - can actually afford to go national. But it’s a moot point because at the moment there’s no path to do that is there?
Click to expand...
I may be wrong, I’m not privy to the exact finances they have, but personally I’d be pretty confident that at minimum likes of Hellas, Marconi and maybe Wollongong would have access to sufficient capital to be able to make it work. Maybe APIA too as part of the “wests” group.
 
Last edited:
biggiemic said:
Everybody knows Macarthur and Western United were a joke. Us fans didn't make that decision, Foxtel and Gallop did.

Calling us plastic fans because our team is in the A-league is just a cop out.

If South Melbourne were in the Aleague from day dot, I am certain the championship would not exist in 2025.
Click to expand...
I never did any such thing. You’re either confusing me with someone else or lumping me in with some team of people you perceive to exist
 
Last edited:
Mono made a Rabbitohs joke stating that Wests have discontinued their sponsorship but I asked my Wests Tigers/APIA supporting mate in Sydney and he seemed quite sure this was incorrect. Can anyone confirm that’s Wests are continuing their sponsorship? If so, for how long?
 
Kitwally said:
Mono made a Rabbitohs joke stating that Wests have discontinued their sponsorship but I asked my Wests Tigers/APIA supporting mate in Sydney and he seemed quite sure this was incorrect. Can anyone confirm that’s Wests are continuing their sponsorship? If so, for how long?
Click to expand...
It hasn’t been discontinued, both parties seem happy with the arrangement as of right now. If anything I’d say it’s more likely they might even become further intertwined and therefore diluting APIAs identity…imo
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top