My mental health isn't on trial here, thank you very much! That's scheduled for next Thursday. Local councils love having their area on the national stage, and if they can be seen spruiking their region on anything with a few eyeballs, they'll happily part with a few million in rate payer funds.

A proper pyramid league system would see investment from local and state governments into making those types of changes, as a team like Heidelberg moved up the system and attracted larger crowds.

I'm quietly confident this years competition will be bigger and better for the reasons you've touched on. Sydney United being in a much better place, Rockdale/Sutherland, Adelaide City, Queensland Lions all possible inclusions in place of Spirit, MetroStars, and Moreton City. I can see some...

Interesting! A proper league H&A format would more or less result in this - concentration of local talent into that state's NSD club(s). If the SA clubs go ahead with this, it will be good to see how far they progress.

You're right. Anter mentioned they were making it a priority to capitalise on a range of commercial opportunities, with a particular focus on a naming rights sponsor for Aus Champs.

It looks like a great size venue for Championship games and will look good on TV if they put the cameras opposite the grandstand. Anything over 2000 would make for a great atmosphere.

Marconi with 9 out of 12 remaining games at home. Is the top 3 locked in now given Wolves have fallen back to the pack a little?

Excellent growth in just half a season. It's reasonable to think you could get 2000-3000 for group games in the Championship if you qualify, and the investment in community engagement continues / amplifies from the club. That number of people in a small ground like Seymour Shaw would make for a...

If they do qualify, it will be interesting to see what sort of investment goes into the games. They've increased NPL crowds through better community engagement, and I imagine they'll increase that two-fold if they were to qualify. I wonder if they would consider putting in temporary stands on...

The aged care facility is actually right next door, so he won't have far to walk for training and home matches. The shuttle bus can get him to away games....

It could likely be the death blow of the APL if that's the course they choose to take. I hold out hope that they see the value in the authenticity that traditional clubs bring, and how that now, more than ever, people are craving something authentic and real to be feel connected to.

Thanks for highlighting Sydney United. I should have included them in my list. Their community engagement this year, from my comfy YouTube account, has looked excellent. I’m excited for what they can deliver in this years championship. Good call on APIA. Hopefully the Wests group are committed...

Something that rebelliousfeminist974 said in the Football Australia thread in General Football was promising: I'm not sure if the 'assumption' is by people in the know who may have more insight than us plebs, or just amongst the uninformed on this forum. The optimist in me wants to believe...

It shows that SMFC is starting to gather enough attention that the APL wants to cash in on that. I feel like this is their early attempt to divide and conquer the building momentum behind SMFC, Preston, Marconi, APIA (and/or it's designed to use SMFC to generate other bids for the WU license as...

I hold out slim hope that they use the buzz of the world cup to make some announcements about the Championship either during or shortly after Australia's campaign ends. Lots of extra interest and eyeballs and it wouldn't take attention away from the Socceroos. But it's Football Australia, so...

I'm really looking forward to tuning Fraser Park... if we ever get an open pyramid they seem like the type of club that would be well placed to succeed in that environment. Good infrastructure and good income streams.

From a very cynical perspective (and big apologies to any Spirit fans on here) I hope Rockdale or Sutherland qualify for the Championship over them. I think Sharks and Rockdale offer more general interest and excitement and will likely pull much better crowds, and have more potential to grow...

Definitely! I was getting worried as the clock ran down that this good crowd rocked up and it'll end up nil all... but what a way to send everyone home buzzing!

There's probably no system the APL would agree to in the current environment, but I think we're much closer to the time when it will be possible. The franchise model is like a shark - it needs to keep moving forward or it drowns. Continued club ownership issues, no interested investors in...

I can only imagine the positive press if we had P/R here and the underdog club from a regional area gets promoted. It's such a unique opportunity the sport has in this country to stand out from the rest... if only we could take advantage of it. As for Kalamata FC, I'm sure they'll be pitted...