The Australian Championship 🇦🇺🏆

[Monoethnic Social Club]

So the implication is that they could have two rugby league/franchise teams sponsoring them?
That’s very harsh on South Melbourne!

No, Wests was only sponsoring until the end of the Championships, my implication is that they needed another new NRL sponsor... and Marconi wasnt playing South Melbourne at 12.30 last Saturday... I know you don't really get things, but do at least try to keep up if you are tryiong to be funny..

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

Play A-League games at 12.30pm & 1pm on Saturdays and you'll see a drop off as well.

For next season, they need better times for matches, but it wont happen as they dont want too many clashes with AL games.

Not sure how much is bullshit, but aparently SBS was extremely pleased with the viewership, especially considering they spent nothing on it... They want to push the timeslot to Fridays and Saturday evening next time round...

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

After 20 years, the glory days are back at Marconi’s ‘Palace’. Are they here to stay?

The giant ball outside Marconi Stadium tells the story of a club that slipped into obscurity when the A-League began, but is now working towards a brighter future.

www.smh.com.au

The gall of that buffoon to chime in now......

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

This tournament was essentially brought in to appease a couple clubs, which it did.

SUFC and Olympic clearly demonstrated they did not give two hoots about this comp, which was disgraceful, but hopefully this changes for next season. The other clubs all did commendable jobs.

How do we define success of this season, absolutely no idea. The fact there was more football in this country as a result of this tournament is a success in itself.

Attendances - overall, considering what we were looking at round 1, I think the drop of was concerning considering each team only had 3 home games. What would happen with a full home and away season? The people who were making excuses for poor crowds were the same people blasting the aleague crowds with the exact same excuses.

Financially - I have already heard several clubs were really struggling, albeit it would not be a surprise for the non foundation clubs to struggle.

People were complaining about the the kick off times, what about the 8pm kick offs on the cold wet freezing miserable nights in the winter? Souths wet home game already demonstrated what an effect rain has on attendances. So do we have this comp in winter, or align with the Aleague if the aim is to "maximise attendances"?

Would be interesting to hear what SBS thought of season 1.

I think we need to bite the bullet and just go with a full home and away season, even if it is just 8 teams start off with, however if we cannot even find 8 financially viable teams for the time being, then we need to reset and find a alternate solution.

Realistically, only Marconi, Hellas, Preston, Wolves and APIA looked like they were ready and keen for a second division. South Hobart definately has potential but would imagine it would be extremely difficult to attract players down there.

I think thats fair, but I refiute the very first line.. Yes maybe the ex NSL clubs made the most noise about this, and have for the past 15 years - my club at the forefront... but I reckon the real answers lie with the member federation clubs that unexpectedly had to play in this... what do they think?

To me they turned up and exceeded my expectations... if there is an appetite there from Baysie, Metrostars, Moreton, and they relay that to their home competition this thing has already created a huge advanatge... IMHO.

 

[SMFC1959]

Now that we are at the conclusion of the Australian Championship,

Simple Question, has it been an overall success?

It comes down to how we are measuring success. What does success look like? What signifies a pass mark?

Without discrete 'KPIs' or pre-defined benchmarks, its all essentially subjective what we think.

From my personal view, I believe it has been successful start. It wasn't perfect but you have to start somewhere.

From a South Melbourne perspective:

• vastly improved match day experience (e.g. DJ, better food options, etc)
• crowd attendances have dramatically increased, with matches against Olympic and Heidelberg attracting over 4K. In NPL Victoria matches, you'd be lucky to see any crowds above 1,000.
• widespread awareness of matches and people following results/match highlights
• greater social media presence and engaging social media content
• it was great to play against interstate competition
• watching South Melbourne play on free to air TV for the first time in decades

Things to improve:

• improved fixturing and kick off times. Kick off times at 12.30pm in hot conditions are not going to maximise TV audiences or crowd attendances. Furthermore, spreading out matches across Friday nights, Saturday afternoons and nights, and Sunday afternoons. Same state clubs could play Friday or Saturday night fixtures to be screened on SBS OnDemand and maximise crowd figures.
• award winning a spot in the Australia Cup to the winner of the Australian Championship
• roll out FVS to all matches. I think this form of video refereeing has added another element of intrigue and drama to the competition.
• state federations need to promote more of the matches of their member teams.
• a major sponsor for the competition is required if it is to be financially sustainable long term.

I think this will assist some clubs who may have been hesitant to take the risk and bid for a foundation club spot may now reassess and look to step up and be part of it. From a Victorian perspective, we are going to see ridiculous money being spent by some clubs to win the minor premiership and qualify for the 2026 competition.

Overall, we have the building blocks for a proper home and away competition that would sit within the gap between NPL and A League. It just needs some further work to get it to where it needs to be.

 

[Kitwally]

The gall of that buffoon to chime in now......

I get that he is a “traitor”, but you’d rather less publicity?

 

[Football us life]

My 2 cents, so to speak

Some of the games I have watched on tv in the Championship have been very good, some average and some not so good. But considering the majority of players are part-time professionals then generally the standard of football on view has been better than I might have originally thought.

I think from within the clubs and within the game itself the amount of effort put in by everyone concerned to make this work has been a very concerted one.

The tv broadcaster SBS have been superb. The quality of their tv broadcasts and online streams in terms of picture quality, commentary and general output has been as good as anything elsewhere. But then they have been at this a long time and you can’t beat experience....watching football broadcasts produced by SBS always feels a bit more calming than say ch10/P+ or Foxtel....

I think the building blocks of a NST are there. I think the will from the football community is there and I think given time it will improve in terms of viability, which from what I've read between the lines is very much an issue.

We're always going to have debates about crowds in Australia, whether it's football, RL and the other funny game....[wink]

What people should probably take into consideration is that if the A League, the top tier of football in Australia struggles to garnish support from the mainstream sporting public, then a second tier version of the league will too.

So the Championship and any prospective NST is going to get it's 'bums on seats' and 'eyeballs on screens' from predominantly the football watchers, rather than Sporty Jack from down the street who say he 'follows all the codes....'

So I wouldn't be getting my knickers in a twist too much over crowd figures, or lack of.

This competition might need a few tweaks here and there, but then what football competition anywhere in the world doesn’?

Or hasn't been tweaked??

 

[SMFC1959]

I get that he is a “traitor”, but you’d rather less publicity?

Happy to take the free publicity.

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

I get that he is a “traitor”, but you’d rather less publicity?

If he was interested in promoting the Championship mate, he would have published this piece 3-4 weeks ago instead of radio silence....

Marconi dont have anymore games in Sydney this season.... he could have even publsihed it 4-5 days ago and made a tiny difference to attending crowds....

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

My 2 cents, so to speak

Some of the games I have watched on tv in the Championship have been very good, some average and some not so good. But considering the majority of players are part-time professionals then generally the standard of football on view has been better than I might have originally thought.

I think from within the clubs and within the game itself the amount of effort put in by everyone concerned to make this work has been a very concerted one.

The tv broadcaster SBS have been superb. The quality of their tv broadcasts and online streams in terms of picture quality, commentary and general output has been as good as anything elsewhere. But then they have been at this a long time and you can’t beat experience....watching football broadcasts produced by SBS always feels a bit more calming than say ch10/P+ or Foxtel....

I think the building blocks of a NST are there. I think the will from the football community is there and I think given time it will improve in terms of viability, which from what I've read between the lines is very much an issue.

We're always going to have debates about crowds in Australia, whether it's football, RL and the other funny game....[wink]

What people should probably take into consideration is that if the A League, the top tier of football in Australia struggles to garnish support from the mainstream sporting public, then a second tier version of the league will too.

So the Championship and any prospective NST is going to get it's 'bums on seats' and 'eyeballs on screens' from predominantly the football watchers, rather than Sporty Jack from down the street who say he 'follows all the codes....'

So I wouldn't be getting my knickers in a twist too much over crowd figures, or lack of.

This competition might need a few tweaks here and there, but then what football competition anywhere in the world doesn’?

Or hasn't been tweaked??

well said :

So the Championship and any prospective NST is going to get it's 'bums on seats' and 'eyeballs on screens' from predominantly the football watchers, rather than Sporty Jack from down the street who say he 'follows all the codes....'

 

[Sutherlandbear]

Sydney max on Saturday from BOM was 31.8. Presumably a couple of degrees hotter out at Marconi Stadium.

The question was about crowd numbers, not player comfort. Sitting in the midday summer sun on a 30+ degree day (even if undercover) is different to watching a game at night.

And just to head you off at the pass, I know people watch cricket in those conditions. But the big crowds are only at the big test matches.

And hundreds of thousands lying on a beach all day.

 

[tsf]

They want to push the timeslot to Fridays and Saturday evening next time round...

I look forward to every kent in this thread complainng because they have the games head-to-head with the a-league...you know it will happen lol

 

[Sutherlandbear]

judging by most responses, the only measurement of success seems to be the crowds. lol Straya !

More eyes, more bums on seats = more TV money, etc,etc. If you want the game to grow, you need more interest, and that is both leagues.

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

I look forward to every kent in this thread complainng because they have the games head-to-head with the a-league...you know it will happen lol

yeah but we both know its a different demographic.. Sure there is minor overlap but they can both "breathe" in the same space... All it takes a little bit of cooperation to NOT schedule a big Aleague match in the same city as a big Championship derby that night...

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

More eyes, more bums on seats = more TV money, etc,etc. If you want the game to grow, you need more interest, and that is both leagues.

On that champagne football podcast, Claudes the SBS pundit was tiptoeing around the streaming figures for SBS being similar to Aleague streaming figures... again take with a grain of salt, but if thats the case.... SBS would be mad to NOT try and promote "their" comp at a better time slot next year.

 

[biggiemic]

Play A-League games at 12.30pm & 1pm on Saturdays and you'll see a drop off as well.

For next season, they need better times for matches, but it wont happen as they dont want too many clashes with AL games.

The kick off times were consistant throughout the entire tourmanant.

No doubt people would complain if matches had clashed with Aleague. Already had people complaining about Marconi playing the SAME day, let alone same time, as Sydney derby even though it was hours before.

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

The kick off times were consistant throughout the entire tourmanant.

No doubt people would complain if matches had clashed with Aleague. Already had people complaining about Marconi playing the SAME day, let alone same time, as Sydney derby even though it was hours before.

Im pretty sure people were complaining about the kickoff time of the Marconi game being shit BECAUSE of the Aleague game not because they wanted to watch both...

 

[biggiemic]

I think thats fair, but I refiute the very first line.. Yes maybe the ex NSL clubs made the most noise about this, and have for the past 15 years - my club at the forefront... but I reckon the real answers lie with the member federation clubs that unexpectedly had to play in this... what do they think?

To me they turned up and exceeded my expectations... if there is an appetite there from Baysie, Metrostars, Moreton, and they relay that to their home competition this thing has already created a huge advanatge... IMHO.

None of those clubs have said they would like to be part of a second division going forward, financial burden it too high & are happy with status quo.

Its up to the foundation clubs to get this thing of its feet, and clearly SU58 and Olympic don't seem to interest at this stage.

But hopefully theres for an example a Gold coast team, or a combined tasmania team that could make the leap.

 

[biggiemic]

Im pretty sure people were complaining about the kickoff time of the Marconi game being shit BECAUSE of the Aleague game not because they wanted to watch both...

People complain about Aleague kick off times as well. It's gonna happen. We gotta stop making excuses.

I actually think the different kick off times are great, allowed me to watch BOTH comps.

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

None of those clubs have said they would like to be part of a second division going forward, financial burden it too high & are happy with status quo.

Its up to the foundation clubs to get this thing of its feet, and clearly SU58 and Olympic don't seem to interest at this stage.

But hopefully theres for an example a Gold coast team, or a combined tasmania team that could make the leap.

Yeah I know, but Im sure there were clubs in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth and maybe Canberra sitting on the fence about applying but now at least have a idea of what it would look like.. I am pretty sue South Hobart is still keen as and I reckon there are 2-3 clubs in Melbourne making plans as we speak... I hope thats true in other cities too?