The Australian Championship 🇦🇺🏆

[southmelb]

Saturday low youtube ratings makes sense considering those games are on sbs.

Wollongong and South need big crowds next weekend.

 

[Spartan Warrior]

My Championship thoughts:

1. I always thought that I'd love the Championship.

2. I was right

3. A gripe. The audio NEEDS to be better. Having background crowd noise is part of the entertainment experience, but it was missing. And the commentary was delayed by a second or two. These are pretty easy fixes going into round two. Calling the match from a studio is part of making it affordable, I can totally accept that.

4. Most of the matches were great quality. I’m pleasantly surprised that there weren’t any blowouts and they were all competitive! The style/skill on the pitch was high. I’ve read some socials saying the quality wasn’t good, I call bullshit on that. Some have complained about the pitches, I thought they were fine or good enough.

5. The commentary was very good; the co-comms could be more energetic. I liked all the sideline crosses and interviews, although again the audio often failed. Easy fix again. The studio set was fine by me and I’m not expecting the world here.

6. The SBS On Demand video stream was too jittery for live sport. Luckily the YouTube stream was wonderful. But I hope SBS fix this as we need them to succeed.

7. Crowds were passable. It will be part of the metrics so we have to look at it. As long as they aren’t catastrophic ghost towns then we should be fine. I’ve seen some comments about Avondale’s attendance but I thought it looked quite solid!? Everyone seemed well behaved. I saw blue and yellow flares and thought they looked great haha, but I know they are frowned upon.

8. Advertising boards around the grounds looked packed, very promising. Hopefully the marketing of the league continues from here, keep-up (pun intended) the momentum.

9. Tasmania is dying for national football. I’ve heard on a few different occasions that South Hobart were a lock for the foundation NST, as was Adelaide City. Tin foil hat time, I think they eventually left those teams out because they knew a 12 team competition was just out of reach, and they didn’t want an extra two teams from those states playing in this format (Adelaide City and South Hobart plus two of those states’ premiers) to keep the budget down.

10. I know we have another season of this, but I’d like to see the format modified closer to the modern champions league model for next year. Keep the 16 teams but make it the one league, and play a selection of six other teams from other federations, then the top 8 to knockouts. I know it would be a little costlier, but I’m not thrilled with the lack of spread amongst the opposition a team plays and doubling up in the group stage, and possibly a third time in the finals. Add in the number of times they’ve played each other during their NPL season (in Victoria and NSW) plus finals and Australia Cup, that adds up to possibly facing the same team SEVEN times in a season. So next year PLEASE scrap double round robin and playing your own federation in the group stage! Making it one league now will also make it easier to expand to full home and away in future. It seems a logical step along the “proof of concept” path.

11. YouTube ratings (if meaningful?):
South Melbourne vs Sydney Olympic – 41k, Friday night and on FTA
MetroStars vs Wests APIA – 3.7k, Saturday afternoon and on FTA
Preston Lions vs NWS Spirit – 7k, Saturday late afternoon and on FTA
Broadmeadow vs Moreton City– 9.7k, Sunday afternoon
South Hobart vs Wollongong– 10k, Sunday afternoon
Heidelberg United vs Marconi– 21k, Sunday afternoon
Avondale vs Canberra Croatia – 25k, Sunday evening
Sydney United 58 vs Bayswater City – 13k, Sunday evening

12. Having 16 teams and every federation represented has helped with good coverage, and 8 matches per week is a great number to keep engagement up and display the quality. Not ideal for the 100% pro/rel merit system, but let’s build the thing first. The old 8 team NPL knockout was never going to gain any traction.

13. A national second tier is an absolute winner. We’ll assess again at completion, but wow what a start.

14. Connect the pyramid.

We need to see the SBS ratings..

 

[Beretta]

Awesome weekend

Anyone know why no games are being played Saturday night. That 1pm kick off on a Sunday would surely hurt crowds etc.

Also people complaining about crowds. No disrespec but...

Spirit only had the players family and partners at the game. Bayswater aren't going to be a draw card in Sydney either. Plus cost of living etc.

It was a solid weekend all around.

Looking forward to a cevapi and rakija in Canberra this weekend

Any police presence at your match on the weekend?

I'm planning to head to Canberra this Sunday to watch your lot against Canberra Croatia.

 

[Beretta]

That Bayswater equalizer was a crazy volley

He was just meant to lob it back into the box, freak goal.

 

[Glenardo]

Any police presence at your match on the weekend?

I'm planning to head to Canberra this Sunday to watch your lot against Canberra Croatia.

Hopefully police presence dies down after an uneventful afternoon. in my experience attending soccer games in this country over the decades the police presence at games can be fairly random. out of nowhere there will be an unnecessarily large presence at one match for no apparent reason, and then a surprisingly small presence at another match which you’d expect would have a bigger presence. Just when you think they might be starting to work out when and where they need police, and how to police, they’ll shock you with a ridiculous misjudgement

 

[est47]

Any police presence at your match on the weekend?

I'm planning to head to Canberra this Sunday to watch your lot against Canberra Croatia.

Nothing we just had our usual security.

I'd say they'll be there when we play avondale as its Friday night.

Also when we play croatia at home. Even though when we played knights this year we just all got pissed together same as dinamo.

 

[SMFC1959]

did any other games have 20 riot cops, 20 security guards and police camera towers?

FMD talk about an over reach and over kill.

Football Australia can get fucked.

We had over 5K crowd and there were hardly any police at Lakeside Stadium. That's a ridiculous request by Football Australia for that kind of security arrangements.

 

[Decentric]

Attended South Hobart v Wollongong Wolves yesterday.

The weather was shocking for October! Average max in Hobart is usually 17 degrees. Yesterday was 9-10 degrees, plus rain. I'd been out walking the dog before the game in bright sun and it was a lot warmer, so I was underdressed!

The South H pitch was good. Far better than in July.

The score probably reflected the quality of the two teams. Nick Moreton probably played the best half of football I've seen from him in the first 45 mins for SH.

However, the overall technical disparity between the two teams was exemplified in:

* WW had players all over the pitch, who had better first touch and close ball control in confined spaces under pressure. Often South players received and the touch needed to be closer to the body, and then passed, but WWs were able to close the space down, ensuring the second touch from South players was blocked or rushed, hence causing a turnover. Or SH players needed to one touch pass.

* In general WW shielded and protected the ball better. Thomas James the central striker exemplified this, as did Tate Russell and Nichoas Olsen.

* WW kept the ball better, for longer, sustained periods while building up slowly. South probably had most effect in accelerated attacks. WW were able to play at slower rhythm, and keep the ball.

Can't believe a good AL Western U RB, Tate Russell, is now playing at this level? He was beaten twice by SH players, which surprised me. If I had been coach, Luke Wilkshire, I would have been tempted to play him as a DM. TR had too little ifluence at RB.
He was good on the ball, getting his head up effectively when the had the ball at his feet, simultaneously being able to scan the field of play to evaluate options and was slick in tight spaces.
Executed one superb Jairzinho turn as he received, beating 2 SH players. TR was often unmarked in WW Ball Possession, but his Right sided CB, Danzo, didn't see him to pass to.

Nicholas Olsen - superb player on the ball. For mine he is AL quality based on yesterday. Shorter player, with low centre of gravity.

Lachlan Scott - looked good at times and his name rings a bell as a former AL player. Caused probs for SH defence.

No South Players looked like AL quality.

Loved how Luke Wilkshire kept composure at all times in the dug out. Conversely, Ned Clark shouted all match. He has an indecipherable voice like a foghorn, that has no clarity. Thankfully, he went hoarse! I contacted him through Grazor for info, which he never produced after saying he would!

Loved watching live football at this level!

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

Well that felt like a loss.

a fluke cross shot FFS in the 93rd min.

thats our championship done, cant beat the worst team in the group.

Shabow went off injured in the first half, and we signed shit players going forward, Cimenti can fuck off back to marconi

Fuck man, switching off like that in the last 2 minutes.... Wasn't the keeprs fault but I reckon two players reacted to the ball being thrown on the pitch, took a half step towards it even..... Pure NPL shithousery.

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

Myself and a fair handful will be going Olympic away

+4 from my group

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

Is the SBS coverage horrible? I am watching the mini match from South Hobart .... the crowd sound is clearly from another point in the match!!!

Gave up and watched them all from Youtube.... its easier "live" (and to w=swtich between them) SBS only for the mini matches from now on for me.

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

Riot cops charge $10k call out fee at a minimum i believe, then the hourly rate.

Ripoff, we only had to pay $5k for extra policing against Preston... lol

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

Well if I am a barometer, you are right. I am going to Sydney and nearly certainly to Brisbane.

Sydney is a lock, still trying to get "parole" for Brissie

 

[Beretta]

Ripoff, we only had to pay $5k for extra policing against Preston... lol

Sydney is fucked when it comes to policing at football games. They are just anti football and do anything to antagonize trouble

Looks like the police in Melbourne in NPL level are far more laid back.

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

No it is not your internet. The picture quality was terrible on all of games, I would guess around 540p

I got 1080 consistently on Youtube...

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

Thats a huge amount but it doesnt surprise me.. Dont know about Scotland but in Greece, security companies wont touch the football so Panathinaikos and the rest of Grk clubs are forced to pay riot police at all games (and we dont allow travelling fans between big clubs especially)..

AWAY fans?? WTF is that in Greece? They are barbarians....

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

My Championship thoughts:

1. I always thought that I'd love the Championship.

2. I was right

3. A gripe. The audio NEEDS to be better. Having background crowd noise is part of the entertainment experience, but it was missing. And the commentary was delayed by a second or two. These are pretty easy fixes going into round two. Calling the match from a studio is part of making it affordable, I can totally accept that.

4. Most of the matches were great quality. I’m pleasantly surprised that there weren’t any blowouts and they were all competitive! The style/skill on the pitch was high. I’ve read some socials saying the quality wasn’t good, I call bullshit on that. Some have complained about the pitches, I thought they were fine or good enough.

5. The commentary was very good; the co-comms could be more energetic. I liked all the sideline crosses and interviews, although again the audio often failed. Easy fix again. The studio set was fine by me and I’m not expecting the world here.

6. The SBS On Demand video stream was too jittery for live sport. Luckily the YouTube stream was wonderful. But I hope SBS fix this as we need them to succeed.

7. Crowds were passable. It will be part of the metrics so we have to look at it. As long as they aren’t catastrophic ghost towns then we should be fine. I’ve seen some comments about Avondale’s attendance but I thought it looked quite solid!? Everyone seemed well behaved. I saw blue and yellow flares and thought they looked great haha, but I know they are frowned upon.

8. Advertising boards around the grounds looked packed, very promising. Hopefully the marketing of the league continues from here, keep-up (pun intended) the momentum.

9. Tasmania is dying for national football. I’ve heard on a few different occasions that South Hobart were a lock for the foundation NST, as was Adelaide City. Tin foil hat time, I think they eventually left those teams out because they knew a 12 team competition was just out of reach, and they didn’t want an extra two teams from those states playing in this format (Adelaide City and South Hobart plus two of those states’ premiers) to keep the budget down.

10. I know we have another season of this, but I’d like to see the format modified closer to the modern champions league model for next year. Keep the 16 teams but make it the one league, and play a selection of six other teams from other federations, then the top 8 to knockouts. I know it would be a little costlier, but I’m not thrilled with the lack of spread amongst the opposition a team plays and doubling up in the group stage, and possibly a third time in the finals. Add in the number of times they’ve played each other during their NPL season (in Victoria and NSW) plus finals and Australia Cup, that adds up to possibly facing the same team SEVEN times in a season. So next year PLEASE scrap double round robin and playing your own federation in the group stage! Making it one league now will also make it easier to expand to full home and away in future. It seems a logical step along the “proof of concept” path.

11. YouTube ratings (if meaningful?):
South Melbourne vs Sydney Olympic – 41k, Friday night and on FTA
MetroStars vs Wests APIA – 3.7k, Saturday afternoon and on FTA
Preston Lions vs NWS Spirit – 7k, Saturday late afternoon and on FTA
Broadmeadow vs Moreton City– 9.7k, Sunday afternoon
South Hobart vs Wollongong– 10k, Sunday afternoon
Heidelberg United vs Marconi– 21k, Sunday afternoon
Avondale vs Canberra Croatia – 25k, Sunday evening
Sydney United 58 vs Bayswater City – 13k, Sunday evening

12. Having 16 teams and every federation represented has helped with good coverage, and 8 matches per week is a great number to keep engagement up and display the quality. Not ideal for the 100% pro/rel merit system, but let’s build the thing first. The old 8 team NPL knockout was never going to gain any traction.

13. A national second tier is an absolute winner. We’ll assess again at completion, but wow what a start.

14. Connect the pyramid.

Couldn't agree more with this if I tried.....

 

[djpetrin15]

To me, this first week was a really promising sign in terms of the games played. Coverage wise, I still hate the scorebug, and I don't understand how game streams end up reliably starting after the first whistle, but that's the sort of thing that's easier to fix. At the end of the day, every team came to play, 14 of the 16 ended up on the scoresheet, and no team won by more than two goals. Can't complain there!

One bigger gripe - where are the detailed match reports? 6 of the 8 NPLs can get player ratings on Sofascore, and yet the Australian Championship doesn't have any more than the goals? Mind you, the Australia Cup website didn't have match reports either, but Sofascore was still giving live player ratings for those games. Surely whatever data provider is working with the NPLs should be here too?

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

To me, this first week was a really promising sign in terms of the games played. Coverage wise, I still hate the scorebug, and I don't understand how game streams end up reliably starting after the first whistle, but that's the sort of thing that's easier to fix. At the end of the day, every team came to play, 14 of the 16 ended up on the scoresheet, and no team won by more than two goals. Can't complain there!

One bigger gripe - where are the detailed match reports? 6 of the 8 NPLs can get player ratings on Sofascore, and yet the Australian Championship doesn't have any more than the goals? Mind you, the Australia Cup website didn't have match reports either, but Sofascore was still giving live player ratings for those games. Surely whatever data provider is working with the NPLs should be here too?

Theyve got a few weeks now to iron out the bugs... can only get better from now

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

I was happy with the turn out for the game and commentary - Christ were not pro don’t forget and it’s the first game, step by step - all I saw was a pretty good match and some cracking goals for a Friday night !
My only bitch was SO’s terrible vanilla away shirt looked meh.
Congrats Hellas a late winner.
Loved seeing the blue flare got to say

Edit - whenever I heard Pasquali I kept thinking of our GG haha go P !

I liked SOs kit amte, that colour looked straight out of an Acropolis Now episode though.. hahahah