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The Australian Championship 🇦🇺🏆

olympic said:
Dont underestimate spirit

Should of beaten preston

Wouldnt surprise me if they beat south melb

Clearly best team in sydney
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I rate them highly and yes they should have smashed Preston at home but away they got a late equaliser in a game that Preston should have wrapped up by 3-4 goals, they didnt do much against Avondale down here either. Can only see us losing if we butcher chance after chance.
 
Glenardo said:
I will say Marconi had 2 Saturday midday games, one against Hobart and one against a regular npl opponent, and the Friday night against Heidelberg was delayed for an hour due to intense thunderstorms. If they were just normal kick off times and normal weather it would have been an average over 2k I reckon. Have praised APIAs crowds and engagement to no end but they also had a derby on a Friday night with good travelling support which was also Sydney’s first championship game and Sunday afternoon kick offs with perfect weather. These are factors
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I have a theory that Marconi’s golden era from the 70’s to the 90’s tied in with the apex years of Suburbsn living. And conversely, why APIA struggled (except for their ONLY successful season where they won the title).

Inner City living had a resurgence in the 1990’s. And it has not relented.

Hence why Marconi have been less successful than APIA
 
Spirit will not be easy at all. They were crowned NPL NSW Premiers for a reason.

The way they play reminds me of how a youth team plays - structured and technical build up from the back. If the match was in Sydney, I would have put them as slight favourites given that horrible synthetic surface they play on.

South just needs to play their normal game and above all, take its chances. If we struggle to put away our chances, Spirit will pinch the result.
 
Glenardo said:
I will say Marconi had 2 Saturday midday games, one against Hobart and one against a regular npl opponent, and the Friday night against Heidelberg was delayed for an hour due to intense thunderstorms. If they were just normal kick off times and normal weather it would have been an average over 2k I reckon. Have praised APIAs crowds and engagement to no end but they also had a derby on a Friday night with good travelling support which was also Sydney’s first championship game and Sunday afternoon kick offs with perfect weather. These are factors
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Agree G
I tend to forget the points you make I just looked at the figures like a stats person.
Spot on mate spot on.
 
SMFC1959 said:
Spirit will not be easy at all. They were crowned NPL NSW Premiers for a reason.

The way they play reminds me of how a youth team plays - structured and technical build up from the back. If the match was in Sydney, I would have put them as slight favourites given that horrible synthetic surface they play on.

South just needs to play their normal game and above all, take its chances. If we struggle to put away our chances, Spirit will pinch the result.
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I think we have a good plan B if they start playing around us, bombard them with the long throw, we are good for a goal from it at home. I suspect its the only reason Mikkola starts.
 
Son of Sam said:
I have a theory that Marconi’s golden era from the 70’s to the 90’s tied in with the apex years of Suburbsn living. And conversely, why APIA struggled (except for their ONLY successful season where they won the title).

Inner City living had a resurgence in the 1990’s. And it has not relented.

Hence why Marconi have been less successful than APIA
Click to expand...
I think it’s true that the period above was the peak of suburban living etc and car culture and that it’s cycling back. But I don’t think its the main factor in this particular case. I think across a season all things being equal the averages would probably end up being similar, in the regular NPL Marconi probably gets the bigger crowds tbh. Where APIA play is probably closer to where the largest cluster of Italians in Sydney live, but also it seems as though APIA have targeted the inner west trendy “support your local” demographic relatively successfully aswell. Imo the vibe at APIA is less palpably Italian than it is at Marconi despite still defiantly notable, potentially partially the case because of the Marconi club itself.

Also potentially a tangent but the Sydney metro area is probably more uniformly urban/dense across the whole city than other Australian cities due to the way it developed and it’s geographic constraints, even 10, 20, 30k from the cbd apartments and high rise are still ubiquitous as opposed to Melb where density drops off dramatically 5-10k from the cbd
 
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LFC said:
some clubs really impress me not knowing what their usual is.
CanberraC - not bad.
SthHobart damn good imo - shows potential is all there competing in a national NPL - it would be a failure in that other comp.
Wolves have been in doldrums to me for years, shows the base is still there which is promising.
Whereas I expected more from yours Glenardo and be higher than Wolves/APIA generally.
SO a complete let down but what are we to expect - hope they pick themselves up next season.
Spirit for the newbie little entity that they are avg 700 is good start for that small local ground.
Can't speak much for the Vic ones barring SMH and the rising back of Preston.
Makes me wonder when and IF MK can climb back - would their resurgence be right up there one day.
We need SU back on their usual good horse next season - that will pick up the overall % no doubt.
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Glenardo said:
I will say Marconi had 2 Saturday midday games, one against Hobart and one against a regular npl opponent, and the Friday night against Heidelberg was delayed for an hour due to intense thunderstorms. If they were just normal kick off times and normal weather it would have been an average over 2k I reckon. Have praised APIAs crowds and engagement to no end but they also had a derby on a Friday night with good travelling support which was also Sydney’s first championship game and Sunday afternoon kick offs with perfect weather. These are factors
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The matches that have been held on the Friday night prime time slot have largely performed well.
Round 1 - SMFC vs Sydney Olympic
Round 2 - APIA vs Sydney United
Round 3 - Preston vs Avondale
Round 4 - Marconi vs Heidelberg
Round 5 - Sydney United vs APIA
Round 6 - Moreton City vs SMFC

Most of those matches were well attended.

For 2026, the Australian Championship should look at holding Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night, Sunday afternoon kick off times to spread out the football and maximise attendances.

SBS TV can cover the Saturday afternoons if need be, with the SBS OnDemand/YouTube platforms covering the other fixtures. Or alternatively, SBS TV could broadcast key fixtures on a Friday/Saturday night to maximise TV audience and reduce the equivalent Saturday fixture to ensure the same amount of matches are being broadcast.

In terms of the general crowd attendance discussion, you have to say that South Hobart and Wollongong have done well. South Hobart most certainly could become the club that represents the state in the Australian Championship. If Sydney United can sort out its off field issues, I can see them returning to good attendances of at least 1,500-2,000.
 
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Son of Sam said:
I have a theory that Marconi’s golden era from the 70’s to the 90’s tied in with the apex years of Suburbsn living. And conversely, why APIA struggled (except for their ONLY successful season where they won the title).

Inner City living had a resurgence in the 1990’s. And it has not relented.

Hence why Marconi have been less successful than APIA
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Yes another good point.
Times have changed dramatically since the days.
Norton st lost its dna 20yrs ago same applies to much urban living worse close to the cities.
Many 2/3rd gen’s moved elsewhere also due to the oldies doing ok not living in terraces etc.
And it continues
Trendys
Dinks
100+ gender types many not football people but Mardi gra and hippocrite greenies.
Thankfully I see support can be recovered well enough.
 
SMFC1959 said:
Spirit will not be easy at all. They were crowned NPL NSW Premiers for a reason.

The way they play reminds me of how a youth team plays - structured and technical build up from the back. If the match was in Sydney, I would have put them as slight favourites given that horrible synthetic surface they play on.

South just needs to play their normal game and above all, take its chances. If we struggle to put away our chances, Spirit will pinch the result.
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Yep
I mentioned this.
They play like a well drilled academy in Snrs and pluck some good Snr players to mix with their robots haha
They are no push over and as mentioned they should have got a result or more lacking finish.
 
Glenardo said:
I think it’s true that the period above was the peak of suburban living etc and car culture and that it’s cycling back. But I don’t think its the main factor in this particular case. I think across a season all things being equal the averages would probably end up being similar, in the regular NPL Marconi probably gets the bigger crowds tbh. APIA play is probably closer to where the largest cluster of Italians in Sydney live, but also it seems as though APIA have targeted the inner west trendy “support your local” demographic relatively successfully aswell. Imo the vibe at APIA is less palpably Italian than it is at Marconi despite still being there, potentially partially because of the Marconi club itself.

Also potentially a tangent but the Sydney metro area is probably more uniformly urban/dense across the whole city than other Australian cities due to the way it developed and it’s geographic constraints, even 10, 20, 30k from the cbd apartments are still ubiquitous as opposed to Melb where density drops off dramatically 5-10k from the cbd
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I live in the inner west. I'm not Italian and I go to APIA games on the odd occasion. I've also gone to a few Olympic games but I prefer Lambert Park - smaller and people are closer together. Not a fan of Belmore Oval which is why I rather go to APIA games.
 
LFC said:
Yes another good point.
Times have changed dramatically since the days.
Norton st lost its dna 20yrs ago same applies to much urban living worse close to the cities.
Many 2/3rd gen’s moved elsewhere also due to the oldies doing ok not living in terraces etc.
And it continues
Trendys
Dinks
100+ gender types many not football people but Mardi gra and hippocrite greenies.
Thankfully I see support can be recovered well enough.
Click to expand...

There are still a few good places to eat in Leichhardt. Not much else to do on Norton St.
 
theFOOTBALLlover said:
There are still a few good places to eat in Leichhardt. Not much else to do on Norton St.
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yer ofcourse there's still a few about mate - its just nothing like it was back in the day - I/we actually frequent Haberfield more now.
I agree re Lambert as well - I like the closeness about it all and less crowd haha
Leichardt suits what is needed to expand ( great having 2 grounds might I add ) for I don't think Lambert will ever get the re dev green light.
 
Glenardo said:
I still think Marconi is bigger, but not by a lot. Maybe 60-40 Marconi - APIA
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Is the main difference between the fanbases based on geography? So if you're from the West you support Marconi and if you're from the Inner West you support APIA?
 
Dinamo said:
Is the main difference between the fanbases based on geography? So if you're from the West you support Marconi and if you're from the Inner West you support APIA?
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Yea it’s a factor, potentially in the foundational years even more so. also family connection would play a big part, who your grandfather, father supported etc. Marconi has been more successful and played in the national level for much longer so that probably accounts for the larger support base. As I’ve said before because there was a long time when it was one of the premier soccer clubs in this country More people probably have a personal/familial connection to Marconi. It’s a pretty friendly rivalry Ala Sydney united v Melbourne knights, rather than a deep seated hatred.
 
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