SWANSBEST
29th September 2003, 08:52 PM
The season footy had to have
11:21:14 AM Mon 29 September, 2003
Patrick Smith
afl.com.au
Soccer is reloaded with $15 million for one last chance to create a meaningful presence in Australian sport; rugby is coming with its World Cup and rugby league has overcome the drama of last year?s salary cap embarrassment. As always, the AFL battles clear and present dangers.
For all these reasons the AFL needed to have a very good winter. It did better than that. It had one to remember, one that has reinforced its place as the only true national code in the country.
It peaked with Saturday?s grand final. We saw the greatest side in AFL history. The Lions travel, they play in what has evolved into a 16-team competition, they are squeezed under salary cap and draft regulations and they play out of a developing state. And they win three in a row. Leigh Matthews has become the biggest name in football.
It was an achievement recognized by the nation. It was the most watched AFL grand final in history in Melbourne and in Brisbane. It was the most watched sporting event this year, peaking with an audience of 3.5 million. Twice as many people watched the game in Brisbane as they did the rugby league final.
The win by the Lions was just one of many great moments in 2003. The Brownlow Medal count just gone was memorable in that it was a tie between Adam Goodes, Mark Riccuito and Nathan Buckley but also because of the quality of player that surrounded the trio. It was perhaps the greatest Brownlow yet and confirmed the award as the most prestigious in the competition. The detractors might have to wait another year. But they?ll be back.
Everything about football went well. Crowds easily topped six million for the season. TV ratings rose and the radio audience spread. There were no running scandals that pocked the previous season. No Chris Grant back, no drug beat-ups, no Wayne Carey and his irritable bladder.
Clubs collectively turned around their fortunes by more than $10 million. Even Sydney, battered by corporate support for the rugby World Cup, will not go ahead with a request for $1.5 million in aid.
The future of the competition is assured with the provision of the Competitive Balance Fund that frees up $5 million annually to assist ailing clubs.
The grand finalists were perhaps favorites at the start of the season but they sank as low as ninth (Collingwood) and sixth (Brisbane) during the winter. Port Adelaide stumbled and fumbled under finals pressure and now the playing group is being shredded. And coach Mark Williams under an extraordinary attack from the club?s major sponsor.
Collingwood mocked Port after the preliminary final. Saturday was a reminder to the Pies that they should take football one week at a time.
Telstra Dome?s surface again became a talking point. Richmond complained to the Players Association that it was dangerous. Brisbane went one further and took the matter up with the AFL. Ian Collins headed a party that went overseas in search of answers but appeared to return uninspired. There was talk of artificial grass.
But as a venue it drew more fans than the MCG in the home and away season and could soon be the stadium of choice by Victorian football fans.
It staged several memorable moments. Jason McCartney?s return and farewell to football in one game was a national story, not just in the sports pages. The Kangaroo had become a symbol for Australians fighting back against the horror of the Bali blasts.
There was the sad sight of seeing Anthony Stevens and Glenn Archer take on Carey. A private hell played out in public. Nathan Burke left in style. Bob Rose and Jack Dyer left us altogether.
So we move on. Andrew Demetriou is now in charge of our game. It is a weighty responsibility no matter how well the game sits now. Sport and entertainment is a volatile market.
Wayne Jackson has retired. A man who drove the concept of the national competition should be well pleased. He leaves football in a much better shape than he found it. Season 2003 is his crowning glory.
Patrick Smith writes daily in The Australian.
http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=opinion&spg=display&articleid=122365
11:21:14 AM Mon 29 September, 2003
Patrick Smith
afl.com.au
Soccer is reloaded with $15 million for one last chance to create a meaningful presence in Australian sport; rugby is coming with its World Cup and rugby league has overcome the drama of last year?s salary cap embarrassment. As always, the AFL battles clear and present dangers.
For all these reasons the AFL needed to have a very good winter. It did better than that. It had one to remember, one that has reinforced its place as the only true national code in the country.
It peaked with Saturday?s grand final. We saw the greatest side in AFL history. The Lions travel, they play in what has evolved into a 16-team competition, they are squeezed under salary cap and draft regulations and they play out of a developing state. And they win three in a row. Leigh Matthews has become the biggest name in football.
It was an achievement recognized by the nation. It was the most watched AFL grand final in history in Melbourne and in Brisbane. It was the most watched sporting event this year, peaking with an audience of 3.5 million. Twice as many people watched the game in Brisbane as they did the rugby league final.
The win by the Lions was just one of many great moments in 2003. The Brownlow Medal count just gone was memorable in that it was a tie between Adam Goodes, Mark Riccuito and Nathan Buckley but also because of the quality of player that surrounded the trio. It was perhaps the greatest Brownlow yet and confirmed the award as the most prestigious in the competition. The detractors might have to wait another year. But they?ll be back.
Everything about football went well. Crowds easily topped six million for the season. TV ratings rose and the radio audience spread. There were no running scandals that pocked the previous season. No Chris Grant back, no drug beat-ups, no Wayne Carey and his irritable bladder.
Clubs collectively turned around their fortunes by more than $10 million. Even Sydney, battered by corporate support for the rugby World Cup, will not go ahead with a request for $1.5 million in aid.
The future of the competition is assured with the provision of the Competitive Balance Fund that frees up $5 million annually to assist ailing clubs.
The grand finalists were perhaps favorites at the start of the season but they sank as low as ninth (Collingwood) and sixth (Brisbane) during the winter. Port Adelaide stumbled and fumbled under finals pressure and now the playing group is being shredded. And coach Mark Williams under an extraordinary attack from the club?s major sponsor.
Collingwood mocked Port after the preliminary final. Saturday was a reminder to the Pies that they should take football one week at a time.
Telstra Dome?s surface again became a talking point. Richmond complained to the Players Association that it was dangerous. Brisbane went one further and took the matter up with the AFL. Ian Collins headed a party that went overseas in search of answers but appeared to return uninspired. There was talk of artificial grass.
But as a venue it drew more fans than the MCG in the home and away season and could soon be the stadium of choice by Victorian football fans.
It staged several memorable moments. Jason McCartney?s return and farewell to football in one game was a national story, not just in the sports pages. The Kangaroo had become a symbol for Australians fighting back against the horror of the Bali blasts.
There was the sad sight of seeing Anthony Stevens and Glenn Archer take on Carey. A private hell played out in public. Nathan Burke left in style. Bob Rose and Jack Dyer left us altogether.
So we move on. Andrew Demetriou is now in charge of our game. It is a weighty responsibility no matter how well the game sits now. Sport and entertainment is a volatile market.
Wayne Jackson has retired. A man who drove the concept of the national competition should be well pleased. He leaves football in a much better shape than he found it. Season 2003 is his crowning glory.
Patrick Smith writes daily in The Australian.
http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=opinion&spg=display&articleid=122365