AFL Flourishing In Queensland

While the COVID pandemic has wreaked havoc across the globe, the AFL and Queensland have reaped some serious benefits due to over 140 games - including his year's Grand Final - played there between the Gabba and Metricon Stadium. Although Queensland is considered a rugby stronghold, it is not the first time footy has been played in the state.

When the British first began colonizing Australia, they brought their sports with them, mostly what we know today day as rugby union and soccer. At the time, there was not a unified set of rules for either one. Many of the boys' private schools in Britain had their own set of rules. In the mid-19th century, people in Melbourne tried to establish their own rules for football (aka rugby). It was not without contention with rules being revised and added early on. Then the members of the Melbourne Cricket Club came up with their own version and Australian Rules Football was born. It didn't take long for the new code to dominate in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and West Australia. In 1866, Queensland did adopt what was then known as the Melbourne Rules (to distinguish it from rugby and soccer) and a clubs were formed in Brisbane. One club also dabbled in rugby union. Rugby soon established itself as the dominant code in the rest of the British empire and, after a decade, the Brisbane clubs followed suit. Fans were still divided between the two codes. Rugby detractors said there were too many rules - 57 versus 15 - and that Aussie Rules was more enjoyable to watch and easier to understand. However, rugby being THE British game it became the dominant code in Queensland and New South Wales from about 1880.

The AFL's push into these northern states is well-documented: the odd exhibition games, AFL teams playing matches in Canberra and Darwin, South Melbourne's relocation to Sydney, the formation of the Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast Suns and the Greater Western Sydney Giants. While the success of the Swans, Lions and Giants certainly has helped, the 2020 season has seen a monumental spike of viewership and participation by adults and children. Even attendances at games - once allowed - were admirable despite limited capacities due to the pandemic protocols.

The opening match of the finals series between Port Adelaide and Geelong saw viewership in Sydney up 259% from 2019 and up 112% in Brisbane. The Qualifying Final between Richmond and Brisbane recorded almost 150,000 viewers in Brisbane, more than the NRL final that same night. Even Gold Coast saw increases despite finishing outside the top eight. Their audience jumped 84% and club membership jumped 16%. AFL CEO Gil McLachlan said, "I’m not saying we’re the number one sport here ... but it’s certainly nice to be in the conversation. Right now, it feels like it’s close to being Queensland’s game."

AFL Queensland says junior participation is up 10-15 per cent and female participation up 3 per cent, across the state. Those numbers could increase in 2021 if the pandemic does not interfere. For three days during the week of the Grand Final, the Brisbane Botanic Gardens hosted a Footy Festival with numerous Auskick clinics. According to Mark Ensor, AFLQ state manager, the increased participation across the state is significant as over 900 centers had to shut down early in the season due to COVID restrictions, "We now have 13,000 juniors, and that's the biggest ... in in the country ... across the state we're up 3 per cent on female numbers ... Playing 140-odd AFL matches in Queensland has made us incredibly happy with the year ... We're expecting a 7-10 per cent increase in participation next year if we don't have any COVID problems."

Former SANFL player David Sanders (305 games for North Adelaide) has lived in Brisbane for 25 years and hos son plays for a local club. He has see first-hand the growth of the game this year, . " ... it's hard to quantify the increase ... with COVID. There's no doubt the AFL being largely resident in Queensland has increased the interest for kids. One thing the AFL has done is show a lot of parents what the game is about and get them thinking it's not bad for kids."

Matthew Argus, the football operations coordinator for the Aspley Hornets, a club on the northside of Brisbane, said his AFL 9s program was a good indicator of how the sport has grown. AFL 9s is a non-contact hybrid version of the sport, "We've gone from 12 teams to 18 ... and the openings filled up within a week of registrations being opened."

Even the women's game is flourishing. According to Argus the junior participation has increased over the past few years and 25% of his players are girls. He believes once the pandemic is over, footy in schools would also be in the rise, "It would've been great if you could have the AFL here and you could go helter-skelter with schoolkids. Certainly having the big clubs here has made sure football in Queensland has stayed strong."

For so long. rugby has dominated in Queensland, despite the AFL's continued efforts to make inroads as well as the few who made to AFL ranks. Surely now, the AFL is smiling, dreaming and planning.

Source: abc.net.au, https://theconversation.com