\u201cMy dream is to have four teams in Sydney,\u201d Barassi, who died last Saturday aged 87, said in 2008. \u201cI hope we are at that stage in another 50 or 100 years. That would mean all the kids are playing Aussie Rules and not the English game called rugby or rugby league or soccer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sydney might have four AFL teams one day \u2014 with AI devising gameplans and halftime speeches, of course \u2014 but, as it stands, the city is struggling to rally behind just two.<\/p>\n
The Sydney Swans earned their chops long ago, stimulating interest via premierships and the presence of an imposing superstar, whether it was Tony Lockett<\/strong>, Barry Hall<\/strong> or Lance Franklin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n But the GWS Giants remain a manufactured oddity on the sporting landscape despite enjoying the sustained success rival clubs in any code could only dream about.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve made the finals six times in the past eight seasons \u2014 and never lost a match in the first week.<\/p>\n Toby Greene celebrates a goal with Giants teammates during the win over Port Adelaide.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AFL Photos<\/cite><\/p>\n When they meet Collingwood in the preliminary final at the MCG on Friday night, it will be their fourth appearance in a grand final qualifier since joining the competition in 2012.<\/p>\n They beat the same team in 2019 to progress to the decider, where Richmond thumped them by 89 points.<\/p>\n On performance alone, the Giants are a powerhouse \u2013 yet they remain virtually invisible in their own city and widely dismissed as the AFL\u2019s bastard child outside it.<\/p>\n Giants officials cite their membership figure of 33,000 as proof of their growth and in some respects they are right because it dwarfs that of most Sydney clubs.<\/p>\n The worrying number is how many eyeballs are glued to TVs across the city whenever they play, and on that score, the Orange Tsunami is more Tangerine Ripple.<\/p>\n Their 23-point victory against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night was one of the standout performances of the season \u2014 not that many Sydneysiders would know it.<\/p>\n According to OzTam ratings, 750,000 people watched the match on Channel Seven across the five major capital cities but only 93,000 viewers switched on in Sydney.<\/p>\n That\u2019s less than the 110,000 who watched Shakespeare and Hathaway<\/em>, an offbeat English detective drama that was aired on the ABC at the same time.<\/p>\n The ratings were particularly lame when you consider the match had clear air in Sydney because the NRL semi-final between the Warriors and Knights had been played at 4pm.<\/p>\n Greene and his Giants teammates went largely unnoticed at Bronte on Monday.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Kate Geraghty<\/cite><\/p>\n Still, these numbers represent something of a success. According to a Seven spokesperson, the average Sydney broadcast audience watching GWS matches on their network has increased 75 per cent since last season.<\/p>\n Code wars are tedious. People can support whoever they want. As for the battle for young hearts and minds, as long as the young \u2019uns are out there keeping fit and playing sport, it shouldn\u2019t matter whether they\u2019re juggling a Steeden, Sherrin or korfball.<\/p>\n But the AFL picked this fight in rugby league heartland and, with each passing season, it\u2019s becoming clearer to the mothership that it will take further time and money to rumble with mungo institutions like Penrith, Parramatta and Canterbury.<\/p>\n The Giants do have a story to tell, though, and none better than captain Toby Greene.<\/strong><\/p>\n Picked in the Giants\u2019 first draft in 2011, he\u2019s gone from being the game\u2019s dirtiest player to one of its most respected. He\u2019s put his misdemeanours (assaulting a bouncer in 2014) and those of his father (who was jailed for nine months after headbutting a police officer at the 2019 grand final) behind him.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, he was named All-Australian captain. It\u2019s a tale of redemption usually reserved for bad boy rugby league players.<\/p>\n Yet Greene lives in Sydney\u2019s eastern suburbs, is rarely noticed in public, and sometimes asked to show his accreditation at the players\u2019 entrance to Giants Stadium because security staff don\u2019t recognise him.<\/p>\n So what, asks pugnacious Giants chair Tony Shepherd<\/strong>, who will finish up at the end of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cThis kind of talk pisses me off,\u201d he says. \u201cThe Swans took 30 years to gain a foothold in the eastern suburbs and they had the 108-history of South Melbourne Football Club behind them. We\u2019ve only been here since 2012, on our own. This city loves a winner and we need sustained success to get our roots down in Western Sydney. It\u2019s going to take some time.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, it will take time. About 50 to 100 years.<\/p>\n People still aren\u2019t entirely sure why the NRL is playing a double-header in Las Vegas to open next season \u2013 gambling revenue, unearthing American talent, cheap shotgun weddings \u2013 but there\u2019s plenty of interest.<\/p>\n More than 10,000 tickets have already been sold for the March 2 extravaganza at Allegiant Stadium, and that\u2019s the length of the Vegas strip ahead of projections.<\/p>\n So far, most of the tickets have been purchased in Australia, but there are growing sales from within the US. The NRL is privately hoping for a crowd of 40,000 to 50,000.<\/p>\n So why is the NRL playing matches in Las Vegas? Because it wants to broaden its international audience and therefore international broadcast revenue.<\/p>\n Not all are sold on the idea.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to be there for the first year,\u201d one sceptical club boss says, \u201cbecause I\u2019m not sure there will be a second!\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s a story in a recently released biography on Wayne Bennett<\/strong> \u2013 you may have heard about it \u2013 concerning Broncos fullback Reece Walsh<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Last year, Bennett was desperate to secure Walsh for the Dolphins when the young superstar told the Warriors he wanted out of the final two years of his contract. Walsh wanted to return to Brisbane to be closer to his young daughter.<\/p>\n When he signed with the Broncos, the Dolphins quickly spun a narrative that the Warriors had blocked him from signing with them because the Dolphins had poached recruitment man Peter O\u2019Sullivan<\/strong> from them.<\/p>\n Warriors chief executive Cameron George<\/strong> and Walsh\u2019s manager, Nash Dawson<\/strong>, vehemently denied this, claiming Walsh told them he only had eyes for the Broncos.<\/p>\n Bennett, though, doubled down on his criticism.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been done over by player managers, and that\u2019s what we feel at the club right now,\u201d he told me in June 2022. \u201cI can be candid with you. It\u2019s the second time it\u2019s happened. Our offer to Walsh was double what he\u2019s going to get paid at the Broncos.<\/p>\n Dawson also denies this. \u201cNo offer from the Dolphins was tabled,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A nice little story from Fiji\u2019s historic 22-15 victory over the Wallabies at the Rugby World Cup involves their hooker, Samuel Matavesi<\/strong>.<\/p>\n As Matavesi celebrated with delirious teammates on fulltime, it was hard not to notice the large gut beneath his white, skin-tight jumper.<\/p>\n He had, in fact, jammed one of the balls under his jersey as a keepsake, and fair enough, too, given what he and his comrades had just achieved.<\/p>\n His Twitter account revealed what was really at play: \u201cFour years ago I promised my kids something from the RWC. Unfortunately my kit was stolen. Four years on I\u2019ve kept the promise! Hopefully something they will treasure forever.\u201d<\/p>\n Matavesi\u2019s car was broken into in London following the last World Cup in Japan.<\/p>\n As for the Wallabies \u2026 I\u2019ve got nothing.<\/p>\n THE QUOTE \u201cI\u2019m talking to America here!\u201d \u2014 NFL referee Alex Kemp<\/strong> while batting away Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith<\/strong>, who was whinging about the intentional grounding penalty Kemp had just given him. He then dropped his whistle and walked off stage.<\/p>\n THUMBS UP<\/strong> Ange Postecoglou wills Tottenham Hotspur to a memorable Premier League win over Sheffield United on Saturday.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n THUMBS DOWN It\u2019s a big weekend for \u2026<\/strong> Penrith, who are the last Sydney team standing in the NRL finals series. Fun fact: if Melbourne cause an upset and beat them at Accor Stadium on Friday night, it will be only the fourth decider in history that doesn\u2019t feature a team from Sin City. All eyes on Jarome Luai<\/strong>\u2019s dodgy shoulder.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Viva, Las Vegas<\/h3>\n
All coming out in the Walsh<\/h3>\n
Why Fiji star kept eye on the ball<\/h3>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\n
Ange Postecolgou<\/strong>\u2019s star continues to rise. This week, the Tottenham Hotspur boss was named the Premier League\u2019s manager of the month. He\u2019s also been shortlisted for FIFA\u2019s manager of the year award for his efforts at Celtic.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/strong>Roosters fans have short memories. If anyone dared suggest Ben Cummins<\/strong>\u2032 six-again error in the dying minutes of the 2019 grand final cost Canberra the game, they were roundly whacked. But oh how the worm has turned with Roosters fans slamming referee Ashley Klein<\/strong> for their side\u2019s loss to Melbourne because he missed Harry Grant<\/strong>\u2019s knock on \u2026 in the 25th minute.<\/p>\n