Gold Coast hits back at former Fremantle coach Ross Lyon’s call for AFL to cut one club
Gold Coast has hit back at ex-Docker coach Ross Lyon’s call for the AFL to become a 17-team competition, with some Suns prepared to play for free until footy is back on its feet.
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Gold Coast CEO Mark Evans has hit back at former Fremantle coach Ross Lyon for suggesting the AFL should axe the Suns, saying “no-one in their right mind” would think one less game for broadcasters per weekend is a good thing.
Lyon said the competition should be reduced to 17 teams with the Suns – who received $27.5 million and an assistance package with extra draft picks and recruiting zones from the AFL last year — to get the chop to take financial pressure off traditional clubs.
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“If we look at the expansion teams, and I admire what has been done with Gold Coast and GWS. But I think it might be – if we just drill into Gold Coast – are they, for what we’ve pumped in, are we getting return on investment there?,’’ Lyon said on Channel 9’s Footy Classified.
“And are foundation clubs maybe missing out and under real pressure now?
“With one less club you could have a 32-game season (with every team playing each other twice).
“And then you could put marquee games up and service south-east Queensland and really establish it and then maybe bring it (the Suns) out of hibernation and go again.”
Evans – who announced that the club would stand down up to 80 per cent of its staff during the competition lockdown – said cutting teams would cost the AFL money.
“I know the ninth game (due to having 18 teams) and the broadcast value that brings. Right now, with people not coming to the football and spending money, the broadcast revenue is even more important,’’ he said.
“There’s no-one in their right mind who would suggest that we want to reduce the content for broadcast given our reliance on that to get through this period of time.
“No-one in this world would suggest reducing TV content for right now.
“No-one is this world would who has an eye to economics would talk about reducing the market where there are 13 million Australians in NSW and Queensland.
“Why would you walk away from that?”
Evans said the AFL’s investment into Queensland was working, with the state having 280,000 participants in the code compared to the 100,000 when the Suns were first established.
“I know all of the things that we need to do to stabilise the ship but I also say into the future, Queensland and NSW possibly become more important than they were 12 months ago,’’ he said.
Evans said it was the Gold Coast’s intention to bring back all the stood down staff once the competition resumed but it did not make the task any easier.
“It’s been a difficult time for everybody here as it has been in the community. Very strange and surreal to tell staff and players that the season was on hold and for most of those staff to be temporarily stood down,’’ he said.
“We have to be incredibly nimble and agile to get back to full speed as soon as possible.’’
Suns players took exercise equipment home with them to help them train during the lockdown.
Evans said the club had been heartened by support shown by sponsors, members and AFL HQ since the lockdown took place.
As the pay cut dispute between the AFLPA and the AFL rolls on, Evans said he believed that players ultimately had the best interests of the game at heart.
“I’ve never experienced where players don’t try to look at the industry’s problem and try to help, or the community’s problems and try to help,’’ he said.
“In the first instance they probably need some more information around the shape of the game and what we are trying to do to make sure we are stabilised and ready to go again.
“I’m sure they’ll reach a point where some of that makes a little bit more sense for them.”
He said some Suns players had told him they would “play for nothing” until the competition got back on its feet.
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Originally published as Gold Coast hits back at former Fremantle coach Ross Lyon’s call for AFL to cut one club