AFL’s battle to avoid ‘the Olympic effect’ in Queensland
Brisbane will move to the top of the ladder if they defeat Carlton at the Gabba but the club and code has broader ambitions.
Brisbane chairman Andrew Wellington is confident both the Lions and Australian football will harness the momentum gained in Queensland this year and continue to grow the code over the next decade and beyond.
The Lions will claim top position on the ladder — at least until Monday night — should they defeat Carlton at the Gabba on Saturday night in their final match of an extraordinary home-and-away season.
In a season where every club has faced significant challenges due to COVID-19, the Lions were able to announce this week their second highest membership in history of 29,277.
It is the largest club membership of any club in any code in the state and is a just reward for the steps the Lions have taken in recent years, Wellington said.
“I know that the membership number is our second highest that we have ever had and it is higher than last year,” he told The Weekend Australian.
“To have that happen in this environment is incredible. It is in part because we were able to play games (at home) but people were still signing up in the process (of the COVID-19 shutdown).
“The work that our players, our coaches, our staff have done and their engagement with our supporters over time is superb.
“We have focused on that over the past three or four years, on doing everything we can do … and now it is also an entertaining product. It has set us up really, really well for the next few years, to be honest.”
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, who was on the competition’s coronavirus crisis cabinet, has been in Queensland for more than a fortnight and is optimistic about the growth.
The clash between Collingwood and Brisbane at the Gabba on Easter Thursday last year was a sellout and it is understood corporate interest in their recent 2020 game was significant.
McGuire said Gold Coast chairman Tony Cochrane told him he was receiving calls from the agents of players who have spent much of the season in Queensland inquiring about opportunities after finding a new appreciation for the lifestyle.
But the Magpies president said it was important the AFL and the two Queensland clubs strived to avoid what he described as the “Olympic Games effect”.
“That is where it is great for a couple of weeks and then everyone leaves and things slip away,” he said.
“We have spent a lot of money up here in having a season and now we have to grow on that. We don’t want it to become a version of an Olympic ghetto.
“We have to make sure over the next 10 years and the next 20 years, that (we continue forward) and that this season is not the pinnacle of the game here.
“I have great confidence in the Lions and the Gold Coast. It is a massive opportunity for them.”
Wellington has no doubt the decision to award the grand final to Queensland will have a positive impact, even if it is only a “once in a lifetime” opportunity.
He said the day Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan announced the coup, phones at the Lions headquarters were “ringing off the hook” with inquiries about the decider.
Wellington, who is a partner at PwC, was in Cairns last weekend for the Lions’ clash with Sydney on Sunday night and was encouraged by what he witnessed.
“There were a lot of people around Cairns and Palm Cove who had their team colours on, and you could see the interest in the Cairns Post and in the local community,” he said.
Should the Lions defeat Carlton, McGuire’s Magpies will help Brisbane create history if they beat the top-placed Port Adelaide at the Gabba on Monday night.
Brisbane has never won a minor premiership, with the Lions’ last success in 1913 when playing under the Fitzroy banner.
“If we could finish on top, we would be rapt to do that. We’re about trying to achieve different milestones,” coach Chris Fagan said.
The Brisbane coach said the Lions were keen to carry the momentum of a winning streak, currently sitting at six, into the finals having already secured a home qualifying final.
“We want to go into the finals in good form. That is really important to us,” he said. “You would rather go in with momentum.”
More Coverage
"We want it to be a strong Lions brand game"
— Brisbane Lions (@brisbanelions) September 18, 2020
Hear what Fages had to say ahead of the Lions clash against the Blues tomorrow 👇
Team of the century: Giants side rivals league’s strongest
They may have only entered the competition in 2012, but Greater Western Sydney’s best team of the 21st century packs a punch. Check it out here.
‘Not a serious footy club’: Lyon’s big call on selling home games
St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has spoken passionately about his club’s bid to establish themselves as a power club in Victoria, rather than sell home games interstate.