Lachlan McKirdy examines the AFL’s push to improve participation numbers in western Sydney post-Covid
Despite record-breaking years for the Swans and Giants, junior participation rates in areas of NSW had fallen. However, clubs in western Sydney are finally optimistic that they’re on the rise again. LACHLAN MCKIRDY finds out why.
Junior Australian rules clubs in western Sydney are optimistic that participation numbers are finally back on the rise following several years of post-Covid struggles.
Despite the established on and off-field success of the Sydney Swans and GWS Giants in the NSW market – which included both clubs breaking their membership records in 2024 – participation figures have fallen in recent years.
That impact has been felt across the region, with some clubs having to fold and others forced to merge to ensure players have teams to play for.
However, renewed investment from the AFL and a specific focus on building participation from the ground up again is paying off.
Data provided by AFL NSW/ACT shows that registrations for Auskick in Western Sydney are already up 319 per cent in 2025 compared to 12 months earlier.
Community registrations have also improved, including at the junior level, where participation rates of kids aged 9-12 have increased by 100 per cent year on year.
It’s the first time in two years that confirmed participation figures in NSW, and Western Sydney in particular, have been provided to this masthead as new leadership takes the reigns at AFL NSW/ACT.
Time will tell whether the numbers can be sustained for the long haul, but there’s a sense from many involved with footy in Western Sydney that things have finally changed for the better.
FAMILIES NEED ASSISTANCE
Cost of living pressures are hitting Western Sydney families hard, and unfortunately, community sports and the associated costs can often be a casualty.
That has even been felt in more dominant codes such as football and rugby league. But when it comes to Australian rules, which is still attempting to break through in the region, it can be twice as hard.
“Up until 2020, the game was growing in Western Sydney,” new AFL NSW/ACT CEO Andrew Varasdi said.
“Covid was a marking point in time and there are decisions that were made in terms of staff and resources that are learnings for us and how do we continue to grow the game.
“There is no doubt that the cost of living has had a huge impact. In Western Sydney, Aussie rules for many is in the second sport bucket. Unlike other regions and states, we don’t have a large base of generational Aussie rules participants and fans in Western Sydney.
“What we do know is that when people play the game, they love it. And that is our challenge, continuing to invest in introducing Aussie rules to kids and families from the grassroots level up.”
One of the biggest factors breaking down the cost barrier in recent years had been the NSW Government’s Active Kids voucher program. However, in January 2024, that program was replaced by the Active and Creative Kids voucher program, which introduced means-tested eligibility criteria and was reduced in value from $100 to $50 per child two times a year.
“The Active Kids vouchers (change) was massive,” Varasdi said.
“The removal of those had a direct correlation with a really significant drop in numbers – from having 14,000 Active Kids’ vouchers used to 1,400 from one year to another.
“We were thorough in talking to people who had not renewed their registrations and family cost pressure was the number one reason given. For mums and dads who have two or three kids, that all of a sudden puts another three, four, or five hundred dollars into their budget. They couldn’t afford it.”
A NEW VISION
For many people involved in Australian rules football in Western Sydney, there had been a sense of frustration at the growing disconnect between the AFL and the community it was supposedly prioritising.
“There’s sort of a bit of an idea held that the AFL plonked the team in Western Sydney, didn’t do any work, and expected it to open up and (for people to) go to the Giants games,” Craig Abercrombie, president of the Kellyville-Rouse Hill Magpies said.
However, the organisation’s response in the past 12 months to the removal of the Active Kids vouchers has come as a welcome relief.
Andrew Dillon, CEO of the AFL, Rob Auld, EGM of Game Development at the AFL, and Varasdi held a meeting with 14 club presidents in Western Sydney last November. The key message was that families needed more help to sign their kids up for community sport.
Within weeks, the ‘PLAY Your Way’ voucher program was created, which includes up to $100 off registration fees per child for Auskick and junior participants in Western Sydney. The initiative will see the AFL invest $1.5 million over two years for the program.
To date, over 1,100 vouchers have already been redeemed in the greater Sydney area.
“We needed to go out and demonstrate that not only do we understand the challenges, but we actually have a plan about continuing to grow the game,” Varasdi said. “And that’s why the introduction of the Play Your Way vouchers is so important.
“It’s well documented that kids in Western Sydney are under-indexing in terms of the amount of time they’re spending in sport. So it’s a huge part of our commitment to make sure that every kid that wants to play sport can play Aussie rules.
“The package was put together and presented to the Commission in November. The Commission approved it in one meeting. It didn’t just include the vouchers either.
“It was also increasing coaching resources. We’re about to employ coaches in the next couple of weeks who will be out working on upskilling coaches and making the club experience great because retention is as important as acquisition. We’ve just put on four club development people, two completely allocated to Western Sydney clubs.”
“From our perspective, it was a great feeling to have it shown they’re thinking about Western Sydney,” Abercrombie said.
“They looked at the way the game was going, and the numbers were falling off. Andrew Dillon turned up to the meeting and tabled these offers, and from my perspective, it’s good.”
HAVING A VOICE
The Magpies are a perfect example of a club doing a lot of things right in Western Sydney.
Their 2025 registrations are up 10 per cent year on year and will total 325 across their Auskick and junior teams (up to under-17s). Their women’s registrations have also increased by 80 per cent annually.
With under two months until the new season, Abercrombie is confident the club will finally return to pre-Covid levels as they look to add six new teams across all competitions. It’s a success story for the AFL in a region where they’ve been hard to come by.
While new hires such as Varasdi have clear targets when it comes to participation, there is still an overarching sense that investment in the region has to be seen as generational. Not every club will have immediate success like Kellyville-Rouse Hill.
“We’re focusing on the ground up again,” Varasdi said. “It’s harder to get kids into the game at age 13 and 14, so it’s that 5-10 age group.
“Then, it’s about how we keep them in the game. How do we evolve them to become a GWS or a Swans fan which is (a task) central to the Fan Hub.
“This will be a generational thing. It’s going to be the person who replaces me who is going to be charged again with how we keep growing the game.”
Part of the internal frustration has been the almost intangible, yet consistent, growth of the game in Greater Sydney. While crowd numbers at Giants home games are low-hanging fruit that grab attention, the rise of non-traditional footy pathways has always given cause for optimism.
“There are actually more kids playing AFL in Sydney today than ever before … there’s a tremendous appetite for the game,” Varasdi said.
“But whereas 10 years ago everything was centralised into community sports clubs, there’s now a fast-growing Independent Schools program with over 3,000 kids playing in that.
“Then there’s primary and public school programs with the Paul Kelly Cup about to kick off. There are more than 15,000 participants registered to compete in that and term one after-school Auskick across NSW. It’s now how we transition them through to a club.
“So, we need to protect the fabric of community footy. We’re not where we want to be, and certainly in the West … I think everyone’s got their eyes open. But we’re encouraged that people are finding the sport in so many other ways.”
There is more to do in Western Sydney for the AFL, and there’s no denying rugby league’s recent success in the area has made things harder. But the latest figures show that increased co-operation is having an impact, and renewed investment has put them on the right path.
“We know where we’re at. We’re in a rugby league town,” Abercrombie said. “But the numbers, certainly from a Kellyville perspective, are growing. But it’s also the passion for the game, I think, which is growing.
“For the AFL to be valuing the under-nines coach at Kellyville or Baulkham Hills or anywhere in the West … then hopefully in 10-15 years, we can help the AFL by sending them 10 new players that can go and be superstars.
“The AFL is a behemoth. So this made us feel like we’re a part of the bigger picture, rather than being out there teaching kids how to kick and handball and not being connected. It was feeling like there is value in what we’re doing.”
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