[GaryBulguihb]

Now we have Garry Lyon (another Victorian) sticking his nose in WA football matters by verballing his support for the West Coast & Fremantle WAFL bid....

Once again the WAFL will be seen soley as a support network for these AFL clubs and nothing else. And in a competition with a level playing feild, there will be no level playing feild once AFL clubs are included. This does not seem to be a question raised to the supporters of the WCE / FREO bid ?? Why not... probably because they cannot give an answer that is positive. Its easier to avoid it all together.

Something baffles me in the whole scheme of things relating to the overall structure of Australian Rules Football in Western Australia... What positives for WA Football comes out of having a WAFL competition that is not given its rightly fair go ? How brilliant would it be for the good and power of football in this state, if the WAFL competition was the premier state league outside the AFL in this country. To be able to have 2 strong and healthy AFL clubs based out of WA and have our senior WAFL competition more powerful than anywhere in this country, would create an amazing feel for the general football fan here. The authorities have looked at this structure in entirely the wrong way. Imagine being a fly by supporter who loved the AFL, but was able to recognise the strength of the domestic league and follow it accordingly. You would have the best of both worlds and attract the best players outside of the AFL. There would be nothing better for the whole football system in WA... Players would want to come here and play in the WAFL, it would lift the overall standing of football in this state, and the Eagles and Dockers would be based in an invironment of success that would outshine the state of Victoria. We are in the most resourceful state in the country if not the world. We have access to sponsorship monies that no other state can access as purely as we can. We are dictated by the Eastern States on a mental level only because we just expect it to be that way. It actually doesnt need to be... The VFL in Victoria is damaged beyond belief. Is that a good thing for football in Victoria ? Absolutely not. Lucky for them they have the AFL based there. In WA we have an opportunity to jack up our overall profile by lifting the WAFL to serious heights, and have 2 AFL clubs who are hugely financially vialble. What a perfect world for football in this state. This structure keeps Australian Rules football in WA streaks ahead of all the other codes at a junior and amature level. That is a health check the code can and should be able to pass if the powers to be understood the big picture.

Having one level of football so overbearingly dominant is not as healthy as people imagine. This state would be the only one in the country capable of drawing up a plan that can place our code streaks ahead of both Victoria and South Australia. And that is good for West Coast and Fremantle who are based here. They will be in an environment surrounded by a real prominent domestic competition. Trying to deminish it even more than it already has been is totally ludicrous, when the alternative is to make WA football overall a superpower across the board. Nobody is expecting the WAFL to reach the heights of its heyday. But propping it up financially to a level WA football can actually afford will put us way ahead of the Eastern States. It can be done and the Eagles and Fremantle are a direct result of the WAFL. They are a part of the AFL, but they survive on being Western Australian. The structure here with a WAFL comp does not need more teams. Condensing it will enable quality footballers outside the AFL to congregate here, and lift the level of expectations on colts and reserves too. It will make stronger footballers here and give the WA football community the pride knowing we have power AFL clubs and a serious power base in the WAFL.

The idea of continually knocking down the WAFL to where it is seen as a bit of a joke, is as moronic in a business sense as you could imagine. What have the WAFC been thinking all these years? We have missed an opportunity to get it right from the ground up. We are in a mining and resources state that even a minnow like Swan Districts can tap into. The WAFC, West Coast and Fremantle have approached this all wrong. Imagine Swans small scale approach to the mining sector, being applied across the board to football in WA. And that doesnt even include the multi-millions attracted by our AFL clubs reaping incredible profits.... Football in this state still has a chance to get it right. We can make ourselves the envy of all the football states, without AFL interferance.

West Coast & Freo attacking the WAFL is totally the wrong way to approach it. The alternative gives the whole footballing state the profile it deserves. And secures our foundations for 1000 years. Isnt that smarter than placing all our eggs in one basket ?