From Goodes to Great

There are great players in very team. There are great leaders at every club. There are great supporters and great journalists and great triumphs of spirit. Sport, in and of itself, can be the greatest thing in the world - both to play and to watch. Regardless of your level, there is greatness to be found.

Sometimes the greatest players find themselves facing a barrage of unwarranted abuse. This year saw the culmination of an ongoing torrent of abuse levelled at one of the greatest AFL players of all time. People often think that bullying only happens in the school yard, or in corporate settings. This simply isn't true, and it affects people in very different ways.

This campaign of abuse began in 2013 with prominent Sydney Swans player, Adam Goodes, being abused by an opposition supporter. Many believed that his reaction was an overreaction. I do not. Many said that because she was 13, the opposition supporter didn't understand that it was racism to call an aboriginal an ape. Many said that he should not have pointed her out as he did. Many said he was arrogant, attention seeking and racist himself.

From this point on, Goodes was boo'd. At first, it was a minority of the opposition. By mid-season 2015, it was every team, every game, every time he touched the ball. While every excuse under the sun was raised as to why it was ok to boo a star of the game, the simple fact remained that at its root was racism, and that by continuing to boo for whatever other reason they were giving the racist somewhere to hide.

If we look at Goodes' achievements, they tell of a player who is not only good at what he does but greatly admired as well:

2003 and 2006 Brownlow Medalist (AFLs Best and Fairest), has also polled well in 5 other years, and polled votes every year bar one from 2001 through to 2015. This statistic seems to fly in the face of him being a dirty player who staged for free kicks, as many of us detractors would have you believe.

2005 and 2012 Premiership Player, as well as playing in every finals campaign with his team. This contradicts those people who claim he was having difficulty finding form.

2014 Australian of the Year. This award, one of the highest in the country, was awarded to him for his work in fighting racism and for the work he had done within the indigenous community to promote health and education for those in remote areas, or at a socio-economic disadvantage.

During Goodes' time as Australian of the Year he came under fire from the racist quarter who were confronted by their own intolerance. He called them out over the atrocious behaviour suffered by the indigenous population since the white settlement. He called them out over the ongoing abuse and discrimination faced by modern aboriginal people. He called them out over their bigotry. And so did the fans, especially after he chose to perform a dance he had been taught during the round specifically to celebrate indigenous culture.

It is this sort of misplaced vitriol that so many indigenous people must put up with. The "I'm not racist but ..." crowd all get their nickers in a twist because someone is proud AND outspoken about their heritage. It is the "uppity black man" who should pipe down and let the people who know nothing about aboriginal culture sort out the problems. It is the "loud and proud" indigenous people who should stop making such a fuss because white people don't carry on when they are called names. It is these same people who say, "Well, I don't boo Lewis Jetta so how can it be racist?"

Well, let me lay it out for you, very clearly:

- if you boo an black player for staging, but not any other player, it's probably racist.

- if you use the colour of someone's skin as an insult, it's definitely racist.

- if you object to black players bring proud of their heritage, it sounds like you're racist.

- if you continue to boo a player despite being told it's racist, my guess is you're racist.

This whole series of incidents surrounding Adam Goodes has shown just how far we, as a nation, have yet to go when it comes to indigenous affairs and racism generally. What it has also shown is that Adam is not just a great player, but a man of great integrity, great courage, great character and great humility.

Can we afford to be so ignorant that we would allow the racist minority to hold the cards? Can we not make out country as great as this one man, who has consistently shown a wisdom beyond his years and a maturity some never achieve? Can we instead teach our children, like the ones who were part of the wonderful painting below, that race is irrelevant in determining the worth of a person? Can we be proud Australians all together, regardless of colour or creed?

Blood Brothers: Swans around the World

There’s a pretty great team in the AFL called the Sydney Swans. I may be a little biased in my statement but you have to admit that over the last two decades, they’ve built a little empire for themselves. Being the only team in a city for so long has it’s advantages. None of the success the swans enjoy today was handed to them on a silver platter, however. The Swans have worked hard to develop their team and their brand.

It can’t be any wonder, then, that there are now Swans all around the world. From Vietnam to London to Los Angeles, the Swans name has been adopted by teams near and far. I wondered, as a Sydney Swans supporter and member, about these other teams that bear the name (and sometimes logo) or the team I love.

Image courtesy of the Chicago Swans

Based at the Waveland Fields, Chicago Swans has given many an ex-pat Aussie and local alike the opportunity to kick a footy around in the peculiar manner than is Australian Rules Football. Former Chicago player, Jason, was introduced to the game by friends of friends and he has never looked back. Now living in Wisconsin, he hopes to introduce a whole new crop of recruits to his adopted game by starting a new club in 2015.

Image courtesy of the London Swans

In the UK, The London Swans, based at Shoreditch Park, have drawn players from the local area as well as ex-pat Aussies. One such ex-pat, Henry, indicated many factors which influenced his decision to join the Swans. Geographical proximity was a major factor but he “couldn't wear Collingwood colours” and after that the decision was easy. Growth of the sport is a common theme when talking to both ex-pats and locals. Henry is no different and happily outlined his desire to see an established Junior League.

You can tell Henry is passionate, not only about his club, but AFL generally when he says he has played AFL since the age of seven but “the last three seasons in London have been some of the most enjoyable years of my footy career. Getting involved in the club in an off-field capacity was very rewarding. Thoroughly recommend the experience for anyone travelling to pull on the boots. No skill or previous experience necessary!”

Image courtesy of the South Dublin Swans

A little further north, the South Dublin Swans have made Bushy Park, Terenure, their home. Peter, a player for South Dublin, sees AFL as a growth sport and, with its similarities to Gaelic Football along with the International Rules Competition hotly contested between Australia and Ireland, he might not be far wrong. Another South Dublin Swan, club president Edward, credits his interest in AFL to it being on TV and the introduction in the 1980s of the compromised rules series.

Speaking not long after the AFL World Cup, both Andrew and Peter hope to see continued growth in player numbers and more players vying for selection on the national team, and Andrew hopes the South Dublin Swans are at the forefront of the growth, with Peter adding that support to “get a women's team going” to compliment the boys at South Dublin Swans might be something they looked at in the future.

Image courtesy of the Ottawa Swans

One club that has an established womens team is the Ottawa Swans, who use the inner oval of Rideau Carleton Raceway as a home ground. One of the players, Meaghan, was introduced to AFL in Toronto but it wasn’t until moving to Ottawa that she began her career and future looks bright for women’s football with people like Meaghan involved. When asked about the future of AFL in the Ottawa area, she replied, “I see it growing immensely. Our recruitment has skyrocketed these past 2 years. I think the benefit we have in Ottawa vs Toronto is that we only have the 1 team, whereas Toronto has multiple teams to choose from so recruitment is more spread out, whereas we essentially have a monopoly in Ottawa. We're also specifically trying to target women who have played a lot of sports before (particularly varsity) and are looking for something new.”

The mens teams in Ottawa are also looking to the future. Jay, who was into many different sports growing up, was asked by friends to give AFL a go and, after watching a few You Tube clips, started training with the club, never looking back. He admits that AFL faces an uphill battle but it’s a battle they are winning: “With such a short summer and so many competing sports, footy has plenty of competition but has established a stronghold in Ottawa, Canada. Women's footy has particularly taken-off in the city and will be a strong point of growth.”

Image courtesy of the Ottawa Swans

There is one draw back to being an AFL fan on the other side of the world, as ex-pat Aussie, now Ottawa resident, Matt explains, “I like to watch the footy from Australia online, but have to admit it's hard to find time, and I'm not serious enough to watch between midnight and 3am (except the grand final).” Many ex-pats are resonsible for the introduction and growth of AFL overseas, but Matt goes on to say that there is now good involvement from Canadians, meaning that the sometimes transient ex-pat population isn’t the sole means of recruitment, either for players or support staff.

Image courtesy of the Årsta Swans

You might not think that Stockholm, Sweden, would be even on the radar as far as AFL was concerned but the Årsta swans, situated at the J.C.G in Skarpnäck, are hoping that the slowly increasing interest in the sport will eventually lead to it becoming more mainstream, though it is still so small that it is flying under the radar of local news and the Swedish sport federation. Wilhelm, a player for Årsta, speaks of brotherhood, more than rivalry, between the five teams currently in the Stockholm area. “We have practices together and act as refs for each others games,” Wilhelm says.

Image courtesy of the Vietnam Swans

The story of the Vietnam Swans is one of hope. Started in 1998, it lasted two games under the Hanoi Hawks banner, before being resurrected in 2003 as the Hanoi Swans. In 2007, the team went national and became the Vietnam Swans. This not only brought in new players but meant that the team has become a valued member of the AFL Asia community. The Vietnam Swans have also succeeded where many other, more established clubs around the world, have fallen short: they have brought Auskick to the kids.

The Australian Auskick program is hugely successful at home, but it is rare to find Auskick or any sort of Junior AFL program outside Australia. While some of the American teams do run Auskick programs, they are few and far between, making it difficult for juniors to get match practice. It is a lament of many that there isn’t more done to publicise AFL around the world. Speak with Rob, who started following AFL in the mid-80s as a college student in America and now lives in LA, and you start to understand how difficult it is for those overseas Swans fans to access AFL on a regular basis. When asked how the AFL could be more supportive of the code internationally, Rob had the following to say:

This could be a book, but I’ll keep it to my top two ideas. First, establish easy TV access to the matches and publicize them. Free Internet streaming (particularly after the match is played), on-demand viewing, anything to make it easier for the curious American fan or the expat Aussie to follow. Secondly, do more in the US! Have an annual exhibition here, bring in training camps, involve inner-city kids, do some outreach. I mean, we have kids playing cricket in our ghettos here. Cricket! If there were any awareness of the sport here, AFL could start a development program and draw some attention.

 

For fans like Rob, watching a Sydney Swans game live at the SCG might be a once if a lifetime opportunity but there beckons the opportunity for the AFL to put on more exhibition and for AFL clubs to provide some sort of “international membership” so that ex-pats and local converts alike can show their support for the club they love, even if it is from afar. Social media has made it easier for international fans to connect with other AFL fans and the clubs they support, yet there is still a call for local hot spots, where fans can meet and watch games together.

Image courtesy of the Sydney Swans

The “Bloods” spirit is truly a global phenomena. It’s fans like Rob getting up in the middle of the night to watch the Swans win a Grand Final. It’s players like Wilhelm who give so much back to the sport. Its teams like the Vietnam Swans who just won’t give up. And while the individual players in the Swans teams around the world may not necessarily support the Sydney Swans, the culture of teamwork and mateship pervades all of these teams. They share a common desire for the sport to grow … nay, thrive! Whether they play games if and when they can, or every weekend, Swans around the world share the love of the game, they passion for the sport and a genuine fondness for that oddly shaped ball and those four big sticks.

Årsta Swans

Website: www.arstaswans.se
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thearstaswans
Twitter: @arstaswans
Email: contact@arstaswans.se

Chicago Swans

Website: www.chicagofooty.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/chicagofooty
Twitter: @chicagofooty
Email: info@chicagofooty.com

Ottawa Swans

Website: www.ottawaswans.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ottawaswans
Twitter: @OttawaSwans
Email: swanspresident@gmail.com

London Swans

Website: www.londonswans.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/londonswans
Twitter: @londonswans
Email: recruitment@londonswans.co.uk

South Dublin Swans

Website: www.southdublinswans.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/6803372036
Twitter: @southdubswans
Email: info@southdublinswans.com

Vietnam Swans

Website: www.vietnamswans.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheVietnamSwans
Twitter: @vietnamswans
Email: nationalpres@vietnamswans.com

I’d like to thank the various clubs and their members for their time in answering my questions. Without them, this would have been a very short piece. If you are a member of an international Swans team that I haven’t mentioned here, or a local Australian team affiliated with the Sydney Swans, feel free to tell us about your experiences and leave contact details for your club in the comments section below.

On the Rise: Making the step up to the Seniors

In Auskick everyone gets a game, everyone gets a touch. It is a gentle introduction to what can be a harsh sport of which to be part. Life is not so certain when you move up through the ranks and by the time you are looking at the big league, it is a real struggle to make your mark and hold your spot. With each division a player rises through, the transition to the next level is made harder simply by the fact that there are less spots available, more people vying for few key positions, and the hardest move in AFL is stepping up from Reserves to Seniors, from VFL to AFL, from the minor league to the real deal.

There are plenty of great players who may never play in at AFL level. There are plenty more who will only ever play ten games, if that. So just what is it that makes a player ready to step up and, once there, able to keep their spot? Is it just down to that X factor? Is it a combination of skills and attitude that combine to make the player worthy? Is it the team they play for? Is it potluck?

In reality, it is all of those things. You will hear player’s talk of their debut in the Seniors and you will realise that it is not just one aspect that gave them that opportunity. At the new clubs, Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, the opportunity is much easier to come by, as there are fewer established players. The same can be said for teams with young lists. As the teams become more stable the opportunity to break through becomes increasingly rare. This is where luck plays a huge role.

Players waiting in the wings of the big league often need to rely on luck to make their debut, whether this is good luck or bad luck depends on who you are. For the Senior player is almost certainly bad luck. They must relinquish their place in the team due to injury or suspension, sometimes even due to off-field drama. For the Reserve Grade player it seems as though lady luck is smiling on them but making the team does not mean the hard work stops. If you rest on you laurels then you are going to lose your place just as quickly as you gained it.

Making that step up to AFL level is something that every player must go though. No one just magically appears in a senior list, even though sometimes it might feel like that from the sidelines. There are those players who make their debut without fanfare. There are others which come in surrounded by all the hype the media outlets can muster. Regardless of this entrance, the path is the same. The on field performance from that debut will set the tone for the rest of their immediate playing future.

If we look at a couple of recent debutants, and one not so recent debutants, from the Sydney Swans in particular, we can see how performance in the reserves is not always an indicator for success in the seniors and how hard it is to maintain your place once you gain selection.

Sydney is one of the most stable teams in the league. This is evident from the number of 100, 200 and 300 game players in the side and from the low number of total players used in a given season. It prides itself on maintaining a core of players who work well together and follow the old adage of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". This makes gaining selection for the reserves players very difficult. They really need to show something extra special in their reserve grade games to even be considered. The success of a senior side can have a two-fold effect. It can lift the reserve grade players as they know that a higher standard is being set. It can also lift the senior team as they don't want to lose their place in the team to these up and coming players. The depth this creates can be terrific. Having multiple back ups for almost every key position and having game plans which don't rely solely on individual players makes for a strong team, and a strong team makes for some interesting and spectacular debuts.

 Photo Courtesy of Matthew G Moses

Dane Rampe is Sydney born and bred. He is not a traditional footballer. He had a background in basketball and soccer before swapping to AFL. A move to Victoria for play in the VFL and a trial with the Western bulldogs did not pan out for the young player but when he moved back to Sydney, the team he loved saw something in him. He played in the Swans reserves during 2012 and impressed the coaching staff with his maturity, both of mind and of play, but there was also something else that impressed them. Athletic ability - being able to kick, handball, mark, tackle and run - will only get you so far. What the Sydney selectors were looking for wasn't simply a good footballer. These are a dime a dozen. They were looking for a particular attitude to suit a particular culture.

The culture at Sydney is well documented. It is about the team first and foremost, and being a team player is something the Swans strive to achieve in all their players, whether they are debutants or 300-game Brownlow Medallists. Rampe showed in his time in the Reserves that he had this attitude. He put in the hard yards physically yet he was able to draw from deep inside a tenacity that shone through and a cohesiveness with his fellow players that instilled confidence in his teammates and his coaches. While natural talent got his foot in the door, hard work has given him a key; and while luck may have played a part in opening up a spot in the Seniors, it was having that something special that has kept Rampe in his position for the majority of this season.

Photo Courtesy of Matthew G Moses

Another debutant, Tom Mitchell, came to the Swans in completely different manner. Being drafted under the father-son rule can add significant pressure to a young player. For some it can overwhelm them and they fade into obscurity. For others, like Mitchell, their debut is nothing short of spectacular. Indeed, Mitchell came away with 18 disposals, 6 tackles, 3 goal assists and a goal of his own in his first senior game, but backing up after a breakout game such as that can also be tough. Not if you're Tom Mitchell, it seems. His second game earned him a Rising Star nomination. Perhaps the Bloods culture is more than skin deep. Perhaps it courses through the veins of the players and is handed down from one generation to the next. Perhaps it is simply knowing what is expected well in advance and not being afraid to live up to that lofty expectation.

Mitchell's debut was not without its challenges. An injury plagued 2012 meant a prolonged stint in the Reserves before making his debut. Even then, he began as the sub, not an uncommon way to make a debut since its inception. Normally a sub would look to play a quarter, maybe a half of footy. Luck stepped in and Mitchell took to the field for nearly three quarters on debut after an unlucky Tommy Walsh went down with a torn hamstring. Had he not been on the field for such a protracted amount of time, perhaps his debut would not have been as spectacular as it was, but football is all about taking opportunities when they are presented to you and if a player wants to stay in the Senior side, they have to prove they deserve to be there by fitting in seamlessly with the established players while still making their own mark. It is a balancing act that can pay awesome dividends when the players get it right.

The path to the top is never easy, no matter how it might seem from the outside looking in, and for some players it comes harder than others. There are players who show such promise yet never quite live up to the expectation placed on their shoulders. There are others who just need a little more nurturing. Ever sat on the sidelines, watched your team, and wondered, "why do they keeping picking him, he's terrible?" That's the player. The player who has that dreaded P word - potential. There are plenty of them in the AFL. Sydney's own Jesse White is probably one of the best examples.

Photo Courtesy of Matthew G Moses

 

White made his debut in 2008. Since then he has played 62 games for the Swans at a senior level but, until this year, seemed unable to replicate the spectacular form he has displayed in the Reserves despite earning the clubs Rising Star award in 2009. White became known as a fringe player: better than the average reserve grade player yet somehow not quite cutting it with the seniors. Flashes here and there whet the appetite but how long can a senior career be sustained by glimpses of brilliance? Jesse's talent was always there, it was just a matter of unearthing it. An unsuccessful trade to Adelaide may have been the catalyst for him. Whether the improvement would have happened regardless is pure conjecture though there are many who would say this is the case. The faith of the senior staff has paid off and White is playing some of the best football of his career.

In the end, there is no hard and fast rule, no defined path to follow, when making the move from reserve grade to seniors. Jed Lamb credits a trip to Burma with giving him a new perspective on life. Tom Mitchell says that working together with the coaches and having a strong knowledge of positional work is vital. Dane Rampe thinks that building relationships with your teammates is one of the keys. What comes through, when talking to the young players at the Swans is that, while their debut is a proud moment in their football career, the result of the game is about the team, they play for the team and win for the team, and their debut is celebrated by the team.

Maybe that is the ultimate factor in the success of any player: being welcomed into the team, as a friend and colleague, by the established players and staff. A team that works for each other, celebrates the milestones together, holds it's debutants and it's veterans to the same exacting standard and creates an atmosphere of reward for effort not only creates successful top tier players, it creates successful people.

Whatever the reason for great players, whatever tips them over the edge into superstardom, whatever challenges they overcome - there is something special about AFL players at a senior level. The tempo of the game rises. The media frenzy steps up a notch. The expectations increase exponentially. All that hard work; all that dedication; all that self-belief. When all of it has been put to the test and when all of it is still there, better than ever, that's when the magic happens and that's when those debutants become part of the fabric of a club.