Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham calls for AFL season-opener to be played at the SCG

Pridham has long been calling for change for the organisation to capitalise on the inroads it has made in Sydney and believes fixturing is at the core of the problem.

With rugby league taking its season opener to Las Vegas in 2024, a blockbuster night game at the SCG could be the perfect way for the AFL to ensure they are the talk of the town.

“This year we were really disappointed having played in the grand final that to launch the season we played Gold Coast on the Gold Coast,” Pridham said.

“We should have been playing Collingwood at the SCG, reprising the prelim final. Having that sold out, a huge media event is what we should be doing to bring real excitement to the game.

“The NRL has started its season earlier, we’ve never reacted to that, but we should. Can you imagine playing a blockbuster first game of the season at the SCG? The way Collingwood is with their fans, 10 or 15,000 would travel it would be unbelievable.”

The Swans and Giants have broken their membership records in 2023 and are both still in the race to play finals.

Recognising and celebrating that success should therefore be a higher priority according to Pridham.

“The number one [problem] is the promotion of the game and that’s something we can do a lot better,” Pridham said. “This is my 21st year at the Swans and I think every year we haven’t promoted as well as we could.

“In some seasons the advertising has been incredibly Victoria-centric, and it just doesn’t cut through to a NSW audience. We have to have things done in a more market-appropriate way for the state.”

MOVING ON FROM BUDDY

The Swans’ biggest marketing tool over the past decade has been Lance Franklin.

The superstar forward has drawn crowds and helped grow membership numbers like no other athlete in Australian sport.

“He’s just got that spark,” Pridham said.

“If you look at the off-field metrics, in the 10 years he was here our membership went from low 30,000s to 62,000 we’ve just passed.

“Fan numbers measured by YouGov went from 1.1 million the year he joined, now we’ve got 2.2 million. He’s not solely responsible for these things but he’s a big driver.”

Pridham is hopeful that Franklin will return to Sydney for a farewell in their round 24 game against Melbourne.

Yet his retirement means the question now turns to if and how the Swans will replace the future Hall of Famer.

Franklin followed in the footsteps of several high-profile forwards before him like Tony Lockett and Barry Hall.

But Buddy’s success means Pridham no longer feels a marquee signing is vital to the Swans’ long-term success.

“For us, he was the full package and it’s going to be different him not being here,” he said.

“I think we’re well beyond [needing a marquee player]. I don’t think anyone would argue we’re not now a big club. In Plugger’s time and Barry’s time, we maybe weren’t a big club – we were an important club, but we weren’t big.

“There will be a new Buddy like there was a new Plugger. Whether it’s an Errol [Gulden] or Isaac [Heeney], superstars develop, and I think Sydney has been a great club to develop them.

“If we can get another Buddy clearly we’d do it … whether that’s a marquee forward or the competition’s best fullback, it is what it is. But it won’t be a conscious effort.”

While the Swans were in talks for Tom Barrass, reports suggest the key defender has indicated he will stay at West Coast.

Pridham wouldn’t comment on specific players but confirmed the Swans will look to be aggressive this off-season.

“We have the capacity to bring some great players into the club and our intention is to be as active and aspirational as we can be.”

AND THE ACADEMY GOES TO

One area that is set to play a big role for Sydney again is their Academy.

On the back of the Allies’ inaugural U18 boys’ championship, multiple Academy players from around the country have moved up the draft board.

For the Swans, Caiden Cleary is the young midfielder set to attract the most attention from rival clubs.

Sydney’s use of their Academy program has drawn the ire of other teams in recent years with superstars like Callum Mills, Isaac Heeney and Errol Gulden all coming through the Swans’ system.

However, Pridham believes the focus should be on the widespread benefit of the program.

“Finding these elite talents is a win for the whole competition, it’s not just for us,” he said.

“Rugby league is incredibly aggressive, Tom Trbojevic was in our Academy, and they came and gave him a contract at a time when we couldn’t because of his age.

“It’s not a lot of [elite] players, but certainly Callum Mills would have been playing rugby union, 100 per cent. Isaac would have been playing rugby league. Errol probably would have been playing soccer.”

While he feels marketing and fixturing are both stunting the growth of the AFL in NSW, Pridham knows providing proper grassroots support is just as important.

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“There’s a lot more that has to be done at the grassroots level … I think we’ve really dropped the ball a fair bit and a lot of work is needed in terms of how we encourage kids and communities to play AFL,” he said.

“The Academy has been in place for about 12 years. We spend over a million dollars a year and we put 600 boys and 400 girls through – thousands of kids have been in the Academy.

“We’ve got to double our effort and redouble it again. There’s so much talent out there.”