The AFL rules committee has to change stuff every year so they keep their jobs.

Must be a joke?? AFL is untouchable.

Too much at stake for them to not correct the small decline.

AFL is a beast. The Melbourne teams are struggling with crowds. Melbourne v Carlton would struggle to beat the crowd at the Cairns cane toad races but other teams always do well.

One thing the AFL does too much of is the politically correct stuff to try to please everyone

865, LOL, you deserve a big boo

Not sure I comprehend how the AFL is actually struggling, can someone enlighten me?

Bear, there have been a few articles about a decline in attendance in Melbourne. 10% down on last year maybe?

Isaac, I have heard and read quite a bit lately on the AFL and it's perceived issues, but I still can't see where they are struggling.

To suggest the AFL is struggling is so far removed from reality it beggars belief.

The AFL still holds the best crowd numbers of any sport in Australia, they have a billion dollar sponsorship deal, their games are on FTA and Foxtel (every game, every week), the AFL is on the front page of every newspaper, every week at least once and on the back page almost every day, they have radio and TV time above any other sport and they are represented in every State of Australia (Tasmania has games now)!

So, once again, can someone enlighten me on specifics that can identify where the AFL is actually struggling, please...?

The AFL itself might consider itself to be struggling in some areas. They will highlight the few problems that they have and try and fix them.

AFL isn't perfect - they have their issues, and being a high profile sport, any issues they have will get massive amounts of press about it. But they are well and truly ahead of every other sports league in Australia and will stay that way.

The 'problems' that the AFL have pale in comparison to that of the NBL.

Bear, you're taking "struggle" to mean "they're near death". It can be used in isolation to cover their concern about a decline or attempts to win back ground.

Understood, and I am taking into account that there is much media being generated about the issues the AFL is going to consider in their usual reviews. Trying to sort out what might be a real problem, to justify discussion that the AFL is struggling however, is where I am making my point.

Sure, the media may be exposing some of their issues, but whether or not we look at it in isolation, the AFL is not even close to struggling.

Whatever figures or percentages they want to throw at us in regards to a drop of 10% here or 5% there is insignificant because it doesn't impact their competition or their bottom line.

The AFL juggernaught is too big, so they can always prop up any individual team or area seen as 'Struggling', should they choose to do so.

They have expanded their competition quite solidly in recent years, everything they are doing was geared towards growth, now it is time for consolidation.

They are always going to have a re-adjustment, so I expect this type of slight up and down to occur for a few years, then they will possibly look at another small expansion, not too much room left in Aus though...

There's absolutely 0 chance that the AFL reduces to 12 teams in the foreseeable future. They've recently expanded to 18 teams and the AFL seems committed to making that work.

The only really pressing issues at the moment are the Goodes thing and the Essendon thing. Essendon thing is one of those ongoing things that will hopefully eventually fix itself, but that's up to ASADA. Goodes thing is just the media's big blow up of the moment. We'll forget about it in 3 weeks.

The rules thing is a non-issue. The rules committee just love tinkering with things every year.

The NBL issues are on a whole other level. AFL is fixable in the near future. NBL not so much. AFL needs a few adjustments, NBL needs a whole overhaul to really thrive.

Sure, not saying that the NBL is any threat. I think it's a bit of a hopeful topic to start.

That's exactly right^, for the NBL to gain leverage on something the AFL is seen as struggling in it must be seen to overtake or encroach into some of the AFL's turf.

Basketball in general, especially at junior or youth level is doing just fine, compared with the AFL I am happy with our participation and our performances across many platforms, but I can't see where the AFL itself is struggling enough for the NBL to make them worry too much.

Even if a big TV deal comes our way (basketball), I am not sure that it will take anything away from the AFL, plenty of left overs and different seasons anyway...

Here's hoping. The AFL haveto had their heads so far up their own arses for years now. They've lost me bring on the NBL season I say!

The NBL has the fact that it's an international sport over the AFL, however playing international competition or using this in its favour has never really happened. The NBL appears to have very little ambition to work with Asian leagues/players which is surely the obvious route to take.

There's no issue with the ambition, it's the capability that's been holding them back.

Asian games might get a big audience abroad, but not locally. Huge crowds will only show up here if NBA teams tour or our NBA players suit up.

And NBA teams without the big name players can be pretty sub-par. I saw the Lakers' last game this season and it was absolutely woeful. Felt like the Breakers could've beaten them. No Kobe, no Clarkson, no Lin, no Randle, no Young, no Nash. Starting five was Ryan Kelly, Jordan Hill, Tarik Black, Vander Blue and Jabari Brown (Black, Blue and Brown - haha!). It was a horrible mess to watch.

Probably comes down to whether we want to get a lift from Asia or build the game here.

I guess it's about capitalising on TV rights from those audiences to then grow the game here. It's a cash cow no one's figured out how to milk yet.

Basketball is not a big or important sport in Asia. It is in China, it is in the Philipines. But the latter is obsessed with the NBA, not with looking South for basketball.

Big population centres like Indonesia or Malaysia simply could not care less. The game appears to have declined in Korea and Japan.

Curtley has been proposing the "Asian" path here for a long time. I think its bogus.

The rich Asian cities, places like Hong Kong and Singapore have little interest. Asian players in our league would draw limited tv interest. Asian teams playing here would draw poor audiences. the quality of Asian national teams is ok, the quality of league play is not great.

Generating a seriously good return, with Asian players being stars here and abroad, and rivalries being built, is an incredibly long process in my view.

If you look at TV guides in a number of the east Asian countries (China, Korea, Japan, Philippines) it's obvious there are $$ available for the right product. That last bit is the hard part, and it has to include playing against teams from those countries or I very much doubt there will be interest.