Loading
“I don’t know what the context was,” Evans toldThe Scoop,when asked about Miller’s comments.
“But from my perspective,I can’t quite work out the context,either.”
Despite the club’s poor on-field record,Evans was not overly concerned with Miller’s comments because the News chief wasn’t in the room when McLachlan and his AFL team addressed club bosses in Melbourne on the eve of the season,and revealed one staggering bit of data.
On one of the slides,the AFL referenced the extraordinary growth of junior football in Queensland,specifically that Auskick in the state was up 52 per cent year-on-year.
On top of that,Queensland is overtaking South Australia in key areas. There are 620 school teams playing footy in Queensland,now more than South Australia. And,as Evans said,“We’re being told by the AFL that Queensland is approximating South Australia in total TV viewership.”
Evans delivered a final message for the critics of the league’s two youngest clubs:“Expansion through NSW and Queensland is delivering on exactly what the AFL wanted through participation and audience numbers in the two states that make up more than 50 per cent of Australia’s population.”
TDK TO STAY? OR NAY?
News from multiple media outlets this week that young Carlton star Tom De Koning was closing in on a contract extension at Princes Park was met with surprise from rival clubs,who immediately jumped on the blower to suss things out. But the fears of Sydney,St Kilda and Essendon have been alleviated. Tom is still very much considering his options,according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
POINTING THE FINGER
While we’re on the Giants,there’s an interesting rhetoric emerging out of AFL House this week. You didn’t have to make too many calls to find someone pointing out the record of GWS players being a tad chirpy.
They had a reputation in the early days for being lippy with the opposition.
Then,according to well-placed AFL sources,Stephen Coniglio and his teammates were complaining about decisions for much of Saturday’s game against Carlton.
It seems the whispers made its way to western Sydney.
“I know the rhetoric has been around it being a reaction to numerous events. I can tell you that is just complete rubbish,” coach Adam Kingsley bristled.
“That’s not the case at all. Anyone who wants to attack the decision from that angle is completely wrong.
“That’s complete rubbish. When you look at ‘Cogs’ you’re dealing with one of the most respectful people in the AFL.”
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country.Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.