A reasonable analysis of why footy is in a golden period and Rugby League in Australia is struggling. While I don'y fully agree with everything this guy writes the general tone is accurate. AFL is now the one national code, despite the Melbourne establishment. It may be socialist but the AFL keeps the competition interesting and close, so the Swans can go from wooden spoon favourites to preliminary finalists (and dare I hope more) in a season.

The current finals line-up is a marketing dream come true while the NRL keeps shooting itself in the foot. The NRL need to realise the game is not players vs administrators, or clubs vs News Ltd. They need to recover from some of the massive damage Super League did to the game. NRL can still offer some great games, not just State of Origins, but people take a long time to come back once they lose interest.

Every extra game the Swans win now is actually just a bonus. Going all the way is still very unlikely, but the whole season has been a tale of unlikely wins. Thank God I can watch it on ABC TV here in HK. Here's hoping there's enough left in the coffers for the ABC to keep offering this for years to come. For that matter let's hope the Swans can convert this into a platform for sustainable finances so they can get off the AFL subsidy once and for all.