Why ‘ludicrous’ claim by AFL boss makes no sense

“I don’t know what he’s counting… there are any number of participation categories that you can roll in, I’m assuming that would include AFL Auskick, the learn to play AFL program they run through schools,” Ikin said on 4BC radio.

Ikin, who’s only new into the role as chief executive of the QRL, rattled off some numbers of his own to emphasise the stranglehold rugby league has in Queensland.

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“In Queensland currently we’ve had nine per cent participation growth year on year which is off the back of five per cent growth last year… we’ve got 350 community clubs, 68,000 participants, other forms of the game like Touch Football Australia in Queensland which has 75 associations with 73,500 participants, TRL has 2500 teams across the state with 30,000 participants.

“We’ve got 15 statewide clubs running four to six sub elite programs from PNG all the way down to Tweed, we’ve got four NRL teams, three NRLW teams, two winning State of Origin teams and that’s before you step into the school network under the Queensland secondary schools rugby league who also run a collection of rugby league excellence programs.”

The former Origin player added further weight to his rebuttal of the AFL’s claims by pointing to research supported by GEMBA which indicates “44 per cent of Queenslanders are passionate supporters of the NRL, which is up 11 per cent since 2021, while the AFL ranked fourth, they’re at 28 per cent which has only moved three per cent since 2021”.

Wouldn’t that indicate rugby league is still the dominant force in Queensland?

I’d also point to the success of the Dolphins who have entered the NRL and impressed plenty of people in their debut season. They have a sound business model, an enormous number of Queenslanders have jumped on board to become members and the team itself is more than competitive on the football field.

Then there’s the diehard footy fans who jump in their cars to travel hours to Townsville to support the North Queensland Cowboys. I regularly hear from listeners on the Continuous Call Team who are driving from the mining towns throughout the state to watch the footy.

Throw in the huge crowds that turn up every week to support the Brisbane Broncos when they’re playing at Suncorp Stadium and the television ratings which indicate there’s a significant appetite for rugby league in Queensland.

Gil McLachlan, are you prepared to stand by your statement that it’s becoming an AFL state?

I would argue the $20 million a year you’re spending on the Gold Coast Suns is important, but you’re hardly getting any bang for your buck when you look at where the club is positioned on the AFL ladder at the moment.

Yes, the Suns sold out their game against Collingwood two weeks ago and the participation numbers on the Gold Coast are on the rise, but it’s costing the AFL a small fortune.

If the AFL is prepared to keep spending enormous amounts of money to ensure the game continues to grow and they recruit new supporters in places like Queensland, someone might want to explain to Gil McLachlan, he’s got it all wrong.

By offending the rugby league tragics who have grown up idolising those players who pull on the Maroons jumper, the AFL boss is in turn fuelling their hatred of the AFL.

Gil, if you want to win them over, start treating them and rugby league with some respect.

Let me know your thoughts by sending through an email to the WWOS Radio show on 2GB by clicking on this link.

Wide World of Sports Radio is heard from 6pm AEDT on 2GB 873am with Mark Levy and co-hosts Shane Flanagan (Monday), Paul Gallen (Tuesday) and Brad Fittler (Wednesday), Ken Sutcliffe (Thursday) and Mark Riddell (Friday).

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