The Australian game in Sydney
What Sydney lacks – The thrills of Australian Football - 'The Referee' to the rescue
The following letter has been received from Mr. F. Moore, of Adelaide, anent this paper’s support of the Australian Game, and is typical of many letters to hand of late:
It was very gratifying to read the report of the Referee on the front page of the match between New South Wales and Victoria, written by JM. He is some enthusiast for the Aussie code, and he seems just the type of man to push on our beloved national game in Sydney. The Referee is giving the home-made game more publicity, and with the help of such an excellent and cultured paper the Australian game must progress in the Harbour City. May the Referee continue the good work so ably begun, for, with proper publicity, the game must some day be the predominant code in Sydney. Wishing the best of luck to the Referee, an Australian paper for Australian people, and the Australian game.
What thrills!
Mr Moore touches upon several important matters. Among other things he says: Australian football is more than a code, it’s Australia's national game, the pre-eminent game in Victoria, South Australia, West Australia, Tasmania and in parts of New South Wales, too — Broken Hill, Wagga, Albury and other centres.
England has its national game, cricket, Canada, lacrosse; United States baseball. The land of the Southern Cross boasts its national game in Australian Rules football. What football, what crowds, what thrills we experience where the game reigns supreme!
Why the people of Sydney and Brisbane know nothing of the thrills, the joys, the enthusiasm of club football. Where are the crowds each Saturday in Sydney and Brisbane compared with other capital cities? Adelaide has four League matches, drawing nearly 40,000 people in a population of 380,000. Compare it with Sydney, with one million people, and four Rugby League matches drawing less than 40,000.
Day is dawning
The day is not far distant when Sydney will have the best of Australian football— when New South Wales will prove worthy opponents of Victoria, and the other States. Ten years with sound administration should see the Mother State vanquish the elect of Victoria. Men at the head of affairs with initiative, grit, determination, foresight and a love for their national game, men of this calibre must make the game succeed.
District football
Start next season with the District scheme, which has everywhere succeeded. The District system creates a healthy, virile club rivalry, and what sentiment, what tradition each district club cherishes! This scheme, properly controlled with a B Grade club, must succeed. It has been reported that Brisbane intends to adopt the district system next year with six clubs, and this is a wise step. We all wish the game every success in Sydney.
Footnotes
Title: What Sydney Lacks
Author: Referee
Publisher: The Referee (Sydney, NSW: 1886 - 1939)
Date: Monday, 26 August 1925, p.13
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