TWELVE months of waiting for the Kangaroos to contemplate a $100 million Gold Coast relocation was considered 12 months lost in the eyes of the AFL, which is desperate to upscale its assault on the northern markets.
The year of waiting for an answer from the Kangaroos ended suddenly yesterday when the board rejected the proposal, within hours of AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou telling the club it would not be granted another year to consider the move.
The speed of the reply would have surprised Demetriou, who had not anticipated a decision from the Roos' divided board for up to a fortnight. However, the AFL yesterday released a statement urging Kangaroos members and fans to get behind the club, which will now be lead by James Brayshaw, who has headed the campaign to stay in Melbourne.
"The AFL (has) acknowledged the announcement of the Kangaroos Board and thanked the club for its swift decision in relation to the AFL's $100-million package," the statement said.
"Andrew Demetriou congratulated James Brayshaw on his elevation to club chairman and wished him well in his new role leading the Kangaroos. He said the AFL respected the club's decision and now urged Kangaroos members and supporters to get behind the Kangaroos' decision to pursue the James Brayshaw plan."
After yesterday rejecting the request from the Kangaroos' board that it be granted a year to consider the move, Demetriou said that the AFL will pitch its relocation plan to other clubs and if — as expected — there are no takers, the league will proceed with plans to introduce a 17th side.
"As a code we have made a decision to build on that momentum (from the games already being played at Carrara) and believe it is vital, given the importance of the region to have a team based on the Gold Coast," he said.
"In the context of the need to grow our code and the threat from other codes, we remain committed to pushing ahead and basing a team full-time on the Gold Coast.
"The AFL believes that to advance the code and the interests of the wider game that we cannot afford to put that push ahead into the Gold Coast on hold for another 12 months."
Despite the misgivings of many rival clubs, Demetriou yesterday described the formation of a 17th team as "absolutely a very viable option". He did not speculate on a time frame for its creation other than to say: "The Gold Coast is ready for AFL football and we need to be in the fastest growing population base in Australia."
That puts QAFL side Southport Sharks, who are based in the Gold Coast, in a strong position. AFL chief broadcasting and commercial officer Gillon McLachlan said the AFL had been in talks with Southport, which he said was the most successful sporting club in the region.
Meanwhile, Sharks president Dr Alan McKenzie said planning to establish an AFL team on the Gold Coast had to be started "sooner rather than later".
"It's good that it hasn't been allowed to drag on for another 12 months because things would just remain unresolved," he said.
Demetriou also said he believed that nine AFL clubs can survive in Melbourne, but conceded most clubs had become increasingly inventive in order to do so successfully. The Kangaroos, he suggested, had lagged behind and did not say definitively whether the club will continue to receive special distribution funds from the AFL if the Roos' board opted to turn down the AFL's offer.
While "several" clubs, according to Demetriou, had approached the AFL about potential deals involving relocating "home" games to the Gold Coast, the AFL, until yesterday, had been negotiating exclusively with the Kangaroos.
With STATHI PAXINOS
