IT DOES not yet have a name, colours or a public figurehead. But, from south of the border - and even further south than that - forces are already being marshalled against the West Sydney Whatevers.

With the global economic crisis creating fear that the AFL's generous handouts to struggling clubs and other funding for traditional clubs could be cut, the highly regarded Geelong chief executive Brian Cook said this week he believed the introduction of a team in western Sydney should be delayed beyond the proposed 2012 start-up date.

While clubs on the AFL drip feed, such as the Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne and Melbourne will be loath to bite the hand that feeds them, they would no doubt prefer the second Sydney team delayed beyond the establishment of life on Neptune if it threatens their own funding.

Meanwhile, the push to establish a Tasmanian group has grown from a cause celebre among the game's chattering classes to a credible state government and commercially sponsored pressure group. One with a feeling of entitlement that Tasmania should queue jump western Sydney and become the AFL's 18th team - or, as the emotive Tasmanian lobby would have it, that their rightful place in the historical pecking order should be restored.

So, facing the already monumental task of planting a team in territory far more hostile than that now occupied by the Swans or Brisbane, and in a state economy that had deep-seated problems even before the global crunch, the AFL's troops on the ground could be forgiven for craving reassurance when the AFL's heavy hitters came to town for a two-day commission meeting this week.

And that, says the NSW/ACT AFL chief executive Dale Holmes, is what they got.

Having played tour guide for the nine AFL commissioners in western Sydney and huddled in various meetings, Holmes believes the AFL not only remains rock solid in its determination to establish the second team, but that the seemingly optimistic 2012 start-up date is viable.

"There is nothing that came out of the two days that suggest there was an diversion from the original plan for 2012," Holmes said. "There might be some nuances in the timing of certain things, and they are in the process of reviewing the impact of the global economic environment. But that's still the date."

Of the attacks from Cook and others about the wisdom of tackling west Sydney in such gloomy economic times, Holmes acknowledged the obvious: "It's not a risk-free exercise."

At the same time, Holmes continues the strong rhetoric of AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick in announcing the league's expansion plans when he says the AFL is continuing to take the "far-sighted approach" for the "next generation".

There was a note of warning for the west Sydney enterprise when the far more advanced GC17 syndicate was not, as anticipated, immediately granted the licence to run the Gold Coast team due to start in 2011 with the AFL wanting to further review the bid's financial modelling.

That might be taken as indication that, as lavish as it is with its start-up grants, the league is determined not to sanction the establishment of a permanent basket case.

But Holmes believes the well-run GC17 bid has provided a good prototype for the west Sydney group to follow as it begins to forge an identity. That begins in the next few months with the appointment of an advisory board containing a mixture of business, marketing, regional, media and football experts. From that will stem a campaign team that will bid for the licence and, if all goes to plan, to the establishment of the club itself.

That could well be in defiance of some southern dissenters, but when the AFL posse departed, Holmes felt reassured. "I think in the last couple of days it was evident the AFL still has an eye to the future," he said.