Australian Football League Commission Chair Richard Goyder said that he "hates" pokies, and will "seek to use his personal authority to wean clubs off them." He said, "We're going to have a good look and see whether there's the opportunity to at least lessen the reliance. Some clubs have got a high dependency on them at the moment, and it's not a matter saying, 'Well let's just stop it.' You've actually got to work through a way of doing it. It's something we and the clubs are looking at, at the moment" (THE AGE, 8/21).
Almost two-thirds of club players have considered walking away from the Gaelic Athletic Association "because of a lack of a definitive fixtures schedule at grassroots level," according to a new survey. The survey -- the latest to be carried out by the Club Players’ Association -- "paints a stark picture of deep unease" among club players about the way in which counties are organizing their program of games (IRISH INDEPENDENT, 8/21).
The NSW Rugby League moved to "keep children in sport" by introducing 21 weight and age competitions across Sydney that will have "major ramifications on participation levels in rugby league." Over the next four months, the NSWRL will run competitions in the Penrith, Parramatta, Manly, Balmain and Western Suburbs districts that will "place emphasis" on ensuring children are not lost to the sport because of a fear of getting hurt (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/21).
