“The more things change the more they stay the same” is an oft used epigram from French Novelist Jean- Baptiste Karr, and Hockey fans in Australia are hoping that this will not be the case with their sport.
A year ago Hockey fans were advised that following much consultation (Whose Idea Was It?) and the input of experts a new format of the sport would be created that would carry the game to new heights.
This weekend what was the old Australian Hockey League will be replaced with a new competition called “Hockey One,” which has been branded as “Real Hockey Reimagined.”
As was stated a year ago this will be run separately from Hockey Australia as a subsidiary company, in which all of the participating state bodies have a stake. The aim behind this is to create a strong governance structure which will ensure the long-term sustainability of the competition and ensure that there is a focus on the league, and it does not get lost in other business. The only question is what the subsidiary company will be doing for six months of the year when there is no competition?
The new competition will be a six week Home & Away League with each team playing three home games and three away games. This will be followed by a Finals weekend (semi-finals and grand final) at one location.
One move that makes perfect sense is that all teams will be co-branded. This will ease the confusion that existed in the past and will also halve branding and marketing costs.
All of the new teams are carrying the names of their capital cities, rather than the state that they represent. There are many who question this decision. Hockey has traditionally been very strong in the country areas, so playing under the banner of the state made the team all inclusive.
One cannot help but feel an opportunity has been lost here for Hockey to build on that strength in the country areas. Could not the new teams have had country names, such as the Ballarat Rebels in Victoria, or a team been based in Woollongong in New South Wales, or Broome or Bunbury in Western Australia; turf pitches permitting of course.
There is also a belief that by having the teams being city based the teams will now have to compete with well-established brands in Cricket, Baseball, Basketball, and Netball.
One piece of good news for the sport and the League is the announcement of Kellogg’s Sultana Bran coming on as a naming rights sponsor. The downside of this is that the’ Sultana Bran Hockey One League’ does not roll off the tongue with ease. Kelloggs has come on board for the first two seasons, which is good news. No doubt those negotiating the deal would have liked a longer commitment, but Kelloggs will want to be sure that their support is giving them the return that they are hoping for, hopefully before making a longer term commitment.
The players will no doubt be very happy to hear that a naming rights sponsor has been brought on board, along with a partner sponsor in Westfund, as previously in the Australian Hockey League they would have to pay to participate for their state.
In 2018 the document explaining the plans for the new league stated that the league would be “the catalyst for hockey in Australia becoming a professional sport where players receive payments to play in the competition and the league can attract marquee players from overseas.”
The bad news is in 2019 there will be no payment for the players, and there will be no prize money, as the money generated will go towards administrative, travel, branding and marketing costs.
We were also advised that the new league would see a “significant increase in investment into the marketing of the league,” and that there would be “a dedicated focus on building awareness of the league and sport throughout Australia.” It is hard to judge living on one side of the country whether this has been the case. The best way to assess whether this is the case will be through the attendances on the opening weekend in Sydney, Perth and Canberra. Hopefully packed stadia will show that this has happened and the marketing has connected with the public.
Another aim of the new league is to give fans an experience that makes them want to return after attending one game. The sport should do that by itself, but in a world full of people who we are told have short attention spans we have to have other elements to keep them entertained. Once again once the competition is underway we will see if the new league delivers this.
Hockey fans will be pleased to know that the League will be an 11-a-side competition, with match day squads of 14 players. They will be pleased to know that the “pump-play” from last year has been shelved. There will however still be the “Bonus Goal” rule. When a field goal or penalty stroke is awarded and is scored, the same athlete will have an automatic one-on-one shootout with the goalkeeper for the chance of an extra goal. Some coaches and players are hoping that the new League will feature Video Referral as they fear that they could be leading 2-0 when an infringement is missed in the circle, a goal is awarded, and then the opposition claim a Bonus point goal to draw level.
One area where there could be some confusion is when it comes to the points awarded for results. What would have been logical would have been to keep this in line with the FIH Pro League, where the winning team receives three points, in a drawn match the teams share a point and then have a shoot out to decide who picks up an extra point. In the new Hockey One League five points will be awarded for a win. Two points will be given to each team in a draw, with one point awarded to the winner of the shoot-out. The downside of this points system is that half way through the competition teams that are unbeaten will be assured of a finals berth which could impact on attendances later in the tournament.
The biggest impact on the new league could well be the timing of the competition. First of all it comes off the back of the local state seasons. Where players have focussed for nine months on winning a premiership, some will be on a high and some will be on a low. They are now expected to pick themselves up and go again. That is fine if you are a professional athlete, but these are not professional athletes.
Then there is the fact that the opening round is being played the day after the AFL Grand Final, one of the biggest sporting events in the country. In many states it is also a long weekend, which means that many people go away from the city. The second weekend is the NRL Grand final, so once again the League will be fighting for coverage in the media.
What may have been a good idea would have been to run the League in conjunction with the FIH Pro League. Although if you did that the points system would need to be the same as that would create too much confusion. Australia has no Pro League matches in April. By having the League start in March, those not picked for the Pro League matches could play in the Hockey One League. Then in March the other national players could also play, keeping them match fit for the games ending the Pro League in May.
This would certainly appeal to the traditionalists, as in the past the Australian Hockey League would be played prior to selection for the Olympic Games or World Cup, and those who performed well would be selected. With the AIS now having a full time squad it is unlikely that an “outsider” would suddenly burst into the reckoning for one of the big events, but a player from the National Development squad could make the coaches think long and hard if they performed well.
The first season of any competition is always hard. There are bound to be issues that crop up, and things that will need tweaking or adjusting moving forward to fine tune the competition in year two. The key thing is the new competition is about to get under way, sponsors are on board and the rules in the main are the same. Now all the sport needs are the crowds to turn up in their numbers, love it and come back for more, along with media exposure. Bring it on.
