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The next addition to the AFL, Team GWS have this week unveiled their name and jumper design in preparation for them joining the league in 2012. There has been quite a bit of back lash on the design and name from Victorian papers such as the Herald Sun but I’m going to defend it.

Personally I’m not much of a fan of the jumper designs but I do think GWS have made a really good marketing decision with the name and look. The AFL hasn’t made inroads in Sydney even with the Swans winning a premiership. There are many reasons for this and I am sure the AFL has done extensive research into it. My experience of living in the west in Sydney was that the Swans were viewed as the rich end of town club and more ‘normal’ people went to NRL. It’s viewed as us or them. This is where I think there is room for the AFL. It’s not about competing and ‘killing’ NRL, people in Sydney do have room in their hearts for an NRL team and a local AFL team.

The GWS design is good because it doesn’t look like an AFL team. It’s good because it’s unashamedly American influenced. And it’s good because it’s different. This is what the GWS needs to be to succeed in Western Sydney. It changes the discussion and perceptions about what an AFL team is. It’s saying to people in Sydney ‘I know you haven’t looked at AFL before and frankly we know the other teams are a little dorky, but we are different. We are for you.’

The logo design and look that GWS has gone for is a little gritty and ‘working class’ but also incredibly modern looking. It will date fairly quickly and look very 2010 soon enough but it looks very Sydney. And it’s not the tourist version of Sydney which the Swans look like. It’s the Sydney that people actually live in.

You can vote on which jumper you like better on the GWS website.

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