Motions

Adelaide United Football Club

Debate resumed.

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (12:35): I too rise today to support the motion put forward to congratulate Adelaide United Football Club for winning the 2015-16 Hyundai A-League grand final and Premier's Plate. What a day! What a sporting event it was, sitting up in the stand at Adelaide Oval. Not having experienced a final of this sort before, I was blown away. I was lucky enough to be a guest of Football Federation Australia, and upon a conversation I had with David Gallop, CEO, and Steve Lowy, the chairman, they are great passionate sports administrators, but just as importantly they were a little nervous about how the day was going to pan out.

I had not experienced a Western Sydney Wanderers crowd before but, my goodness, didn't they shake the foundations! They were amazing. But even more enthusiastic and supportive were the Adelaide United supporters. They were not quite as well versed as the Sydney cheer squad but, by goodness, it set the scene for an electric game, and the atmosphere was something I had not experienced before.

The victory for Adelaide United was a momentous occasion, not only for the supporters but a momentous occasion for South Australia. It was a great experience. It showcased the game of soccer and showed that the A-League had come to a final in Adelaide with its home team. Adelaide was not let down, either by the result or by the enthusiasm and the environment the game presented.

I was sitting alongside Steven Marshall, Leader of the Opposition, who is a very keen soccer supporter and fan, and he was just beside himself, also experiencing this great national event, as was the NSW Premier, Mike Baird. Obviously, there was a little bit of a wager between South Australia and New South Wales that the winner would fly the flag on Parliament House. It was something about which we very quickly reminded the Premier of New South Wales: would he need a flag to take home with him because we wanted to see it raised high above NSW Parliament House.

It had come after a long wait. For 13 years, Adelaide United had been contesting this competition, and was it not a sweet win? Obviously, the Reds' season was capped off by commentators saying that it was a fairytale that no-one could have predicted, having nearly won the wooden spoon the previous season and starting the season with eight losses. The season was looking very grey, very gloomy, but the team, the coaching staff, the administrators, the whole package of the Adelaide United roadshow (the team), stepped up and, once they got a sniff, there was no stopping them.

Although crowned the champions of the FFA Cup in 2014, it was a league championship that had eluded Adelaide United, but those demons are now gone. The coach of the season, Guillermo Amor, in his first year turned around the team's fortunes, after a season that looked like they were in dire straits. I spoke to a couple of the players and there seemed to be some form of disconnect earlier in the season, and that is what they attributed the first losses to, namely, getting used to the language barrier. But, once that communication issue had been overcome, the team became more united, became much more functional, and I think that was something that was just a great outcome.

Amor told the media he was thrilled to see his side put together a near perfect display on the big stage. I would like to reflect on that: as a spectator, Adelaide United looked hungry, they were disciplined, they did not play the tag or the dirty straggling game that some of the teams had been playing over the season, and it showed that the team was led by Amor, a great coach. They were disciplined, they stuck to their team game, they stuck to their strategy and it gave them that 3-1 win. 'I know what it means for the city,' he said. 'It's such a big day for Adelaide. It was a special week, everyone screaming, "Come on!"—it sounds a bit like Lleyton Hewitt, doesn't it? 'Today the stadium was full,' he said. It was great to see the non-AFL stadium with a non-cricket team. The stadium was built for AFL and cricket, yet this football code came in and filled up the stadium and presented a great outcome.

The 50,119 crowd, no doubt, was a highlight of the day. The Adelaide United supporters were about 90 per cent of that crowd. It was about having a home team in a home stadium, a world-class stadium, to be able to watch their home team win and enjoy the fruits—whether it was a hometown advantage, but it was a fantastic win. There was flow-on from that game. It fill up Adelaide streets with scarves and colour, with the vibrancy that comes with a national event. It filled up the hotels and restaurants. It filled up the town with energy and it filled up Adelaide's confidence in the game. I am sure that many young budding soccer players will be much more engaged when the next season comes around.

The Adelaide chairman said, regardless of the result, the day had been the biggest moment in the club's history and galvanised the event for the state. He went on to say, 'I don't know what the FFA budgeted to publicise this game, probably nothing, but they didn't need to spend a cent as it would have been sold out from the Adelaide end alone.' The chairman was passionate. There was emotion around the game of AFL played the day before, and it was great to see that the Stadium Management Authority worked together with the SANFL, AFL and FFA to get their stadium on track to where it needed to be to hold a world-class event.

I note that AFL standards for the grass are 29 millimetres high. There was a lot of advertising writing and lines on the Oval that had to be removed. In soccer standards it has to be 24 millimetres high. They had to go over and mow it down to that standard, take off the printing from the oval, get the place set up and get it ready for soccer the very next day. I congratulate the grounds staff on the fantastic job they did to convert the stadium from AFL to soccer, all in a very short period of time.

One of the other interesting points that I would like to touch on is about the Adelaide United guernsey which had Northern Territory on the back. That is something I would like to ask the government: why? Why wasn't the South Australian logo on the back of those jerseys? I think it was ironic that we did not have a South Australian government logo on the back or a South Australian sponsor on the back of that jersey as well.

I am sure that Adelaide United had been to the state government, asked for some support and did not get it. Adelaide United went away, went to the Northern Territory government and they got it. It was a logo that took up the entire back of the jersey, so that gave the Northern Territory huge exposure, not only around the nation but it gave them world exposure. It baffles me as to why we would not have had that South Australian logo somewhere on the back of that jersey as well.

Again, the biggest winner of Adelaide United's success on that fine Sunday was soccer, the game itself. I think that win will inspire young ones who are 50 per cent engaged in the game. It will give them an inspiration to go on and to play better. The game remains a growing part of the state's sporting landscape with strong participation across all ages, male and female. I want to acknowledge the growing reputation of women's soccer. It is a great game, as it is a world game.

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (12:45): I too would like to support the motion congratulating Adelaide United Football Club on winning the 2015-16 Hyundai A-League grand final and the Premier's Plate. It was a fantastic position with Adelaide United coming at one stage from the bottom and then ending up winners for the year. It was a 13-year wait. Along with my family, I attended the game. We purchased our tickets online. I know there were more than 50,000 people there on the day. I really think it showed Adelaide Oval at its best. It was fantastic.

I know there was some discussion about whether soccer could be played at Adelaide Oval. It was an outstanding success. We were speaking to some interstate people who were there as well, and they said that they thought it was the best oval in Australia, and I am sure that members of this chamber would agree. I would like to congratulate the players, support staff, coaches and, of course, chairman Greg Griffin, on what proved to be a fantastic season.

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (12:46): I say thank you to all who have contributed to this debate. I wanted to add, on behalf of all members of the house, our congratulations again to Adelaide United, and particularly to note again their incredible efforts coming from such a shaky start to the season. I think it is an inspiration to us all, as has been spoken about, to see a team with such big hearts and such determination turn the season around and become national champions. As I said previously, I have no doubt that everyone in this house will continue to support and cheer on this team long into the future.

Motion carried.