Whether you are prepared to go along with the ambitious figures of the body administering the sport, or whether you are hell bent on denigrating the effort put into it by playing with the figures in exactly the same way as you are accusing the AFL (ie: optimistic vs. pessimistic), it is still a sh.itload of interest. Even at your modest figure of 16,000, that is a significant number of participants and shows a willingness to become involved on both sides.

If the AFL is being unrealistically optimistic based on current word of mouth, on the ground in SA, then that will be borne out by the figures released not next year, but the year after. It seems a bit rich to be debating 'possible numbers vs probable numbers' when the actual figures won't be released for 2 years, and neither you nor anyone else here has any experience of what is actually going on. It's all speculation and if the AFL is talking it up, then so what? You think other organisations don't do the same thing to get as much publicity as they can?

So let's just assume for a moment that you are right and the figures have been inflated. It is still 16,000 young kids that are being exposed to a game they have never heard of or seen before. Even that pessimistic number is EXTRAORDINARY.

If the AFL believes it is on a winner, and starts pouring money into another country, in order to foster the beginnings of interest, then who are you to question it on the basis of numbers? You think they'd do it for nothing? You think they have more dollars than sense? If you do, then you are more of a numbskull than I thought you were lol.

Football doesnt have much of a history anywhere else in the world because we have mainly been a country where migrants come to, not escape from. That is why we are excited about our code growing. We are finally realising its potential. Spreading the greatest game in the world, to the world one step at a time.