AFL Clubs And Their NBL Equivalents
Adelaide Crows: West Adelaide Bearcats
Both teams won but it is a while ago now. Rehn and Jarman brought them cups in 1997 and 1998, Leroy Loggins took West Adelaide to their only championship. The Crows now share the city of Adelaide with the Power in the AFL, but in the mid 1980s Adelaide was not big enough for two NBL teams so the Bearcats joined forces with the 36ers.
Brisbane Lions (Bears): Townsville Crocodiles (Suns)
A lion is more ferocious than a bear, especially the Bears team that had Capper and Hardie playing for them, changing the name was an improvement. The sun can hurt you, but you can just put on some sunscreen or find some shade, a much better name for a sporting team is to name it after a predator like the crocodile. Both these Queensland clubs improved after changing their names. The Lions were luckier because when they changed their name it not only brought in some extra players but also the ability to take Brown as a father/son pick. The Lions have played in 4 AFL Grand Finals since their name change, the Townsville Crocodiles also played in the 2001 NBL Grand Final.
Carlton Blues: Wollongong Hawks
They used to have good players, but both are rebuilding now. There has also been coaching controversy at both clubs, plenty of board meetings to vote on removing the coach.
Collingwood Magpies: Sydney Kings
A couple of the biggest teams in their sports. They have a lot of fans, as well as a lot of opposition fans who don't like them. The both have the big money and chase not only the best players but also the best coaches, Malthouse was who the Magpies wanted and they got him while the Sydney Kings brought in Brian Goorjian. The Sydney Kings were also a possibility to be compared to the Saints of the AFL, the Kings had the D-Train while the Saints now have the G-Train.
Essendon Bombers: Canberra Cannons
Both teams should have the firepower, according to their name, and in the past they did. Both Essendon and Canberra owned a large part of the 1980s in their leagues.
Fremantle Dockers: Eastside Melbourne Spectres
"The Man Mountain", the Spectres had the enormous Dean Uthoff and the Dockers currently have big Aaron Sandilands. Sandilands is one of the tallest sportspeople in Australian sport, Uthoff might have been the strongest person to compete in an Australian sporting league. Uthoff was only 3 or 4 centimetres shorter than Sandilands too. The Dockers can get past the Perth team in their league but can't get to a grand final, the Spectres could get to a grand final but in that series they couldn't get past the Perth team of the NBL.
Geelong Cats: West Sydney Razorbacks
They can get to grand finals but can't quite win the trophy. Both teams were built on scoring, but it didn't work in the most important games. The Cats did have a touch of the cash-flow problems a while ago but that has been solved, the Razorbacks are currently in a worse spot than Geelong was before Cook and Costa arrived.
Hawthorn Hawks: Southern Dragons
Both clubs handed their team over to a little guy called Shane who had bleached hair. Hawthorn went through one of their worst eras with Crawford as captain, the Dragons have just started so the jury is still out on player/coach Heal.
Kangaroos: North Melbourne Giants
No strangers to changing their name or possibly being relocated, or worse. But there was a time in the mid to late 1990s when the North Melbourne Kangaroos were a dominant team, and the North Melbourne Giants were a top team in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Melbourne Demons: Hobart Tassie Devils
The Demons have a link with Tasmania and have recruited quite a few players from there, when Hobart played in the NBL a lot of their players were from Victoria. A couple of evil-sounding teams, one nearly merged while the other one was nowhere near as lucky and has disappeared from the NBL.
Port Adelaide Power: Adelaide 36ers
It's all about Dean Brogan, not the most important player for either club but he was a member of their title teams. A bench player for the 36ers, he was just a bit too short for his forward/centre role in basketball. But in the AFL he is one of the bigger players, and he plays a much bigger role, although he could still be considered a backup to Lade with the Power.
Richmond Tigers: New Zealand Breakers
They can play hard and compete but everyone soon sees that they don't have the players to contend. The Tigers need a big ruckman with good skills while the Breakers also need more size. But each club has loyal fans who make plenty of noise when they are winning.
St Kilda Saints: Southern Melbourne Saints
The basketball Saints may be gone but it is only 27 years since they were the champion, the AFL version needs to go back a lot more to their premiership season.
Sydney Swans: Melbourne Tigers
Each club had their league's biggest scorer, Lockett in Sydney and Gaze in Melbourne, but they have actually had more team success after those players left.
West Coast Eagles: Perth Wildcats
The city of Perth had a title from the Eagles in 1992 and 1994 and the Wildcats were champions in 1990, 1991 and 1995. In 1993 the Wildcats also made the NBL Grand Final. The Eagles have come back to dominate again, with their win last season, and the Wildcats are also close to contending now.
Western Bulldogs: Geelong Supercats
Underdogs from the west, of their city or state at least. Sometimes undersized but often entertaining, while most AFL clubs have a big body at full forward the Bulldogs have had success with Johnson and Robbins, when the Supercats last played in the NBL their best scorer was Bobby Locke who is even shorter than Brad Johnson. The Bulldogs might have been in trouble if they didn't keep Chris Grant when cashed-up clubs tried to recruit him, the Geelong Supercats once lost nearly their entire starting 5 to bigger clubs when players like Shane Heal, John Dorge and Terry Dozier all left at the same time.
Next Time: The NSL Teams
Both teams won but it is a while ago now. Rehn and Jarman brought them cups in 1997 and 1998, Leroy Loggins took West Adelaide to their only championship. The Crows now share the city of Adelaide with the Power in the AFL, but in the mid 1980s Adelaide was not big enough for two NBL teams so the Bearcats joined forces with the 36ers.
Brisbane Lions (Bears): Townsville Crocodiles (Suns)
A lion is more ferocious than a bear, especially the Bears team that had Capper and Hardie playing for them, changing the name was an improvement. The sun can hurt you, but you can just put on some sunscreen or find some shade, a much better name for a sporting team is to name it after a predator like the crocodile. Both these Queensland clubs improved after changing their names. The Lions were luckier because when they changed their name it not only brought in some extra players but also the ability to take Brown as a father/son pick. The Lions have played in 4 AFL Grand Finals since their name change, the Townsville Crocodiles also played in the 2001 NBL Grand Final.
Carlton Blues: Wollongong Hawks
They used to have good players, but both are rebuilding now. There has also been coaching controversy at both clubs, plenty of board meetings to vote on removing the coach.
Collingwood Magpies: Sydney Kings
A couple of the biggest teams in their sports. They have a lot of fans, as well as a lot of opposition fans who don't like them. The both have the big money and chase not only the best players but also the best coaches, Malthouse was who the Magpies wanted and they got him while the Sydney Kings brought in Brian Goorjian. The Sydney Kings were also a possibility to be compared to the Saints of the AFL, the Kings had the D-Train while the Saints now have the G-Train.
Essendon Bombers: Canberra Cannons
Both teams should have the firepower, according to their name, and in the past they did. Both Essendon and Canberra owned a large part of the 1980s in their leagues.
Fremantle Dockers: Eastside Melbourne Spectres
"The Man Mountain", the Spectres had the enormous Dean Uthoff and the Dockers currently have big Aaron Sandilands. Sandilands is one of the tallest sportspeople in Australian sport, Uthoff might have been the strongest person to compete in an Australian sporting league. Uthoff was only 3 or 4 centimetres shorter than Sandilands too. The Dockers can get past the Perth team in their league but can't get to a grand final, the Spectres could get to a grand final but in that series they couldn't get past the Perth team of the NBL.
Geelong Cats: West Sydney Razorbacks
They can get to grand finals but can't quite win the trophy. Both teams were built on scoring, but it didn't work in the most important games. The Cats did have a touch of the cash-flow problems a while ago but that has been solved, the Razorbacks are currently in a worse spot than Geelong was before Cook and Costa arrived.
Hawthorn Hawks: Southern Dragons
Both clubs handed their team over to a little guy called Shane who had bleached hair. Hawthorn went through one of their worst eras with Crawford as captain, the Dragons have just started so the jury is still out on player/coach Heal.
Kangaroos: North Melbourne Giants
No strangers to changing their name or possibly being relocated, or worse. But there was a time in the mid to late 1990s when the North Melbourne Kangaroos were a dominant team, and the North Melbourne Giants were a top team in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Melbourne Demons: Hobart Tassie Devils
The Demons have a link with Tasmania and have recruited quite a few players from there, when Hobart played in the NBL a lot of their players were from Victoria. A couple of evil-sounding teams, one nearly merged while the other one was nowhere near as lucky and has disappeared from the NBL.
Port Adelaide Power: Adelaide 36ers
It's all about Dean Brogan, not the most important player for either club but he was a member of their title teams. A bench player for the 36ers, he was just a bit too short for his forward/centre role in basketball. But in the AFL he is one of the bigger players, and he plays a much bigger role, although he could still be considered a backup to Lade with the Power.
Richmond Tigers: New Zealand Breakers
They can play hard and compete but everyone soon sees that they don't have the players to contend. The Tigers need a big ruckman with good skills while the Breakers also need more size. But each club has loyal fans who make plenty of noise when they are winning.
St Kilda Saints: Southern Melbourne Saints
The basketball Saints may be gone but it is only 27 years since they were the champion, the AFL version needs to go back a lot more to their premiership season.
Sydney Swans: Melbourne Tigers
Each club had their league's biggest scorer, Lockett in Sydney and Gaze in Melbourne, but they have actually had more team success after those players left.
West Coast Eagles: Perth Wildcats
The city of Perth had a title from the Eagles in 1992 and 1994 and the Wildcats were champions in 1990, 1991 and 1995. In 1993 the Wildcats also made the NBL Grand Final. The Eagles have come back to dominate again, with their win last season, and the Wildcats are also close to contending now.
Western Bulldogs: Geelong Supercats
Underdogs from the west, of their city or state at least. Sometimes undersized but often entertaining, while most AFL clubs have a big body at full forward the Bulldogs have had success with Johnson and Robbins, when the Supercats last played in the NBL their best scorer was Bobby Locke who is even shorter than Brad Johnson. The Bulldogs might have been in trouble if they didn't keep Chris Grant when cashed-up clubs tried to recruit him, the Geelong Supercats once lost nearly their entire starting 5 to bigger clubs when players like Shane Heal, John Dorge and Terry Dozier all left at the same time.
Next Time: The NSL Teams
Bobby Locke was shorter than Johnson or Robbins, but he could certainly jump higher.