I've said a couple of times already this year that I'm over the whole "my sport is better than your sport" thing (that I probably used to engage in a bit too much), and people should just enjoy what they want to enjoy. It's perfectly possible to follow multiple codes passionately and follow a new sport without discarding your old favourites; I think it'd be great if all the codes peacefully co-existed and we had a whole bunch of highly competitive national leagues without feeling like fans have to be "poached" to do so.
That said, I just don't understand how on earth soccer could possibly gain ground on Aussie Rules, rugby union, or rugby league, or why anybody would go to soccer over those three codes. I know this makes my otherwise healthy relationship with SBS rocky, but I would much prefer it if soccer failed miserably in this country. Sure, it's fun to play, but so are golf and lawn bowls, and most people wouldn't entertain the idea of those as spectator sports. Given the massive transformation in sports popularities from 1911 to 2011, I'd just like to believe that in a hundred years' time, more exciting spectator sports will have made considerable inroads to soccer's global lead. And I sincerely hope that part of any such transformation is Aussie Rules becoming an international sport. Seriously, if it can convert me of all people, it can convert almost anybody.
If there's any sport that needs to become popular in Australia, it's European handball. Hurling too. You know, sports that are bloody exciting.