team. The VFL was under strong pressure from interests in Adelaide to admit a South Australian club and from the ACT for a new Canberra license, however VFL president Allan Aylett was convinced that Sydney was the most viable option. In 1981, Canberra's ACTAFL had edged out rugby league in popularity with an increase in participation it had become the number one sport. Under significant pressure from a rugby league junior development push and fearing the impact on its strong local competition of entry of a Sydney team made a formal bid for license to enter a Canberra team into the VFL. With corporate backing and strong public support including local legend Alex Jesaulenko, the Canberra bid was confident it would be a successful expansion club. Aylett however, determined to pursue the entry of a Sydney team, dismissed the Canberra bid publishing a scathing report on the development of football in the ACT, stating that the VFL might consider Canberra for a license in another 10 years. Aylett's view was that Sydney offered a much bigger television audience and the most potential to add to the league's lucrative television rights. The report however was criticised by the ACTAFL as a template for the NSW Rugby League to raid the prime Canberra market, which it did successfully, the following year. Not only did the VFL's Sydney plan and the Canberra Raiders decimate the ACTAFL's popularity and increase the popularity of rugby league throughout New South Wales, but to later bail out the struggling Swans and without consulting the ACTAFL, designated it an exclusive recruitment zone, taking with it many of the league's best players. With the possibility of another club making Sydney a viable move, in 1981, the South Melbourne board, recognising the structural difficulties it faced with long-term viability and financial stability in Melbourne, decided not to miss what it saw as a strategic opportunity to capture an untapped market and save its club. The board made the decision to play all 1982 home games in Sydney. The club had been operating at a loss of at least $150,000 for the previous five years. News of the proposal broke on 2 July 1981, after which a letter was sent to members justifying the board's reasons for making the proposal and noting that the coach and current players were in favour of the move. On 29 July 1981, the VFL formally