It's 1980 and commercialisation is transforming Australia's football codes. The Barassi Line between the south and the north is breaking. Globalisation is threatening Australia's provincial pastimes. The balance sheet is the new ladder of club success. This Australian Playboy article gives an interesting account of the era and the competitive tension between Australia's major football codes.

Aussie rules is expanding. League is on the back foot. Football has the kids but struggles to cut through. Union is a passive bystander. Thirty-five years on much has changed, but the overarching narrative is remarkably similar.