2007 Draw

[SimonH]

I think talk of '5 or 6', or 'just 5', Melbourne games, is much exaggerated. Every club is able to put in requests for the following year's draw (which, contrary to the way most of the AFL is run, are made public).

Ever since I've been looking, Sydney has always requested 6 games in Melbourne per year, and has always been granted them. Nothing will change in 2007.

Talk of 'X or Y game should be in Sydney, not Canberra' overlooks the unfortunate fact that they're not our goddamn home games to allocate! The AFL gives sides financial incentives to encourage the holders of the game to do the right thing by spreading the gospel nationally, but it can't force them to hold their home game in a non-home city. It's up to Melbourne and the Dogs where they want to play their home games against Sydney. One can't blame the AFL, when it's doling out the cash to create incentives for them to choose one place over another, to prefer the net match allocation of 11 Sydney, 2 Canberra, rather than 13 Sydney, 0 Canberra.

The alternative would be if clubs lost control of their home games and could be sent around the country to play wherever the AFL told them to play. I don't think that anyone, including Sydney, would trust AFL House enough to put this power in their hands.

Any formulation that results in us only going to Perth once, and Adelaide once, is a best-realistic-scenario draw and is just dandy by me.

Now, whether we get mightily screwed by overpriced admission in Sydney, is another question. My father, who visited from Adelaide to see the Clones thump us, has kept his curio of a ticket with reserved seat in the O'Reilly stand, to show his incredulous friends back home. He literally could not believe that anyone could charge $61 for a ticket to a home & away game of footy.

[SimonH]

Originally posted by Zlatorog
I think we should ask question a bit differently. Is Sydney market big enough to have an AFL game every week, or are we all happy to have it every fortnight? I'm not implying that we should watch the Swans every week in Sydney, but I think we deserve a game every week. Ever since VFL moved the Swans to Sydney, the whole development of the AFL in Sydney have been going at a very slow pace. And that is the fact.

Clear and long-standing policy of the AFL that in the longer term they want AFL played every week in Sydney (and every week in SE Queensland). Given the capital investment recently announced which the AFL is involved in, the plan is to base another team at Blacktown Oval (whether or not they play any games there is more open to question).

However, you can't play AFL in Sydney every week without a 2nd Sydney team. And the problems with a proposed 2nd Sydney team are obvious and substantial, including:

a) The AFL is also publicly committed to a 16-team comp. So no new team created out of thin air (or by massively growing an amalgam of SFL clubs); an existing club must relocate. This means an existing Victorian club. But the 16-team commitment in practice means that the AFL props up financially dodgy Victorian clubs. Their heart and soul and most of their supporters are in Melbourne, and so they couldn't be less motivated to move. They've seen the disastrous Kangaroos sortie, which makes them unmotivated to even play 3 or 4 games a year here to establish a beachhead. The only way they'd change their mind is perhaps if they were facing bankruptcy and expulsion; which doesn't occur because the AFL, in keeping with its '16 team' policy, props them up. And so the circle goes.

b) A new western Sydney team would lose a lot of money for a substantial period. Only the number-crunchers could say for sure, but I estimate it would bleed millions per year for at least 10 years, maybe longer. When everyone's sharing out of the same honeypot, how popular do you think approving that kind of subsidy is going to be with the existing clubs, especially the struggling ones?

It will take a fearless leader, capable of persuading powerful people that tough decisions need to be made, in order to get a weekly presence (and so a strong AFL culture) in Sydney. I fear that Demetriouuuuu is not that man.

[The Boot]

Originally posted by Young Blood
The AFL has more objectives than simply 'growing the game'. But even on this count, it's not as clear as you make out that Western Sydney should be the #1 priority. If it were just a matter of market size, then surely the AFL should go to Tokyo, Mexico City or Mumbai?

The AFL DOES go to other markets! Just not at the speed some people can accept I suppose. There are heaps of political and other agendas why Canberra games are important. Having lived there, I can remember being gobsmacked when the Raiders launched there. Say whaaatt? That ambush won't happen again. Look at the storm over Carrara & the NRL.

[Young Blood]

Originally posted by SimonH
Ever since I've been looking, Sydney has always requested 6 games in Melbourne per year, and has always been granted them. Nothing will change in 2007.

Since 2000, we've had 6 Vic games every year except 2003, when we had 5 (and had to travel to Footy Park twice). But even that one year shows that the 6 Vic games aren't a certainty.

[robbieando]

Originally posted by Young Blood
Since 2000, we've had 6 Vic games every year except 2003, when we had 5 (and had to travel to Footy Park twice). But even that one year shows that the 6 Vic games aren't a certainty.

There was more than just the one year where we got 5 games in Melbourne.

[Young Blood]

Originally posted by robbieando
There was more than just the one year where we got 5 games in Melbourne.

I thought so too, but couldn't find it looking at the fixtures.

[thedoc]

Originally posted by Danzar
Manuka's not too bad. It's represents a road trip if you're from Sydney and has a bit of charm to it.

Plus, I like the fact that you can trot onto the Oval the day before the game and have a kick.

Definitely happy with Manuka as an away venue. We were there for the game against North this year and it took me a while to realise why we were enjoying it so much. During the breaks and pre-match, there is virtually no loudspeaker adverts, emergency exit warnings etc. It was more like a picnic day during the breaks. Of course when the footy was on, it was pretty much normal (can't focus on other things).

2 games at Manuka, brilliant!

[Tuco]

Originally posted by Danzar
Solution 1 - get your ticket early in the stands. Reserved seats, nice toilets.
Solution 2 - book a nice hotel with friends and plan activities. Poker, Twister, whatever your fancy.
Solution 3 - host a 'game-day' big-breakfast. Cook a big barbeque for your mates and have a 'strategy-session'.
Solution 4 - get drunk at every possible opportunity.
Solution 5 - Do one thing in Canberra not related to Footy. Go to the gallery or something.

Solution 1: Good Idea. That's what I did this year. Unfortunately this didn't change the Manuka "experience" beyond having a seat.

Solution 2: Sorry. I have friends in Canberra and even they won't keep me in town after the sun goes down (only joking )

Solution 3: If I can find anyone who still wants to come down with me next year this would be great. Once bitten however...

Solution 4: I vote this my favourite solution. I might have to work on this one a bit. It will take time and perseverance. But I'm sure all the hard yards will pay off in the long run.

Solution 5: Yes. I could have trawled for Porn and firecrackers. They would certainly have come in useful in those food queues that led to "nothing for sale" detinations.

Look. I didn't mean for my post to come off sounding as big a whinge as it did. But I do feel things can be better at that ground. Not really too much ask surely?

[Danzar]

Originally posted by Tuco
Solution 1: Good Idea. That's what I did this year. Unfortunately this didn't change the Manuka "experience" beyond having a seat.

Solution 2: Sorry. I have friends in Canberra and even they won't keep me in town after the sun goes down (only joking )

Solution 3: If I can find anyone who still wants to come down with me next year this would be great. Once bitten however...

Solution 4: I vote this my favourite solution. I might have to work on this one a bit. It will take time and perseverance. But I'm sure all the hard yards will pay off in the long run.

Solution 5: Yes. I could have trawled for Porn and firecrackers. They would certainly have come in useful in those food queues that led to "nothing for sale" detinations.

Look. I didn't mean for my post to come off sounding as big a whinge as it did. But I do feel things can be better at that ground. Not really too much ask surely?

It wasn't interpreted as a whinge. Got me thinking about Manuka.

[goswannie14]

Originally posted by Mike_B
I read on afl.com.au a while back (and because the site is so crap, I can't actually find it now) that the 2006 draw was the last year the draw would be based on Rd 15 ladder from the previous year. The AFL have got themselves a program used by the NFL (IIRC) that allows them to do the draw factoring in requests from clubs for certain fixtures alot more quickly and so when preparing the 2007 draw, they will be able to base it on the ladder after Rd 22.

I read that too, so was wondering why there was a thread about this already!

[goswannie14]

Originally posted by DST
It costs me $220.00 to see 6 games, all of which I have no gaurantee of getting a seat so essentially when we play at Telstra Dome & Geelong you need to reserve a seat on top of that.

DST

Yeah we pay $145.00 each to see 6 games in General Admission. We can get 3 GA games in Sydney, which we have done twice this year, but that costs heaps even though we have family to stay with up there.