Victorian fans not happy

[Bloody Hell]

Re: Victorian fans not happy

Originally posted by cruiser
According a to Herald Sun survey of Victorian fans, they're not happy: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/foo...E19742,00.html

(WARNING: RANT APPROACHING) Fine. I reckon we should allow whichever of the Victorian AFL teams that wants to leave the NATIONAL AFL comp to transfer to the VFL. If that means no Victorian teams in the AFL, so be it. Clearly, we dont need them anyway. If it did come to that (and it wouldnt, cause some of those teams wouldnt leave the best comp in the country), we'd plunder those VFL teams for all their best players, just like the VFL did to the other state comps before the formation of the AFL.

You can wear the shoe on the other foot Victoria, if you dare. Or you can wake up to yourselves, stop thinking and talking such parochial crap, and continue to help make this NATIONAL competition great by participating, becoming successful and not trying to destabilise it when results arent going your way.

It's funny that in football all arguments/grudges/hostility can be resolved on the field....except this one.

I'd love to see a Victorian Clubs vs Federated Football Clubs of Australia (I HATE the term interstate team...afterall isn't that what this is about?) as a season ender, so that when a non vic team takes away the cup, AGAIN, we can stick it right up 'em.

[swantastic]

Originally posted by swansrock4eva
It would be interesting to do an in-depth survey with said members and find out how they reacted to their team relocating

@@@@EN @@@@@@ off and VERY @@@@EN angry.

[Lucky Knickers]

I will ALWAYS support a non-victorian team in a GF over a victorian team. No different from the Vics.

However, I say this now but in the event that it was the doggies against west coast - I would be cheering for the doggies.

Swantastic - good to see you are alive!

[swantastic]

I would always support a Victorian side over any interstate team bar(1) Sydney and (2)Brisbane,Ex Vic teams a coincidence?Victoria is the home of Australian Rules Football and always will be.NSW and QLD AFL supporters have to realise that AFL will never take over Thugby League in those states.AFL is the number one sport in the country not just Victoria but Victorians have to realise that it is a NATIONAL game.They have just got to get use to it and get over it.



PS:Thanks LN alive and kicking but only just i havnt been this down since my mum went to the Lake side oval in the sky.

[laughingnome]

AS much as some people may not like it, sooner or later there will be a second team in Sydney, probably based at Campbelltown, Richmond or Parramatta. The way I see it is that over the next 10 years two of these possibilites will become reality:
North Melbourne - Merge with Southport Sharks on Gold Coast

North Melbourne - Move to Canberra (not so likely now)

Hawthorn or St. Kilda - Tasmania

Western Bulldogs - Western Sydney

If none of those eventuate then the clubs will have to face the situation South Melbourne and Fitzroy did: Move or die. Richmond will probably survive but may merge one of these clubs. The other 5 (Collingwood, Essendon, Carlton, Melbourne and Geelong) have a sufficient supporter base to survive the cliff face.

The simple matter is that Victoria cannot hold 10 teams for much longer. Something has to be done. If it means short term pain for long term gain, such as that felt by Sydney, it's a risk that may have to be taken. We'll start seeing feaces in pools again no doubt, but the AFL and the Victorian Clubs will have to face some gutsy calls. Tell me in 10 years I'm wrong. I'll bet anything on it.

[Bloody Hell]

Originally posted by laughingnome
If none of those eventuate then the clubs will have to face the situation South Melbourne and Fitzroy did: Move or die. Richmond will probably survive but may merge one of these clubs. The other 5 (Collingwood, Essendon, Carlton, Melbourne and Geelong) have a sufficient supporter base to survive the cliff face.

The simple matter is that Victoria cannot hold 10 teams for much longer. Something has to be done. If it means short term pain for long term gain, such as that felt by Sydney, it's a risk that may have to be taken. We'll start seeing feaces in pools again no doubt, but the AFL and the Victorian Clubs will have to face some gutsy calls. Tell me in 10 years I'm wrong. I'll bet anything on it.

I have thought about this for a long time too. And agree with what you say.

NM - Canberra - Why are they games at Manuka otherwise? They'll never get their membrship no's high enough to survive...there's enough in the good times not the lean times.
Canberra Kangaroos has a nice ring to in. They've got a league and union team the population is big enough...and then there's the AIS. There's nothing to do there so give the people a break!!!

It would also strengthen the Canberra leauge for the benifit of the Mighty swans

Hobart Hawks - Again why are they playing games down there?

or Van Dieman's (would be better if German name) Saints for the oxymoronally inclined...I think the Hawks would be the one though.

The 'Big 4' Melbourne clubs Rich, Ess, Coll, Carl would have to stay - Melbourne as the oldest would have to stay and Geelong (regional identity) would have to stay. That's six - which I agree is the ideal number to support Melbourne.

Leaving Saints and Dogs.

Dogs are on a high at the moment - so it's hard to kick them but traditionally are the weakest (financially). St Kilda has a specific identity so it would be hard to lose them as well.

Suggestions:

1. I think the Dogs would merge if given the choice....not sure about the Saints

2. Send them back to the VFL!!!

3. 8 teams in Victoria is OK...at least it's 8 vs 8

A precednet has been set with this via the NRL.....remember the Save Souths campaign.

At the time I thought if the NRL wins this Souths should go to the AFL...the best way to get a second team in Sydney...could you imagine that....the most successful (working mans) league club joining the AFL???

It would be like Collingwood joining the NRL.

[laughingnome]

Bloody Hell wrote
It would be like Collingwood joining the NRL.

Did anyone else read that line and think "good riddance"?

[Agent 86]

Originally posted by laughingnome
Did anyone else read that line and think "good riddance"?

No. It's great having teams in the comp that everyone hates (even taxi drivers).

[hammo]

Not sure why Carlton deserve to stay in Melbourne any more than St Kilda?

They are a financial basket case and have forfeited their right to any special favours.

I've said many times before - Canberra is not a viable home for an AFL club. They are multi-million dollar businesses and a single club would struggle to get memberships above 10,000 and crowds of 15,000 on a regular basis.

[Steiger]

It will never happen but I reckon Richmond are a good candidate to relocate to Tassie as the Tasmanian Tigers...

[Lucky Knickers]

As much as I love to hate Collingwood and the rest of the moaning whinging Victorian clubs I wouldn't wish the fate of the Lions on any team and thank god no team is likely to go through the relocation by the Dodgy brothers that the swans did. Our club has had it's back to the wall financially so many times.

This is why I can't see a second team in Sydney for at least 10 years. Could be wrong but there is too much competing sport in NSW already and the Swans are the AFL here so think it would be a new license. An AFL club needs a significant sum to be competitive and just can't see the market sustaining that for a while.

When the swans membership reaches 45000+ and we are selling out Homebush regularly then the AFL should look start exploring a second team. The alternative is a major financial drain and a 25 year project to make a new club financially viable.

[laughingnome]

There's simply no money in Victoria for teams like North, Hawthorn, Bulldogs and St Kilda. Why do they insist on selling games interstate to raise revenue? Because they are next to broke. Even if Carlton wanted to move then the AFL would never let them. Their poor years are a result of a severe but just sanction and the AFL knows once they rebound then the millions of dollars they are worth will return. Their supporter base is simply too high to warrant a move. St. Kilda, Hawthorn and the Roos and Bulldogs in particular are in dire straights and have been for some time. Victoria is a dry bed and someone is going to have to move. Outside of merging, Tasmania remains the safest bet followed by the Gold Coast. If a team was to be in Canberra it would be the Roos, and they would still probablt play 3 - 4 "blockbuster" games in Melbourne to aid the coffers. Manuka doesn't hold many its true, but it's also a cheap ground to hire for game day for the same reason.

[cruiser]

Originally posted by laughingnome
If a team was to be in Canberra it would be the Roos, and they would still probablt play 3 - 4 "blockbuster" games in Melbourne to aid the coffers. Manuka doesn't hold many its true, but it's also a cheap ground to hire for game day for the same reason.

A Roos blockbuster? That's an oxymoron.

The Roos have wrecked any chance of acceptance in the future as a Canberra team. I dont know why anyone doubts the viability of a Canberra team. The Raidesr worked. The Brumbies worked. Why wouldnt an AFL team work? Canberra has a much larger population than Geelong or Launceston. People living in parts of southern NSW might travel to watch a Canberra based team.

[Bloody Hell]

Originally posted by cruiser
I dont know why anyone doubts the viability of a Canberra team. The Raidesr worked. The Brumbies worked. Why wouldnt an AFL team work? Canberra has a much larger population than Geelong or Launceston. People living in parts of southern NSW might travel to watch a Canberra based team.

And there's not alot to do there.

Considering the public service was based in Melbourne before relocating to Canberra you'd assume there would be a fair backing for it there. Plus the Canberra League is far superior to the Syd. league (just ask the reserves) - It would work better than a Cold Coast team...just ask the Seagulls, the Giants - now the Titans?

I lived in Bris Vegas for 4 years (before relocating to Dublin)...I don't think a second league team would work there, let alone an AFL team. Gold Coast would work in the future. I think at the moment it has the greatest no. of junior or fastest rate of growth...something like that.

One day there MUST be a second sydney team....to have a rivalry like that will only strengthen the game in NSW.

A team moving from Melbourne WILL NOT work. (Because everyone knows Syd hates Melb and visa versa. When the Swans moved the AFL had no profile in Sydney...this is no longer the case).

The team must start from scratch in Sydney (ala WCE) or alternatively they could buy an established club and convert it from league to Aussie Rules....can anybody say "Newtown Jets"...

[Bloody Hell]

Originally posted by Bloody Hell

A team moving from Melbourne WILL NOT work. (Because everyone knows Syd hates Melb and visa versa). The team must start from scratch in Sydney (ala WCE) or alternatively they could buy an established club and convert it from league to Aussie Rules....can anybody say "Newtown Jets"...

Sorry, just an addendum to this....There are alot of 'closet' AFL fans in Sydney (my Dad for one)....who won't step out because they have supported league their whole lives....I think if you took a club with the spirit and ethos of the league clubs you would do well to get a reasonable supporter base to build on. That's why I mentioned South Sydney in a previous post. I think they have won 23 premierships (St George 16?) and have a HUGE supporter base , 250 000 people marched when the court case vs NRL went on, it wasn't about football, it was about the club....for any other issue in australia you would be lucky to get 20000....just a thought.