Kangaroos given 6 months

[goswannie14]

The AFL wants a decision on whether the Kangaroos will relocate to the Gold Coast within 6 months.

AFL draws plan for Roos' move

[hammo]

Difficult times for Kangaroos supporters (all 3 of them).

I reckon the North heirachy are holding out to extract as much as they can from the AFL - if they get cash, draft concessions and a guaranteed 6-7 games in Melbourne then that's an excellent deal.

As a name, what's wrong with the Northern Kangaroos?? Better than the Gold COast Kangaroos IMO.

[BBBBH]

the sooner they're out of melbourne the better. im sick of news regarding the roos, damn they are boring.

[573v30]

Are they going to relocate or not? The Kangaroos have traditionally found it hard to recruit members and supporters (except for the mid '70s and mid '90s) and given their financial position, I'm surprised they're still in Victoria. If the AFL wants to truly expand this competition into an "Australia-wide" competition, North Melbourne will relocate to the Gold Coast or fold completely.

[swansrule100]

would the gold coast actually help the roos? u move a dud team its still a dud team. They would need a lot of help to make it work.

I dont want a 17th team, hate the bye

[573v30]

I don't think the competition will expand past 16, though it might look something like this in the future:

3 NSW sides (Sydney, West Sydney & Newcastle or Wollongong provided that Aussie Rules continues to thrive in NSW especially in the rugby dominated areas)
2 QLD sides (Brisbane & Gold Coast)
2 WA sides (West Coast & Fremantle)
2 SA sides (Adelaide & Port Adelaide)
1 ACT side (Canberra, competing with Rugby will be an issue though)
1 TAS side (Hobart or Launceston)
5 VIC sides (Geelong & 4 Melbourne sides)

This might happen... in about 50 years time.

[BBBBH]

3 nsw sides...you're dreaming. doubt there would be an ACT side either.

with all the rugby in those states its hard to get those meatheads to support AFL.

i think a TAS side could work though.

[swansrock4eva]

would the gold coast actually help the roos? u move a dud team its still a dud team. They would need a lot of help to make it work.

I dont want a 17th team, hate the bye

And we're all on this messageboard because....?

[SimonH]

I don't think the competition will expand past 16, though it might look something like this in the future:

3 NSW sides (Sydney, West Sydney & Newcastle or Wollongong provided that Aussie Rules continues to thrive in NSW especially in the rugby dominated areas)
2 QLD sides (Brisbane & Gold Coast)
2 WA sides (West Coast & Fremantle)
2 SA sides (Adelaide & Port Adelaide)
1 ACT side (Canberra, competing with Rugby will be an issue though)
1 TAS side (Hobart or Launceston)
5 VIC sides (Geelong & 4 Melbourne sides)

This might happen... in about 50 years time.

Nice dream. But based on current demographic and participation trends, in 50 years' time a 16-team comp would look surprisingly (boringly) similar to the current one, i.e. roughly as follows:

7.5 Vic sides (see below re the half. Obviously still the strongest state by a fair margin, but relatively on the wane)
3 WA sides (good population growth and economic prosperity)
2.5 Qld sides (the boom state, and it seems like it's only going to get better. Depending on how things go, it might conceivably take the 8th Vic side; I've split the difference and presumed it will be a jointly-located club)
2 SA sides (long term, its population is forecast to shrink!)
1 NSW side (!) (the sleeping giant is being very very slow to wake; and other states are just moving a lot faster than us. A second team would probably require major subsidies for decades, rather than years; without subsidy, a best-case is that we share half-a-side with either Qld or Vic)
0 ACT/NT/Tas sides (ACT and NT just have nowhere near the required numbers; Tas might have just enough right now if they were all in one spot, but they ain't; and its dire population outlook means that with every passing year, it falls further behind other states).

I think that because of a variety of pressures, we're not terribly likely to have a single-division, 16-team comp in 50 years' time. But that's another argument.

[reigning premier]

Nice dream. But based on current demographic and participation trends, in 50 years' time a 16-team comp would look surprisingly (boringly) similar to the current one, i.e. roughly as follows:

7.5 Vic sides (see below re the half. Obviously still the strongest state by a fair margin, but relatively on the wane)
3 WA sides (good population growth and economic prosperity)
2.5 Qld sides (the boom state, and it seems like it's only going to get better. Depending on how things go, it might conceivably take the 8th Vic side; I've split the difference and presumed it will be a jointly-located club)
2 SA sides (long term, its population is forecast to shrink!)
1 NSW side (!) (the sleeping giant is being very very slow to wake; and other states are just moving a lot faster than us. A second team would probably require major subsidies for decades, rather than years; without subsidy, a best-case is that we share half-a-side with either Qld or Vic)
0 ACT/NT/Tas sides (ACT and NT just have nowhere near the required numbers; Tas might have just enough right now if they were all in one spot, but they ain't; and its dire population outlook means that with every passing year, it falls further behind other states).

I think that because of a variety of pressures, we're not terribly likely to have a single-division, 16-team comp in 50 years' time. But that's another argument.

Nice Dream.....

VIC - 7 + two part time teams
NSW - 2 - Swans and one in ACT/Campbelltown (Saints or Dawks)
Tas - 1- Half in Tas, Half in Vic. (Saints or Dawks)
SA - 2
WA - 2
Qld - 2 - Half on Gold coast, half in Vic (Kangas)

[Doctor]

If the AFL are serious about moving the Kangas, and they have to do something about them, then they need to make it a serious long term move like the one that brought South Melbourne to Sydney. It wasn't until the move was made permanent and the team was here as ours for long enough that we took to them. There's no quick or easy fix to this.

[Frog]

I heard on the news tonight they have decided to stay in Melbourne for at least the next three years - Move to the GC ruled out. If I find an article online, I'll post a link - unless someone beats me to it

[goswannie14]

I heard on the news tonight they have decided to stay in Melbourne for at least the next three years - Move to the GC ruled out. If I find an article online, I'll post a link - unless someone beats me to it

Try this one Roos' short-term future secure in Melbourne

[swansrule100]

And we're all on this messageboard because....?

u mean cos of the swans relocation?

well look how stuffed we were for the best part of 20 years in sydney could the kangaroos work on the gold coast???

[swansrock4eva]

The point is that if the Roos as a club want to survive in their own right, there is no quick fix. The AFL is much better equipped to assist with a relocation than the then-VFL was when South became Sydney, but the question is whether the AFL will have the balls to admit that Melbourne is not big enough for 9 teams + Geelong and enforce the moves or the mergers. The Swans struggled through a combination of being the first team outside Melbourne (and all the associated problems - trying to develop marketing strategies for a game that had previously essentially marketed itself, trying to crack into territory "owned" by other codes etc), off-field mismanagement, cases of on-field mismanagement - the list goes on. The Swans made a million mistakes (probably more if we want to get really picky!) but they provided the groundwork with which all other clubs can operate in the event of a relocation, even if it's more a "how not to" than a "how to." It may have taken 15 - 20 years but the club is now established and strong, and should be for quite some time to come.

The Roos made a bad move trying to hit up Sydney the way they did, and probably also at the time they did, but if they go about things the right way (e.g. not bombarding Lions members with membership info because they bought tickets to the match at Carrara last week!) and make sure the groundwork is done at the right times in the right ways then I can see them succeeding. Maybe not right away, but certainly in time. Good luck to them, whatever they choose (as long as it's not trying to poach Swans' fans again lol!).