That's it. I'm giving up Australian Football.

[goswannies]

To add to the conspiracy theories... I thought each club got the same ticket allocation on Grand Final day. There appeared to be more Bulldog bays...or was that just the corporates/members being given free scarves perhaps....

If I recall correctly, in 96 the G was awash in red & white. I think there might be a number of impartials who grab something cheap to wear to support the underdogs

[aardvark]

The AFL needs Sydney,Hawthorn and Geelong to stop winning premierships for a while. The credibility of their competition is at stake. Helping the Bulldogs win was a big bonus for them. What they really want is a top 8 of Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon and Richmond with GWS and GC and a W.A. team and a S.A. team mixed in. When the same 3 teams keep rising to the top their competition is not working the way they want.

[splatto]

The losers I see from this result are the players who work so hard and the fans that are concerned about fairness and ultimately the game....As a North Queenslander I personally witnessed public outrage at blatantly obvious match fixing by the NRL to keep the majority of NRL fans happy by preventing a Queensland team from winning a premiership until they could no longer do so as it became a joke and even fans in NSW were becoming embarrassed.
Yesterday the game was about the Bulldogs. Their winning will ensure the highest financial return to the stakeholders.
The really sad issue here is the Bulldogs may well have won without the obvious interference by the AFL through their match fixing umpiring.
This result should have been just a few points either way.
Unfortunately I can no longer support any professional sport as the powers that be are going to ensure the financial stakeholders are the winners.
This is truly a SAD day for AFL football.

[aardvark]

Need to have a few bucks on Melbourne....they now have the longest premiership drought so it's their turn next year.....

[goswannies]

Need to have a few bucks on Melbourne....they now have the longest premiership drought so it's their turn next year.....

Or Richmond, they're on the longest Grand Final drought I think

[aardvark]

Or Richmond, they're on the longest Grand Final drought I think

Nup Melbourne 1964. Then StKilda 1966. Tiges 1980.

[grarmy]

The AFL needs Sydney,Hawthorn and Geelong to stop winning premierships for a while. The credibility of their competition is at stake. Helping the Bulldogs win was a big bonus for them. What they really want is a top 8 of Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon and Richmond with GWS and GC and a W.A. team and a S.A. team mixed in. When the same 3 teams keep rising to the top their competition is not working the way they want.

Ridiculous. The Swans have'nt won a premiership for awhile. Why wouldn't you want them winning a couple in a row. Our credibility is at stake, not their's.

[aardvark]

Ridiculous. The Swans have'nt won a premiership for awhile. Why wouldn't you want them winning a couple in a row. Our credibility is at stake, not their's.

Try telling Melbourne and StKilda that a flag won 4 years ago is a long time ago. The competition and everything connected to it is designed to even it out so everyone gets a go. If that doesn't happen the AFL sees that as a failure. If you don't believe the AFL wants us to drop down the ladder ask them why the trade bans and why remove cola? Can you think of a better reason for these things happening?

[Thunder Shaker]

Or Richmond, they're on the longest Grand Final drought I think

Nup Melbourne 1964. Then StKilda 1966. Tiges 1980.

Grand Final droughts are not the same as premiership droughts.

last Grand Final:
Richmond 1982 (34 years)
Adelaide 1998 (18 years)
Melbourne 2000 (16 years)
St Kilda 2010 (6 years)

The AFL website has the complete list.

[aardvark]

Grand Final droughts are not the same as premiership droughts.

Ah yes! Bad night last night.

[Blue Sun]

But here's the biggest thing that cost us the premiership: we were 22 points behind on the scoreboard when the game ended.

I don't understand the point of this statement? A team scores by playing and competing on the field, this is influenced by all things that occur on the field.

[Thunder Shaker]

Try telling Melbourne and StKilda that a flag won 4 years ago is a long time ago. The competition and everything connected to it is designed to even it out so everyone gets a go. If that doesn't happen the AFL sees that as a failure. If you don't believe the AFL wants us to drop down the ladder ask them why the trade bans and why remove cola? Can you think of a better reason for these things happening?

Agreed ... it's been a long wait for a premiership when one can count the number of premiership players still alive and get a number in single figures. If there are premiership players still playing for the club, that's not a long wait IMO.

Another metric: there are 18 teams in the competition, so the average wait for a flag is 18 years. Only clubs that have been waiting longer than this can say they've been waiting a while.

[Thunder Shaker]

But here's the biggest thing that cost us the premiership: we were 22 points behind on the scoreboard when the game ended.

I don't understand the point of this statement? A team scores by playing and competing on the field, this is influenced by all things that occur on the field.

It's a tautological statement made for a bit of humour. Yes, there were many things influencing the result, but ultimately it's awfully hard to win the game if we don't put a winning score on the scoreboard.

[crackedactor]

newspaper

The losers I see from this result are the players who work so hard and the fans that are concerned about fairness and ultimately the game....As a North Queenslander I personally witnessed public outrage at blatantly obvious match fixing by the NRL to keep the majority of NRL fans happy by preventing a Queensland team from winning a premiership until they could no longer do so as it became a joke and even fans in NSW were becoming embarrassed.
Yesterday the game was about the Bulldogs. Their winning will ensure the highest financial return to the stakeholders.
The really sad issue here is the Bulldogs may well have won without the obvious interference by the AFL through their match fixing umpiring.
This result should have been just a few points either way.
Unfortunately I can no longer support any professional sport as the powers that be are going to ensure the financial stakeholders are the winners.
This is truly a SAD day for AFL football.

I second that motion, I can no longer be a member of the club whilst the AFL Mafia run the show. Anyone who even believes you can play 2 quarters of AFL football and not even receive one free kick are living in Fantasy Land . I am glad the Daily telegraph ran an article on the fact the Bulldogs could push us in the back, slide and take our legs out, high tackles, and never have to worry about giving away a free kick or 50 meter penalty. What a luxury to have!!! Bulldogs, the best Grand Final cheats in 62 years!

[Blue Sun]

I second that motion, I can no longer be a member of the club whilst the AFL Mafia run the show. Anyone who even believes you can play 2 quarters of AFL football and not even receive one free kick are living in Fantasy Land . I am glad the Daily telegraph ran an article on the fact the Bulldogs could push us in the back, slide and take our legs out, high tackles, and never have to worry about giving away a free kick or 50 meter penalty. What a luxury to have!!! Bulldogs, the best Grand Final cheats in 62 years!

I agree with everything you said, except for the Bulldogs being cheats. They didn't cheat, the Swans were simply umpired out of the game.