General footy chat Non Victorian Clubs GF Week Submission to Commission

[Mel_C]

I wanted to post this last weekend but haven't been able to until today due to the site issues.

Last Saturday in The Age there was an interesting article about a submission made by Chris Fagan to the AFL Commission about the disadvantages in Grand Final week for non Victorian teams. Longmire and Kingsley also contributed. Fagan has experience at being the coach of Brisbane playing in a GF, as well as being a senior football executive at Hawthorn during their grand final week campaigns.

These quotes from Fagan are interesting:
"You’re treated like it’s the America’s Cup and you’re the challenger."

"My experience at the Hawks tells me that the biggest issues for Melbourne-based clubs are ticketing, who gets into the rooms after the game, and how we get to the after-match celebrations."

The submission has requested the following:

- More MCG games for Non Victorian clubs during the home and away season.

- Non Victorian clubs allowed to train on the MCG three times in GF week.

- Non Victorian teams funded to spend the full week in Melbourne before the GF if they want.

- An extra week off in the lead-up to the GF. (This is unlikely to happen)

- The AFL to cover all travel and accommodation costs for the partners and children of players and staff, a cost not incurred by Victorian clubs.

[KSAS]

They are good discussion points & suggestions raised from a club perspective (except maybe extra week off before GF, but it would be beneficial for players with concussion protocols from PF, don't miss).

Not in favour of best of 3 GFs as Horse &
club have been pushing.

I think non Vic teams who do make finals, should automatically qualify for extra games at the MCG the following year.

Fans of non Vic teams are also disadvantaged having to fork out extra $$$$ for travel & accommodation.

Seems so outdated & unfair, that should we finish 2 games clear on top of ladder & finals seedings plays out, that we play Carlton in GF on their home deck!

It should be a home GF but that won"t happen due to MCG GF contract.

If AFL started today from scratch, there definitely wouldn't be 10 teams from Vic with perpetual GF at MCG. This is the legacy of transitioning the VFL into a national comp.

[Sandridge]

It's an absolute joke that the Grand Final is held at the MCG each year.

4 Victorian clubs - Melbourne, Richmond, Hawthorn and Collingwood - have the MCG as their home ground.

The official home ground for Essendon and Carlton is Marvel Stadium but, this season, Carlton will play at the MCG 9 times and Essendon will play there 8 times.

We play at the MCG 3 times.

I don't want to jinx our club but let's just say we finish the season on top of the ladder and Collingwood sneaks into the 8. If we meet Collingwood in the Grand Final, we play it on the Pies home ground!!

This is a seriously flawed and compromised competition!

[KSAS]

Also point out that when we made finals in 1986-87, we still had to play all our finals at the MCG despite earning the double chance!

It was considered outrageous to have a SCG final! Just as it seems outrageous today to have GF outside Vic (except 2020 - 21 covid years by necessity).

We went out in straight sets both years.

[KSAS]

Whilst i'm on a roll, i also propose if the GF was played outside Vic regularly on a highest finishing team merit, not would it also grow the game further particularly in the Northern states, it may also provide impetus & feasibility to build bigger stadiums.

These stadiums can potentially allow more fans of the competing GF teams to attend than the current MCG non-member allocation

Tassie is about to have its state of the art stadium approved. Further reason why GF could be moved on a regular basis, based on ladder merit.

[Blood Fever]

It's an absolute joke that the Grand Final is held at the MCG each year.

4 Victorian clubs - Melbourne, Richmond, Hawthorn and Collingwood - have the MCG as their home ground.

The official home ground for Essendon and Carlton is Marvel Stadium but, this season, Carlton will play at the MCG 9 times and Essendon will play there 8 times.

We play at the MCG 3 times.

I don't want to jinx our club but let's just say we finish the season on top of the ladder and Collingwood sneaks into the 8. If we meet Collingwood in the Grand Final, we play it on the Pies home ground!!

This is a seriously flawed and compromised competition!

In this area, the competition will be a joke until 2057. Infuriating for non Victorian clubs and makes the league a laughing stock.

[waswan]

Waste of time.
The AFL is just the store front

TV and the MCC run the competition.

AFL saying anything is like a government saying something about the supermarkets, they simply aren't in control.


Watch American sports and tell me one time they mention crowd numbers, it's a non event.
This mob get Geelong to play at the MCG in case an extra 10k go to the footy, embarrassingly run for a National sport.

Playing a GF at the MCG is locked in, at least the cheating b*starts don't push us out to Homebush for finals anymore

[Mel_C]

Also point out that when we made finals in 1986-87, we still had to play all our finals at the MCG despite earning the double chance!

It was considered outrageous to have a SCG final! Just as it seems outrageous today to have GF outside Vic (except 2020 - 21 covid years by necessity).

We went out in straight sets both years.

In 2004, Brisbane had to play a "Home" Preliminary Final at the MCG because the AFL had an agreement with the MCG that at least one Prelim had to be played there. They still won and played in the GF, but it might have cost them the fourpeat.

[KSAS]

Brisbane did end up losing 2004 GF to Port, but yes that's another example of an AFL contractual agreement disadvantaging non Vic team.

Agree with waswan, the AFL are essentially too obsessed with $$$$ over integrity of the comp. Doesn't leave confidence they will balance out anytime soon.

[707]

Whilst KPI's of the bloated AFL execs are attendances and revenue you'll never get anything like a fair competition.

The big Vic clubs should not be protected from playing at all the out of the way small (crap) venues just because they are big drawing clubs. There should be a fair rotation system regardless of who you are. Pies playing at Kardinia Park, Darwin, Alice Springs, Ballarat, Launceston, Hobart - I'd like to see that!

The draw should not protect big Vic clubs from interstate travel in the lead up to finals, as it often does.

Vicbias is alive and well and don't the Vic clubs squeal when equalisation submissions look to dilute the massive advantages they enjoy.