STURT TO PLAY AT MT BARKER ?

[mal]

There is a distinct possility that Sturt will play games at Mt Barker in the future
I wont go there its too cold and too far
Encounter bay, Mt Barker where next ?
This is a premier football competition , play on local ovals
The last thing we want is to play footy on Primary School grounds where
people like Booney and REB used to play cricket on.

STURT dont do it its embarrasing.

[Wedgie]

mal, its only on the proviso that a new league standard ground is built at Mt Barker.
Im all for it and applaud Sturt for it, quicker for me to get to Mt Barker than Elizabeth.

[JK]

mal, its only on the proviso that a new league standard ground is built at Mt Barker.
Im all for it and applaud Sturt for it, quicker for me to get to Mt Barker than Elizabeth.

Umm .. Sturt usually play at Unley mate

[mal]

WEDGIE Im sure you will enjoy being there in the middle of winter
Does it snow there ?
If I was a player I would not be keen playing there
Well at least they have a great hospital there to treat the players for frost bite

[Wedgie]

WEDGIE Im sure you will enjoy being there in the middle of winter
Does it snow there ?
If I was a player I would not be keen playing there
Well at least they have a great hospital there to treat the players for frost bite

Mate, after enduring a Friday night game in Canberra a few years back in the middle of July nothing phases me, the players are big boys, Im sure their bodies will be up to it.

And why play there in the middle of winter, if its only going to be a few games why not early and late in the season?

Here's a link to the news story:
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21657399-21546,00.html

[Armytank]

Mt Barker is no colder than Noarlunga in the middle of July and less windy too.

Toughen up or bring a rug

[mal]

Why is it it always seems to be bottom broke or weakish clubs that play home games at other venues
AFL look at the clubs who play home games interstate....all bottom 8 teams as a rule
SANFL South play a game at Encounter bay another struggling club
Now Sturt to play at Mt Barker
Dont do it Sturt, you won a flag in 2003, you are now getting some success, dont go backwards

South give up fortress CARlunga to play at Encounter Bay 1st round and look what happened
a pitiful loss by 86 points
Last year in the Eagles premiership year they beat them at CARlunga by plenty

Sturt dont give up any games at Unley you lose that home smell advantage.

[Armytank]

Sturt dont give up any games at Unley you lose that home smell advantage.

Mt Barker smells the same as Unley, if not worse

[Sojourner]

The SANFL didnt have a problem before the urban sprawl began, now several SANFL grounds are located in older areas where the local primary schools are being shut down due to a lack of that age group in the area.

Areas like Modbury, Golden Grove, Mt Barker are the fastest growing areas in Adelaide and have no local SANFL footy. If the SANFL is to go forward they have to bring these areas into the fold. If the SANFL sides dont want to play there, that is fine, permit Modbury and Mt Barker to enter the SANFL and compete in their own right to represent the local area as the other SANFL clubs do.

[Aerie]

I think it is a positive move for Sturt. South and Central are real community type clubs because of their location and Mt Barker could be the Hills version of that for Sturt. Also, Mt Barker isn't that far away. An easy drive up the freeway. I look forward to watching the Eagles play there.

Would be interested to hear Sturt fans opinions on this? Is a couple of games each season fine? Do you not want any games moved from Unley? Would a relocation to Mt Barker full time be a good idea?

[doggies4eva]

Why is it it always seems to be bottom broke or weakish clubs that play home games at other venues

Because they are bottom, broke or weakish due to hanging onto a location that was suitable pre-war but is no longer so. If the SANFL doesn't move with the times (and the urban sprawl) it will become a dinosaur.

[rod_rooster]

Why is it it always seems to be bottom broke or weakish clubs that play home games at other venues
AFL look at the clubs who play home games interstate....all bottom 8 teams as a rule
SANFL South play a game at Encounter bay another struggling club
Now Sturt to play at Mt Barker
Dont do it Sturt, you won a flag in 2003, you are now getting some success, dont go backwards

South give up fortress CARlunga to play at Encounter Bay 1st round and look what happened
a pitiful loss by 86 points
Last year in the Eagles premiership year they beat them at CARlunga by plenty

Sturt dont give up any games at Unley you lose that home smell advantage.

Sturt will be stoked to find out that they won the flag in 2003. That makes it back to back for them

Mt. Barker is 30 mins from the city mal. Hardly far away. Colder and more windy down at Nourlunga.

[Rik E Boy]

Mt Barker is no colder than Noarlunga in the middle of July and less windy too.

Toughen up or bring a rug

Yeah mally, take some concrete pills and harden TF up.

regards,

REB

[therisingblues]

Interesting topic, and thanks for the link Wedgie.
A few things here from a Sturt supporter's perspective.
The club is showing concern about its area, as mentioned in the story the current facilities are sub-standard. If it is such a fast growing area then the Football Community needs to do something to ensure that the kids in the area have a venue, with the facilities and capacity to host a higher standard of Football. That could mean SANFL, or it could mean hosting finals for the MB local competitions, or greater regional competitions. (I don't know the local population figures, but it follows that an area in the midst of a population boom is going to undergo increased focus as a football venue ). Seeing as Mt Barker is in Sturt's zone it is appropriate of them to play the lead in this, and ensure the ground standards are brought up to a level fitting the amount of potential use. This would benefit the Blues long term as ideally this is bringing the footy to the people. It then follows that the best way for Sturt to "recruit" the new supporter base being created there is by playing the odd game out that way, and establishing its identity.
That's a perspective from a Sturt supporter, but I'm sure plenty of neutrals would have considered the above.
What worries me about the venture is the thing that Mal mentioned: South getting spanked at their home away from home. We would be surrendering a little home ground familiarity, for games played at Mt. Barker, as we would be more familiar with Unley than whatever venue they develop out there.
The other thing we'd be considering is the debacle that occurred last time we tried to relocate away from Unley. Obviously this would be different as it would only be a handful of games each year, and it would also be a move toward our (potential) supporter base rather than away from it (As was the case when we relocated to Adelaide). This would possibly create a feeling of anticipation for Unley home games, as they'd be fewer, possibly increasing attendances for those matches.
I'm all for it.

[smac]

Great post theri - pleased to see something that isn't a kneejerk reaction.

Surely in any oval development, they would configure the playing surface to be the same as Unley (minus the dog turds perhaps).

I think if a club is going to 'enter' an area it should only be the club whose zone that area belongs to - it appears to be working that way at the moment, but the integrity of the zones should be maintained.

[Booney]

The last thing we want is to play footy on Primary School grounds where
people like Booney and REB used to play cricket on.

.

Play cricket? Dominate my friend,dominate.

[ORDoubleBlues]

Whether it's right or wrong, I find it unusual that people say it's 'too far' because these days from the GPO it only takes about 5 minutes longer to get there than Port Adelaide and it would actually be quicker to get to than Noarlunga and Elizabeth.

[smac]

Whether it's right or wrong, I find it unusual that people say it's 'too far' because these days from the GPO it only takes about 5 minutes longer to get there than Port Adelaide and it would actually be quicker to get to than Noarlunga and Elizabeth.

It takes me 35 minutes to get from the city to Elizabeth on a Friday afternoon at 5.30, I reckon Mt Barker would be the same. Doesn't sound too far, IMO, to watch a game of league footy.

[the tractor]

If the plans that I've seen go ahead, Mt. Barker oval would definately be a better place to watch footy than Unley, IMO.

[Dissident]

It's funny that people hate the term "local footy" but hate it when it's not as local as they'd like.


*shrug*