The 'Ideal' AFL

[Psyber]

My ideal AFL would have been 2 clubs from each state and a maximum of 4 based in Melbourne - and every team travelling!
It would have meant mergers or relocations for Victorian clubs and it was never going to happen.

The real original aim of the creation of the "AFL" we have was for the VFL to take over Australian football and run it to suit themselves.
[With a few token non-Victorian clubs invited to join to make it look national.]
They've largely succeeded...

[Dogwatcher]

The way AFL is going we will have a team in NZ within 10 years. I did hear Demetriou say earluer in the year that he hoped to play a match for premiership points overseas within a couple of years.

I think Demetriou was working with NASA, very interested in the Juno spacecraft to see if the AFL can set up a team in Jupiter. The only problem is the five-year, 1.7 billion-mile trip.

Collingwood would never play there.

[dedja]

You're on the money gadj ... it's a corporation now and the key indicators for a business of this size are good.

The problem is that (probably) most on here (me included) think of it as a club sport, not a business ... and never the twain shall meet.

The 'good old days' are long gone and will never return.

There is certainly the possibility that the AFL will get greedy and grow too quickly ... there are many, many businesses that have gone from being extremely profitable to going under due to ill conceived expansion, but equally, many have prospered greatly by it.

Time will tell whether the AFL is doing the right thing.

[The Sleeping Giant]

Is all of this just a reaction to 3 young lists getting a couple of hidings by the 2 top sides after a long season?

[Jim05]

Is all of this just a reaction to 3 young lists getting a couple of hidings by the 2 top sides after a long season?

Agreed, no one has a problem when Essendon travel interstate and get whacked by 100 points or when we get whacked like our last 2 weeks

[Q.]

Ideally, I'd like to see games between interstate sides, say for example Essendon and Sydney, be thrilling goal-for-goal encounters with the result being decided with a kick after the siren.

In an ideal competition...

[Jimmy]

You're on the money gadj ... it's a corporation now and the key indicators for a business of this size are good.

The problem is that (probably) most on here (me included) think of it as a club sport, not a business ... and never the twain shall meet.

The 'good old days' are long gone and will never return.

There is certainly the possibility that the AFL will get greedy and grow too quickly ... there are many, many businesses that have gone from being extremely profitable to going under due to ill conceived expansion, but equally, many have prospered greatly by it.

Time will tell whether the AFL is doing the right thing.

Good post. I too forget to see it as a business sometimes and long for the old days. Moreso for the SANFLs benefit.

I just honestly see scores like we have seen recently becoming all too common in the next 5-10 years. This is the time the afl needs to capitalize on growth and hope to christ ppl don't get disillusioned.

[Jimmy]

Ideally, I'd like to see games between interstate sides, say for example Essendon and Sydney, be thrilling goal-for-goal encounters with the result being decided with a kick after the siren.

In an ideal competition...

Those games r great, so are 186 point and 150 point wins in a row.

[CUTTERMAN]

Is all of this just a reaction to 3 young lists getting a couple of hidings by the 2 top sides after a long season?

Agreed, no one has a problem when Essendon travel interstate and get whacked by 100 points or when we get whacked like our last 2 weeks

Agreed, no one has a problem when Essendon making a GF would have to play it outside of Victoria.

[Jim05]

Is all of this just a reaction to 3 young lists getting a couple of hidings by the 2 top sides after a long season?

Agreed, no one has a problem when Essendon travel interstate and get whacked by 100 points or when we get whacked like our last 2 weeks

Agreed, no one has a problem when Essendon making a GF would have to play it outside of Victoria.

The GF should always remain at the home of football. Interstate sides have a fair record in GF's against Victorian sides so it cant be that big of advantage

[Jimmy]

Is all of this just a reaction to 3 young lists getting a couple of hidings by the 2 top sides after a long season?

Agreed, no one has a problem when Essendon travel interstate and get whacked by 100 points or when we get whacked like our last 2 weeks

Agreed, no one has a problem when Essendon making a GF would have to play it outside of Victoria.

The GF should always remain at the home of football. Interstate sides have a fair record in GF's against Victorian sides so it cant be that big of advantage

I think it will always stay in Melbourne but if they want a true national comp, they will have to look at the NFL way, moving the sb to a different city each year.

Btw

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/mick-malthouse-fears-thrashings-will-turn-off-fans/story-e6freck3-1226110022563

Looks like Mick isn't too impressed, nor some folks posting on adelnow site.

[CUTTERMAN]

@Jim05
WHY? Give me a valid reason why it should. Home of football is not such.
What an absolute load of crap! So if there's a draw in a GF between a non Vic team (who wins the minor premiership) and a Vic based side and hence a replay like last year, you think it's fair that the other team has to spend two weeks on the road even though they may have technically earned the right to host the GF in the first place.
Really! The comp is an absurd joke! I'm sick of this myopic view on the "national comp". It, for arguments sake, served it's purpose maybe, to get things up and running but the paranoid grasp that the AFL/VFL wishes to maintain is becoming far too tiresome, immature and pathetically small minded. It's time the comp grew out of this restrictive mindset.

[Jim05]

@Jim05
WHY? Give me a valid reason why it should. Home of football is not such.
What an absolute load of crap! So if there's a draw in a GF between a non Vic team (who wins the minor premiership) and a Vic based side and hence a replay like last year, you think it's fair that the other team has to spend two weeks on the road even though they may have technically earned the right to host the GF in the first place.
Really! The comp is an absurd joke! I'm sick of this myopic view on the "national comp". It, for arguments sake, served it's purpose maybe, to get things up and running but the paranoid grasp that the AFL/VFL wishes to maintain is becoming far too tiresome, immature and pathetically small minded. It's time the comp grew out of this restrictive mindset.

You cant have a GF in a pissy 50,000 seat stadium, if the GF was to move ANZ in Sydney would be the only other ground it could be held in. Nothing better than seeing our showpiece game played in front of 90,000+, wouldnt be the same atmosphere in a smaller ground. As ive maintained all along the interstate sides knew what they were getting into when they joined. The GF replay will disappear when Demetriou finally pisses off.

[Adelaide Hawk]

@Jim05
WHY? Give me a valid reason why it should. Home of football is not such.
What an absolute load of crap! So if there's a draw in a GF between a non Vic team (who wins the minor premiership) and a Vic based side and hence a replay like last year, you think it's fair that the other team has to spend two weeks on the road even though they may have technically earned the right to host the GF in the first place.
Really! The comp is an absurd joke! I'm sick of this myopic view on the "national comp". It, for arguments sake, served it's purpose maybe, to get things up and running but the paranoid grasp that the AFL/VFL wishes to maintain is becoming far too tiresome, immature and pathetically small minded. It's time the comp grew out of this restrictive mindset.

You cant have a GF in a pissy 50,000 seat stadium, if the GF was to move ANZ in Sydney would be the only other ground it could be held in. Nothing better than seeing our showpiece game played in front of 90,000+, wouldnt be the same atmosphere in a smaller ground. As ive maintained all along the interstate sides knew what they were getting into when they joined. The GF replay will disappear when Demetriou finally pisses off.

I'm no fan of Andrew Demetriou, but you can't blame him for the Replay. It was in the rules and in place long before Demetriou came along.

[CoverKing]

Nothing wrong with having the replay. Happens, once in a blue moon and just another thing that makes our game unique. GF has to stay at the mcg just wouldn't be the same anywhere else IMO

@Jim05
WHY? Give me a valid reason why it should. Home of football is not such.
What an absolute load of crap! So if there's a draw in a GF between a non Vic team (who wins the minor premiership) and a Vic based side and hence a replay like last year, you think it's fair that the other team has to spend two weeks on the road even though they may have technically earned the right to host the GF in the first place.
Really! The comp is an absurd joke! I'm sick of this myopic view on the "national comp". It, for arguments sake, served it's purpose maybe, to get things up and running but the paranoid grasp that the AFL/VFL wishes to maintain is becoming far too tiresome, immature and pathetically small minded. It's time the comp grew out of this restrictive mindset.

You cant have a GF in a pissy 50,000 seat stadium, if the GF was to move ANZ in Sydney would be the only other ground it could be held in. Nothing better than seeing our showpiece game played in front of 90,000+, wouldnt be the same atmosphere in a smaller ground. As ive maintained all along the interstate sides knew what they were getting into when they joined. The GF replay will disappear when Demetriou finally pisses off.

I'm no fan of Andrew Demetriou, but you can't blame him for the Replay. It was in the rules and in place long before Demetriou came along.

[CUTTERMAN]

@Jim05
WHY? Give me a valid reason why it should. Home of football is not such.
What an absolute load of crap! So if there's a draw in a GF between a non Vic team (who wins the minor premiership) and a Vic based side and hence a replay like last year, you think it's fair that the other team has to spend two weeks on the road even though they may have technically earned the right to host the GF in the first place.
Really! The comp is an absurd joke! I'm sick of this myopic view on the "national comp". It, for arguments sake, served it's purpose maybe, to get things up and running but the paranoid grasp that the AFL/VFL wishes to maintain is becoming far too tiresome, immature and pathetically small minded. It's time the comp grew out of this restrictive mindset.

You cant have a GF in a pissy 50,000 seat stadium, if the GF was to move ANZ in Sydney would be the only other ground it could be held in. Nothing better than seeing our showpiece game played in front of 90,000+, wouldnt be the same atmosphere in a smaller ground. As ive maintained all along the interstate sides knew what they were getting into when they joined. The GF replay will disappear when Demetriou finally pisses off.

This is the myopic attitude that I'm referring to and exactly why I think it's time that the AFL need to grow up and move beyond this mindset (and people wonder why crowds are down in SA). However, we'll carry on and bastardise any aspect that may make the competition a fair sporting event for the sake of seating, the dollar and Victorian greed and ego. Your comment assumes that this was the best model and what everyone willingly agreed to. 20 years down the track we're still having to suffer this crap and will be in another 20 years.

[Jim05]

Probably unfortunately for you thats true. They should have disbanded the VFL and started a whole new comp, instead they allowed the VFL to accept new teams then they underwent a name change just to appease the fans. Now we have a comp that is basically the VFL still.
On your other point crowds are down in SA because basically we are a state of front runners. I regularly attend United,36ers and Redbacks games and when we are losing no one rocks up, when we are winning the place is packed. If the Crows start winning again they will be sold out in minutes.

[Psyber]

You cant have a GF in a pissy 50,000 seat stadium, if the GF was to move ANZ in Sydney would be the only other ground it could be held in. Nothing better than seeing our showpiece game played in front of 90,000+, wouldnt be the same atmosphere in a smaller ground. As ive maintained all along the interstate sides knew what they were getting into when they joined. The GF replay will disappear when Demetriou finally pisses off.

C'mon, we know its all about TV revenue in the AFL.
It could be played at Innaminka if there was a suitable field with grass on it.

[CUTTERMAN]

Bit unfair to single out SA as being a state of frontrunners, St Kilda/Freo game 26K, Geelong/Suns 24K, Bris/Adel 17K, Haw/NM 16k (all be it in Tassie). Many games in Victoria are only getting mid 20's/30,000 to them.

[CoverKing]

Bit unfair to single out SA as being a state of frontrunners, St Kilda/Freo game 26K, Geelong/Suns 24K, Bris/Adel 17K, Haw/NM 16k (all be it in Tassie). Many games in Victoria are only getting mid 20's/30,000 to them.

Geelongs crowd wasnt that bad really considering they were playing the gold coast, they were clearly giong to win and are in top form. not sure how it equates to front runners as the geelong crowds down there always turns up