12 team competition. 6 teams have to go, who would you boot?

[The_Wookie]

no chance everyone walks from the game entirely

people wont stop playing footy just because the blues and tigs are gone. You'd have a generational blip, but then the next gen of kids would pick a side without the baggage of the past

that being said, i think 3 is too few in melbourne. these clubs would dominate everything, and its moving the scales far too much in that direction

Never said they would stop playing footy. I said they'd stop following the AFL. And kids have always learned from their parents.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Never said they would stop playing footy. I said they'd stop following the AFL. And kids have always learned from their parents.

people will always want to follow "the best" for the most part

if we followed our parents like sheep, the SANFL and WAFL would still rule supreme in those states.

 

[The_Wookie]

people will always want to follow "the best" for the most part

if we followed our parents like sheep, the SANFL and WAFL would still rule supreme in those states.

Totally different scenario to this. The SANFL and WAFL both created sides to put above those in their own leagues - composite sides. Thats not what this idea does. This takes existing sides, demotes some and leaves two of the more polarising ones in place. The AFL would never do it. Its not 1996, there are other professional sports in town these days, and you risk alienating 200,000 members and millions of supporters. Theres a book that claims something like 30% of Fiztroy supporters were lost to the game when they were forcibly merged with Brisbane - do you really think the AFL would risk losing several hundred thousand supporters?

 

[AstonSouffle]

I never said the league would be number 1 in that scenario - and its not the ideal scenario. I said the league would survive if the non victorian clubs were cut loose, because its not 1985 any more, the league isnt broke, and the Victorian clubs would get along quite fine playing each other - the smaller clubs would be better off in fact.

Sure it could be done, I could also cut my hands off as well. Yeah it'd be dumb, and it'd make things obscenely difficult but I'm sure I'd get used to it.

 

[Roylion]

Then you'd probably have the pies, dons, Hawks, and cats rounding out the 12

You'd have to have fair and equitable mergers of Melbourne based clubs to have a chance of retaining hundred of thousands of Melbourne-based supporters. And even then you'd lose more hundreds of thousands. That's why reducing the competition to 12 teams will never happen.

However a truly national competition would need a game in each capital city (bar Canberra, Hobart and Darwin) each weekend to compete with other sporting codes. So each of the non-Victorian sides has to stay.

 

[madmug]

Never said they would stop playing footy. I said they'd stop following the AFL. And kids have always learned from their parents.

The biggest determinant of what kids do, is what their friends do.

They get a lot of that off TV, & social media as well. Parents have a limited influence these days.

Its not the 1960's any more. things have changed, a lot.

 

[Papa G]

The biggest determinant of what kids do, is what their friends do.

They get a lot of that off TV, & social media as well. Parents have a limited influence these days.

Its not the 1960's any more. things have changed, a lot.

When I look at Carlton, Richmond, Collingwood and Port crowds, I see a significant amount of people who are first generation southern Europeans, doubt their parents had much influence on them being Aussie Rules followers.

 

[madmug]

When I look at Carlton, Richmond, Collingwood and Port crowds, I see a significant amount of people who are first generation southern Europeans, doubt their parents had much influence on them being Aussie Rules followers.

Exactley, I know guys whose migrant parents wanted them to play soccer. They played Aussie rules with their school mates & ended up playing club footy. That aint so much the case now. A lot more kids think they are Lionel Messi or Ronaldo. Kids tend to do what their friends do. Not their parents.

Being the AFL & getting TV rights money enables them to fund work at school level kids to keep the Aussie rules message hitting them. If it ever went back to a state base league system, clubs may think they'd be better off. But that would be very short term at best.

Then again others know everything on here. They'd be experts of kids behaviors too I'd imagine

 

[Ned_Flanders]

You'd have to have fair and equitable mergers of Melbourne based clubs to have a chance of retaining hundred of thousands of Melbourne-based supporters. And even then you'd lose more hundreds of thousands. That's why reducing the competition to 12 teams will never happen.

However a truly national competition would need a game in each capital city (bar Canberra, Hobart and Darwin) each weekend to compete with other sporting codes. So each of the non-Victorian sides has to stay.

Does it matter if you call it a merger? At the end of the day it's thunderdome rules - as Fitzroy and Balmain and Illawarra supporters well know

If a merger were to happen, great, but this whole hypothetical is about there being only 12 clubs (and who survives). It's not about how it could realistically happen because everyone posting here knows it's never going to

1-2 teams in Melbourne may leave the afl or merge, it's definitely possible. 4-6 though? It's a fantasy and we all know it

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Totally different scenario to this. The SANFL and WAFL both created sides to put above those in their own leagues - composite sides. Thats not what this idea does. This takes existing sides, demotes some and leaves two of the more polarising ones in place. The AFL would never do it. Its not 1996, there are other professional sports in town these days, and you risk alienating 200,000 members and millions of supporters. Theres a book that claims something like 30% of Fiztroy supporters were lost to the game when they were forcibly merged with Brisbane - do you really think the AFL would risk losing several hundred thousand supporters?

And why did they pay millions to get into the vfl? It was because they saw the writing on the wall, and as the premier league nationally, it was the one attracting the best talent, the best sponsors, and the most eyeballs

No kid is gunna watch suburban players play for Richmond in the lesser leagues, when they are bombarded with pies and dons at the playground and on tv. Otherwise you would have tens of thousands of disgruntled Fitzroy supporters watching the Amos every week

 

[Ned_Flanders]

When I look at Carlton, Richmond, Collingwood and Port crowds, I see a significant amount of people who are first generation southern Europeans, doubt their parents had much influence on them being Aussie Rules followers.

But it's the power of the vfl dude, the vfl!!!

 

[Roylion]

Does it matter if you call it a merger? At the end of the day it's thunderdome rules - as Fitzroy and Balmain and Illawarra supporters well know

If a merger were to happen, great, but this whole hypothetical is about there being only 12 clubs (and who survives). It's not about how it could realistically happen because everyone posting here knows it's never going to

1-2 teams in Melbourne may leave the afl or merge, it's definitely possible. 4-6 though? It's a fantasy and we all know it

As I said after the eight non-Victorian sides remain, you could pare the Melbourne based teams down to...hypothetically

1. Melbourne Tigers (wearing Richmond's jumper) - representing central Melbourne, based out of the MCG
2. South-East Melbourne Hawks (wearing St Kilda's WW1 jumper of red, black and gold vertical stripes). Based at Docklands
3. Collingwood Blues (wearing a black jumper with a white CFC logo) - representing northern and north-eastern Melbourne. Based at Prince Park.
4. Western Cats (wearing the Bulldogs jumper with horizontal stripes) - representing the western suburbs and western districts. Based at Kardinia Park

5. North Melbourne move north to the Gold Coast and become the Gold Coast Kangaroos, wearing blue and white vertical stripes.
6. Essendon move to Great Western Sydney to become the "Western Sydney Bombers", wearing the Essendon jumper.

7. Brisbane Lions
8. Sydney Swans
9. West Coast Eagles
10. Fremantle Dockers
11. Adelaide Crows
12. Port Adelaide Power.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

As I said after the eight non-Victorian sides remain, you could pare the Melbourne based teams down to...hypothetically

1. Melbourne Tigers (wearing Richmond's jumper) - representing central Melbourne, based out of the MCG
2. South-East Melbourne Hawks (wearing St Kilda's WW1 jumper of red, black and gold vertical stripes). Based at Docklands
3. Collingwood Blues (wearing a black jumper with a white CFC logo) - representing northern and north-eastern Melbourne. Based at Prince Park.
4. Western Cats (wearing the Bulldogs jumper with horizontal stripes) - representing the western suburbs and western districts. Based at Kardinia Park

5. North Melbourne move north to the Gold Coast and become the Gold Coast Kangaroos, wearing blue and white vertical stripes.
6. Essendon move to Great Western Sydney to become the "Western Sydney Bombers", wearing the Essendon jumper.

7. Brisbane Lions
8. Sydney Swans
9. West Coast Eagles
10. Fremantle Dockers
11. Adelaide Crows
12. Port Adelaide Power.

I was actually in favour of the Melbourne tigers suggestion that was floated a couple of decades ago. In hindsight we were lucky, both clubs had s**t management and would have balls it up

As for the pies and blues merging, if you posted that with a straight face you did well mate

 

[westeagle1]

As I said after the eight non-Victorian sides remain, you could pare the Melbourne based teams down to...hypothetically

1. Melbourne Tigers (wearing Richmond's jumper) - representing central Melbourne, based out of the MCG
2. South-East Melbourne Hawks (wearing St Kilda's WW1 jumper of red, black and gold vertical stripes). Based at Docklands
3. Collingwood Blues (wearing a black jumper with a white CFC logo) - representing northern and north-eastern Melbourne. Based at Prince Park.
4. Western Cats (wearing the Bulldogs jumper with horizontal stripes) - representing the western suburbs and western districts. Based at Kardinia Park

5. North Melbourne move north to the Gold Coast and become the Gold Coast Kangaroos, wearing blue and white vertical stripes.
6. Essendon move to Great Western Sydney to become the "Western Sydney Bombers", wearing the Essendon jumper.

7. Brisbane Lions
8. Sydney Swans
9. West Coast Eagles
10. Fremantle Dockers
11. Adelaide Crows
12. Port Adelaide Power.

Sounds a great idea, as there far to many teams in AFL at the present time.

 

[Roylion]

As for the pies and blues merging, if you posted that with a straight face you did well mate

Makes sense doesn't it? Their colours are similar. Collingwood could equally use the CFC logo, just as Carlton can. They actually could have a feasible joint presence in the north eastern suburbs of Melbourne, given that only four teams remain in Victoria.

Maybe the Carlton Magpies given they are wearing black and white. Hmm...that might work better.

Each club's history counts against it, but for the rest of us it would be great for laughs.

 

[freowho]

Adelaide Crows
Brisbane Suns (Lions and Suns merge)
Carlton Kangaroos (Blues and North merge)
Collingwood
Essendon
Fremantle
Geelong Wildcats (Richmond and Geelong merge)
Melbourne Hawks (Hawks and Dees merge)
Port Adelaide
St.Kilda
Sydney Bulldogs (Giants play home games at the SCG and Sydney Showground and merge with the Dogs)
Western Swans (Swans are the birds of WA, merge with the Eagles)

South Melbourne were nicknamed the Swans because of all the West Australians playing for them in the 30's. It's a shame the new expansion teams were given nicknames by the marketing department. Nicknames should be more organic and gained over time. The purple haze has more resonance than the dockers!