Expansion Darwin Games - a left field idea

[Billy ray]

Yeh I know I will get some negative replies and reactions - particularly from SA team supporters, but here goes.
Take off the blinkers and hear me out


So, we now have the situation (yet again) where the attempt at building support on the Gold Coast and engaging locals is thwarted by the 2 games we play in Darwin, bookmarked either end by a game in Brisbane and in Melbourne. So 5 weeks with no footy up here, nothing in the month of May.

Now I know the Darwin games are tied up in sponsorship etc. But hear me out for an option.

Gather round - extra home games for SA teams - which is unfair on WA, NSW and Qld teams (Vic teams less so as the get lots of games in Melbourne anyway).

My idea - the two back to back games in Darwin should be Adelaide v Gold Coast and Port v Gold Coast.
They become the extra home games for SA teams - not extra Adelaide oval games.
That allows Gold Coast to go back to 11 home games at People First Stadium.

It also means no non-Vic team is given more than 11 home games (as is currently the case with Gather Round for SA teams).
The AFL can still support the game in Darwin.
And it allows Gold Coast locals to get engaged all season long, and there is not a big missing 4/5/6 weeks of footy as has been the case in recent years.
And to repeat -SA teams are back to the pre-gather round situation of 11 home games each at Adelaide oval.

Thoughts?

 

[nutstar]

Yeh I know I will get some negative replies and reactions - particularly from SA team supporters, but here goes.
Take off the blinkers and hear me out


So, we now have the situation (yet again) where the attempt at building support on the Gold Coast and engaging locals is thwarted by the 2 games we play in Darwin, bookmarked either end by a game in Brisbane and in Melbourne. So 5 weeks with no footy up here, nothing in the month of May.

Now I know the Darwin games are tied up in sponsorship etc. But hear me out for an option.

Gather round - extra home games for SA teams - which is unfair on WA, NSW and Qld teams (Vic teams less so as the get lots of games in Melbourne anyway).

My idea - the two back to back games in Darwin should be Adelaide v Gold Coast and Port v Gold Coast.
They become the extra home games for SA teams - not extra Adelaide oval games.
That allows Gold Coast to go back to 11 home games at People First Stadium.

It also means no non-Vic team is given more than 11 home games (as is currently the case with Gather Round for SA teams).
The AFL can still support the game in Darwin.
And it allows Gold Coast locals to get engaged all season long, and there is not a big missing 4/5/6 weeks of footy as has been the case in recent years.
And to repeat -SA teams are back to the pre-gather round situation of 11 home games each at Adelaide oval.

Thoughts?

You’re on your own on this one Billy.

Best we can hope for is that a smaller Victorian club take up hosting one of our Darwin games as a way to gain an extra home game at PFS.

 

[Underarm]

Yeh I know I will get some negative replies and reactions - particularly from SA team supporters, but here goes.
Take off the blinkers and hear me out


So, we now have the situation (yet again) where the attempt at building support on the Gold Coast and engaging locals is thwarted by the 2 games we play in Darwin, bookmarked either end by a game in Brisbane and in Melbourne. So 5 weeks with no footy up here, nothing in the month of May.

Now I know the Darwin games are tied up in sponsorship etc. But hear me out for an option.

Gather round - extra home games for SA teams - which is unfair on WA, NSW and Qld teams (Vic teams less so as the get lots of games in Melbourne anyway).

My idea - the two back to back games in Darwin should be Adelaide v Gold Coast and Port v Gold Coast.
They become the extra home games for SA teams - not extra Adelaide oval games.
That allows Gold Coast to go back to 11 home games at People First Stadium.

It also means no non-Vic team is given more than 11 home games (as is currently the case with Gather Round for SA teams).
The AFL can still support the game in Darwin.
And it allows Gold Coast locals to get engaged all season long, and there is not a big missing 4/5/6 weeks of footy as has been the case in recent years.
And to repeat -SA teams are back to the pre-gather round situation of 11 home games each at Adelaide oval.

Thoughts?

So which 2 clubs are selling home games to Gold Coast?

 

[Billy ray]

So which 2 clubs are selling home games to Gold Coast?

Noone sells anything
We have 11 at home
Port and crows go back to 11 each at home

 

[Altum Volantes]

So who gets the sponsorship money etc for playing up there?

No doubt the AFL factor that in when they are paying GCs bills right?

 

[Billy ray]

So who gets the sponsorship money etc for playing up there?

No doubt the AFL factor that in when they are paying GCs bills right?

The AFL can get it. And equalise it

 

[HTPunter]

I don’t know what the obsession is with reducing the advantage the SA clubs get over WA, QLD & NSW clubs now.

Why not reduce the advantage the Vic clubs, particularly the big ones, get, over all non-Vic clubs?

Why is SA clubs getting an extra home state game the end of the world?

In just a few years we will be 10-9 split. There’s no reason to fight SA clubs to lose an extra home game while the Pies, Blues, Tigers & Bombers will still be 17-6 at worse.

The ONLY argument for the Vic clubs not travelling is money/economics. Ok I accept that. Gather Round has been an ENORMOUS success financially, so why the heck should the SA clubs lose their “advantage”? As a sport, we are happy with advantages as long as they are financially viable.

As for the thread, wouldn’t the answer just be the same? It’s economically viable for Gold Coast to play B2B NT games, and my impression is that there’s not a massive crying out for that month for a game.

 

[Tandy]

North Melbourne entered the chatroom

 

[stallon]

QLD and NSW teams get the opening round games, with the extra bye(so do some big vic teams giving them the biggest advantage, but thats another issue).
SA teams get gather round.
Just need something for WA to even it out, dont need to move SA games to the NT to disadvantage them.

 

[Hoops]

This is a great idea. There is still the issue of two teams getting an extra true away game due to Gather Round, but this helps make it a bit fairer

 

[Underarm]

Noone sells anything
We have 11 at home
Port and crows go back to 11 each at home

Ah. You want to do Gather round in Adelaide but give the Adelaide teams a Bye.

Plus you want the Adelaide teams to travel an 11th time to play 'home' games against Gold Coast.

 

[Kreuuuzeurns]

First showdown should be Thursday night of Gather Round.

 

[stallon]

First showdown should be Thursday night of Gather Round.

Strongly disagree, theyve finally got something to help even out the fixture for them, and first thing Victorians want to do is take it away

 

[Kreuuuzeurns]

Strongly disagree, theyve finally got something to help even out the fixture for them, and first thing Victorians want to do is take it away

If that was my intention I’d say get rid of gather round all together.

11 true home games a year is pretty handy. There are inequalities everywhere for both interstate and vic sides.

 

[stallon]

If that was my intention I’d say get rid of gather round all together.

11 true home games a year is pretty handy. There are inequalities everywhere for both interstate and vic sides.

11 true home games is handy, thats true. Its not as handy as 17+ games with no travel though.
Id take 17+ games of no travel along with 5 or so true home games every single time over 12/13 games of no travel with 10/11 true home games that the interstate clubs get.

 

[StillAtLarge]

First showdown should be Thursday night of Gather Round.

Terrible idea. No neutral fans will be able to attend

 

[Kreuuuzeurns]

11 true home games is handy, thats true. Its not as handy as 17+ games with no travel though.
Id take 17+ games of no travel along with 5 or so true home games every single time over 12/13 games of no travel with 10/11 true home games that the interstate clubs get

They are both big advantages.

That’s what happens when you join a Victorian competition.

 

[Kreuuuzeurns]

Terrible idea. No neutral fans will be able to attend

Who cares? They don’t go to the two other showdowns either…

 

[Hoops]

Strongly disagree, theyve finally got something to help even out the fixture for them, and first thing Victorians want to do is take it away

Even out the fixture? They had 10,10,1 (Home, away, neutral), now they have 11,10,1. How is that even?

 

[Obeanie1]

So which 2 clubs are selling home games to Gold Coast?

They arent selling their home games.

The games are additional games counter the extra home game Gather Round provided.

Its a balance against the whole cometition giving the two SA clubs an extra home game.

But you know thais.

However if Crows play Port in Adelaide in Gather Round then no need to do it.

 

[stallon]

They are both big advantages.

That’s what happens when you join a Victorian competition.

They are both advantages, but one is far more advantageous than the other.
Hence why showdown in gather round is a bad idea

 

[stallon]

Even out the fixture? They had 10,10,1 (Home, away, neutral), now they have 11,10,1. How is that even?

Evening it out compared to the victorian clubs. who travel only a handful of times per year

 

[Doashuey]

They are both big advantages.

That’s what happens when you join prop up a Victorian competition.

Fixed

 

[Kreuuuzeurns]

They are both advantages, but one is far more advantageous than the other.
Hence why showdown in gather round is a bad idea

In your opinion.

 

[stallon]

In your opinion.

Thats your opinion