Article Fitzroy's Long Slow Death (AFL.com.au)

[Exe Gesis]

Why can't anyone on Bigfooty who have contacts with journalists/etc take this matter further? Grill the AFL suits why they posted this article revising history, etc?

 

[Doss]

It's to the eternal credit of Collingwood that they paid Fitzroy's fine after that 'seduced...' banner at Victoria Park.

It's also to Fremantle's eternal credit that they stumped up and paid for the little farewell after Fitzroy's last game.

Fitzroy will always hold a fond place in my football heart; it was actually after attending a game at the MCG between Essendon and Fitzroy as a little kid in 1993 that I decided I wanted to be an Essendon supporter. The result that day was a four point win to Essendon and while you could probably reasonably deduce that five year old me made the easy choice that day by electing to support the winning side, Fitzroy's part in creating what still remains one of the best games I've been to, even 23 years later, endeared them to me. If they were still in the AFL, they'd be my second side without any doubt.

I really should go and watch them down at Brunswick Street one day.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Ya know, sometimes you look back at blokes like Oakley and think "he was the man that was needed, it was a tough time for tough decisions, he did was necessary, he had to be the unpopular one" etc etc

Then you see stuff like he kept that cartoon "decorating" his wall, and how much he revelled in it.

And yeah you remember, he really was the piece of excrement we all thought he was.

A true enemy of football.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Executive career
Oakley was appointed Chairman and CEO of the then troubled Victorian Football League in 1986, taking over the role from Jack Hamilton, remaining in the role until the end of the 1996 season.[7] Over the decade that followed Ross oversaw the transformation of the VFL into the Australian Football League. Under Oakley's guidance, five new clubs from outside Victoria — Brisbane Bears and West Coast Eagles (1986), Adelaide (1990), Fremantle (1994) and Port Adelaide (1996) — joined the more professional, national competition.[9] In 1993, he oversaw the transfer of administrative control of the league from the clubs to the AFL Commission,[10] as well as the formal transfer of control of the sport as a whole from the National Australian Football Council to the AFL Commission.

During his time with the VFL/AFL, he was deeply involved in mergers, as his administration believed that the number of Victorian clubs, many of which were in a poor financial state, was unsustainable. Victorian clubs were offered incentive packages of up to $6M to merge during his tenure. The only merger completed during his tenure was between Fitzroy and Brisbane Bears, but proposed mergers between Fitzroy and Footscray in 1989 and Melbourne and Hawthorn in 1996 came very close to fruition as well. However, the merger years caused great off-field discord among clubs and fans, and the merger strategy was abandoned after Oakley was succeeded by Wayne Jackson as CEO at the end of 1996.[11]

In 2009 Oakley was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame as an administrator.[2][12][9] His previous career included management of insurance companies (e.g. AAMI), and he was chief executive of Royal Insurance[2] (which may have led to media jibes that he was an "insurance salesman").[citation needed]

Oakley's appointment as Melbourne Rebels' CEO was announced 9 September 2010, when the Rebels also said the franchise was to join forces with the Victorian Rugby Union to build rugby union in Victoria, at both professional and amateur levels.[2][3] Oakley became CEO to fill the gap left by the resignation of Rebels' founding CEO Brian Waldron who resigned in early 2010 in the wake of the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal.[4]

Oakley holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Melbourne Business School.[citation needed] He is a former Adjunct Professor at Deakin University's Faculty Business and Law,[13] where he also lectured.[14]

 

[rdhopkins2]

AFL well and truly rooted Fitzroy but they wanted to put money towards interstate expansion and wanted to kill off a few teams. The AFL also made no attempt to help Hawthorn when they nearly merged *ahem took over* by Melbourne.

Fortunately for us all, the Hawks survived.

 

[nobbyiscool]

It's to the eternal credit of Collingwood that they paid Fitzroy's fine after that 'seduced...' banner at Victoria Park.

It's also to Fremantle's eternal credit that they stumped up and paid for the little farewell after Fitzroy's last game.

Fitzroy will always hold a fond place in my football heart; it was actually after attending a game at the MCG between Essendon and Fitzroy as a little kid in 1993 that I decided I wanted to be an Essendon supporter. The result that day was a four point win to Essendon and while you could probably reasonably deduce that five year old me made the easy choice that day by electing to support the winning side, Fitzroy's part in creating what still remains one of the best games I've been to, even 23 years later, endeared them to me. If they were still in the AFL, they'd be my second side without any doubt.

I really should go and watch them down at Brunswick Street one day.

I had a kind of similar story - the first game of AFL footy I ever went to was Fitzroy vs West Coast at North Hobart Oval, some time in the early 90s. My nan, who has a history in Perth, was an Eagles fan which is how I ended up going for them (despite being in my early 30s before I ever got to Perth.)

Living in Melbourne, it's a bit of a bugger going for the Eagles. But it could've been much worse. I think I would've struggled to stay engaged with AFL if I had've gone with Fitzroy instead (which, given I was probably 8 at the time, was a distinct possibility as I seem to remember them winning quite handily that day.) They would've ended up being a team I watched a lot, especially as I would eventually move to Melbourne and live in the north Fitzroy/Merri(Northcote) area.

Yes, you should absolutely get to the Brusnwick Oval one day - it's a fun day at the footy.

 

[giggler99]

After the merger was announced between Brisbane and Fitzroy, the Fitzroy banner at their next game read:
Seduced by North Melbourne
Raped by Brisbane
F**ked by the AFL

That's how it all happened in a nutshell.
That article from the AFL is nothing but tripe and is another reason as to why no one should read any articles on their crappy site.

This banner says it all.

it was posted a couple pages back! needs an excuse to be bumped!

it's a beauty it sums up the whole saga perfectly.

 

[Broken]

I'm not sure how the comp would look today if we still had Fitzroy, but if the AFL had let another club die in their place I'm confident the league would be just as strong as it is today.

This is sad but true. The league were looking for a sacrificial lamb to further the "National game" agenda that they had. If it wasn't Fitzroy it would have been one of the other struggling clubs that would have fallen by the wayside and no doubt getting such a glowing writeup on their official website

Unfortunately, and sadly for this 3rd generation Fitzroy supporter, it was Fitzroy that was offered up as the sacrifice.
Frustratingly from 1997 onwards the Victorian clubs started working together to support each other, to not be the next Fitzroy, and with Wayne Jackson coming in the league changed direction to be more supportive of its' clubs and brand.

 

[Registered User]

Why can't anyone on Bigfooty who have contacts with journalists/etc take this matter further? Grill the AFL suits why they posted this article revising history, etc?

Rohan Connolly might be the man for the job. If someone can get him riled up enough, he might take it on

 

[Bokonon]

True this. Sad we had to lose a team though.

There are times when I think the AFL needs to be aware it's role is to provide a game for fans, it,'s actually not a business. Their succes or failure is appropriately measured by fans as to how well they deliver.

 

[rdhopkins2]

Why can't anyone on Bigfooty who have contacts with journalists/etc take this matter further? Grill the AFL suits why they posted this article revising history, etc?

Put a word out to Baker & Mackenzie!

 

[Exe Gesis]

Rohan Connolly might be the man for the job. If someone can get him riled up enough, he might take it on

Put a word out to Baker & Mackenzie!

From your lips to all their ears godspeed then!

Feel the whole thing should be rehashed, rile up the AFL, make them squirm, rope Oakley into commenting and grilling him too, re-open the state of affairs and the whole long-term plan with the northern interstate expansion clubs topic, etc.

Especially since the AFL commissioned and promoted this article on this particular day themselves, then journalists should not be ignoring it.

Seems to me the Australian football media are soft-***** really. In the US, if any player, administrator, or the NFL itself, steps wrongly, the media grill the hell out of them, they keep digging, they all want to get to the truth of things, get comments from people, etc. Don't mind stirring the hornet's nest. All good to have "hits" on their articles too.

Same goes with press conferences post-game. The Aussie contingent seem to purr like pussycats and just not grill coaches about anything controversial. Just want to be on everyone's good sides. They're on a gravy train, being in the media, and all hope to keep their jobs or something.

In the US, they grill people constantly post-game.

 

[rdhopkins2]

From your lips to all their ears godspeed then!

Feel the whole thing should be rehashed, rile up the AFL, make them squirm, rope Oakley into commenting and grilling him too, re-open the state of affairs and the whole long-term plan with the northern interstate expansion clubs topic, etc.

Especially since the AFL commissioned and promoted this article on this particular day themselves, then journalists should not be ignoring it.

Seems to me the Australian football media are soft-***** really. In the US, if any player, administrator, or the NFL itself, steps wrongly, the media grill the hell out of them, they keep digging, they all want to get to the truth of things, get comments from people, etc. Don't mind stirring the hornet's nest. All good to have "hits" on their articles too.

Same goes with press conferences post-game. The Aussie contingent seem to purr like pussycats and just not grill coaches about anything controversial. Just want to be on everyone's good sides. They're on a gravy train, being in the media, and all hope to keep their jobs or something.

In the US, they grill people constantly post-game.

Don't criticise the AFL or umps- we know how that turns out for anyone on the payroll.

 

[Broken]

From your lips to all their ears godspeed then!

Feel the whole thing should be rehashed, rile up the AFL, make them squirm, rope Oakley into commenting and grilling him too, re-open the state of affairs and the whole long-term plan with the northern interstate expansion clubs topic, etc.

Especially since the AFL commissioned and promoted this article on this particular day themselves, then journalists should not be ignoring it.

Seems to me the Australian football media are soft-***** really. In the US, if any player, administrator, or the NFL itself, steps wrongly, the media grill the hell out of them, they keep digging, they all want to get to the truth of things, get comments from people, etc. Don't mind stirring the hornet's nest. All good to have "hits" on their articles too.

Same goes with press conferences post-game. The Aussie contingent seem to purr like pussycats and just not grill coaches about anything controversial. Just want to be on everyone's good sides. They're on a gravy train, being in the media, and all hope to keep their jobs or something.

In the US, they grill people constantly post-game.

I know in the last years of Fitzroy some journos, namely Sheehan, were almost AFL mouth pieces pushing the leagues agenda. I don't know how the current journos operate as far as staying in the good graces of the league for fear of losing sources/accreditation.

 

[Exe Gesis]

Don't criticise the AFL or umps- we know how that turns out for anyone on the payroll.

I know in the last years of Fitzroy some journos, namely Sheehan, were almost AFL mouth pieces pushing the leagues agenda. I don't know how the current journos operate as far as staying in the good graces of the league for fear of losing sources/accreditation.

TBH, that's just vile and disgusting. It's like a communism/facism. Fans of the game should be even more up in arms about that dynamic here. That they get spoonfed AFL-approved articles/news/history and there's no one out there keeping anything honest. It's a sad state of football affairs in Australia. Really appalling. Got to change.

 

[Scotland]

This is sad but true. The league were looking for a sacrificial lamb to further the "National game" agenda that they had. If it wasn't Fitzroy it would have been one of the other struggling clubs that would have fallen by the wayside and no doubt getting such a glowing writeup on their official website

Unfortunately, and sadly for this 3rd generation Fitzroy supporter, it was Fitzroy that was offered up as the sacrifice.
Frustratingly from 1997 onwards the Victorian clubs started working together to support each other, to not be the next Fitzroy, and with Wayne Jackson coming in the league changed direction to be more supportive of its' clubs and brand.

With the benefit of hindsight an 18 team national competition is the wrong model. There really should've been multiple Fitzroys. As Roylion likes to remind us Fitzroy aren't dead, they just don't play in the VFL/AFL any more. It's a different argument talking about 'killing' a club with 30,000+ members to small VFL club in the 1980s never joining the big time we know today.

It's cold comfort to Fitzroy fans, but the AFL can't target a 'next Fitzroy' the way things work these days. The least viable teams currently are in Qld/NSW and the AFL not only put them there but needs them to have a game each week in those states to bump up the broadcast deal. Any teams that sucks on/off field in the current system has their hands tied to a degree on how and how quickly they can improve. Teams drawing 15,000 crowds to Etihad Stadium can't move games to smaller suburban grounds because the AFL won't let them. And any vote to can a club would have to be approved by the other clubs anyway, and I can't see that happening again.

 

[Doss]

This is sad but true. The league were looking for a sacrificial lamb to further the "National game" agenda that they had. If it wasn't Fitzroy it would have been one of the other struggling clubs that would have fallen by the wayside and no doubt getting such a glowing writeup on their official website

Unfortunately, and sadly for this 3rd generation Fitzroy supporter, it was Fitzroy that was offered up as the sacrifice.
Frustratingly from 1997 onwards the Victorian clubs started working together to support each other, to not be the next Fitzroy, and with Wayne Jackson coming in the league changed direction to be more supportive of its' clubs and brand.

Although it may not necessarily be a realistic expectation, I think that's something that really disappoints me from, I suppose, an egalitarian perspective. That other clubs didn't pitch in to help them.

Fitzroy's debt was one million or thereabouts. There were 15 other clubs. That amounts to $67,000 per club. When you think of it that way...

Then again, much like now I guess, clubs aren't going to go against the grain that headquarters mandates. Not without severe consequences anyway. In this case, the league wanted a team gone and no one dared stop them.

 

[Broken]

Although it may not necessarily be a realistic expectation, I think that's something that really disappoints me from, I suppose, an egalitarian perspective. That other clubs didn't pitch in to help them.

Fitzroy's debt was one million or thereabouts. There were 15 other clubs. That amounts to $67,000 per club. When you think of it that way...

Then again, much like now I guess, clubs aren't going to go against the grain that headquarters mandates. Not without severe consequences anyway. In this case, the league wanted a team gone and no one dared stop them.

I think merger madness prevented a lot of this from happening, along with a lot of Melbourne clubs not being in too great a financial state themselves at that time.
Richmond were a few years removed from the Save our Skins campaign to ease their debt. North Melbourne were seeking Fitzroy as a merger partner. Later in the year Hawthorn and Melbourne were courting each other with the mega million dollar merger carrot. If memory serves me well Collingwood were also struggling financially at that time, so teams were more concerned with their own woes I'd imagine.

 

[franjon]

It's to the eternal credit of Collingwood that they paid Fitzroy's fine after that 'seduced...' banner at Victoria Park.

It's also to Fremantle's eternal credit that they stumped up and paid for the little farewell after Fitzroy's last game.

Fitzroy will always hold a fond place in my football heart; it was actually after attending a game at the MCG between Essendon and Fitzroy as a little kid in 1993 that I decided I wanted to be an Essendon supporter. The result that day was a four point win to Essendon and while you could probably reasonably deduce that five year old me made the easy choice that day by electing to support the winning side, Fitzroy's part in creating what still remains one of the best games I've been to, even 23 years later, endeared them to me. If they were still in the AFL, they'd be my second side without any doubt.

I really should go and watch them down at Brunswick Street one day.

There's nothing more annoying than the condescending approach at a compliment. It must be an Essendon thing.

 

[Roysforever]

Rohan Connolly might be the man for the job. If someone can get him riled up enough, he might take it on

Although people tend to mock Damien Barrett I recall a couple of years back he asked Ian Collins whether the AFL should say sorry for past wrongdoings against Fitzroy. I don't recall Collins' specific answer, however, I'm sure we can all safety assume the tone.

 

[Doss]

There's nothing more annoying than the condescending approach at a compliment. It must be an Essendon thing.

What on earth are you talking about?

A really jaded post and outlook. There was no condescension intended and I'm pretty sure you're the only one here who saw any.

 

[The_Wookie]

Although people tend to mock Damien Barrett I recall a couple of years back he asked Ian Collins whether the AFL should say sorry for past wrongdoings against Fitzroy. I don't recall Collins' specific answer, however, I'm sure we can all safety assume the tone.

bonus: Ross Oakley

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Although people tend to mock Damien Barrett I recall a couple of years back he asked Ian Collins whether the AFL should say sorry for past wrongdoings against Fitzroy. I don't recall Collins' specific answer, however, I'm sure we can all safety assume the tone.

Lol Collins

He ****ed his own club Carlton by moving them out of Princes Park and wedging them into a shit deal at Etihad. Where he was CEO.

Another club had no chance.

 

[Rod Stroker]

I know in the last years of Fitzroy some journos, namely Sheehan, were almost AFL mouth pieces pushing the leagues agenda. I don't know how the current journos operate as far as staying in the good graces of the league for fear of losing sources/accreditation.

In case you missed it, Caro was the AFL mouthpiece for wanting to ship us off to the GC. I still dislike her for it.

 

[Rod Stroker]

Fitzroy's debt was one million or thereabouts. There were 15 other clubs. That amounts to $67,000 per club. When you think of it that way...

You can't though because it's not that simple. Many other clubs were also in debt at that time and would have be unable to come up with the money.
Plus that would have been just to erase the debt and get them back to zero. They still would not have been profitable. And with the situation of players leaving, changing grounds every other year, the AFL shafting them at every turn, it would have been throwing good money after bad.