What Does Local Footy Mean To You?

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Mar 17, 2009
21,636
17,319
Hobart
AFL Club
Collingwood
If you grew up outside of Victoria, all football was considered local. You didnt hear much about the VFL. Now we have the AFL on tv 24/24, local footy has diminished in community stature. Even the once strong SANFL & WAFL count for little in the AFL & media eyes.

We use to follow local footy rain, hale or shine. We went every week, even over the river to the Bellerive oval! The old North Hobart ground was perfect for local footy. A natural 1/2 cauldron amplified the crowd noise. Even 3-4k at a TFL game made a great noise. 20k+ for the TFL GF was fantastic. John Devine, John Bingley, Rod Olsen. Later on Peter Hudson came back & played, wow that was just brilliant for footy.

We are all older & work, family stuff limits what we can do now. The crowds, thus atmosphere has fallen away a lot. The games I do get to I recon the standard is not bad but the game is mainly run & handball stuff so is a bit boring at times. I miss the older style of footy. 1980's was the best footy to watch.

I guess if you dont know the players like we use to, then you miss out on the opportunity to catch up after the game & buy a few beers & chat to them. They are all kids now & arent interested in talking to older supporters. They dont seem to care about the club history & past players. I see some of the older supporters & club volunteers & they feel a bit the same. It aint the same.

I dont really blame the kids in the club, but they are often rude to older people, thats the way of the world nowdays. Maybe they will grow up & realise that it ok to talk to older people & understand the club & community history & how important it was to the growth of local communities. It still can be but will be hard to do whilst the AFL suck up all the attention, but return SFA to local footy.

Im not sure what the future holds for local footy. The AFL dont seem to give a fig.
 
Our club, and especially new coach have taken a very strong view that if you see an old player, or a volunteer after your game buy them a beer.
Very much about the community.

And it should be, it needs to be for a local side that is run off people giving their spare time.
 

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Halftimehero

Cancelled
10k Posts
Jun 26, 2012
11,951
10,901
AFL Club
Essendon
I don't play anymore but still go and watch the club I played for in every grade from under 8s to seniors just about every week, if there is a clash with local footy and Essendon I usually go to the local match, thankfully there isn't many clashes.
 

blueboy25

Norm Smith Medallist
Aug 14, 2006
8,406
11,188
Perth
AFL Club
Carlton
Other Teams
West Perth, Tottenham
I have been at my local club since I was 8 and I am now 35 and the only time I have spent away from the club was in my late teens when I was at a WAFL club and a few years when I lived overseas.

I have pretty much stopped playing and help coach the U/20's which has been really enjoyable. Unfortuantely getting the young guys back to the club these days for a few beers is not easy. Back in my day you always started at the footy club with a few beers before you kicked on and all your mates came along whether they played footy there or not.

But my favourite day of the season each year is the past players day. Its always organised for when we are playing one of our local rivals, they have a biq marquee which is always full of old boys telling old war stories over a few beers.
 
May 3, 2003
20,761
9,507
Warriorville
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
NZ Warriors, Wallan FNC
I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for our local club/clubs. Only a handful of my close friends weren't met at the 3 clubs we've been associated with over the last 14 and a bit years.

Pretty fair to say local stuff comes before AFL games for now.
 
blueboy25 the hardest part about having a few drinks at the club is the laws are so tight now (green ps so I have to be sober) people don't want to risk a few (or myself one) after the game and the liquor laws are different so it's hard to stay open late enough for people to come down and pre drink before heading out.
I'd love to myself but it's easier half the time to meet at a mates that's walking distance and drink there rather than bring people out in a taxi or have a deso.
My clubs only a 15 minute drive but it's a decent walk.
 

mike123

Cancelled
30k Posts 10k Posts Pokemon is Life
Sep 13, 2013
31,411
28,203
AFL Club
Collingwood
Other Teams
Juventus
I'm a bit selfish.

In order of what I prefer 1 being the most and 8 being the least.

  1. Playing good in a winning side and Collingwood winning.
  2. Playing good in a winning side and Collingwood losing
  3. Playing good in a losing side and Collingwood winning.
  4. Playing good in a losing side and Collingwood losing.
  5. Playing bad in a winning side Collingwod winning.
  6. Playing bad in a losing side and Collingwood winning.
  7. Playing bad in a wining side and Collingwood losing.
  8. Playing bad in a losing side and Collingwood losing.
Anyways the thing I care about most is my own personal performance.
 
Provided me with some massive highs and depressing lows, I mean how would you feel if you were told you weren't in the best 44 players to play on GF day, even though just 3 weeks earlier you made a big contribution to winning a knockout semi? That said, for me it's always a nice Saturday in the sun often helping kids kick the dew off at 8:30AM with a whistle in the hand, feeling powerful...then backing up again for the next game still with whistle in hand.....then backing up for 2 games! (Or perhaps traveling 2 hours on an old bus to play 8 quarters, 4 of which are on the ball without a change, then survive the ride home sleeping on the bus to prepare for a half marathon the next day, which in itself precedes a plane trip and train ride to the Gold Coast to watch your team get thumped comparing the lack of ticker to what your mates showed in the middle not more than 24 hours earlier).

Well maybe not this year as I've retired from playing so I'll be sticking to the officiating...
 

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Aug 18, 2006
38,708
48,563
Melbourne
AFL Club
Carlton
If saints lose, I'm sh*tty for about half an hour.

If my club loses I'm sh*tty til Thursday.

This. Blues lose and im annoyed, my local footy club loses and im pissed off till about tuesday/wednesday.

Joined the local club for one season in u19s to play with mates. Immediately was welcomed and haven't looked back 14 years later. Only one of my mates who are i started playing for, still plays, all the others have quit/retired. I love the playing side, the social side and the people you meet. Have got so many mates from playing footy over the years, blokes i wouldnt normally meet. Even now being an older guy, i get on well with u19's boys, ressies and senior players.

You get that great camaraderie from working hard in the off-season, playing together and more importantly winning/losing together and the social side of things. Some of my best days on the piss have been footy functions/end of season days/footy trips.

Have managed a little bit of success along the way which makes it even more enjoyable. Im near retirement and will be interesting to see how long i stick around to watch for as it seems majority of players who stop playing dont attend much after a year or 2.
 
Sep 14, 2012
14,719
15,190
Broadbeach
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Mayne? I played for pine rivers.
Redcliffe. s**t club that was located on the edge of a mangrove river.. always flooded and the sand flies were ******* horrible. When I was there the club president and a few of his mates were pocketing half of the junior sign on fees and left the club to rot with no facilities. I haven't heard of Pine Rivers is that Strathpine Swans? Loved playing them as the Tigers and Swans had a strong rivalry.
 
Aug 18, 2006
38,708
48,563
Melbourne
AFL Club
Carlton
Unfortuantely getting the young guys back to the club these days for a few beers is not easy. Back in my day you always started at the footy club with a few beers before you kicked on and all your mates came along whether they played footy there or not.

Have found this at my club. We used to stay around after every home game till about 9pm drinking and then go out (group of about 20) to pub in city and have a great night. Not sure why it is but maybe youth and their drug culture dont like to drink as much

These days players have a beer or 2 then go off and i find the group isnt as close as we were when younger (or maybe its me looking a little from the outside in). Heck they have even organised a night out in the city once or twice a year for the last couple of years where it used to be every week/2nd week for us and no organisation needed.
 
Nov 23, 2000
57,838
125,448
Country Victoria
AFL Club
Richmond
Played all my games at Junior level with my local club right upto my last year at U/18 level,Got a new coach for my last year,Did the Pre-season and all up until a month before the new season and was told by the coach i'd be better looking elsewhere,Was gutted and puzzled at the time as the coach didn't give me a pacific reason why other than he wanted more Junior players on the list.Found out later than this Coach had a run in with my parents years before so i guess in his own mind that was payback.Anyway as it turned out went to another local country club in the area and eventually played in a premiership and thourughly enjoyed my time there until i had to quit football at 25 due to work.
I follow the local side with some passing interest but not as much as i do with my last club.
 

Milux

Norm Smith Medallist
Sep 29, 2013
8,865
12,814
Brisbane
AFL Club
Brisbane Lions
Redcliffe. s**t club that was located on the edge of a mangrove river.. always flooded and the sand flies were ******* horrible. When I was there the club president and a few of his mates were pocketing half of the junior sign on fees and left the club to rot with no facilities. I haven't heard of Pine Rivers is that Strathpine Swans? Loved playing them as the Tigers and Swans had a strong rivalry.
I played in the under 16s grand final loss to your mob about 8-10 years ago. My first season playing loved playing the tigers.
 
Aug 28, 2014
614
684
Singapore
AFL Club
St Kilda
Other Teams
Green Bay Packers, Chelsea
My local club used to mean alot to me. My junior years were great winning 4 premierships in a row with the same group of players. Had a real family feel to it. Would always go back to the club after the games for dinner with most of the team. Once I started playing in the U/18's I felt like some of the players egos were a little too big and just made me feel like I didn't want to be there anymore when a few of them would throw a few s**t remarks my way for being skinny and a few harsher things which I thought wasn't necessary. I'm pretty thick skinned but you just don't want to put up with that s**t nearly every week at training at a footy club from your team mates. Finished off the year being dropped in the last couple of games and missing out on the grand final win and never came back to club. Made the lame excuse that I wanted to study hard for year 12 VCE for the reason why I wasn't going to play the following year. Haven't been back since 2002.
 
Apr 17, 2006
27,237
16,555
???
AFL Club
Hawthorn
Other Teams
Miami Dolphins(NFL)
Local footy (and cricket) is one great thing about this country
Most suburbs have a side, and it brings together multiple communities
No other country has what we have in terms of local sport
 

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