2013 Fixture Discussion

[patfullfankezz]

You are truly a loyal supporter Kezz.well done on your committment.
Always love reading your posts ,as they are always positive and written with great humour.
Hope the boys have a good year for you.

I try.

The big thing is that I have been able to save money instead of giving in to the urge to spend it on junk food or video games. Saving money has never been been my strong point.

It's going to be hilarious, because for the first few rounds I am going to go nuts trying to navigate airports and getting to games in foreign cities.

 

[chopperduck]

I still don't get peoples beef with the club. Seriously, we have a detailed article up with the thoughts about the draw. Yes, we are lacking Melb games, the club points this out and states we continue to ask for this every year. Out side of that, it is a very good draw, and we have some big games at the Gabba, so overall, the club is allowed to be pleased with the draw. The club isn't going to come out and throw a tantrum because of 1 aspect of our draw, which realistically the AFL is hardly ever going to do for us, isn't up to scratch. Like it or lump it, but the Melb games isn't the most important aspect of the draw for the club. I'm not saying it isn't important, but there would be, and should be, more important things the club will be after in the draw.

Expecting the club to come out and say they are -

• Extremely disappointed
• Utterly dismayed
• Total disbelief

Is unrealistic. Again, take your hate, and direct it at the AFL, not at the club for not full filling your hate letters for you.

 

[Warwick]

Pretty horrid draw from a commercial aspect. Feel another big financial loss coming our way. What's with all these twilight games at the Gabba??? And I don't get the joyful response for scheduling one decent game (vs Collingwood).

I'm also very disappointed with the offhand response from our club. I've heard "continuing to lobby" multiple times before - what does that actually mean? Having a quick chat with AD while he's waiting for his latte?

Commercial aspect:
Victorian membership aspect:
Travelling aspect:
Scheduling / FTA exposure:
Footballing aspect:

 

[notliondown]

At the expense of aggravating the situation with the Melbourne members, the Lions face a huge task in accommodating even their Qld supporters... and to be honest the argument of being a few hours away would be a blessing to some of us.

I'm 1000km away from the Gabba by road. And with the highways in the condition that they are at the moment thats a 13 hour plus drive.
Or its a 1 1/2 hour flight on the most profitable leg Qantas run in Australia - so you can imagine the fares.
And every trip to see the boys play involves accommodation and expense.
And while I can't say I've been a member for decades it has been a while - since 1998.

I try to get to Brissy as often as I can... and I make that trip because I'm passionate about the team and the club. I want the club to be successful and viable and my little contribution helps... I hope.

So while I genuinely understand the disappointment in the draw and admire the passion shown here I just cant help but think somewhere some have lost the bigger picture. A viable sustainable and successful team and club.

Can you imagine the frustration the Lions must have in thinking that heres a state with 3 million plus people in it and yet the tyranny of distance means most will never buy a membership or even see a game live even if they love the team. I know lots of people who even in my home town are hugely passionate supporters of the Lions and watch every game they can on TV... probably the closest thing most will get to the game. Its a huge market... hundreds of thousands... and the Lions can't tap it.

And if I were the Lions I would have to say that my first priority is getting the team entrenched in the sporting folklore that the Qld market relies on - because the cold hard light of day tells you the extra member numbers the Lions need to survive simply arent going to come from Victoria. And if that means accepting a draw thats out of their control and trying to make that best of that situation then so be it.

I think people need to calm the heck down. All the club is trying to do is point out the reasons why we don't have those games. Not everyone is that up to date and there would be plenty if people who just think the Melb game in Darwin is just because the AFL wants it there, no because of Melb selling the game. Seriously, we are a club in Rugby league heart land, half of our members probably don't know this kind of thing. Whilst it might sound a bit patronising to people like us, stop and consider the bigger picture.

The club has done well to put out a fairly detail statement about what it likes and dislikes about our draw and detailing what we asked for and did and didn't get as well as the probably reasons behind it. I know Fitzroy fans are passionate, get the chip off you shoulder and engage your brain. I'm sick of my club being under siege by disgruntled 'fans' putting the boot in about every little thing. If you have a problem with the draw, take it to the AFL. There is plenty the club can do better for our Melb based fans, but don't take things overboard.

Thats one of the best sentiments I've seen on BF for a very long time CD.

Keeping the Melbourne supporter base happy is simply part of a huge juggling match that the Lions have to endure like few other clubs in the league. And chances are they'll never succeed and they sure wont ever make everyone else happy.

But gezuz, is everything that ever goes wrong the clubs fault? Is every decision that they make (or in reality gets made for them) that doesnt sit right a reason to come here and rant and rave and act as though they are the enemy?

Maybe I'm the odd one out... but I accept that things wont always go our way. And that being a far outpost of the AFL means we always compromise more than most. That our power in the system is limited and that we often get shat on from a great hieght when it comes to national decisions.

But thats the reason I love the Lions. Its in spite of the AFL not because of it we endure. And that makes every victory even sweeter.

 

[Brisbane2013]

Pretty horrid draw from a commercial aspect. Feel another big financial loss coming our way. What's with all these twilight games at the Gabba??? And I don't get the joyful response for scheduling one decent game (vs Collingwood).

I'm also very disappointed with the offhand response from our club. I've heard "continuing to lobby" multiple times before - what does that actually mean? Having a quick chat with AD while he's waiting for his latte?

Commercial aspect:
Victorian membership aspect:
Travelling aspect:
Scheduling / FTA exposure:
Footballing aspect:

A Twilight slot is actually good for boosting crowd numbers, contrary to belief, and do you actually believe them? i believe the heads at brisbane has all but given up on our melbourne audience.

 

[Hodge is God]

Is there a reason why we never get to play the Hawks at the Gabba?

Don't know if any Hawks fans have answered (couldn't be bothered to read through the whole thread) but we have some pissed off fans on our board that come from QLD and haven't seen a game in QLD since 2008 (had one in 2011, but that was against GC with a half-strength Hawks squad).

There is the NAB cup game but that is no where near a H&A game.

 

[____]

Don't know if any Hawks fans have answered (couldn't be bothered to read through the whole thread) but we have some pissed off fans on our board that come from QLD and haven't seen a game in QLD since 2008 (had one in 2011, but that was against GC with a half-strength Hawks squad).

There is the NAB cup game but that is no where near a H&A game.

Even some Lions fans I know are pissed off about the fact that the we haven't had a home game against the Hawks since 2008.

Yeah it is ridiculous, every team should travel to QLD, NSW, SA and WA at least once.

 

[Hodge is God]

Even some Lions fans I know are pissed off about the fact that the we haven't had a home game against the Hawks since 2008.

Yeah it is ridiculous, every team should travel to QLD, NSW, SA and WA at least once.

Yep, with this whole 'Australian Game' crap and every state that has a team at least having the couple but the Hawks still can't manage a game in QLD?

Pathetic.

Like you said, every team should travel to each state once.

 

[____]

Yep, with this whole 'Australian Game' crap and every state that has a team at least having the couple but the Hawks still can't manage a game in QLD?

Pathetic.

Like you said, every team should travel to each state once.

I know a few Hawks fans that live up here, although I don't talk to them much I would imagine they would be annoyed and understandably so.

 

[luthor]

That 8 in the middle looks bad because of the fact that everyone expects Essendon/Carlton to be top 8 sides.

But based on 2012 results we play:

Rd 6 - Team 1
Rd 7 - Team 5
Rd 8 - Team 11
Rd 9 - Team 10
Rd 10 - Team 4
BYE
Rd 12 - Team 6
Rd 13 - Team 7
Rd 14 - Team 2

....and if we seriously believe we are a contender, we should expect to win half of those games.

Bring it on!

 

[Roylion]

Keeping the Melbourne supporter base happy is simply part of a huge juggling match that the Lions have to endure like few other clubs in the league. And chances are they'll never succeed and they sure wont ever make everyone else happy.

I'll ask again. Do the Brisbane Lions want a substantial supporter base in Melbourne or not?

If they do not, why did the Bears seek a merger with a Victorian club in the first place? Why write a guarantee of a number of minimum games into the merger agreement, if it is too hard to juggle the demands of a Melbourne supporter base? If the Lions want a solely Queensland based club without that pesky, demanding Melbourne support base making unreasonable demands, perhaps they should disavow their Fitzroy connection, return all Fitzroy memorabilia / assets to the ownership of the Fitzroy Football Club and concentrate just on their Queensland operations in the future.

In my view, if for any reason, the minimum number of games that were guaranteed cannot be met in any given year, then the Lions need to 'compensate' their Melbourne based supporter base in some way. There are plenty of ways that this could be done.

The Swans seem to be able to keep their Melbourne support base on side. I wonder how they do it? (That last question was rhetorical by the way. I know how they do it).

 

[Cousin Jed]

Looking at the fixture, its not by having 6 games in Melbourne

 

[Loyal Lion]

In my view, if for any reason, the minimum number of games that were guaranteed cannot be met in any given year, then the Lions need to 'compensate' their Melbourne based supporter base in some way. There are plenty of ways that this could be done.

Roy I agree with all that you say, but how can we possibly be adequately compensated over losing Melbourne games ? Not playing Geelong at Geelong would be a help, especially when we only have 5 games in Victoria. Surely the AFL can manage that. After all, they manage to stop us playing Hawthorn at the Gabba every year.

Sweeteners like wearing a Fitzroy jumper for 1 or 2 Melbourne games does not cut it for me. Besides, I'd rather see us wear our traditional BL premiership strip anyways.

 

[notliondown]

Mate I didn't say that the Lions shouldn't pursue a Melbourne supporter base... Or that they're pesky or not worth the effort... And I'm positive the club doesn't see it that way either.

As to the merger... Well I think the history there is well written. Are you saying that you would have preferred the AFL let all remnants of Fitzroy fade away than have had the merger go ahead? I don't really think there's a single passionate Lions supporter who doesn't respect and cherish the history that our Fitzroy ties don't bring to our club.

What I am saying is that OUR club faces an enormous task in trying to satisfy the potential growth in its now home state and the needs of its traditional members. That balancing act is bound to bring discomfort and compromise...

Like it or not the Lions future remains in a growing vibrant Qld support base... And the efforts of the club will always be focused here. Unless 25000 Fitzroy supporters suddenly sign up that's always going to be the harsh reality.

But that certainly doesn't mean our Vic brothers and sisters should be shut out... And in a perfect world more games down there would be great... But it's not. And just like your Qld country brothers mate we all have to suffer a compromise to let that growth and viability of our club occur.

 

[Dicky Fitzwell]

Very disappointed

 

[lionbear]

Like it or not the Lions future remains in a growing vibrant Qld support base... And the efforts of the club will always be focused here. Unless 25000 Fitzroy supporters suddenly sign up that's always going to be the harsh reality.

Don't think that would even save the treatment of Victorian Brisbane fans, reality is the AFL is making Brisbane have no other choice but to ficus on Queensland and forget about its Fitzroy roots.

Like it or lump it, as much as Brisbane wants to give opportunities to its Victorian supporters, the AFL will not allow this to happen.

 

[____]

The realities is anyone who is new to the Lions will eventually want to learn about our history and will find out that we are part Victorian anyway. We are a two state team, we should embrace it. I'm a Queenslander and I embraced it.

 

[CoZi36]

I'm disappointed for our Victorian fans, sucks that we got to play the Hawks in Tassie and Melbourne in Darwin (conditions will suit us moreso being humid and we will win but that's not the point). As the AFL won't let us play 5 games in Melbourne, we must fight to make sure we do next season, cummon boys make the granny!

 

[CoZi36]

The realities is anyone who is new to the Lions will eventually want to learn about our history and will find out that we are part Victorian anyway. We are a two state team, we should embrace it. I'm a Queenslander and I embraced it.

Two cities, one club - your BBFFC!

 

[Matt_BL]

Some people are really over reacting about this Melbourne game stuff. Move on nothing can be changed until next year. Give this a couple of weeks this thread will die down. Think of it this way, would you rather be contemplating playing finals thanks to having one of the best draws in the league, or still dwelling on the fact that there was 1 less game played in Melbourne. And saying Holmes wasn't sincere enough, really what else is he going to say? He expressed his disappointment. As a CEO of a club it would be unprofessional to express any further negative thoughts.

Look what the AFL did do, we lost the Thursday match, news was we requested a Friday night game against Collingwood and we got it. Only go to Perth once, play lower ranked sides twice its really a good draw. You can't win them all though its an 18 team competition not just Brisbane.

 

[Roylion]

As to the merger... Well I think the history there is well written. Are you saying that you would have preferred the AFL let all remnants of Fitzroy fade away than have had the merger go ahead? I don't really think there's a single passionate Lions supporter who doesn't respect and cherish the history that our Fitzroy ties don't bring to our club.

Fitzroy's AFL identity wouldn't have faded away. Remember that Fitzroy had a signed merger agreement with North Melbourne to form the "North Fitzroy Kangaroos", where a Fitzroy identity would have remained as part of a Melbourne based AFL club. If it is too hard for a Queensland based club to cater for its Melbourne base, why did they seek a merger with Fitzroy in the first place? Why not let Fitzroy merge with North Melbourne as was the club's preference? Fitzroy supporters could then watch more than a paltry four-five games per year if that was the case.

What I am saying is that OUR club faces an enormous task in trying to satisfy the potential growth in its now home state and the needs of its traditional members. That balancing act is bound to bring discomfort and compromise...

There should be no compromise, Unlike ANY other club in the AFL, there is a supposedly legally binding agreement that guarantees a minimum six Lions games in Melbourne per year indefinitely.

Like it or not the Lions future remains in a growing vibrant Qld support base... And the efforts of the club will always be focused here. Unless 25000 Fitzroy supporters suddenly sign up that's always going to be the harsh reality.

Well why would they? Four games in Melbourne next year. The merger agreement repeatedly broken and altered (e.g. paddlepop lion).

But that certainly doesn't mean our Vic brothers and sisters should be shut out... And in a perfect world more games down there would be great... But it's not. And just like your Qld country brothers mate we all have to suffer a compromise to let that growth and viability of our club occur.

What compromise have you suffered? There are still 12 games in Queensland next year aren't there? 11 home games at the Gabba and an away game against the Gold Coast?

 

[chopperduck]

It is unfortunate how much damage Bowers and Co managed to do, at least the current mob is bringing it back somewhat. Fixture will always be an issue, and until the AFL takes notice nothing will change there. Needs to be more supporter backlash aim at the AFL.

Having 2 teams from different states merge was always going to be a pain in the arse, and realistically, we simply cannot be a genuine two team town, especially when we are based in the frontier for AFL in QLD, there are enough battles that need to be won here without worrying about the Melb side of things. It seems that in the AFL's eyes, this wasn't really a merger, more of a take over.

I think the path that the club is heading in is to have it's own new post merger identity, not wanting to be directly linked to either merged club. It will be more of a heritage thing with links to Fitzroy, more so than representing Fitzroy itself. I think the club will continue to do what it can for Melb members, and try give the Fitzroy fans something, but are never going to go back to truly representing Fitzroy at AFL level. Maybe things might swing back in 20 years once the club and sport is stronger in QLD, and that can be more of a focus. but i also question whether or not long term there will be many Fitzroy fans past the current generation.

Not trying to stir up anything with this post, or saying i agree with it all, but it just seems to be the state of play.

 

[Ironmonger]

Some people are really over reacting about this Melbourne game stuff. Move on nothing can be changed until next year. Give this a couple of weeks this thread will die down. Think of it this way, would you rather be contemplating playing finals thanks to having one of the best draws in the league, or still dwelling on the fact that there was 1 less game played in Melbourne. And saying Holmes wasn't sincere enough, really what else is he going to say? He expressed his disappointment. As a CEO of a club it would be unprofessional to express any further negative thoughts.

Look what the AFL did do, we lost the Thursday match, news was we requested a Friday night game against Collingwood and we got it. Only go to Perth once, play lower ranked sides twice its really a good draw. You can't win them all though its an 18 team competition not just Brisbane.

Ridiculous. The CEO and the club absolutely have a role to advocate for their supporters and members.

Instead of outlining the case why Melbourne supporters shouldn't get to see their team more than four times a year, Holmes should have made the case why we should get to see them as many times as was agreed.

He could have talked about the 100 year long involvement of Fitzroy in the league and how important it was to preserve that history.

He could have talked about how important Fitzroy has been in the development of the modern Brisbane Lions, through players like Chris Johnson and Jonathan Brown, and supporters like Kevin Murray.

He could have talked about how a presence in Melbourne is vital to the identity of the club, and a reasonable number of games that Fitzroy supporters can go to and bring their families to is vital to preserving that presence.

These are the arguments that the club should be putting out there.

I understand that people are arguing for unity, and there not to be a divide between Fitzroy and Queensland fans, but the truth is there is a divide. Brisbane Bears fans can never understand what it is like to have the team you supported since you were a small child ripped away and shipped off to a city you have nothing to do with. I hadn't even been to Brisbane before the merger.

Of course we are highly protective of the team's connection with Melbourne. It is impossible for us to 'move on', anymore that we can switch teams and move on from the Lions altogether.

 

[Loyal Lion]

I think the path that the club is heading in is to have it's own new post merger identity, not wanting to be directly linked to either merged club. It will be more of a heritage thing with links to Fitzroy, more so than representing Fitzroy itself. I think the club will continue to do what it can for Melb members, and try give the Fitzroy fans something, but are never going to go back to truly representing Fitzroy at AFL level. Maybe things might swing back in 20 years once the club and sport is stronger in QLD, and that can be more of a focus. but i also question whether or not long term there will be many Fitzroy fans past the current generation.

It's not how I see things. Don't think you'll get support from the Victorian supporters with those comments. The Brisbane Lions are supposed to be representing Fitzroy & the Brisbane Bears - directly linked to both clubs.

The club under Bowers & co WAS heading in a new direction; seemingly cutting itself adrift from the Fitzroy deadwood. Even though we are not massive in numbers down here, I don't think that the Brisbane Lions can afford to lose their Victorian membership.

The sentiment that is coming through from some of the Brisbane members here is that, the Victorian members/supporters are whingeing over losing a game in Victoria & that we should get over it; forget about if you will. It's only a minor issue!

I'm afraid it goes a lot deeper than that for me.

I wonder how the Brisbane based members/supporters would feel in 2014, if the AFL scheduled 9 matches at the Gabba, 6 in Victoria & the rest scattered all over the place ?

Anyways we're seemingly going around in circles here. I gotta go & feed the cat!

 

[____]

I wonder how the Brisbane based members/supporters would feel in 2014, if the AFL scheduled 9 matches at the Gabba, 6 in Victoria & the rest scattered all over the place ?

I'd personally be incredibly annoyed.

Our normal season fixture should always consist of:
Minimum 11 games at the 'Gabba
" one game at Carrara
" 6 games in Melbourne (MCG or Docklands)
" one game in Sydney (SCG, Homebush or Skoda) or Canberra
" one game in Adelaide
" one game in Perth
The remaining game should either be in Sydney, Geelong or another Melbourne or South East Queensland game. We should never be sent to Launceston, Darwin, Hobart, Perth twice etc.

I still think it is realistic to get that Darwin game moved back to Melbourne, considering there is no MCG game at that time.