Competition "What If" Wednesdays - Time Traveller Sneezes Edition: Week 73 - Fitzroy - Richmond Merger (East Melbourne Ligers)

[cannavo]

Please note: In light of recent events, there's a new rule added to the basic rules below (Rule 8)

Welcome to ...

Marty McFly has done himself a mischief and has altered the course of Aussie footy in ways you can't imagine!
Get ready to dive into alternate futures!​

What is “What If” Wednesdays?
"What if" Wednesdays was a competition comprised of real-life football team proposals, merger propositions, former teams and a few hypotheticals brought to life by the FJGD community (eg. If the Melbourne-Hawthorn merger went ahead, if University/Fitzroy/Bris Bears stuck around, if Gold Coasts nickname were the Lifesavers etc.) it became this boards longest running competition (8/9/14 – 29/5/19). It has been revived under a meme cultured spin-off! Time traveller sneezes memes are all about butterfly effects on various things caused by a time traveller altering the past by means of a simple sneeze.

What’s new this time around?
This time or these times around, we will be flung into various timelines where our universes former teams, mergers, relocation proposals never existed or had its outcome altered slightly or severely! The list below is comprised of alternate timelines and the butterfly effect caused by our cheeky time traveller. Your job is to envision this outcome! Each comp will run for 1 week and the poll will run for 3 days. The winner picks the next team from the list below!

There are some routes you can go by if you're stuck:

• The chosen team has entered their designated competition in the current year (unless specified) along with the current teams OR
• You may design kits at any point in time unless strictly specified OR
• Accompany your kits with a backstory on how the team came to be to help better envision the outcome
• Use Google to search the history and stories behind what is being altered
• There's no shame in using AI here, sometimes ideas just can't put into pixels right away so AI is there to help you with brainstorming ideas for your jumper(s)/logo and the backstory

The bare minimum for an entry is:

• A home kit with just the front of the jumper showing
  (Back, shorts, socks are optional)
• OPTIONAL Away kit (Home with white shorts is acceptable)
• OPTIONAL 3rd kit and beyond!
  • Clash kit
  • Heritage kit
  • Other kit
• OPTIONAL Club Logo (Highly Encouraged!)

---

Let’s see what has happened this time




Our Timeline: Fitzroy and Richmond competed as separate teams
Altered Timeline: They merge to become the 'East Melbourne Ligers'​

---

THIS WEEKS CONSTRAINT

As the title suggests, the club must be named the 'East Melbourne Ligers'​

---

Basic Rules (Please read carefully) UPDATED 13/2/26:

1. Kits and Logo must be in 1 picture (Makes polls easier to fit everything in)
2. The kits can consist of just a Jumper's front (Back, Shorts and socks are optional but encouraged to give a full identity effect)
3. Minimum 1 kit and there's no limit to how many kits you can include after that
   eg. Home and Away and/or Clash and/or Heritage and/or Others
   1. Designing a Home and away/clash kit is highly encouraged for that authentic feel and to develop that alternate universe experience
4. Attempt to stay close to the altered timeline mentioned above
5. Directly copying current football team kits/logos are not allowed
6. For the logo, you may take inspiration from and/or alter any existing sports logo to drive home your design. Also logos made from scratch are more than welcome!
7. Maximum 2 entries per person
8. Entrants who wish to enter an AI image to present their entry, you must provide proof that your entry had some thought or effort behind it
   1. This can be anything like a rough idea made in Paint, recolouring an existing image/photo, a hand-drawn sketch, or something quickly drawn on your phone/tablet, just attach the image next to your entry. It won't go next to your entry in the poll for aesthetic purposes, unless you want it to be there
9. Any questions at all, please ask!

Specific Category Rules for this week:

Mergers Rules:

1. There are no restrictions. You can take any elements from the clubs involved in the merger and create whatever you please
2. Teams involved in a merger that do not exist yet, you can identify them in any way you like (eg. Tasmania can be whatever you like them to be when merging)

---

Final alternate timelines with categories
Bold - Completed with poll results
Italic - Newly added

Mergers

• Melbourne - St Kilda merger (1995)
• Tasmania - Fitzroy Merger
• Sydney - Fitzroy Merger
• Gold Coast Suns seek merger with Sharks to stay alive
• Fitzroy - Brisbane (Fitzroy Bears)
• Tasmania agree to merger with North Melbourne
• Port Melbourne granted VFL licensed but only if they merge with Fitzroy
  • Tiebreaker Poll
• Williamstown merge with Footscray – 1989
• Norwood / Port Adelaide AFL merger (1991)
• South Melbourne - Footscray merger
• South Melbourne - North Melbourne merger
• Carlton – North Melbourne Merger/hostile takeover
  • Tiebreaker Poll
• Fitzroy - Richmond Merger (East Melbourne Ligers)

Relocations

• Saints relocate to NZ
• Essendon relocate to NT to become Alice Springs
• Hawthorn relocate to Canberra
• Fitzroy relocate to Canberra
  • Tiebreaker Poll
• Fitzroy relocate to Brisbane in the 80s (Prior to the Bears existing)
• South Melbourne relocate to Tasmania
• South Melbourne relocate to Canberra
• Fitzroy complete move to North Sydney - 1980
• Footscray relocate to Queensland - 1981
• Fitzroy relocate to Perth - 1981
• GWS relocate to Canberra
• Melbourne relocate to Mars
  • Tiebreaker Poll
• Fitzroy relocate to South Africa - 1997
  • Tiebreaker Poll
• Richmond relocate to Hobart to become the Tasmanian Tigers

League transfers

• West Coast Eagles to the SANFL
• Brisbane Bears to the SANFL
• Fitzroy to the SANFL - 1981
• Footscray to the SANFL - 1981
• Adelaide Uni to the SANFL - 1991 (cannot use only black and white)
• Collingwood to the SANFL - 1997
• East Perth to the VFL - 1980
• Norwood to the AFL
• Launceston to the AFL
• Essendon to the WAFL
  • Tiebreaker Poll
• Perth to the AFL (Merger of Perth, East Perth & West Perth)
• Glenelg to the AFL - 1997
• Geelong West to the VFL - 1976
• Swan Districts to the AFL - 1991

New Teams

• Port Adelaide crows join the AFL - 1991
• Papua New Guinea enter the AFL
• Limestone Coast join the SANFL
• Mount Gambier join the SANFL
• Sydney enter as a separate team (Bloods stay in Vic)
• Darwin join the AFL - 1991
• Public Service Football Club join the VFL
• Gold Coast fold, new North Queensland team take their place - 2030
• NZ enter 90's State of Origin
• Broome become the 2nd WA AFL team
  • Tiebreaker Poll
• Gold Coast hijack Brisbane Bears VFL entry - 1986
• Hobart to the AFL (Can't use Devils branding)
• Newcastle team to the AFL
• Southwest of WA to the AFL
• Tea Tree Gully & Modbury merge to make tenth SANFL team (2014)
• All-Encompassing Vic Country team enter the VFL - 1960
• Red Bull given the 20th AFL licence.
• South West WA team enter AFL as The Pelicans

Colour Corner

• West Coast Eagles VFL kits altered due to Williamstown sharing the same colours
• GWS keep their 'Team GWS' colours
• Port Adelaide retain their Magenta
• Adelaide's hurried concept
  (Adelaide board hastily attain clothes from local sport store and use the 5 colours to design their new AFL team)
• Fremantle keep Red & Green, remove Purple & White
• Williamstown join the VFL in 1925 - design a late '90s/early '00s clash/away guernsey for them (1995-2005)
• Tasmania to wear one-off Cadbury sponsor jumper including purple

Specials

• Hawthorn release Ochre jumper - 2000
• Skittle's sponsor Essendon and release special guernsey
• Heidelberg Warriors align with Collingwood for 1 season - 1996
• Melbourne remain as 'The Invincible Whites'
• Collingwood remain as 'Britannia'
• Carlton remain as 'The Cockatoos'
• Hawthorn remain as 'The Mayblooms'
• BigFooty X Gold Coast Suns (BigFooty becomes the majority stakeholder, and primary sponsor of Gold Coast, requesting a new jumper set with the deal)
• South Melbourne Hellas purchase South Melbourne Swans

Cross-Code Craze

• Newcastle Knights to the VFL - 1988
• Cronulla Sharks to the AFL - 1998
• South Sydney Rabbitohs to the AFL
• Canberra Raiders to the AFL
• North Sydney Bears to the AFL

---

​

 

[Mero]

Extra points from me if you can work this into a logo

The Liger is pretty much my favourite animal, bred for its skills in magic.

 

[terrybull]

Extra points from me if you can work this into a logo
View attachment 2548331
The Liger is pretty much my favourite animal, bred for its skills in magic.

My profile picture is kinda close

 

[1990crow]

East Melbourne LigersView attachment 2550498

My rating of this is your username

 

[cannavo]

East Melbourne LigersView attachment 2550498

Please note: In light of recent events, there's a new rule added to the basic rules below (Rule 8)​

---

Basic Rules (Please read carefully) UPDATED 13/2/26:

8. Entrants who wish to enter an AI image to present their entry, you must provide proof that your entry had some thought or effort behind it

1. This can be anything like a rough idea made in Paint, recolouring an existing image/photo, a hand-drawn sketch, or something quickly drawn on your phone/tablet, just attach the image next to your entry. It won't go next to your entry in the poll for aesthetic purposes, unless you want it to be there

As mentioned in the previous competition thread, I've added this rule to give some incentive into trying self made ideas/designs first, then letting AI make it presentable

 

[terrybull]

As mentioned in the previous competition thread, I've added this rule to give some incentive into trying self made ideas/designs first, then letting AI make it presentable

Sorry.

This is my commands in the AI app, if it’s not enough then just delete my entry. No drama

 

[_Damo_]

 

[EagleOz]

 

[Mozzie_Squad]

View attachment 2551511View attachment 2551512

Ah had the same/very similar design for this one will sit this week out

 

[EagleOz]

Ah had the same/very similar design for this one will sit this week out

View attachment 2552083View attachment 2552084

Great minds

 

[SilvaComet]

 

[MooreTreloar]

Extra points from me if you can work this into a logo
View attachment 2548331
The Liger is pretty much my favourite animal, bred for its skills in magic.

Why am I seeing Catman in this picture?

 

[_Damo_]

Why am I seeing Catman in this picture?

....is Catman in the room with us now?

 

[terrybull]

Fitzroy-Richmond Roar

The merged team started off as East Melbourne Ligers. But fans weren’t happy on losing the club name and animal that is not natural in the wild.

So the club changed their name to Fitzroy-Richmond Roar

The horrible drawing of my idea and then cleaned up with AI