AFL Changes Game Fixtures

[GoEagles]

Just in case anyone missed it:

The AFL today announced two changes to the official AFL fixture for the 2000 Coca-Cola Premiership season.

The Round 12 match between Essendon and St Kilda, scheduled on Friday night May 26 at the MCG, will now be played at Colonial Stadium, commencing at 7.40pm.

The Round 13 match between Essendon and the Kangaroos, scheduled on Saturday night June 3 at Colonial Stadium, will now be played as a day game at the MCG on Sunday June 4, commencing at 2.10pm.

AFL Chief Executive Officer Wayne Jackson said the AFL wanted to shift the Essendon -- Kangaroos match to the MCG to ensure as many fans as possible would be able to see the game between two of the league's form teams who drew nearly 70,000 to a home and away match last season.

 

[sainter]

Good news for all parties seems to be the consensus on these match switches.

Except if you are a saints fan!

Looks like we will be playing our 8th consecutive match at Colonial Stadium and as the away team against Essendon, stuck near the back of level 4.

We also don't get allocated many matches at the MCG and we have lost another one.

Oh well, should be used to this sort of treatment by now. Pity a lot of our supporters won't get into the stadium but I suppose that doesn't matter.


From an increasingly depressed sainter

 

[Grendel]

sainter, my condolences.


This is the type of thing that caused me to disagree with Dan in the *Move the Ess vs Geel match thread* Its blantant favourtism being shown to Essendon. This is just the first time for it to occuor, wont be long until it happens again.

They get a sweet deal both ways, North must be really desparte for cash to agree to this. Any advantage to beat the dons is reduced by the shorter length of time between games, and now coming of 5 days?? And of cours its a better revenue earner both ways. More members allocated for the colonical game and a perctenage of a greater return at the G. Smart operators the Dons.

In truth really the Dons have done fantastic favour for themselves,and you cant blame them for that. Colonical will now be holding mainly Dons members and fans for the match against you. The Saints fans really have been screwed. Plymton is a sorry excuse of a president if he didnt put up a fight to stop this happening. I would really be trying to vote him out if I was a sainter member if that proved true. It just shows ihis lack of regard to the grass roots people of St.Kilda.

The MCG game will be interesting to see what sort of crowd it will attract. Im not sure that the crowd the league is hoping for will show. I will wait and see on that one.

 

[Pessimistic]

The contra deal of transferring the Essendon-St Kilda game sucks big time. It shows nobody was serious about transferring games from colonial to the MCG, and that Essendon is starting a serious trend of 'locking out' opposition fans at colonic - $50 per game here we come !

On the same day Wacko Jacko cried a few croc tears that the Carlton v Collingwood game could not be transferred because carlton weren't willing to.

You could use the same logic and do a 'swap' -appeasing the need for 9 games at optus by transferring the blockbuster game likely to draw the least fans (eg Carlton v Essendon) back to optus

I suppose Essendon would not agree because they want their fans to get in at away games despite actively locking out away fans at Colonic

Regards
Dale

(Hoping I can get in at R19, Colonic Stadiun, Essendon v Hawthorn without paying an arm and a leg)

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by Grendel:

This is the type of thing that caused me to disagree with Dan in the *Move the Ess vs Geel match thread* Its blantant favourtism being shown to Essendon.

How so? Our fans would have gotten in anyway. It'll largely benefit Nth's fans, not ours.

They get a sweet deal both ways, North must be really desparte for cash to agree to this.

???? North won't get any cash out of this, it's Essendon's home game. The only thing North get out of it is that THEIR fans will get in when they otherwise wouldn't have.

Any advantage to beat the dons is reduced by the shorter length of time between games, and now coming of 5 days??

Nope, they have a 5 day break AFTER the match. Again THEIR choice, they could have said no.

And of cours its a better revenue earner both ways. More members allocated for the colonical game and a perctenage of a greater return at the

*MORE* members? How so? The Nth game was OUR home match as is the St Kilda game, the same number of members get in either way. The only advantage to Essendon is that more Nth fans will probably attend the MCG game than would have had we been playing the Saints, though last years crowds were 68,000 v Nth and 62,000 v the Saints so maybe there wont be much in it at all.

In truth really the Dons have done fantastic favour for themselves,and you cant blame them for that. Colonical will now be holding mainly Dons members and fans for the match against you.

Which was how it would have been for the North match. It looks like you think the ess/nth game was a roos home game?

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by Pessimistic:
You could use the same logic and do a 'swap' -appeasing the need for 9 games at optus by transferring the blockbuster game likely to draw the least fans (eg Carlton v Essendon) back to optus

Only one problem there, it aint the lowest blockbuster crowd drawer

I suppose Essendon would not agree because they want their fans to get in at away games despite actively locking out away fans at Colonic

Essendon aren't actively locking anyone out otherwise they wouldn't have agreed to shift their HOME game against Nth to the 'G so that NORTH's fans could get in.

BTW, explain to me just why exactly it is that Essendon should be looking out for other teams fans/members and not their own?
Does Hawthorn give a shit about any other teams supporters? I seriously doubt it!

 

[Grendel]

Dave, mate I dont think you quite got the gist of what I was trying to say, really I was just trying to show some support to sainter, your first line sort of derailed where I was trying to go,

_____________________________________________
Originally posted by Dave

It'll largely benefit Nth's fans, not ours.
_____________________________________________

Doesnt do the Saints any favours does it, that was my MAIN reference.

You seem defensive on it. Look Im not having a go at the Dons. I even said they are doing the best for themselves.


_____________________________________________

Originally posted by Grendel

"In truth really the Dons have done fantastic favour for themselves,and you cant blame them for that"
_____________________________________________

and good luck to them for that. I dont hold and grudges against them for the move, I do however feel for the Saints fans who the ones that have been disadvantaged by the move of the game.

I still reckon that the Saints are the big losers all round out of this (again that really was what I tried to get across in the original thread). Their fans are the ones who will miss out most. Either by having to now pay for pre-booking seats, or getting stuck away at the top of the stadium in the (10,000?) seats held for general admission. At the G they could have rocked up when they like pretty much sat where they wanted an for $14 bucks. Will they get that now? I dont know, sainter would be better placed to answer that than me.

People dont like this (Colonical) place, they dont want to play there they dont want to go there. sainter didnt want the game shifted, how many Saints fans did and are now happy with the new arrangements?

to the other points you made , Cash benefits, I heard on the radio that they (North) were to be compenstated for "late arragements", to their fans for the shifted game, basically I think a sweetener to go along with the move. Who knows for certain?
The break of five days I was wrong, I thought it was before the Dons game not after, sorry.

 

[Dave]

Grendel,
I quite agree with you that the saints fans are the ones that are losing out on this, it just came across a little that it was Essendon who were screwing them

As for the Saints fans not wanting to go there, neither do many Essendon fans. I certainly didn't vote for the move, but I'm stuck with it just like the fans of St Kilda and the Doggies.

I didn't know about the "compensation" either!

Sorry if I came across as having a go at you, I didn't intend to.

 

[Grendel]

Sweet Dave, im a big boy (well some say

)
I can take, ooh baby yeah, um um lets get away from that line wrong sort of board it gets confusing remembering sometimes

It obvious that your deep psychological (thank you god for spell checkers) scars from the late eighties (here we go again

)sometime bubble to the surface when a Hawk comes a calling. ie see a hawk head, kick it. Known in some circles as "the Merrett effect".

I know a good shrink to help you overcome that, I was seeing him for a while in 86, but suddenly didnt feel the need for him around september of that year..........

 

[Dave]

ROFL!!!!! Ahhh, I'll have to go home and watch the back-to-back pack again

 

[sainter]

Thanks for your support Grendel.

I don't really know what arrangements there are for our supporters but you are exactly right, we will not be able to just walk up to the gate and sit almost anywhere like at the G.

Regarding Plympton, he joined our club when our finances were in a hopeless position. Under his reign we have progressed from almost dying before the Save Our Saints campaign. We have since merged the football and social clubs and are now in as good a position that we have ever been in off the field. For that reason, I will always have a high opinion of him.

Dave, you are exactly right that its your home game and not your clubs fault that we have been the losers in this switch. Essendon playing at Colonial just irritates me because with your very large supporter base, opposition supporters are going to have a very hard time getting into the ground.

Having said that, you are always going to be the winners have 7 home games at Colonial plus 4 "blockbusters" at the MCG.

 

[Grendel]

See Dave, i knew you would feel better after watching 88/89 again, ahh those back to back falgs of THE GREATEST EVER TEAM. Does the heart good.

 

[Dan26]

I don't know what the big deal is about.

Ess v St.Kilda is at Colonial where it belongs. After all, both are tenants.

Last year Ess v St.K got 62,000. It was a big match. This year, unfortunately, it's not a big match. 45,000 at the MCG would go. It will get about 40,000 at Colonial minus MCC members.

Every St.Kilda supporter who wants to go will be able to.

Ess v North would expect to get about 65,000. It's an Essendon home game. North benefit, because it's at the MCG, and secondly becasue more of their supporters.
will go.

A common sense decision by the AFL. Good on them.

Gees, whatever the AFL do, they get blasted. It's a catch 22. They never win. Look, both games are now at the most appropriate venues, end of story.

 

[Dave]

Grendel, who ever said I watched *those* in the first place? BTW, what's a "falg"?

84/85, the only back-to-back "flags" ever won against Hawthorn

.

 

[Pessimistic]

My main beef is that despite all the bulldust about transferring big games from colonic to the MCG everyone new it wouldn't happen. Essendons statement that they will keep their agreement for seven games at colonial means that after Carlton. Collingwood and Richmond at the MCG only one other game will qualify as a blockbuster.
Yet most essendon games drew over 50,000 last year.

This year North is in 'favour' but Hawthorn fans will find it difficult to get in to colonic at Essendon and Collingwood 'home' games (essendon v hawthorn drew 60,000 when both teams missed the finals in 1997 (I think)

One solution would be for the seven Essendon - colonic games to be against Interstate or other colonial tenants. Perhaps lose one of the 'blockbusters'

 

[Pessimistic]

Word is that Eddie is trying to move the Pies v Hawks game to the 'G' from 'Colonic' later in the year. Onya eddie !

 

[Dave]

Originally posted by Pessimistic:
One solution would be for the seven Essendon - colonic games to be against Interstate or other colonial tenants.

Why should the clubs at Colonial be confined to only hosting home matches against interstate clubs and co-tennants? Do they not have the same right to host a home game against an MCG tennant as an MCG tennant does against them?

I understand you're pissed off that you might miss a hawks game but it's no different to the old days when clubs played at venues that could hold 20K, or indeed today when they play interstate or at Shell/Optus.



[This message has been edited by Dave (edited 12 May 2000).]

 

[Grendel]

Think Im gonna tell a Bomber what a *falg* is you got another thing coming

hey anyone whats a falg?