Finals Venues

[Jbates13]

Alex and Yea are easily 2 best grounds in div 2 and would be top 5 easy in the league. Alex's surface is in brillant condition and they hosted a div 1 final last year and the crowd was quite big

 

[cole trickle !]

Alex and Yea are easily 2 best grounds in div 2 and would be top 5 easy in the league. Alex's surface is in brillant condition and they hosted a div 1 final last year and the crowd was quite big

No one is disputing you about ground conditions my young friend, the point being made is that the grounds are located in YEA and ALEX....... Both of which are a long way out of the way. Also was at that final you speak of last year and which ever way you want to spin it the crowd was ordinary at best. All the breast at deakin reserve next year champ.

 

[Jbates13]

we have to travel down there every 2 weeks each year. its only 1 trip for other people why not utilise these facilites its a great day up there

 

[The Finger]

we have to travel down there every 2 weeks each year. its only 1 trip for other people why not utilise these facilites its a great day up there

You have to travel down here you have no choice. The league should use common sence and make finals as central as possible. Gembrook Alex and Yea are as far apart as possible and shouldn't be used.

 

[Jbates13]

You have to travel down here you have no choice. The league should use common sence and make finals as central as possible. Gembrook Alex and Yea are as far apart as possible and shouldn't be used.

so then you only have 2 decent venues in Healesville and Woori. and then Warburton and Junction the later 2 arent suitable to held a major final maybe and elimantion or 1st semi that is all

 

[wtfa]

No one is disputing you about ground conditions my young friend, the point being made is that the grounds are located in YEA and ALEX....... Both of which are a long way out of the way. Also was at that final you speak of last year and which ever way you want to spin it the crowd was ordinary at best. All the breast at deakin reserve next year champ.

Lets all get over where finals are being played. What we should remember is that all affiliated clubs deserve the right to host finals. It shoud not be resticted to those clubs that are central. I havent heard Yea or Alex complaining over the travel to Gembrook.
Finals should be shared around on the provisio that the facilaties etc are suitable. The vast majority of leagues share the finals venues around and it is accepted.. Goulburn Valley FNL all minor finals are rotated with the Grand Final played at Deakin Reserve Shepp. But then they do get a 15k+ crowd, especially seeing its the last game of football of the year
I am sure that the participating clubs will find both Alex and for Yea first time they have held a finals game in YVMDFL since the late 70's. The competing teams will probabaly find the ground conditions and layout a plus. The Netballers will also be able to suck up the atmosphere as the courts a close to the Oval, and the spectators will be able to view the game on a level field.
Lets not be greedy next year it should be some other club / s to have a go and show case their club and ground

 

[Monniehawk]

(jbates13, Boy! Do you come across as young!)
Looking forward to visiting Yea this weekend. Also big respect for Alex which is a picture of a ground and so welcoming. Nice to get out, although it is a six hour round trip for us!!
The League is doing a great job trying to share finals around and going for neutral grounds where it can. Both have been issues in the past. Still, come clubs will never get a chance to host and the system needs looking at. Just sayin'.
Fact is, we don't have a huge selection of top class venues and we do play in a country league; that means travelling. (Not ideal, maybe, but if the Yea lad thinks travel for him next year will be less, and that he will play every game at Deakin Oval, then he is in for a rude shock. Get a licence, son! You'll be clocking up some K's! Having said that, I have long been involved with both country and metro leagues and give me country every time!)
20 years ago, Gembrook was the preferred venue. Now, trees down and exposed to wind and no significant change to facilities over the past couple of decades. It is still a good venue, though, and the wind is a fact of life. Like the slope and rain at Warby. I also remember a couple of gale-force finals at my preferred venue, Woori. So What!
Speaking of which: Woori has upgraded their ground and fac's, so it is now a good venue. Warby has a great atmosphere, but poor parking. Healesville is way too big, lacks atmosphere and has an ugly group of attack dogs guarding the bar. Other than that, it ticks a lot of boxes.
Alex I really like and Yea is far better than most, but can attract a breeze, too. Both towns know how to look after visitors. Happy to play Div 1 finals on a quality neutral ground, even if it burns petrol. Some of us need to get out, anyway!

 

[Upwey Fan]

Agree totally Monnie Hawk we are certainly looking forward to it-see you there

 

[Red Hot Tip]

(jbates13, Boy! Do you come across as young!)
Looking forward to visiting Yea this weekend. Also big respect for Alex which is a picture of a ground and so welcoming. Nice to get out, although it is a six hour round trip for us!!
The League is doing a great job trying to share finals around and going for neutral grounds where it can. Both have been issues in the past. Still, come clubs will never get a chance to host and the system needs looking at. Just sayin'.
Fact is, we don't have a huge selection of top class venues and we do play in a country league; that means travelling. (Not ideal, maybe, but if the Yea lad thinks travel for him next year will be less, and that he will play every game at Deakin Oval, then he is in for a rude shock. Get a licence, son! You'll be clocking up some K's! Having said that, I have long been involved with both country and metro leagues and give me country every time!)
20 years ago, Gembrook was the preferred venue. Now, trees down and exposed to wind and no significant change to facilities over the past couple of decades. It is still a good venue, though, and the wind is a fact of life. Like the slope and rain at Warby. I also remember a couple of gale-force finals at my preferred venue, Woori. So What!
Speaking of which: Woori has upgraded their ground and fac's, so it is now a good venue. Warby has a great atmosphere, but poor parking. Healesville is way too big, lacks atmosphere and has an ugly group of attack dogs guarding the bar. Other than that, it ticks a lot of boxes.
Alex I really like and Yea is far better than most, but can attract a breeze, too. Both towns know how to look after visitors. Happy to play Div 1 finals on a quality neutral ground, even if it burns petrol. Some of us need to get out, anyway!

Well said Monnie - I would be happy to play finals in a park with trees for goals. It is a winter sport and some excuses for poor performances in finals is laughable. Some Princesses need to dry their eyes and get on with the football. Ask Wandin, Mt Eve or Yarra Glenn if they would be happy to travel to Alex this weekend to play a final and i am sure they would say yes... some people like to whinge for sake of whinging.

 

[Hump 17]

Well said Monnie - I would be happy to play finals in a park with trees for goals. It is a winter sport and some excuses for poor performances in finals is laughable. Some Princesses need to dry their eyes and get on with the football. Ask Wandin, Mt Eve or Yarra Glenn if they would be happy to travel to Alex this weekend to play a final and i am sure they would say yes... some people like to whinge for sake of whinging.

Doesn't mean the best grounds shouldn't be used for finals though. If everyone took there there own bias away they would admit that.

 

[Monniehawk]

Doesn't mean the best grounds shouldn't be used for finals though. If everyone took there there own bias away they would admit that.

Two points come from your post:
First is that bias, or matter of preference, is always a determining factor in deciding on a venue.
Everyone has different opinions and the Board tries to balance those out. Gawd knows how they hold their patience, because everyone else is a self-appointed expert who has irrefutable evidence that their ground is the best!
Secondly, I think the best venue for Div 1 is Alex. Got everything. Neutral, top surface, great atmosphere, comfortable and accommodating. Only thing against it is the travel. So what!? It takes me longer to get into Telstra Dome to watch the Cats, but it is also a bloody sight more expensive and painful to get there!! Longer because I have to drive to Frankston (30min), wait for a train (10min), travel to City (55min), walk to TD (10min), wait in a queue (up to 3 days!) and find my seat in nosebleed county! Painful because then I pay double for flat, light beer in plastic (which some moron manages to knock over before I get back to a cold plastic seat!) and hot dogs that should have been eaten 6 days before when they were probably fresh. (As a retiree, I do appreciate that both the roll and snag are incredibly soft and don't require any form of mastication!). Apart from that, the TD staff are black-clad, emotionally neutered clones from a 3rd rate Blade Runner movie who only care if you die because the paper work actually requires some basic knowledge of language beyond a primordial grunt! They communicate by tattoo.
Still, I make the trek a couple of times a year, because its footy.
Bring on Yea and Alex, I say.

Upwey Fan, always a pleasure to be at Upwey. Look forward to sharing some cold ale in a glass, fresh food, good company and two great clubs battling it out. Top win last week and such an open finals' series, eh?

 

[Hump 17]

Two points come from your post:
First is that bias, or matter of preference, is always a determining factor in deciding on a venue.
Everyone has different opinions and the Board tries to balance those out. Gawd knows how they hold their patience, because everyone else is a self-appointed expert who has irrefutable evidence that their ground is the best!
Secondly, I think the best venue for Div 1 is Alex. Got everything. Neutral, top surface, great atmosphere, comfortable and accommodating. Only thing against it is the travel. So what!? It takes me longer to get into Telstra Dome to watch the Cats, but it is also a bloody sight more expensive and painful to get there!! Longer because I have to drive to Frankston (30min), wait for a train (10min), travel to City (55min), walk to TD (10min), wait in a queue (up to 3 days!) and find my seat in nosebleed county! Painful because then I pay double for flat, light beer in plastic (which some moron manages to knock over before I get back to a cold plastic seat!) and hot dogs that should have been eaten 6 days before when they were probably fresh. (As a retiree, I do appreciate that both the roll and snag are incredibly soft and don't require any form of mastication!). Apart from that, the TD staff are black-clad, emotionally neutered clones from a 3rd rate Blade Runner movie who only care if you die because the paper work actually requires some basic knowledge of language beyond a primordial grunt! They communicate by tattoo.
Still, I make the trek a couple of times a year, because its footy.
Bring on Yea and Alex, I say.

Upwey Fan, always a pleasure to be at Upwey. Look forward to sharing some cold ale in a glass, fresh food, good company and two great clubs battling it out. Top win last week and such an open finals' series, eh?

Monniehawke I dont see any real issue with the games being played at Alex or Yea if they are among the best ground in the comp which they are. Idealy though I think that keeping it as central as possible seems to work for more people.

What I dont agree with is that the league should worry about it being fair or not that some grounds are continually used while others dont get a final at all. It may be harsh but why should they get finals if there grounds arent up to the standard of others? Yes I understand that theres not to much a lot of clubs can do about the condition of their grounds. At the end of the day its hardly fair that for the sake of the exercise Seville can play a final at Healesville in perfect conditions then host a final at there Seville a week later on a poor surface. Our finals should be an advertisement for the league to promote new players and supporters so its important that we have the best facilities available.

 

[Cagga]

MH not bad, Im with Hump though, finals should be always played at the Best Venue - assessing all the factors, if thats Alex or Yea or Woori so be it. But MH I do like your idea of the potential for Revenue for all clubs like in the Geelong League.

 

[Monniehawk]

Monniehawke I dont see any real issue with the games being played at Alex or Yea if they are among the best ground in the comp which they are. Idealy though I think that keeping it as central as possible seems to work for more people.

Ideally! Yes, but we live in an impure world. Woori and Healesville are prime grounds in central locations. Woori won a flag on their home ground and that is an issue for many. The league has no idea who is going to play off, so it comes as a bit of a lottery for them. I fully understand their reasoning in this year's allocation by using quality Div 2 grounds.

What I dont agree with is that the league should worry about it being fair or not that some grounds are continually used while others dont get a final at all.

But a lot of others DO. This is the point. The Board is trying to balance as many prejudices as possible. I think they have made a fair compromise for two clubs that need help given recent events! The paucity of quality, well-located grounds makes it difficult for the League to please everyone.

It may be harsh but why should they get finals if there grounds arent up to the standard of others? Yes I understand that theres not to much a lot of clubs can do about the condition of their grounds.

I think most agree, but the spectre of too few to pick from concentrates the finals into the hands of a few lucky clubs. Often they do nothing to earn it save having a good location.

At the end of the day its hardly fair that for the sake of the exercise Seville can play a final at Healesville in perfect conditions then host a final at there Seville a week later on a poor surface. Our finals should be an advertisement for the league to promote new players and supporters so its important that we have the best facilities available.

True! It is important to showcase the league. From the purely selfish point of view, the Board would make a selection based only on that premise. However, because the League has a long history of really caring for its clubs, they don't think only of themselves! I applaud what they are doing because the clubs benefit.
Upwey, Belgrave, Wandin, Mt Evelyn, Olinda, Monbulk, Powelly, etc. have very little opportunity to contribute to finals and that is not good for them or the league.
It is just too simplistic to say that any one condition fits all. It doesn't, and if the Board were to take such a narrow view they would ultimately endanger the fabric of the league.
Cagga, no-one can argue that the games should be played at the 'best' venue, but as I have tried to point out, everyone has different criteria about what is the 'best'!
Me? I like Alex. Others give a higher priority to proximity, or atmosphere, or ground surface. To me, Alex ticks all but the proximity. Even so, I don't mind the drive for just twice a year if we make the GF!