Play Nice Geelong home final at GHMBA Stadium, is this an unfair advantage?

[Craze]

Yeah see all the teams based at those grounds are from the same city as the MCG.
Geelong aren’t.

Google maps has it at exactly one hour on the M1. I'm in the Dandenongs, so 44 min. So it takes you an extra 16 minutes compared to me.

 

[PhatBoy]

Google maps has it at exactly one hour on the M1. I'm in the Dandenongs, so 44 min. So it takes you an extra 16 minutes compared to me.

No, it takes me 8 hours. I don’t live anywhere f***ing near it.

It’s a different city. If Illawarra still had their own league side they wouldn’t have to play home finals in Sydney, essentially up the highway, just to satisfy other fans.

 

[Craze]

No, it takes me 8 hours. I don’t live anywhere f***ing near it.

It’s a different city. If Illawarra still had their own league side they wouldn’t have to play home finals in Sydney, essentially up the highway, just to satisfy other fans.

So it takes you 7 hours to get to Geelong? Relatively speaking that's not much of a difference.

I would think that most Geelong supporters live in Geelong. Which is 1 hour away from the MCG. A whole 16 minutes longer to get to the MCG than it takes most people living in outer suburbs of Greater Melbourne.

That's what you're complaining about?

 

[boncer34]

Cats have a more recent finals win at Brunswick oval than Kardinia Park.

 

[PhatBoy]

So it takes you 7 hours to get to Geelong? Relatively speaking that's not much of a difference.

I would think that most Geelong supporters live in Geelong. Which is 1 hour away from the MCG. A whole 16 minutes longer to get to the MCG than it takes most people living in outer suburbs of Greater Melbourne.

That's what you're complaining about?

Easier for Melbourne team fans to get to the MCG than Geelong fans. Thanks for backing up my point.

 

[Obeanie1]

This post is the definition of 'cutting your nose off to spite your face.'

We make finals every year, lol. We always complain about it, alongside the unfairness of the competition. Maybe you're just only now noticing. This was raised in Danger's first year at the club, when GWS got to play the Dogs at their home ground in the prelim (Spotless) despite many more Dogs fans wanting to travel to see the match (fans getting locked out), and we had to play the Hawks at the MCG, instead of at home. Was raised again the following year, where it hit breaking point when we finished above Richmond and we had to play at their home ground.

So let's play devil's advocate here: 2058 Grand Final, Eagles win and the debate is raised again over interstate sides hosting the Grand Final. The argument is made that it's unfair to keep having only a Victoria based final, in a national competition. The counter-argument is made that 40,000 fans will be locked out, due to the difference in stadium capacity between Optus and the MCG.

Judging by your position above, seems as if you think the fans getting locked out takes priority over competition fairness. So therefore, we should have the Grand Final at the MCG, until a stadium is built that is as large/larger than the MCG. Good to know

I trust you won't be complaining about 'Vic bias', given that you're in line with the AFL's position?

****************************

As many have pointed out, we are the only country in the world that puts attendance numbers over competition equality. The AFL doesn't give a f*ck about its supporters, as evidenced in their controversial rule changes and constant defence of umpiring, MRO, board and committee decisions. The only thing they care about is revenue. The fact that you're ok with that and defending it, says more about you than it does Geelong and Dangerfield.

Geeling complains every year about how unfair it is?

Really what has Geelong got to complaign about! Im serious, what? Please tell us how harshly they are treated.

So does Geelong frequently play in Tasmania? China? Darwin or Cairns maybe? Nope.

Ok, does Geelong travel big km every year, how about that? Ah nope.

I know, Geelong would be forced to play a GF interstate even if they were the highest ranked team? Um no not that either.

Hmmmmm. So actually the Cats are miles ahead in those examples.

So what exactly is unfair? Oh, you dont get a home final at a 2nd rate stadium because the best stadium in the country is an hour up the road and you play home games there anyway.

Cry us all a river.

 

[PhatBoy]

Geeling complains every year about how unfair it is?

Really what has Geelong got to complaign about! Im serious, what? Please tell us how harshly they are treated.

So does Geelong frequently play in Tasmania? China? Darwin or Cairns maybe? Nope.

Ok, does Geelong travel big km every year, how about that? Ah nope.

I know, Geelong would be forced to play a GF interstate even if they were the highest ranked team? Um no not that either.

Hmmmmm. So actually the Cats are miles ahead in those examples.

So what exactly is unfair? Oh, you dont get a home final at a 2nd rate stadium because the best stadium in the country is an hour up the road and you play home games there anyway.

Cry us all a river.

Lol at equating capacity with stadium quality.
We travel more than the Melbourne teams, and the tassie games are in tassie because the clubs hosting them want them there

 

[And_ROOS]

Now we get down to the real proble will you bring the bell again?

Your sense of humor is as cute as Richmonds dynasty was short.

 

[AM]

I don't think many think the GF should be played anywhere but the 'G'.

However, if the Brisbane, GWS, Sydney, Adelaide, Port Adelaide, Freo, are entitled to host other finals if their ladder position justifies it, despite the strong possibility in most cases that more would see the game if it was played elsewhere, then clearly it's discriminatory to deny the Cats that right.

Added to which, if it was the Tiges, Collingwood or Melbourne we'd be giving them a home ground advantage.

 

[And_ROOS]

Geeling complains every year about how unfair it is?

Really what has Geelong got to complaign about! Im serious, what? Please tell us how harshly they are treated.

So does Geelong frequently play in Tasmania? China? Darwin or Cairns maybe? Nope.

You referring to when teams SELL their home matches to play somewhere else?

Ok, does Geelong travel big km every year, how about that? Ah nope.

Geelong is one of few teams that has to travel an hour for a home game. How many other teams do that? People rejoice when Collingwood make their 3 interstate trips per season.

I know, Geelong would be forced to play a GF interstate even if they were the highest ranked team? Um no not that either.

MCG isn't in Geelong. And our finals record suggests we don't play the MCG well at all. So its not the advantage a team like Richmond, Collingwood or Melbourne get from playing there.

Hmmmmm. So actually the Cats are miles ahead in those examples.

So what exactly is unfair? Oh, you dont get a home final at a 2nd rate stadium because the best stadium in the country is an hour up the road and you play home games there anyway.

2nd rate
GWS have had 2 finals for a total attendance of about 37k. So clearly the AFL isn't opposed to the idea of restricted attendance in the pursuit of a team earning a final. Imagine if GWS had to play the Bulldogs at the SCG in 2016 because the ground can hold more people.

 

[frenchconnection]

I don’t mind Geelong and admire what the club has done over the last 15 odd years, but I hope they get a final at Kardina Park against a big Vic club like Collingwood and it turns into a disaster for them.

It won’t be the advantage they think it will be. The stadium will be clean without the annual reserve seats for Geelong members, which means it could be jammed with Collingwood supporters with only 20-30 percent being Cats supporters. It will be a self defeating scenario which will just alienate thousands of fans and deprive them experience on the MCG where they are good enough to beat any team at anyway.

Even when they played Freo (was it 2015?) can remember some of the Geelong supporters saying it wasn't right because they couldn't get seats! What Geelong supporters need to keep in mind us that all ticketing during the finals is run by the AFL and not the GFC which means they only get 50% of the seating as the other 50% goes to the supporters of the competing Club, then if any seats unsold those seats then go on sale to the general public.

 

[Draft Pick]

Even when they played Freo (was it 2015?) can remember some of the Geelong supporters saying it wasn't right because they couldn't get seats! What Geelong supporters need to keep in mind us that all ticketing during the finals is run by the AFL and not the GFC which means they only get 50% of the seating as the other 50% goes to the supporters of the competing Club, then if any seats unsold those seats then go on sale to the general public.

My understanding is that for finals other than the GF there is no specific allocation per competing club.

Tickets go on sale on the Monday before the game with club members of both competing teams having first access on a first come first serve basis. It is possible that one club’s members could get 80 percent of the tickets for example.
If this is the opposition team for a final at KP then it would be a nightmare for Geelong.

 

[doppleganger]

There’s been literally hundreds of changes to the game in all areas since teams played at their own suburban grounds, so why shouldn’t this change too? People have been fooled into thinking this is a normal and acceptable way to govern a professional sporting competition, yet every other sporting competition in the world understands the concept of ‘home and away’ except ours.

But Gil is obviously more than happy to forgoe the integrity of the competition for $$$.

Integrity of competition??

Finals were invented purely to make more money for the league! That was the entire point!!

The only reason they play ‘home’ state finals is because playing a random Freo v Port EF at the G would attract less fans and $$ compared to playing it in Perth or Adelaide.

Finals have never been about integrity or fairness, have always been a play for $$$.

Geelong are no different to Essendon, in that they are a Victorian team who play the majority of their ‘home’ games during H&A season at a ground that isn’t the MCG.

But come finals time, the AFL will fixture finals games as they see fit...to maximise $$ and crowds. That means finals at the G.

 

[Craze]

Added to which, if it was the Tiges, Collingwood or Melbourne we'd be giving them a home ground advantage.

In 100 years of football at Vic Park, zero finals played at that venue. No finals at Punt Rd Oval in 60 years of football at that venue.

Vic clubs other than Geelong don't have a 'home ground advantage' (unless playing an interstate team).

 

[frenchconnection]

It will depend on the opponent. Big club, no way. Smaller club? Yes.

Which is where the system stinks - it should be the same no matter who the opposition is, Melbourne based or not. The same set of rules should apply to all Clubs.

 

[josewales]

So Scott was bleating about the MCG hosting the Grand Final and the integrity of the game yet if there is a problem with the integrity of the game it is in the huge advantage Geelong has with their home ground - and they want that extended to encompass finals.

This club enjoys the biggest home ground advantage in the competition .
Record at KP
2012 Played 7 won 7
2013 Played 7 won 7
2014 played 7 won 7
2015 played 8 won 5
2016 played 9 won 8
2017 played 7 won 6
2018 played 9 won 8

yes it is undeniable that the interstate teams enjoy their home ground advantage but then they are asked to travel interstate in all their away games except one - so fair compensation for the disadvantage of this circumstance -they travel the length and breadth of Australia at least 10 times season.

But what about Geelong - half of their away games are played in Melbourne - so they are away games in name only - no staying in hotels, flights interstate,or unfamiliarity with the grounds they are on.Their supporters are easily able to attend to neutralise any "noise of affirmation"
So this year a total 9 home games at KP with a huge advantge and 7 games in Melbourne ,16 of the 22

All the other Melbourne based clubs play their home games at either the MCG or Marvel - enjoying a real home ground advantage only when they play an interstate team, meeting their Melbourne based opponents on what should be referred to as Neutral grounds.

It is their home ground advantage that is as strong as any interstate club,along with the added luxury of playing 50% of their away games on neutral territory that keeps Geelong competitive .

Geelong enjoy an advantage in the home and away season which is far in excess of any other club yet Whingers like Scott and Whateley try to put this topic on the agenda every year with the deluded belief they are being hard done by. A thorough and unbiased examination of the draw taking into consideration what Really counts as a home ground advantage clearly proves the opposite.

 

[frenchconnection]

It is what it is.

If Eagles/Freo/GWS finish higher and play the Cats then they get it at their home ground, so they have no right to complain if the Cats get it at Kardinia Park if they finish higher. The fact other clubs don't have to go there is a bonus for the other clubs, doesn't make it unfair for the interstate sides. Their members still get tickets, it's not like a H&A game where it can be hard to get in, Freo didn't even sell out their allocation at the 2013 final there and they were then released to the public.

It's all swings and roundabouts anyway.
Look at Richmond last year, 2 home finals after finishing higher but had to play both at their oppositions home ground. Year before they got an away final at their own home ground. Eagles/Freo get a guaranteed home ground advantage against all but 1 club in their finals.

This is where most on here don't get it - it's not the home ground in question it's the biggest ground in their State - Optus is the largest stadium in WA, Adelaide Oval in SA, MCG in Victoria and so on. Which is why whoever Geelong plays should they finish 1st or 2nd it should be at the MCG.

 

[frenchconnection]

Should never play a game outside the G if that's the case including interstate teams they may have to move to melbourne, pies had to play docklands home game (despite it not being our home ground) last week vs a docklands tenant locking out 50k people.
Its their home game let them host it at their home ground its not like they are a suburb of Melbourne.

As good as - what is it an hours drive?

 

[Boxhead_31]

So it takes you 7 hours to get to Geelong? Relatively speaking that's not much of a difference.

I would think that most Geelong supporters live in Geelong. Which is 1 hour away from the MCG. A whole 16 minutes longer to get to the MCG than it takes most people living in outer suburbs of Greater Melbourne.

That's what you're complaining about?

Ever tried crossing the Westgate on a Friday arvo?

 

[frenchconnection]

No-one would have blinked had some random supporter come up with the idea (more power to them), but it was the fact that the Richmond Football Club tweeted and endorsed the idea. Obviously their reach was much further than a random supporter, so their influence was much greater on the end result.

Does not look good for a club actively telling their supporters to use an opposition team's bay allocation, in order to get tickets. That's the crux of it. Would have been justified furore (maybe even more so given that the Tigers had been starved of success for so long), if Geelong had advocated the same thing.

So in other words RichmondFootball Club were cheats?

 

[frenchconnection]

Dunno. None as weirdly shaped as kardinia park. You’d think with the millions spent they’d be able to get it closer to resembling an oval

As I've never been to Geelong to watch football, what is weird about the shape of the ground?

 

[Craze]

Ever tried crossing the Westgate on a Friday arvo?

So now you're complaining that the traffic is bad where you chose to live?

 

[Shadow89]

So Scott was bleating about the MCG hosting the Grand Final and the integrity of the game yet if there is a problem with the integrity of the game it is in the huge advantage Geelong has with their home ground - and they want that extended to encompass finals.

This club enjoys the biggest home ground advantage in the competition .
Record at KP
2012 Played 7 won 7
2013 Played 7 won 7
2014 played 7 won 7
2015 played 8 won 5
2016 played 9 won 8
2017 played 7 won 6
2018 played 9 won 8

yes it is undeniable that the interstate teams enjoy their home ground advantage but then they are asked to travel interstate in all their away games except one - so fair compensation for the disadvantage of this circumstance -they travel the length and breadth of Australia at least 10 times season.

But what about Geelong - half of their away games are played in Melbourne - so they are away games in name only - no staying in hotels, flights interstate,or unfamiliarity with the grounds they are on.Their supporters are easily able to attend to neutralise any "noise of affirmation"
So this year a total 9 home games at KP with a huge advantge and 7 games in Melbourne ,16 of the 22

All the other Melbourne based clubs play their home games at either the MCG or Marvel - enjoying a real home ground advantage only when they play an interstate team, meeting their Melbourne based opponents on what should be referred to as Neutral grounds.

It is their home ground advantage that is as strong as any interstate club,along with the added luxury of playing 50% of their away games on neutral territory that keeps Geelong competitive .

Geelong enjoy an advantage in the home and away season which is far in excess of any other club yet Whingers like Scott and Whateley try to put this topic on the agenda every year with the deluded belief they are being hard done by. A thorough and unbiased examination of the draw taking into consideration what Really counts as a home ground advantage clearly proves the opposite.

The irony of a Pies supporters getting involved in discussions of 'fairness'...

You realize we finished 8th last year, yeah? So our draw should be easier this year. You finished 2nd last year, and you only travel 5 times, despite your much higher ladder position at the conclusion of 2018.

When was the last time your side travelled down the highway, hey?

 

[Shadow89]

As predicted when this topic was raised yet again, this thread is a complete dumpster fire now. Nothing new to contribute, and repeated cyclical arguments that get addressed over and over again every few pages. Good job captain blood 17 thanks for more of the same...

Would be so great if big footy actually had discussion forums that raised interesting topics that incited new and insightful points of view. Now all we get is pointed threads designed to attack other clubs, due to the poster's own bias against said club.

Isn't anyone else getting just a little bit tired of this? We already have one 'Bay 13', why do people keep trying to turn the main board into another?

Some people actually enjoy discussion without it turning into a biased sh*tfight. 'Ya know...adults.

 

[SunshineBoy]

And you've seen a total of 1. Good job on the colonial era flags though but if we're counting ancient premierships Geelong has 16 lel

Oh really I might have seen the 69 flag the 73,74 and 80 in person I missed the 67 one though , we cheated in 67 the ball was over the line I’m not sure you saw the flag before your Stephen dank inspired dynasty.

Unfortunately for me I had to travel to your s**t heap ground by train back in those days and from box hill it certainly took more than an hour