Geelong vs pies final should not be at the mcg.

[Perth Cat 11]

Besides the point. If Collingwood moved from the holden centre to training at MCG or Dockers from Cockburn to Optus then you might have some sort of moral high ground but currently only Geelong train and play on the same ground. They also maintain the ground unlike a separate independent company like at MCG or Marvel. Having an intimate knowledge of the ground gives you a huge advantage.

PS can a gold coast fan inform me where Suns train, I couldn't find that information.

Controversial opinion that interstaters won't ever understand but the MCG is the only true neutral stadium in the league.

1. Unique dimensions that allow for adaptable gameplans thus "only the best" win there. Teams rarely if ever "perfect" it. Richmond was an anomaly.

2. There's no "home ground" advantage insofar as crowds go given the size and rarity of "large" crowds (ie. 50k at the MCG is not the same as 50k at Optus).

3. History is littered with examples of non-MCG tenants winning finals there after only playing there a handful of times over multiple years

4. A win at the MCG for a non-tenant is not even remotely celebratory to the same degree as winning at the GABBA, AO, SCG, Optus, and even GMHBA. It's just "another win" ie if 1st (MCG tenant) vs 2nd (Perth team) play at the MCG it's a genuine 50/50 contest. Switch the match to Optus and the advantage to the Perth time is greatly in their favour.

5. If Geelong wants to play home finals at GMHBA against MCG tenants then they need to openly and vocally call for it. None of this "bUt wE dO aSk fOr iT". Specifically ask to play ALL home games against MCG tenants at GMHBA. Until the club does that it can stfu and deal with MCG home finals.

Simply put, many Geelong fans just want what all other non-Melbourne clubs receive pro-forma.

 

[Perth Cat 11]

Yeah bro they would have definitely gotten a full house at the Gabba for Richmond vs St Kilda.

By your logic, Geelong should play GWS at the MCG, regardless of crowd numbers; surely you are not being inconsistent?

 

[eddiesmith]

They actually think they are entitled to a r9 style home final, where social club and reserve seat holders will just get their same seats! It is hilarious.

Come finals it is a clean slate.

The AFL will allocate a section of the ground for AFL members (of which the Pies dominate), they then give competing club members allocations.

A final at CatPark would have more Pies fans than Cats.

I don’t know if they still do but they used to allocate based on memberships so Collingwood would get 2/3 of tickets plus the AFL members, would be hilarious the Cats explaining to their own supporters why only 5,000 actually got in

 

[Danw0w]

By your logic, Geelong should play GWS at the MCG, regardless of crowd numbers; surely you are not being inconsistent?

Well yeah? Are you saying that Geelong wouldn’t get more than 30 thousand people to attend a final between them and GWS?

 

[parano1a]

Simply put, many Geelong fans just want what all other non-Melbourne clubs receive pro-forma.

This is the flaw in your argument. Geelong is not an interstate club. Geelong is essentially an outer suburb of Melbourne and should not be treated differently to any other Victorian club, as has been the case since the VFL started in 1897.

 

[Perth Cat 11]

Well yeah? Are you saying that Geelong wouldn’t get more than 30 thousand people to attend a final between them and GWS?

No, I am just applying your “logic” to your previous statement and identifying the inconsistencies.

 

[Perth Cat 11]

This is the flaw in your argument. Geelong is not an interstate club. Geelong is essentially an outer suburb of Melbourne and should not be treated differently to any other Victorian club, as has been the case since the VFL started in 1897.

The flaw is in your understanding rather than the argument.

 

[doppleganger]

By your logic, Geelong should play GWS at the MCG, regardless of crowd numbers; surely you are not being inconsistent?

Geelong regulary get 55k+ plus to MCG finals against non-vic teams.

2016 there were 71k at the Geelong v Sydney final.

All Victorian finals should be at the G.

 

[doppleganger]

Simply put, many Geelong fans just want what all other non-Melbourne clubs receive pro-forma.

Sydney were fixtured "home" finals for many years at Stadium Australia.

It is a home state final, and the AFL then decides the venue that is most appropriate.

SA and WA only have one adequate venue. NSW have multiple, so games are moved as required.

Geelong are a Victorian club, and are treated as one.

If they want to be an interstate team, they should then be forced to fly every second week during H&A.

 

[Danw0w]

No, I am just applying your “logic” to your previous statement and identifying the inconsistencies.

It wasn’t my statement but I get what you’re saying now. I was just responding to the Geelong fan‘s post.

 

[Perth Cat 11]

Geelong regulary get 55k+ plus to MCG finals against non-vic teams.

2016 there were 71k at the Geelong v Sydney final.

All Victorian finals should be at the G.

So, as long as the MCG tenants that get 15+ games per season, plus finals, at the G are looked after, all is well in the world?

 

[Perth Cat 11]

Sydney were fixtured "home" finals for many years at Stadium Australia.

It is a home state final, and the AFL then decides the venue that is most appropriate.

SA and WA only have one adequate venue. NSW have multiple, so games are moved as required.

Geelong are a Victorian club, and are treated as one.

If they want to be an interstate team, they should then be forced to fly every second week during H&A.

Sydney were fixtured "home" finals for many years at Stadium Australia.

It is a home state final, and the AFL then decides the venue that is most appropriate.

SA and WA only have one adequate venue. NSW have multiple, so games are moved as required.

Geelong are a Victorian club, and are treated as one.

If they want to be an interstate team, they should then be forced to fly every second week during H&A.

S

Sydney were fixtured "home" finals for many years at Stadium Australia.

It is a home state final, and the AFL then decides the venue that is most appropriate.

SA and WA only have one adequate venue. NSW have multiple, so games are moved as required.

Geelong are a Victorian club, and are treated as one.

If they want to be an interstate team, they should then be forced to fly every second week during H&A.

Your first point is no longer relevant; Sydney will host their semi/preliminary final at the SCG. To be clear, the argument that some Geelong fans are making is that the team that earns the right to host a final should have the option to select the ground.

With respect to your last point, that is a dull-minded thing to suggest. A good case study is Canberra in the NRL who are able to host all finals up until the Grand Final.

 

[doppleganger]

So, as long as the MCG tenants that get 15+ games per season, plus finals, at the G are looked after, all is well in the world?

No MCG tenants get 15 games at the G

A tenant like Hawthorn only get 9.

Supposed co-tenants like Essendon/Carlton get less than that.

Geelong getting 5 games at the G, bout time they were classified as a co-tenant actually.

Finals in Victoria have always been at the Gz and always been about maximising fans that get along.

The Cats should relocate to WA if they want to be treated like a WA team.

 

[Perth Cat 11]

No MCG tenants get 15 games at the G

A tenant like Hawthorn only get 9.

Supposed co-tenants like Essendon/Carlton get less than that.

Geelong getting 5 games at the G, bout time they were classified as a co-tenant actually.

Finals in Victoria have always been at the Gz and always been about maximising fans that get along.

The Cats should relocate to WA if they want to be treated like a WA team.

Ok, fair point. Let me rephrase- 14 games at the MCG plus finals. This week Collingwood, “the away side- who scraped into the top-four” are playing their 15th game at the MCG this season vs Geelong, “the home side- who finished top of the ladder” who are playing their 6th game at the MCG this season.

 

[JohnZ]

This hasnt been the case for Victorian clubs since 1970 when VFL Park was introduced.

Since that point 50 years ago, the league has always had stadium contracts in place which determine games for Victoria clubs.

Just because something is unjust now doesn't mean it can't be changed. You yourself agree that the fixture should be changed to be more fair, why is this any different?

Finals arent club games.
Finals are league based games, always have been.
The league should continue to schedule finals at venues which maximise possible attendance and make the league the most $$

This is why we now have a Thursday night final, but no Sunday....prime time TV means more $$ and viewers

Finals might be league games, but this isn't the 60s anymore (where the MCG was home to one team, and every other team played neutral finals there). Now 14/18 clubs happen to play "neutral" finals at their home venue. What's the harm in doing so for the other 4 clubs? We don't move interstate finals to the G so that vic fans don't miss out, why do we move Geelong finals so that our fans miss out? (Not every Geelong club member can make MCG finals).

2 of 18 does not equal 1 of 8
FAIL

2/18, 2/16. It's much of a muchness. The slight advantage to interstate sides is balanced by the fact that they have to travel every second week.

Only thing you have a point with.

Although if move from 22

Need to consider financial implications, membership cost will probably barely change if drop back to 17....so fans paying same for less.

With less games, do TV deals fall away and therefore player salaries drop off?

17 will never happen due to commercial reasons, even if it makes the most sense. Hence why I suggested 34, but to me 26 is the best compromise without expanding the season too long.

 

[raskolnikov]

1/8th is a lot closer to 2/18ths than 0/8ths.. which is how often the other states currently get to host a GF in our National competition. Would you be okay with a schedule that has the GF played once each in NSW, WA, QLD and SA over a 9 year period? I think most interstate supporters would be really happy with that outcome.

But imagine for example if Brisbane made the Grand Final against a Victorian club the year it's scheduled for the GABBA. How unfair would that be!

 

[JohnZ]

Do you think Geelong fans are smart enough to understand that a final at Geelong v Collingwood or Richmond they’d be massively outnumbered due to finals ticket allocations? Do you think they realise it’s not the majority to the home team?

Nah, 38 pages says they’re all clueless

Do you think oppo fans realise that we're always outnumbered at MCG finals against MCG tenant clubs anyway, so moving the game to KP (which would be a 50/50 crowd due to all you sooks not buying tickets) would be in our favour?

Nah, 500 mainboard threads ad nauseam repeating this "fact" shows they're all clueless

 

[JohnZ]

But imagine for example if Brisbane made the Grand Final against a Victorian club the year it's scheduled for the GABBA. How unfair would that be!

Maybe, but maybe that's just good timing. Maximise your advantage, just like Brisbane did in 2020 and WCE/Freo did in 2021.......

(oh wait!)

 

[doppleganger]

Ok, fair point. Let me rephrase- 14 games at the MCG plus finals. This week Collingwood, “the away side- who scraped into the top-four” are playing their 15th game at the MCG this season vs Geelong, “the home side- who finished top of the ladder” who are playing their 6th game at the MCG this season.

Geelong are playing their third "home" game at the G and sixth game at the G in total.

Talk about sooking about nothing.

 

[doppleganger]

Just because something is unjust now doesn't mean it can't be changed. You yourself agree that the fixture should be changed to be more fair, why is this any different?

That is the thing.

If you go back to the heart of it, the AFL embarking on a period of ground rationalisation in Melbourne only hurt Melbourne based teams.

Geelong used to play

Collingwood at VicPark, Essendon at WindyHill, Carlton at Princess Park, Hawks out at Waverley...now they just play them all at the G.

The Melbourne based teams lost their home ground advantage.

Squeezing 9 teams into 2 grounds and forcing them to play home games outside of Victoria is unjust on the Melbourne teams.

Finals might be league games, but this isn't the 60s anymore (where the MCG was home to one team, and every other team played neutral finals there). Now 14/18 clubs happen to play "neutral" finals at their home venue

Geelong play 5 games at the G.
Geelong have a shitload of Melbourne based members.
The G is a Geelong "home" ground during H&A.

So yes, unlike the 60s Geelong are now much more familiar with the G come finals.

 

[Perth Cat 11]

Geelong are playing their third "home" game at the G and sixth game at the G in total.

Talk about sooking about nothing.

Let’s dumb this down a bit shall we… if you were tasked with the job of selecting the venue where Geelong would most likely win, where would you play the game? A venue where the opposition have played 14 games this season or your home ground where you have earned the right to play?

 

[blue harvest]

Let’s dumb this down a bit shall we… if you were tasked with the job of selecting the venue where Geelong would most likely win, where would you play the game? A venue where the opposition have played 14 games this season or your home ground where you have earned the right to play?

Geelong didn't earn the right to play anywhere. The AFL selects a ground in the state of the higher finishing team.

 

[blue harvest]

Finals might be league games, but this isn't the 60s anymore (where the MCG was home to one team, and every other team played neutral finals there). Now 14/18 clubs happen to play "neutral" finals at their home venue. What's the harm in doing so for the other 4 clubs? We don't move interstate finals to the G so that vic fans don't miss out, why do we move Geelong finals so that our fans miss out? (Not every Geelong club member can make MCG finals).

Geelong finals aren't moved anywhere.
They are played at a ground that enables the most of their fans to attend.

People need to realise that a final at KP against Collingwood would see Cats supporters outnumbered. You don't get your normal seats and to shove the opposition in that crappy pocket and cheersquad behind the points.

 

[doppleganger]

Let’s dumb this down a bit shall we… if you were tasked with the job of selecting the venue where Geelong would most likely win, where would you play the game?

What does that have to do with anything?

The league doesnt determine finals scheduling based on venues Geelong will win at.

Finals scheduling is based around maximising crowds and $$ that is pumped back into the league coffers.

A venue where the opposition have played 14 games this season or your home ground where you have earned the right to play?

Lets dumb this down for you as you clearly dont get it

Geelong havent earnt the right to pick the venue.

Geelong havent earnt a home final.

 

[dangerwood]

Geelong didn't earn the right to play anywhere. The AFL selects a ground in the state of the higher finishing team.

Yes exactly, and if Collingwood finished 1st and Geelong 4th we'd be playing at G. So what's the point finishing 1st other than having everyone whinge about all the unfair advantages Geelong have?