Fixture Hawks after Tasmania? Sponsorship extended to 2025!

[Hawkk]

Indeed. We would end up travelling for more than half of our games.

Dees and Cats have usurped is as the next biggest clubs in Vic after the Big4. We need to reclaim that and lock in our place as a big MCG club in the next few years as our form improves.

No they haven't - a simple look at membership levels and attendances (especially considering how rubbish we've been for five years) confirms they haven't.

Its the big 4, hawthorn and then the rest.

Don't mistake tv games and fixturing - which are far more tied to on field performance - to club size

 

[Hawkk]

Geelong don’t want the MCG. Carlton and Essendon wanting less Marvel games is major threat

Exactly - its Kennett’s legacy that despite the three peat and the major attendance growth over the past 20 years, that we’ll settle for a 6-5 mix or perhaps even worse.

Funny thing is that we play Marvel pretty well and our attendances are pretty decent at the venue

 

[Mercy Seat]

Exactly - its Kennett’s legacy that despite the three peat and the major attendance growth over the past 20 years, that we’ll settle for a 6-5 mix or perhaps even worse.

Funny thing is that we play Marvel pretty well and our attendances are pretty decent at the venue

And no tenant bar Dogs have won a flag.

I hope we are banging the door down now to secure these extra games at the G, because it will be too late if Bombers and Carlton are able to lock them in.

 

[peetoo]

Exactly - its Kennett’s legacy that despite the three peat and the major attendance growth over the past 20 years, that we’ll settle for a 6-5 mix or perhaps even worse.

Funny thing is that we play Marvel pretty well and our attendances are pretty decent at the venue

There was a guaranteed 8 or 10 mcg home when left Waverley. Tassie let the AFL of the hook for that

 

[Hawkk]

And no tenant bar Dogs have won a flag.

I hope we are banging the door down now to secure these extra games at the G, because it will be too late if Bombers and Carlton are able to lock them in.

If you are the MCC why would you want Hawthorn games over Essendon or Carlton? Both have larger upside, larger AFL reserve memberships and in the case of Essendon a larger MCC membership.

We need to be realistic what we can offer - as Victoria’s fifth biggest club, we really should have a 6-5 split.

Melbourne, though a smaller club, has triple the amount of MCC member we have and are intrinsically linked to the ground.

We should have cut our losses and secured a Marvel contract for 4 or 5 games 15 years ago! That deal should have guaranteed that no Hawthorn vs Essendon or Carlton games are very played at Marvel again.

 

[Mercy Seat]

If you are the MCC why would you want Hawthorn games over Essendon or Carlton? Both have larger upside, larger AFL reserve memberships and in the case of Essendon a larger MCC membership.

We need to be realistic what we can offer - as Victoria’s fifth biggest club, we really should have a 6-5 split.

Melbourne, though a smaller club, has triple the amount of MCC member we have and are intrinsically linked to the ground.

We should have cut our losses and secured a Marvel contract for 4 or 5 games 15 years ago! That deal should have guaranteed that no Hawthorn vs Essendon or Carlton games are very played at Marvel again.

Having split home grounds only makes sense when you are geographically pushing into another area, ie Tassie, GWS Canberra, etc etc. Being split 50/50 within the same postcode is garbage. What advantage does it have? What are we growing? Tassie was a genuine home away from home from us where we generally won at least.

Marvel is an awful soulless stadium that we have zero connection with geographically nor historically. Maybe a couple of games a year is doable, but 6/5 is pointless.

The concept that we should accept the bigger drawing clubs should get the G will only reinforce this perspective as these teams build further crowds and fanbases.

I hope we go really hard at this.

 

[Goatie]

I really hope the club gets rid of playing games in Tassie. We have the worst value for a membership in the league.
$500 for a Dunstall gold membership for 7 home games which includes one at Marvel. The replacement games can cost anywhere between $25-50 to upgrade your seat from GA to level one seating.

I understand the club is building the Kennedy centre but they need to look after the fans and bring all of our home games back to the G.

 

[peetoo]

No they haven't - a simple look at membership levels and attendances (especially considering how rubbish we've been for five years) confirms they haven't.

Its the big 4, hawthorn and then the rest.

Don't mistake tv games and fixturing - which are far more tied to on field performance - to club size

So west coast, Collingwood, Richmond….who’s the fourth?

Hawthorn Geelong sydney would be the next

 

[HedgeFund]

It is madness that Tigers and Dees get 10 MCG home games and we get six. Blues and Dons want six, will end up with five.

And if the Cats don’t want to host Easter Monday @ MCG, we should ask to play Essendon or Carlton instead.

We became an MCG tenant in 2000.

Melbourne have been one since 1897 and Richmond since 1965.

They also never had an agreement to play 4 home games in Tasmania (which we still do)

Throw in the fact Richmond have a huge fan base which turn up when they’re winning (which they’ve done a fair bit of in the last 8 years), and it makes sense the AFL fixture those clubs at their home ground as often as they do.

Why do we deserve the same number of home MCG games?

 

[Hawkk]

So west coast, Collingwood, Richmond….who’s the fourth?

Hawthorn Geelong sydney would be the next

Clearly I'm talking about raw support in Victoria - and Hawthorn is a rung ahead of Geelong but a few steps back from Essendon and Carlton.

It's plausible that a firing Essendon is a more lucrative MCG tenant for the MCC than Collingwood (certainly they have more MCC members). Hawthorn will always be a secondary tenant for the MCC because we lack the prestige and popularity of the big 3 (Collingwood, Essendon, Carlton) plus Richmond. And that will never change.

 

[Hawkk]

We became an MCG tenant in 2000.

Melbourne have been one since 1897 and Richmond since 1965.

They also never had an agreement to play 4 home games in Tasmania (which we still do)

Throw in the fact Richmond have a huge fan base which turn up when they’re winning (which they’ve done a fair bit of in the last 8 years), and it makes sense the AFL fixture those clubs at their home ground as often as they do.

Why do we deserve the same number of home MCG games?

Precisely, ultimately Hawthorn would be a perfect 6/5 tenant for the AFL. Especially given our Ethiad crowds are quite good (especially if Sunday draws 30,000 plus)

 

[Hawkk]

Having split home grounds only makes sense when you are geographically pushing into another area, ie Tassie, GWS Canberra, etc etc. Being split 50/50 within the same postcode is garbage. What advantage does it have? What are we growing? Tassie was a genuine home away from home from us where we generally won at least.

Marvel is an awful soulless stadium that we have zero connection with geographically nor historically. Maybe a couple of games a year is doable, but 6/5 is pointless.

The concept that we should accept the bigger drawing clubs should get the G will only reinforce this perspective as these teams build further crowds and fanbases.

I hope we go really hard at this.

Essendon and Carlton have been splitting home games for decades - and given we are number 5 and they are 2 and 3 (in Victoria) its completely unrealistic to think we will get anything but a co-split.

Certainly the 5th biggest club, with 80,000 members (despite being bottom 3 for 5 years straight) should not be playing 4 of 11 home games in a city of 50,000, in a stadium that holds 15,000

 

[peetoo]

Clearly I'm talking about raw support in Victoria - and Hawthorn is a rung ahead of Geelong but a few steps back from Essendon and Carlton.

It's plausible that a firing Essendon is a more lucrative MCG tenant for the MCC than Collingwood (certainly they have more MCC members). Hawthorn will always be a secondary tenant for the MCC because we lack the prestige and popularity of the big 3 (Collingwood, Essendon, Carlton) plus Richmond. And that will never change.

It is changing. 25 years of mediocrity is a generation.

Sure they are up now, but only to break their fans hearts one more time

 

[Suntory Boss Coffee]

Would prefer an 8-2-1 MCG-Marvel-Launceston split going forward.

 

[MasterSamurai]

Hawthorn filled their boots during the clarko years thanks to premierships , finals, big Friday and Saturday night games and also bankable stars that kids like to follow. Our membership peaking over 80.000 and a lot of youngsters into Hawthorn merchandise. Have a look at the draftees in the system over the past 10 years, lot of them Hawthorn supporters meaning as kids growing up, Hawks were the most popular club behind the supposed big four .
Now, if and when we start the climb again, crowds get bigger , ratings get higher, consistent performance in finals will equate to larger membership, more merch sales and we also have a couple of players that will get the attention of kids from this era like Watson, Ginni and Newk. Other than the pies, the rest of the supposed big four were left in our wake pretty quickly . Can't see why that won't happen again. Tassie by then could be a relic of the past so it makes sense to split MCG and marvel to 7/4. Staying in Tassie post this contract won't make any business sense with the devil's coming in a few years.

 

[Suntory Boss Coffee]

Hawthorn filled their boots during the clarko years thanks to premierships , finals, big Friday and Saturday night games and also bankable stars that kids like to follow. Our membership peaking over 80.000 and a lot of youngsters into Hawthorn merchandise. Have a look at the draftees in the system over the past 10 years, lot of them Hawthorn supporters meaning as kids growing up, Hawks were the most popular club behind the supposed big four .
Now, if and when we start the climb again, crowds get bigger , ratings get higher, consistent performance in finals will equate to larger membership, more merch sales and we also have a couple of players that will get the attention of kids from this era like Watson, Ginni and Newk. Other than the pies, the rest of the supposed big four were left in our wake pretty quickly . Can't see why that won't happen again. Tassie by then could be a relic of the past so it makes sense to split MCG and marvel to 7/4. Staying in Tassie post this contract won't make any business sense with the devil's coming in a few years.

It makes sense to have one home game against Tassie at Launceston from a financial POV. has funding for a crowd increase to 27.5k, even if Tasmania were majority support in the crowd it probably evens out in our knowledge of the ground tbh. And we'd be the home team so get the gate keepings

 

[Walshawk]

This is not good news for those of us wanting more MCG games.

Saints seeking shared tenancy, Essendon-style, at the MCG

St Kilda want to shift a number of home games to the MCG and, over the longer-term, have a shared tenancy between the AFL’s Marvel Stadium and the MCG – in the same manner as Essendon.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Walshawk]

It makes sense to have one home game against Tassie at Launceston from a financial POV. has funding for a crowd increase to 27.5k, even if Tasmania were majority support in the crowd it probably evens out in our knowledge of the ground tbh. And we'd be the home team so get the gate keepings

Launceston is only going to 22/23k. With increased costs that is the maximum they are doing. By year 2 or 3 their players will know the ground a lot better than ours. Not worth giving up home ground advantage for a couple of hundred $K.

 

[Walshawk]

We became an MCG tenant in 2000.

Melbourne have been one since 1897 and Richmond since 1965.

They also never had an agreement to play 4 home games in Tasmania (which we still do)

Throw in the fact Richmond have a huge fan base which turn up when they’re winning (which they’ve done a fair bit of in the last 8 years), and it makes sense the AFL fixture those clubs at their home ground as often as they do.

Why do we deserve the same number of home MCG games?

Never said we deserve it, just that we should be pushing for it.

 

[Hawkk]

This is not good news for those of us wanting more MCG games.

Saints seeking shared tenancy, Essendon-style, at the MCG

St Kilda want to shift a number of home games to the MCG and, over the longer-term, have a shared tenancy between the AFL’s Marvel Stadium and the MCG – in the same manner as Essendon.

www.theage.com.au

St Kilda are a minnow, Essendon on the other hand...

It is changing. 25 years of mediocrity is a generation.

Sure they are up now, but only to break their fans hearts one more time

After 35 years of insipid performance, it didn't affect Richmond at all. Take this equalization report from Geelong a decade ago…

https://s.afl.com.au/staticfile/AFL%20Tenant/GeelongCats/Club%20HQ/GFC%20Equalisation%20for%20Web%20Feb%202013.pdf

The 'size of supporter base' correlates with all club revenue sources – members, attendees, coteries and even sponsorship income. It is logical - if a club has four times as many supporters as another club, it is likely to have many more supporters among CEOs and marketing directors as well as among members.
Data suggests that over half of supporters follow their parent's team. There is little evidence that the relative size of supporter bases has moved much between clubs over the last 50 years. A few clubs may have lost a little ground after decades of poor performance and arguably only one club has gained due to a level of sustained on-field success 30 years ago that cannot be repeated.

From 1970 to 2025, the Victorian food chain hasnt changed. Well except Hawthorn and Melbourne switching places.

Hawthorn really needs to lock in an MCG / Marvel joint tenancy agreement, round 1 and Easter Monday against Essendon and Geelong every season and every fixture against MCG co-tenants, Essendon and Carlton at the MCG.

That should see us get 10 MCG home and away games and 3-4 blockbuster 65,000 fixtures irrespective of on field performance (we will have 3 / maybe 4 this year)

 

[MightyHawks]

8-3 MCG-Marvel would be perfect for us I think IMO (Maybe even 7-4)

Our members will feel a lot better about Marvel with a proper reserved seat there.

Our MCC members won't like it but they always could just buy tickets for the Marvel matches and support the club.

We really don't need to be playing any of Suns/Giants/Port/Freo/Eagles/Crows at the MCG ever

 

[Flukey!]

We really don't need to be playing any of Suns/Giants/Port/Freo/Eagles/Crows at the MCG ever.

Very true, and it may not make financial sense to play them at the MCG.
The split will probably be decided by what makes the best $$ for the club.

 

[peetoo]

St Kilda are a minnow, Essendon on the other hand...



After 35 years of insipid performance, it didn't affect Richmond at all. Take this equalization report from Geelong a decade ago…

https://s.afl.com.au/staticfile/AFL%20Tenant/GeelongCats/Club%20HQ/GFC%20Equalisation%20for%20Web%20Feb%202013.pdf

From 1970 to 2025, the Victorian food chain hasnt changed. Well except Hawthorn and Melbourne switching places.

Hawthorn really needs to lock in an MCG / Marvel joint tenancy agreement, round 1 and Easter Monday against Essendon and Geelong every season and every fixture against MCG co-tenants, Essendon and Carlton at the MCG.

That should see us get 10 MCG home and away games and 3-4 blockbuster 65,000 fixtures irrespective of on field performance (we will have 3 / maybe 4 this year)

We wouldn’t have dreamed that our in the stadium support at came would match or overwhelm the so called big 4 even in the nineties, after 7 grand finals straight.
Look at the often repeated 1988 prelim. Even Melbourne fc seemed to outnumber the hawks supporters. No longer

Geelong too

 

[peetoo]

8-3 MCG-Marvel would be perfect for us I think IMO (Maybe even 7-4)

Our members will feel a lot better about Marvel with a proper reserved seat there.

Our MCC members won't like it but they always could just buy tickets for the Marvel matches and support the club.

We really don't need to be playing any of Suns/Giants/Port/Freo/Eagles/Crows at the MCG ever

Been some good games and crowds at marvel. Just fix the trains to and from

But just watch those teams complain about non access to the mcg if all Victorian teams games become best fit

 

[Hawkk]

We wouldn’t have dreamed that our in the stadium support at came would match or overwhelm the so called big 4 even in the nineties, after 7 grand finals straight.
Look at the often repeated 1988 prelim. Even Melbourne fc seemed to outnumber the hawks supporters. No longer

Geelong too

Agreed - but after 12 flags in 45 years we really only jumped from 7 or 8 to 5. To me that shows how rusted on football support is, but that the opportunity not a problem - as we do have currency.

Up to 2007 our 3rd largest home crowd was just 55,000, now we draw 3 or 4 60,000 crowds every year when we are bottom 4