Lack of Respect for the History of our Great Game by Interstate Clubs

Aug 25, 2005
11,640
16,684
Grogansville
AFL Club
Gold Coast
There seems to be an absolute lack of respect for the history of our great game by some Interstate clubs supporters simply because their clubs were not present.

Should Carlton forget about champions such as Nicholls and Jesaulenko because they only played in 12 team competitions?

Should the legends of the Colliers and Coventry’s be wiped from the record books because they played iagaindt ‘suburban’ teams’ ?

Should the Coleman medal be renamed the ‘Kennedy Medal’ because the great man played in a time of ‘amateur’ footballers and should Reynolds exploits be ignored?

Perhaps Bunton and Murray should be thrown on the scrap heap.

Maybe the immortal that is EJ Whitten should be relegated to suburban footballer and forget about Charlie Sutton.

Farmer and Goggin should be removed because they were not part of the AFL. Even Ablett’s 9 goal GF heroics would be wiped.

Matthews the greatest of them all would not be considered with the modern greats because he played in pre AFL

Barrassi and the immortal Demons teams of the 50s and 60s should not be celebrated due to the the fact they didn’t play in the expansion. The Norm Smith medal should be renamed

Grieg and Dempsey only played part time and could not possibly rank with the greats of today

Forget the Jack Dyer medal, Tigers fans should ignore his legend and rename it the Dusty medal. As for Hart and Bartlett they would not rate.

Pratt’s 150 and Nash’s heroics do not count

Baldock and Stewart ??? Who ???

And well we are at let’s rename ‘Up there Cazaly’ - Up there Modra
and the Jock McHale medal the ‘Simpson Medal’. No matter what era, no matter how long ago, a champion of the game is a champion of the game. They were the best on a level playing field against their peers. A Premiership whether Essendon in 1897 or West Coasts in 2018 was just as important. The history of our great game has been carved and written and for those who don’t like it the answer is simple. Stop whinging about our past and go and make your own history.
Yes.



The 12 team suburban comp that was the VFL should be remembered as being exactly that.

The feats of players and clubs prior to the AFL should absolutely be separated in the history books.
 
The concept that there is a one on one correlation between Aussie Rules (the 'game') and the VFL/VFA (the competition played in Victoria) is where your argument falls over...

If you are saying 'young folks today ain't got no respect for the achievements of the great players if the past' then you would include great players from the West Australian, South Australian and Tasmanian Leagues at the very least.

If you are saying that *only* Victorians played real football and the rest were mere noise on the fringes of civilization (and that such is the right and natural order of things) then you are the one doing the disrespecting of other folks heritage and, since you feel so passionately about such things, you would be the first one leading the charge to bring them out if the darkness and show empathy for their current treatment as pseudo citizens of the great Victorian empire.

Interesting data point ... if Australian Rules had been the packaging back in the day Queensland would be an Aussie Rules state today ... it was the V in the name that gave Rugby League the nod.

Berating people who consider themselves equal for not abasing themselves sufficiently when faced with instututuinal inequalities is ... well let's just say unlikely to bring any of your 'interstate' brethren to the light ... unless if course you are just whining and have no interest in fostering understanding etc in which case ignore my post as you did an excellent job and deserve many a like/love.
 

Tim Evans Beard

Cancelled
East Side Hawks - Sweet F.A. Chess Club Member
Apr 9, 2016
1,825
3,173
AFL Club
Port Adelaide
This is one of the better main board fishing attempts. Just enough arrogance to pass as one of the very few Victorian fans with limited understanding of history. Most Victorian supporters recognise the contribution interstate players made to the Victorian state competition prior to national expansion. For many of the interstate players it wasn’t about playing in the ‘premier’ competition in the 1970s - 1990s, it was about the money that was on offer.
From the club I support, I recognise the great work Craig Bradley, Greg Anderson, Mark Williams, Gavin Wanganeen and Martin Leslie did in the VFL to name but a few.
Through those players I was exposed to VFL greats like Dermott Bremerton, Gary Ablett Snr, Greg Williams and others.

Tell me what you think of Stephen Micheal?

ps. Matthews elbow to the head of Cable is a fair indication that Matthews knew Cable was the better player and had limited avenues to beat him...
 
Respect my clubs history by acknowledging our premierships then I will acknowledge the State league premierships of the VFL

Who doesn’t acknowledge Port’s SANFL flags? They were just won in a different league to the VFL/AFL.
 
May 8, 2007
10,578
14,813
vic
AFL Club
Richmond
Here's the problem. No existing side from any competition joined the VFL after 1925 except Port Adelaide.

The expansion sides were all newly created identities specifically for the purpose of playing in the VFL - Bears, Eagles and Crows. The Crows were only created to head off the Port bid to join the VFL (an act which was seen as traitorous by the rest of the SANFL). Since then, the other new clubs - Freo, GWS, Suns - again, newly created entities specifically for the AFL.

The interstate sides (Port excepted) have no history prior to their entry into the AFL - so they and their supporters don't care about it. That's OK - their teams weren't involved then. Actually, their team did not exist back then). The supporter's interest in football history prior to their entry into the VFL/AFL is limited to their local teams and competitions.

Port is a great club - you either love 'em or hate 'em (and most do hate 'em - which is fine). They have a great history. Most of that great history is not in the VFL or AFL, but that doesn't matter. They look after it. Similarly, I don't worry that interstate club supporters don't care about the history of the VFL/AFL prior to their entry into the AFL - they weren't a part of it. Those of us who support the old VFL/AFL teams do care, and we look after it.
 
If you weren't alive to see it, its basically meaningless.

Clubs that endlessly crap on about how great the 1950s were obviously don't have a lot going on right now.

Imagine ignoring the rich history of the game because you weren’t alive for it. Is that your general take on all history?

The arrogance of youth.
 
Jun 27, 2013
46,976
43,976
AFL Club
Western Bulldogs
Other Teams
Tottenham Hotspur, SSC Napoli, ESH
There seems to be an absolute lack of respect for the history of our great game by some Interstate clubs supporters simply because their clubs were not present.

Should Carlton forget about champions such as Nicholls and Jesaulenko because they only played in 12 team competitions?

Should the legends of the Colliers and Coventry’s be wiped from the record books because they played iagaindt ‘suburban’ teams’ ?

Should the Coleman medal be renamed the ‘Kennedy Medal’ because the great man played in a time of ‘amateur’ footballers and should Reynolds exploits be ignored?

Perhaps Bunton and Murray should be thrown on the scrap heap.

Maybe the immortal that is EJ Whitten should be relegated to suburban footballer and forget about Charlie Sutton.

Farmer and Goggin should be removed because they were not part of the AFL. Even Ablett’s 9 goal GF heroics would be wiped.

Matthews the greatest of them all would not be considered with the modern greats because he played in pre AFL

Barrassi and the immortal Demons teams of the 50s and 60s should not be celebrated due to the the fact they didn’t play in the expansion. The Norm Smith medal should be renamed

Grieg and Dempsey only played part time and could not possibly rank with the greats of today

Forget the Jack Dyer medal, Tigers fans should ignore his legend and rename it the Dusty medal. As for Hart and Bartlett they would not rate.

Pratt’s 150 and Nash’s heroics do not count

Baldock and Stewart ??? Who ???

And well we are at let’s rename ‘Up there Cazaly’ - Up there Modra
and the Jock McHale medal the ‘Simpson Medal’. No matter what era, no matter how long ago, a champion of the game is a champion of the game. They were the best on a level playing field against their peers. A Premiership whether Essendon in 1897 or West Coasts in 2018 was just as important. The history of our great game has been carved and written and for those who don’t like it the answer is simple. Stop whinging about our past and go and make your own history.
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Jan 6, 2018
10,660
12,193
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Norwood
It wasn't struggling financially, it was just that the bottom teams couldn't compete financially with the top teams and the top teams were paying overs for far too long battling each other, so they decided the answer was to bring in more moola from interstate. Crowds and tv watchers were always high.

The AFL is simply a rebadged VFL with some interstate teams added, which is something interstate supporters, ie those from outside Vic, have never been able to grasp. Note that NONE of those teams existed before they became part of the AFL, so really, interstate league premierships mean zip in regards to AFL.

As for the OP, who really cares what supporters of other teams think.
You seem to be conveniently forgetting all the tin rattling that your club became quite famous for
 
No where did I suggest I didn’t respect the history of the WAFL and SANFL etc. I loved following Port Adelaide and Swan Districts as a kid and have the greatest respect for champions that have come from those leagues and other leagues. The point is that many interstate supporters are willing to just wipe the history of our great game. As for the Port Premiership argument, it doesn’t stand up as great a feat as it was. It wasn’t a level playing field as they were playing against completely different opposition so it is hard to compare.
 

Lolbert

Team Captain
May 9, 2016
570
1,074
AFL Club
West Coast
We are a tribal bunch aren’t we. I happen to live within a particular territory therefore I’m going to get my **** in a twist when the entire country doesn’t respect the guys that ran around kicking a pigs bladder 100 years ago
And we have our weird friend complete with the name Lolbert.
You can spout all you like. Was still an embarrassing response from you mate. Also I’m not sure Richmond have a history even the Victorians respect. So you really should be arguing on the interstates side here
 
This is one of the better main board fishing attempts. Just enough arrogance to pass as one of the very few Victorian fans with limited understanding of history. Most Victorian supporters recognise the contribution interstate players made to the Victorian state competition prior to national expansion. For many of the interstate players it wasn’t about playing in the ‘premier’ competition in the 1970s - 1990s, it was about the money that was on offer.
From the club I support, I recognise the great work Craig Bradley, Greg Anderson, Mark Williams, Gavin Wanganeen and Martin Leslie did in the VFL to name but a few.
Through those players I was exposed to VFL greats like Dermott Bremerton, Gary Ablett Snr, Greg Williams and others.

Tell me what you think of Stephen Micheal?

ps. Matthews elbow to the head of Cable is a fair indication that Matthews knew Cable was the better player and had limited avenues to beat him...

I watched Michael play many times and he was an absolute superstar ahead of his time. I loved watching him play. Not sure of the relevance of the question.
 

VicBased

Club Legend
May 3, 2019
2,762
3,053
AFL Club
West Coast
It wasn't struggling financially, it was just that the bottom teams couldn't compete financially with the top teams and the top teams were paying overs for far too long battling each other, so they decided the answer was to bring in more moola from interstate. Crowds and tv watchers were always high.

The AFL is simply a rebadged VFL with some interstate teams added, which is something interstate supporters, ie those from outside Vic, have never been able to grasp. Note that NONE of those teams existed before they became part of the AFL, so really, interstate league premierships mean zip in regards to AFL.

As for the OP, who really cares what supporters of other teams think.
Saving football: New documents reveal how close the VFL came to shutting down
You might want to read this and get back to me.
 
Feb 28, 2007
51,375
66,864
Sydney
AFL Club
Sydney
Yes.



The 12 team suburban comp that was the VFL should be remembered as being exactly that.

The feats of players and clubs prior to the AFL should absolutely be separated in the history books.

The game is so different now in terms of professionalism I am not sure they should be compared since there is a huge difference between a player from the 1980’s who’s post match cool down consisted of a meat pie and going to the pub and the modern players now.

Even an average player in 2019 would run rings around the best the 1970s and 1980s had to offer.
 
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