Opinion Most frustrating time as a Geelong supporter

[Vdubs]

Still wish there were 34 rounds and no finals. We would win every damn year because we are the kings of H&A and always have been. And probably always will be.

Agree. The ONLY way this comp will EVER be a FAIR one

 

[Nickoo]

pretty sure the talk at the time was selwood. was offered a massive deal by another club. he was also out of contract at the same time. we could only keep one of them.

No worries but I was told by someone connected to the club that Selwood was offered the possibility of the future captaincy plus a deal which he accepted. No doubt there were other offers but he was locked in pretty early. At the time of Paddy coming Joel said if Paddy gets one more dollar than him he's off. That didn't happen as Paddy took the same pay. Gary was offered that as well so it's likely if gary had stayed Paddy wouldn't have come and others may have been jettisoned such unless they took a reduced deal. Joel also had a clause written into his contract around what might happen if Gary left or stayed such was the potential impact of Gaj's movement. But as I said he was locked in early but others would have had to be impacted in order to fit him in.


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[Seeds]

No worries but I was told by someone connected to the club that Selwood was offered the possibility of the future captaincy plus a deal which he accepted. No doubt there were other offers but he was locked in pretty early. At the time of Paddy coming Joel said if Paddy gets one more dollar than him he's off. That didn't happen as Paddy took the same pay. Gary was offered that as well so it's likely if gary had stayed Paddy wouldn't have come and others may have been jettisoned such unless they took a reduced deal. Joel also had a clause written into his contract around what might happen if Gary left or stayed such was the potential impact of Gaj's movement. But as I said he was locked in early but others would have had to be impacted in order to fit him in.


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gees thats a bit childish by selwood in regards to dangerfields pay. disapointing in fact.

 

[Nickoo]

gees thats a bit childish by selwood in regards to dangerfields pay. disapointing in fact.

Maybe. But he staked his position and he'd given up a bit to stay. I didn't think it was childish actually I thought and think good on him for stating his position. What was interested is it got to media. I think its better for Paddy in the long run: is Paddy the next captain? Can see Mitch as VC eventually to Paddy as Cap in say 2019.


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[Seeds]

Maybe. But he staked his position and he'd given up a bit to stay. I didn't think it was childish actually I thought and think good on him for stating his position. What was interested is it got to media. I think its better for Paddy in the long run: is Paddy the next captain? Can see Mitch as VC eventually to Paddy as Cap in say 2019.


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it is childish as he wasnt asking for more money. he just wanted no one to earn more then him which is incredibly childish. whether dangerfield earned 800 or 850 thousand wouldnt impact the value of selwoods 800 thousand one iota. all it would impact is selwoods pride. Selwood was coming off a very ordinary year in 2015 too and wasnt at the level of dangerfield. dangerfield deserved more. If we didnt get dangerfield over a matter of 50,000 dollars or less then it was Greg Williams all over again.

If Selwood can be petulant on that call it makes you wonder if he has been behind any of the other seemingly childish decisions at the club like the early retirement of senior players to give Selwood/Hawkins more ownership of the team (yep that line still makes me giggle at its ridiculousness) or the mystery unexplained disappearance of mitch clark.

 

[Landgraft]

Agree. The ONLY way this comp will EVER be a FAIR one

Ah, but there is no romance in fair fights. And personally I am not ready to see all the romance gone from footy.

 

[Vdubs]

Ah, but there is no romance in fair fights. And personally I am not ready to see all the romance gone from footy.

What romance do you refer to?
Playing each team H & A is perfect, 34 games.
Would need larger lists and shorter quarters perhaps, maybe no time on.
But there would be no arguments about interstate travel etc.

 

[Landgraft]

What romance do you refer to?
Playing each team H & A is perfect, 34 games.
Would need larger lists and shorter quarters perhaps, maybe no time on.
But there would be no arguments about interstate travel etc.

I enjoy the arguments, the passion, etc.

If it was a perfect system then it would be more boring. The flaws reflect the history and character of the league, instead of a theoretical optimal configuration cooked up using modern tournament formatting.

I would actually enjoy if things were even more twisted instead of less. A finals system where opponents are not seeded but drawn, for example.

 

[Seeds]

I enjoy the arguments, the passion, etc.

If it was a perfect system then it would be more boring. The flaws reflect the history and character of the league, instead of a theoretical optimal configuration cooked up using modern tournament formatting.

I would actually enjoy if things were even more twisted instead of less. A finals system where opponents are not seeded but drawn, for example.

what a load of hogwash. a perfect system is more interesting as its the only system where you know the winner is the best and most deserving. its the system with the greatest glory. seing richmond win this year was boring and left an unsavoury taste in the mouth. it made football less interesting.

if you want random luck and unfair bias against you determining outcomes then please go to a casino.

 

[Seeds]

What romance do you refer to?
Playing each team H & A is perfect, 34 games.
Would need larger lists and shorter quarters perhaps, maybe no time on.
But there would be no arguments about interstate travel etc.

17-5 is the way to go. Its completely fair. fixes all the biases and luck issues with the current system.

 

[Landgraft]

what a load of hogwash. a perfect system is more interesting as its the only system where you know the winner is the best and most deserving. its the system with the greatest glory. seing richmond win this year was boring and left an unsavoury taste in the mouth. it made football less interesting.

if you want random luck and unfair bias against you determining outcomes then please go to a casino.

I dunno, I think the battle of Rorkes Drift is more interesting than a game of chess. And adversity only makes triumph all the sweeter, Geelong fans should be familiar with that.

There are definitely ways that the AFL needs to improve in order to better level the playing field. But I'd never want it truly flat.

 

[Landgraft]

17-5 is the way to go. Its completely fair. fixes all the biases and luck issues with the current system.

There are too many scheduling issues with 17-5. Teams will have played an odd number of games, so you can't guarantee that they will be able to have the right number of home games in the second half of the bracket. Plus the bottom 6 would absolutely tank in terms of ratings and interest.

 

[Vdubs]

17-5 is the way to go. Its completely fair. fixes all the biases and luck issues with the current system.

Forgive the ignorance, but what is 17-5 and how does it work?
Playing each team once and then another 5?
How is that fairer than any other code where you play each team home and away?

 

[Boxhead_31]

Has to be waiting for the Mystery Mid to reveal themselves

 

[Spazz Cat]

Personally I think just play everyone once.
The few rounds the broadcasters miss out on will be made up for in greater interest because every game is so important.

 

[Cronin]

There are too many scheduling issues with 17-5. Teams will have played an odd number of games, so you can't guarantee that they will be able to have the right number of home games in the second half of the bracket. Plus the bottom 6 would absolutely tank in terms of ratings and interest.

Our game is unique in every way, which makes it hard to simplify issues like even draws.

Even if you had 34 rounds with everyone playing each other twice, not everyone has their own home ground, which means teams like Richmond could end up playing 25+ games at the MCG despite 8 of them being 'away' games yet we might only get 12 games at KP because the AFL won't let us accomodate 5 big drawing Melbourne teams; f*** that.

Also if you're a team struggling at 3-14, how depressing would it be knowing that you're only halfway through a season!

On the other hand, playing everyone once is a good start however, playing West Coast in Perth is completely different than playing them in Victoria and I guess that goes for all teams travelling interstate so you would need to get the balance right otherwise it could still be seen as an unfair draw.

I also don't like playing 5 or however many extra games after you've played everyone once; that's what finals are for and the draw needs to be predetermined so everybody can plan ahead.

IMO there is no definitive solution other than to have a draw based on where teams finished the previous year and work from there.

 

[Goggin Our Best]

What romance do you refer to?
Playing each team H & A is perfect, 34 games.
Would need larger lists and shorter quarters perhaps, maybe no time on.
But there would be no arguments about interstate travel etc.

Geel have got the habit of winning games of Football

On the main board the stats king - " Ron The Bear " put up the win loss record of all clubs since 1991 - ( i think that was the 1st year the comp became known as the AFL ) and the Cats were a mile in front - 40 to 50 wins more than the next best West Coast

 

[BotsMaster]

Geel have got the habit of winning games of Football

On the main board the stats king - " Ron The Bear " put up the win loss record of all clubs since 1991 - ( i think that was the 1st year the comp became known as the AFL ) and the Cats were a mile in front - 40 to 50 wins more than the next best West Coast

Thought 1990 was the first AFL season?

 

[BlakeyNoFlakey]

I think the Geelong of the 89-96 was the most frustrating period for me, getting to GF's and failing on top of the Premiership drought we were having. I honestly started to think I'd never see a Geelong flag in my lifetime.


The last five years haven't been as bad as that for me, more annoying than frustrating to make 3 PF's and fail so badly, and one year we went out in straight sets IIRC, and those losses to Freo in the finals hurt. Especially the elimination final we played at the MCG. We had just beaten Sydney the week before in a dominant display at Kardinia Park, then played like s**t the next week against Freo.

 

[WeAreGeelong]

Our game is unique in every way, which makes it hard to simplify issues like even draws.

Even if you had 34 rounds with everyone playing each other twice, not everyone has their own home ground, which means teams like Richmond could end up playing 25+ games at the MCG despite 8 of them being 'away' games yet we might only get 12 games at KP because the AFL won't let us accomodate 5 big drawing Melbourne teams; f*** that.

Also if you're a team struggling at 3-14, how depressing would it be knowing that you're only halfway through a season!

On the other hand, playing everyone once is a good start however, playing West Coast in Perth is completely different than playing them in Victoria and I guess that goes for all teams travelling interstate so you would need to get the balance right otherwise it could still be seen as an unfair draw.

I also don't like playing 5 or however many extra games after you've played everyone once; that's what finals are for and the draw needs to be predetermined so everybody can plan ahead.

IMO there is no definitive solution other than to have a draw based on where teams finished the previous year and work from there.

It's a tough one. You raise some good points and it's difficult to know how to get it (the fixture) as fair as possible (not that that is what the AFL want either, but I think we as fans do).

I still reckon the rolling draw we had a few years back was the fairest for the amount of teams we have. I'm pretty sure it was that you played every team 5 times in 3 years. Some years you might have a slightly better draw than others but it pretty much evens out over a 3 year period. No more bullshit ANZAC day matches, no yearly blockbusters, they just worked it out as evenly as you could over a 3 year period. Less money to be made this way, so I'm tipping it won't happen, but FWIW, I've always thought that was about the fairest you could be.

 

[Cronin]

It's a tough one. You raise some good points and it's difficult to know how to get it (the fixture) as fair as possible (not that that is what the AFL want either, but I think we as fans do).

I still reckon the rolling draw we had a few years back was the fairest for the amount of teams we have. I'm pretty sure it was that you played every team 5 times in 3 years. Some years you might have a slightly better draw than others but it pretty much evens out over a 3 year period. No more bullshit ANZAC day matches, no yearly blockbusters, they just worked it out as evenly as you could over a 3 year period. Less money to be made this way, so I'm tipping it won't happen, but FWIW, I've always thought that was about the fairest you could be.

I think at the end of the day the AFL's first priority is that they want to make as much money as possible with the fairness of the draw being a distant second, despite whatever bullshit comes out of their mouths regarding it.

 

[WeAreGeelong]

I think at the end of the day the AFL's first priority is that they want to make as much money as possible with the fairness of the draw being a distant second, despite whatever bullshit comes out of their mouths regarding it.

For sure mate - I don't think there's any doubt about that whatsoever. I get that it's a business and all that, but for me, I've always thought you should attempt to make it a level playing field at least. I guess I'm old fashioned, but sport being a contest with the playing field as even as possible just doesn't seem to be a consideration at all these days unfortunately.

 

[Hello Kitty]

I wasn't, I was referring to the team being fairly ordinary but yeah that pisses me right off what you mentioned. But it is quite enjoyable to see how the cheaters have fared since. Borderline irrelevant and there are very little signs of that changing in the near future. A lot of people rant about flag or bust but would we be happy with a flag and then decades of crap? Not I. Win lose or draw I'm gunna love watching Gaz, Joel and Paddy on the same field this year. Cannot wait.

I'm not sure I'd call those teams ordinary ??? Wouldn't mind GAS, Riccradi, Buddha, Couch Breuer or Mensch now.

1994


1995


"Win lose or draw I'm gunna love watching Gaz, Joel and Paddy on the same field this year. Cannot wait."

I am with you on this ^^^ It might take time for the team to find cohesion, but this is going to be superb!

Really think that if GAJ is happy, back in Geelong with his family + friends that his injuries will reduce. We've all whinged about something being worse than it was because we didn't want to go to work or to school or to a horrible party lol

 

[Hello Kitty]

All your points are contestable.
The 18 side comp poses more challenges than we had in the 80's-90's.
The equalisation drafting is a challenge.
The speed of the game and the overuse injuries are more rife- stress fractures, soft tissue injuries, way more than previous decades.
You can not possibly say the Tigers side of 17 is weak- their average winning margin in 3 finals was over 9 goals- that is impressive. We may detest the fact they've done it, but their pressure game hit a new level that will have teams scratching MC heads all summer.
Entertainment- the way Dogs played 16 finals and Tigers 17 finals was as entertaining as it gets from my pov. Just because we weren't in it does not detract from the excellence.
Trading away draft picks has not been our issue- the B & F results will attest to the fact that > 50% of our top 10 are from those trades.
The massive future cost you speak of- what is that? That we languish on the bottom for some years and build a list from scratch? Sounds uninviting does it not. Yet that is exactly what some are suggesting we should have already been doing. No Danger etc... I'd rather see us win 70% of our games and be entertained by the likes of Danger than to hope we somehow scoop the drafts and build the next era.
Besides, we are not constantly trading away. 2 years yes, but not so much now.

Excellent post Vdubs.

We also have our Kittens, who are being developed, need experience + who we hope will become 'A' grade players. But over the years, some of the No. 1 draft picks have failed, while lower draft picks have become elite.

When you think about the number of Geelong AA over the years, we've had, + still have, amazing players! We've been cruelled by injuries - no small forwards this season for example. I love the way we've defied the equalisation strategy!

 

[Hello Kitty]

Does anyone think the whole 2006 off-season line in the sand moment at the cattery is a little overrated considering we started 07 poorly.

Refresh my memory please Tandy? I do remember Scarlo rang Sheahan supporting Bomber as coach; Harley becoming captain; + Cook went through the Club like a dose of salts.