Opinion Non-Crows AFL 7

[CrowBloke]

But hopefully it will bring greater equalization and a more national focus to the game, which will make the AFL better

Good post, but I doubt the above. I'm more cynical
The V/AFL will make sure that the non-Victorian teams will suffer while the Victorian teams benefit. I feel sorry for the WCE and Freo, Brisbane and GCS. That's a fair schlepp and I'll bet most of them will be after 5- or 6-day breaks.
They will also work out which of the struggling Victorian teams' turn it is to win a Flag and need a % boost in the minor rounds. They'll find a way.

As for "National focus", look at the effects that Freo (1994), GWS (2012) and GCS (2011) have had to increase the "National" profile of the V/AFL:

<<crickets chirping>>

but the V/AFL coffers will overflow. Oh, wait, that will make the V/AFL "better" .

 

[CrowBloke]

I dont believe the AFL's agenda is for a Tasmanian team, but for another feeder Club for the Victorian teams.

This. And another feeder Club for the V/AFL treasure chest.
Money makes the V/AFL go 'round.

 

[119others]

Mitch owned Sicily there...Dunno about the Struggle Street bit but they certainly benefit from the Tassie sponsorship.

Just pure stupidity for the captain of a club receiving millions of dollars in sponsorship money to say that. Utter idiocy and beyond belief, will be getting his butt kicked internally I would think as that can’t enhance the relationship between the State Govt and Horks. Govt already threatening to rip up contract

 

[119others]

Going back to 16 a side will do that with no angst from clubs or fans.
Each side loses its worst 2 players, cuts costs plus it reduces congestion which is why it’s hard to watch.

Will never ever happen as means much less TV dollars and player pay cuts

 

[GreyCrow]

For some reason I feel like Tasmania would just align themselves with the Vic teams on any Vic v non Vic issue.

They share the same phone number prefix, that's gotta carry some weight.

Tasmanians are proof Victorians can swim

 

[119others]

Mitch owned Sicily there...Dunno about the Struggle Street bit but they certainly benefit from the Tassie sponsorship.

Here’s the apology now headline on the Hun.some selected paragraphs

Following uproar, Sicily took to Twitter on Wednesday night to apologise “to anyone I have offended or upset about my comments on Tasmania today”, saying it was a flippant remark which did not reflect his views on Tasmania.

“What I said related to my personal situation, that throughout my career, my attachment to Melbourne would have made it hard to live in Tassie full time,” Sicily wrote.

“That’s not to say there are not many AFL footballers who would enjoy living there.”



His original comment drew the ire of Australian cricketer and proud Taswegian Matthew Wade.

“Tassie people have been fighting years for the chance to get an AFL team. Comments like this do not help us working towards our chance at showing just how good our little state is and will be with its own team,” Wade said on social media.

Wade offered to host Sicily in his home state.
“Whenever you want the door is open to come down and I can show you around our boring island if you like!” Wade posted.
Former Blue and Lion Mitch Robinson also slammed the comments.
“I’m sure sponsors love hearing that, considering Tassie pumps $13.5 million into a club that’s currently on struggle street,” he said.
Aussie sprinter Jacob Despard said the comments were “absolutely ridiculous comment considering how much money the state pumps into the Hawthorn Football Club.”
Former Aussie cricket captain Tim Paine expressed his feelings by tweeting the face palm emoji in response.

​

Tasmania will pay the Hawks $13.5 million to play four home-and-away games in Launceston for the next three years.

A two-year extension of the lucrative sponsorship was announced in January, continuing a partnership that was established in 2001.

 

[Vader]

Tasmanians are proof Victorians can swim

Ironic, given that Victoria was originally settled by Tasmanians (John Batman).

 

[Danger Zone]

Adelaide, Port, WC, Freo, Sydney, Brisbane, Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond, Melbourne, Hawthorn, Geelong, Tassie. If you were being brutal and just trying to improve the comp as a whole, these would be the 14 teams.

 

[Rags_118]

I'm all for a Tasmanian team but I think it will be very difficult for them to be successful.

They need to produce far more AFL level players than they do as a state.

They will need draft concessions, which always sucks for all the other teams.

They'll probably need some sort of COLA or retention allowance. They will be the least attractive club to play for from a location perspective.

If Fremantle can't win one in nearly 30 years, it's a long road ahead for Tasmania.

But hopefully it will bring greater equalization and a more national focus to the game, which will make the AFL better

I’d far rather be located in Hobart and play for the Tassie team than for Western Sydney. So 18th out of 19.

I much rather spend my own time as a travelling footy fan in Hobart than Geelong, Ballarat, Alice Springs or Canberra. Not so much Launceston.

The combination of a Crows game against a parochial Tassie crowd in an undercover stadium and an extended stay at the The Henry Jones Art Hotel, both at Mac Point, would be expensive but hard to resist when we play there every second year or so.

 

[adelaidecrows]

Here’s the apology now headline on the Hun.some selected paragraphs

Following uproar, Sicily took to Twitter on Wednesday night to apologise “to anyone I have offended or upset about my comments on Tasmania today”, saying it was a flippant remark which did not reflect his views on Tasmania.

“What I said related to my personal situation, that throughout my career, my attachment to Melbourne would have made it hard to live in Tassie full time,” Sicily wrote.

“That’s not to say there are not many AFL footballers who would enjoy living there.”



His original comment drew the ire of Australian cricketer and proud Taswegian Matthew Wade.

“Tassie people have been fighting years for the chance to get an AFL team. Comments like this do not help us working towards our chance at showing just how good our little state is and will be with its own team,” Wade said on social media.

Wade offered to host Sicily in his home state.
“Whenever you want the door is open to come down and I can show you around our boring island if you like!” Wade posted.
Former Blue and Lion Mitch Robinson also slammed the comments.
“I’m sure sponsors love hearing that, considering Tassie pumps $13.5 million into a club that’s currently on struggle street,” he said.
Aussie sprinter Jacob Despard said the comments were “absolutely ridiculous comment considering how much money the state pumps into the Hawthorn Football Club.”
Former Aussie cricket captain Tim Paine expressed his feelings by tweeting the face palm emoji in response.

​

​

Tasmania will pay the Hawks $13.5 million to play four home-and-away games in Launceston for the next three years.

A two-year extension of the lucrative sponsorship was announced in January, continuing a partnership that was established in 2001.

They wont have a hard time getting players. Its a ridiculous notion and possibly the dumbest thing ive ever seen a footballer say as a legit remark to the media. For starters they will almost automatically get every tasmanian AFL player back. They will be able to do what GC and GWS did and pay massive contracts to entice experienced players. I've never ever heard someone go on holiday and say they hate it in tasmania either. Its a footballers state which means unlike GWS and GC the players will be treated like rockstars and they wont feel isolated at all.

 

[CrowBloke]

Tasmania will pay the Hawks $13.5 million to play four home-and-away games in Launceston for the next three years.

$13.5 million !!
Seems overs to me, by plenty.
I wonder how much ($) the crowd of about 10,000 returned to the Tassie Govt.

1) Following uproar, Sicily took to Twitter on Wednesday night to apologise “to anyone I have offended or upset about my comments on Tasmania today”, saying it was a flippant remark which did not reflect his views on Tasmania.

2) “That’s not to say there are not many AFL footballers who would enjoy living there.”

1) the old I-was-kidding/being-flippant defence. Even then, it certainly reflected his views on Tasmania.

2) Translation: "Just not me" (the Captain of the footy Club that gets millions from the Tasmanian Govt., ie the people of Tasmania).
Speaking of the latter, many of them go to Hawks' games down there. I wonder:
--- how his comments will affect attendance numbers, and
--- how he'll be greeted when he gets near the ball.

 

[kirky]

Arguably the most important thing about the Tassie team is that non-Vic teams will hold a majority in the AFL, for the first time.

Hope you ain’t an accountant?

 

[kirky]

Mitch owned Sicily there...Dunno about the Struggle Street bit but they certainly benefit from the Tassie sponsorship.

And Sicily why everyone thinks he is a flog.

 

[CrowBloke]

Ironic, given that Victoria was originally settled by Tasmanians (John Batman).

(warning: I paused for an hour or so, conflicted about whether I should post this. Please do not read this if you do not want to know more about John Batman, and "settling" Tasmania. It's not pretty reading. In fact, it's awful.
So, why have I proceeded?
It's on the back of several posts about Adam Goodes above and one astonishingly racist "joke" by one poster, to which many in here objected, to their credit. It's also a lesson to me, to think before I post)

Vader I sense that you were trying to be flippant, or jocular, a bit like Sicily above. Sometimes, flippancy backfires.

Since you've mentioned him --- I believe that Tasmania had been "settled" for many thousands of years by Aborigines, before Batman went down there to commit several land-grabbing atrocities, the most well-known of which was the horrendous "Black Line":
"the formation of a "human chain" across the island to drive Aboriginal people from their lands into a 'manageable' area".

This is horrifying.
Batman:
" ... led an attack on an Aboriginal family group together numbering 60 to 70 men, women and children in the Ben Lomond district of north-east Tasmania. Waiting until 11pm that night before attacking, he "...ordered the men to fire upon them..." as their 40-odd dogs raised the alarm and the Aboriginal people ran away into thick scrub. In his report of the incident to the police magistrate at Oatlands, Batman estimated that they killed 15 Aboriginal people. The next morning, he left the place for his farm, with two badly wounded Tasmanian men, a woman and her two-year-old boy, all of whom he captured. However, he "...found it impossible that the two former [the men] could walk, and after trying them by every means in my power, for some time, found I could not get them on I was obliged to shoot them." (Wikipedia, but my emphasis --- the whole Wikipedia page is thoroughly depressing reading)".

"Batman's neighbour in Van Diemen's Land, Glover said that he was "a rogue, thief, cheat and liar, a murderer of blacks and the vilest man I have ever known"."

 

[MatthewB]

I’d far rather be located in Hobart and play for the Tassie team than for Western Sydney. So 18th out of 19.

I much rather spend my own time as a travelling footy fan in Hobart than Geelong, Ballarat, Alice Springs or Canberra. Not so much Launceston.

The combination of a Crows game against a parochial Tassie crowd in an undercover stadium and an extended stay at the The Henry Jones Art Hotel, both at Mac Point, would be expensive but hard to resist when we play there every second year or so.

What do you mean every second year, we will play there every year

 

[Bearded Clam]

Adelaide, Port, WC, Freo, Sydney, Brisbane, Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond, Melbourne, Hawthorn, Geelong, Tassie. If you were being brutal and just trying to improve the comp as a whole, these would be the 14 teams.

If you were being brutal, and running a business, you’d cut the parts of the business that are a drain on resources and are in debt constantly…

So the Power can go too!

 

[baldandbroke]

And Freo HAS money and a proud local history of 2 teams in the WAFL.

Unfortunately I can see Tassie becoming a GC type situation. Marginal economics (at best) for the club therefore needing ongoing heavy subsidies (AFL, state Govt). Decentralised population base on island with Hobart popn of 200k a third as low as the next smaller pops base (GC 600k ish). Traditionally poorest state but they have turned this around with tourism, agri and influx of cashed up interstate migrants in recent years.

However with crap weather, the least appealing AFL city to live in I can see retention VERY difficult, same if not worse than GC and GWS. It’s a hard one as it is a traditional footy state and many people are footy tragica. It’s just I don’t think the numbers and business case stacks up…

**** off.

You know the feeling you get when Victorians tell you why SA is crap?

You know how SA loves batting out of its weight class?

That’s what we all feel about posts like yours down here in Tassie.

You obviously know nothing about the place, nothing at all. You quote urban fallacies as fact, and pull numbers out your arse to back up your bullshit.

Tasmania is a massive AFL state. Tasmanians will embrace the club and players like not many others. There is pride down here for the Tassie team and it hasn’t even begun

If a player doesn’t wanna come here, fine … step aside and let someone who wants it come down and join our mob.

Again, when you say “who would want to live there?” You sound like a Victorian with no idea talking about Adelaide.

So pull your head in, get some knowledge up ya … and stop bleating about Tasmania.

 

[George CantStandYa]

Eddie on Footy Classified last night says the budget for the new stadium isn’t enough and gave examples of other stadiums and also how much they’ve gone over budget.

You’d hope they aren’t building the stadium on the cheap and who will pick up the tab if it goes over budget?

 

[baldandbroke]

Eddie on Footy Classified last night says the budget for the new stadium isn’t enough and gave examples of other stadiums and also how much they’ve gone over budget.

You’d hope they aren’t building the stadium on the cheap and who will pick up the tab if it goes over budget?

Well lucky we have Eddie looking out for us - no way he would have an agenda behind his comments.

 

[Bearded Clam]

Eddie on Footy Classified last night says the budget for the new stadium isn’t enough and gave examples of other stadiums and also how much they’ve gone over budget.

You’d hope they aren’t building the stadium on the cheap and who will pick up the tab if it goes over budget?

Is Eddie building it?..

 

[George CantStandYa]

Well lucky we have Eddie looking out for us - no way he would have an agenda behind his comments.

He does have a fair point when he’s given pricing comparisons. The AO redevelopment was $600M and that’s only a redevelopment years ago. Perth’s stadium over $1BN and Gabba is going over $1BN.

Given building costs keep rising how confident are you for them being able to build it within budget? Who will pick up the tab? You’d also hope it’s not built on the cheap.

 

[spenze]

He does have a fair point when he’s given pricing comparisons. The AO redevelopment was $600M and that’s only a redevelopment years ago. Perth’s stadium over $1BN and Gabba is going over $1BN.

Given building costs keep rising how confident are you for them being able to build it within budget? Who will pick up the tab? You’d also hope it’s not built on the cheap.

The tax payer, like usual.

 

[skam85]

Tasmania going with a 46000 head stadium sounds a goer

aming for 23,000 members then?

 

[baldandbroke]

aming for 23,000 members then?

That's the joke.

simpsons.gif

 

[Mostyn]

(warning: I paused for an hour or so, conflicted about whether I should post this. Please do not read this if you do not want to know more about John Batman, and "settling" Tasmania. It's not pretty reading. In fact, it's awful.
So, why have I proceeded?
It's on the back of several posts about Adam Goodes above and one astonishingly racist "joke" by one poster, to which many in here objected, to their credit. It's also a lesson to me, to think before I post)

Vader I sense that you were trying to be flippant, or jocular, a bit like Sicily above. Sometimes, flippancy backfires.

Since you've mentioned him --- I believe that Tasmania had been "settled" for many thousands of years by Aborigines, before Batman went down there to commit several land-grabbing atrocities, the most well-known of which was the horrendous "Black Line":
"the formation of a "human chain" across the island to drive Aboriginal people from their lands into a 'manageable' area".

This is horrifying.
Batman:
" ... led an attack on an Aboriginal family group together numbering 60 to 70 men, women and children in the Ben Lomond district of north-east Tasmania. Waiting until 11pm that night before attacking, he "...ordered the men to fire upon them..." as their 40-odd dogs raised the alarm and the Aboriginal people ran away into thick scrub. In his report of the incident to the police magistrate at Oatlands, Batman estimated that they killed 15 Aboriginal people. The next morning, he left the place for his farm, with two badly wounded Tasmanian men, a woman and her two-year-old boy, all of whom he captured. However, he "...found it impossible that the two former [the men] could walk, and after trying them by every means in my power, for some time, found I could not get them on I was obliged to shoot them." (Wikipedia, but my emphasis --- the whole Wikipedia page is thoroughly depressing reading)".

"Batman's neighbour in Van Diemen's Land, Glover said that he was "a rogue, thief, cheat and liar, a murderer of blacks and the vilest man I have ever known"."

Thanks for posting this.

Depressing reading, but valuable that it's said.