WE are geelong

[catswhiskers]

An article that caught my eye. Sorry if the link doesn't work but posting threads is new to me.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/they-are-geelong-20110225-1b8ng.html

"They" are Geelong suggests that the originator is not one of us. But the author has done the hard yards and put together a story that rings a bell for me.

The article suggests the more "local" our club has become the more successful we have been. The author also points out the club (under Costa) has been careful of course, and they have invited talented "outsiders" to join us.

I can't resist the opportunity to knock the admin of GFC pre Costa who felt (or so it seemed to me) that Geelong was not "good enough" and could not support an AFL team and that we needed to be more Melbourne centric. More Melbourne games v games at K.Park was the mantra.

Recruiting country kids (even if not Geelong based) has also paid dividends. More stable? enjoy the more country lifestyle at Geelong?

The go home factor does not seem to apply at Geelong (the go for more money might! - but we can't control that.)

Thoughts? Do you remember when Geelong was not good enough?

 

[Vdubs]

From my reading of that article, it seems to suggest that not all Geelong Falcons players are local from Geelong, we can't necessarily get them anyway, and even if we could, we wouldn't if there was a better player available from elsewhere.

I have always preferred the zone principle, and would be very happy if Geelong had first call on ALL the Falcons, but that reflects my support going back to the 60's.

When were we not good enough? Pre 2000. And Bomber's early years, but I doubt it had little to do with where we got our talent from. Even back in 1963, we acquired the best player in Australia, Polly Farmer, from WA, to help us get a flag. I think whatever worked in Geelong becoming a power was very multifactorial. When Colbert left stating he wanted a chance to play in a team that had flag aspirations, NM, many of us were shattered and despaired our future a little. I remember too well taking my young family to a Save Geelong Sunday afternoon rally, Ben Graham, Bomber, Costa, and Cooke all spoke about our precarious position, and even some ex FITZROY supporters warned us that our club could go under if we didn't get more LOCAL memberships.

The point is, it all came together from essentially the same playing list we had in 2006. As did lessening our debt which was HUGE, and we have become an enviable and envied club, rather than an embarrassment as it appeared we were for Buddha's last game against Blues at Optus, surely our lowest ebb ever.

 

[Turbocat]

From my reading of that article, it seems to suggest that not all Geelong Falcons players are local from Geelong, we can't necessarily get them anyway, and even if we could, we wouldn't if there was a better player available from elsewhere.

I have always preferred the zone principle, and would be very happy if Geelong had first call on ALL the Falcons, but that reflects my support going back to the 60's.

When were we not good enough? Pre 2000. And Bomber's early years, but I doubt it had little to do with where we got our talent from. Even back in 1963, we acquired the best player in Australia, Polly Farmer, from WA, to help us get a flag. I think whatever worked in Geelong becoming a power was very multifactorial. When Colbert left stating he wanted a chance to play in a team that had flag aspirations, NM, many of us were shattered and despaired our future a little. I remember too well taking my young family to a Save Geelong Sunday afternoon rally, Ben Graham, Bomber, Costa, and Cooke all spoke about our precarious position, and even some ex FITZROY supporters warned us that our club could go under if we didn't get more LOCAL memberships.

The point is, it all came together from essentially the same playing list we had in 2006. As did lessening our debt which was HUGE, and we have become an enviable and envied club, rather than an embarrassment as it appeared we were for Buddha's last game against Blues at Optus, surely our lowest ebb ever.

I like the principle of a zone but it really doesn't work with our current comp as the main means to obtain players. Uneven number of talented players , uneven zones would quickly put our comp out of balance. Imagine how powerful WC Freo , Crows,Port would be if they could always take the 1 & 2 in their state no matter where they finish.

What I would like is the addition of a zone pick IF a club hasn't had the benefit of a FS in 4 or 5 years they could claim a zone instead of FS. The bidding process would be the same but it would allow clubs who have had no FS a link to a local and one kid every 4 or 5 years wouldn't overload the benefit to certain clubs

 

[vinum coupe]

An article that caught my eye. Sorry if the link doesn't work but posting threads is new to me.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/they-are-geelong-20110225-1b8ng.html

"They" are Geelong suggests that the originator is not one of us. But the author has done the hard yards and put together a story that rings a bell for me.

The article suggests the more "local" our club has become the more successful we have been. The author also points out the club (under Costa) has been careful of course, and they have invited talented "outsiders" to join us.

I can't resist the opportunity to knock the admin of GFC pre Costa who felt (or so it seemed to me) that Geelong was not "good enough" and could not support an AFL team and that we needed to be more Melbourne centric. More Melbourne games v games at K.Park was the mantra.

Recruiting country kids (even if not Geelong based) has also paid dividends. More stable? enjoy the more country lifestyle at Geelong?

The go home factor does not seem to apply at Geelong (the go for more money might! - but we can't control that.)

Thoughts? Do you remember when Geelong was not good enough?

Pretty sure you will find that in the early days or Cook and Costa they pushed heavily to play more games in melbourne.

They just didnt get anywhere and went to plan B

 

[AM]

''If a boy who lived in Balwyn was a better player than the bloke who lived in Belmont, you'd have to go with the Balwyn boy,'' McMaster says.

Says it all really.

We would love to play more games at SS cos it's where the revenue value is. However, the ground simply won't cater for the blockbuster games.

I think it's still the case that there are more Cat members living outside the City of Geelong than within. With a population heading toward 200,000, that's poor.

 

[Vdubs]

Says it all really.

We would love to play more games at SS cos it's where the revenue value is. However, the ground simply won't cater for the blockbuster games.

I think it's still the case that there are more Cat members living outside the City of Geelong than within. With a population heading toward 200,000, that's poor.

That sad point of reality was very much highlighted at that rally, and I'm not sure what has elapsed over the years with our era of success, but fairly certain it is still the case.

 

[SriLankanCat]

[/b]
That sad point of reality was very much highlighted at that rally, and I'm not sure what has elapsed over the years with our era of success, but fairly certain it is still the case.

The reality is that the Cats are from Geelong. I think its a huge compliment to the club that there are fans from outside geelong. I am in sydney and have been since i was 4 and i started being a cat fan back in 91 because of the attacking style geelong played. We need to build ourselves as a club for the people of Geelong and beyond as well

 

[AM]

The reality is that the Cats are from Geelong. I think its a huge compliment to the club that there are fans from outside geelong. I am in sydney and have been since i was 4 and i started being a cat fan back in 91 because of the attacking style geelong played. We need to build ourselves as a club for the people of Geelong and beyond as well

True SRC but the GFC, as vehicle to publicise the place, is the best thing it has going for it. You'd think a higher proportion of the almost 200,000 residents would recognise that and get on board.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

It would be an interesting experiment to split the country up into recruiting zones, though how it would work for the NSW/QLD teams is anyone's guess. I'm confident a team of ex Falcons running around at the moment could knock off any other single team, but as someone's said, the Power could be made up of four SANFL teams worth of players and the Crows, Eagles and Dockers would be the same.

Hanlon's a Colac boy, though his allegiances lie with the Dons. Great writer.