When did Kardinia Park’s dimensions become a thing?

[The_Koulouriotis_Fan]

I had hoped that this was put to bed after the 2020 season but it’s back and I’m constantly hearing from commentators and fans how Kardinia Parks dimensions are the reason Geelong wins so many games each year.
The old Geelong is guaranteed 11 wins (we only play 9) a year because of the unique dimensions (cheat ground).
I’m wondering, when did this become a ‘thing’. I don’t remember comments about it in our dominant period 2007-11. If it’s because we lose finals, it doesn’t add up as we lost our only home final.
All grounds are unique and we have the same advantage as interstate clubs (-2 home games)
For me it feels like a few commentators who have an anti-Geelong bias like Dermott () have planted the seeds and the rest have run with it.
Thoughts?

 

[Drunkcat]

I know the VFL days you had so many different shape grounds, maybe the answer is more sides should play there, or who cares what other people think

 

[Strange Cat]

It became a thing when we stopped dropping down the ladder and the opposition had nothing else to cling to as a reason why their team isn’t as successful year in year out

I wouldn’t listen to it jealousy can breed irrational thoughts

 

[STPer18]

I had hoped that this was put to bed after the 2020 season but it’s back and I’m constantly hearing from commentators and fans how Kardinia Parks dimensions are the reason Geelong wins so many games each year.
The old Geelong is guaranteed 11 wins (we only play 9) a year because of the unique dimensions (cheat ground).
I’m wondering, when did this become a ‘thing’. I don’t remember comments about it in our dominant period 2007-11. If it’s because we lose finals, it doesn’t add up as we lost our only home final.
All grounds are unique and we have the same advantage as interstate clubs (-2 games and home finals)
For me it feels like a few commentators who have an anti-Geelong bias like Dermott () have planted the seeds and the rest have run with it.
Drives me nuts!
Thoughts?

Good question, it feels like it's definitely sparked up post our dominant period. It's actually kinda fun when you play into it around here, things like the narrowness of the ground, the unevenness of the wings and especially Steve Hocking pulling the strings at AFL house to benefit us go down a treat on this website.

 

[Romeoh1]

I had hoped that this was put to bed after the 2020 season but it’s back and I’m constantly hearing from commentators and fans how Kardinia Parks dimensions are the reason Geelong wins so many games each year.
The old Geelong is guaranteed 11 wins (we only play 9) a year because of the unique dimensions (cheat ground).
I’m wondering, when did this become a ‘thing’. I don’t remember comments about it in our dominant period 2007-11. If it’s because we lose finals, it doesn’t add up as we lost our only home final.
All grounds are unique and we have the same advantage as interstate clubs (-2 games and home finals)
For me it feels like a few commentators who have an anti-Geelong bias like Dermott () have planted the seeds and the rest have run with it.
Drives me nuts!
Thoughts?

When richmond were asked to play a Geelong home game there.

 

[The_Koulouriotis_Fan]

It became a thing when we stopped dropping down the ladder and the opposition had nothing else to cling to as a reason why their team isn’t as successful year in year out

I wouldn’t listen to it jealousy can breed irrational thoughts

I was a bit heavy on the ‘drives me nuts’ lol
Doesn’t bother me too much as I think it’s a ridiculous observation.
I’m more interested in pinpointing when it actually became a thing.
Had it always been there in the old days and it’s just more obvious now because of our success and us being the only Victorian team with a home ground advantage?

 

[Generalissimo]

Yeah. It wasn't a problem between 1945 and about 2019, but now suddenly it's "reee cheat ground" this and "why do Geelong get to play home games in Geelong" that. There are some really stupid and unbelievably whiny people out there.

 

[fpm84]

The Swans have an extremely successful record on a ground the size of a postage stamp but I don't think I've ever heard an opposition fan describe it as a 'cheat ground.'

I wonder why

 

[Gunf]

Most of the bitching is from Melb teams wanting to play away games at the MCG so they get an advantage.

The rest of the bitching is just plainly from us being to good for to long.

 

[Strange Cat]

Yeah. It wasn't a problem between 1945 and about 2019, but now suddenly it's "reee cheat ground" this and "why do Geelong get to play home games in Geelong" that. There are some really stupid and unbelievably whiny people out there.

Yep has only been recently a big thing to fall back on in the last few years

You heard little murmurs years and years ago but that was very much a rare thing

 

[iameviljez]

I’m wondering, when did this become a ‘thing’. I don’t remember comments about it in our dominant period 2007-11. If it’s because we lose finals, it doesn’t add up as we lost our only home final.

I think it's more of A Thing now because zonal defence and tactics have evolved enormously. Also, teams use the boundary line a lot more than they used to, because of the risk of a central turnover.

Back in The Day, footy was just a series of 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3 contests and it didn't matter how wide they were, just how far they were from goal. It didn't really matter how long and skinny the ground was.

Now, it matters - because sides compress, defensively, into whatever wing the opposition is trying to use, and therefore on a skinny ground the attacking team has far less to play with.

Long story short - get over it, it's footy, if anything it's a disadvantage to us because we don't play there in September. But it's a bigger factor now than it was ten, fifteen years ago because tactics.

 

[Pollywaffle]

Interesting. I was just thinking about this the other day.
We never heard much about ground dimensions until relatively recent times.
Were the ground’s dimensions changed when newer stands were built?
It is also possible that since the loss of many other suburban ‘home’ grounds KP became last one standing with odd dimensions.

 

[jim boy]

All the complaints I've heard are from Melbourne and Richmond fans, who've only won 3 out of 20+ matches at the ground in the last 20 years. They know that when they get back from a match at KP, they are usually miserable. So rather than blame there own own miserable teams for how they feel, they blame the ground.
Would be interested in hearing from Swans fans, whose recent record at KP is very good.

 

[Kitcat]

I say let us go along with it. Really hard to play there, incredibly narrow and long, can’t win, huge advantage to the Cats. They won’t be changing the size of the ground so we make the most of the psychological advantage. It will get into the heads of the opposition fans and probably some of our opponents.

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

It became a thing when we stopped dropping down the ladder and the opposition had nothing else to cling to as a reason why their team isn’t as successful year in year out

I wouldn’t listen to it jealousy can breed irrational thoughts

100% this.

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

Maybe we should move the goal posts to the wings and play in that direction.

 

[winty]

Only after we started becoming successful. No one gave a stuff about it when we regularly got pumped by the likes of Brisbane, Adelaide, Port Adelaide and Sydney down here in the late 90s, early 2000s.

 

[iameviljez]

Only after we started becoming successful. No one gave a stuff about it when we regularly got pumped by the likes of Brisbane, Adelaide, Port Adelaide and Sydney down here in the late 90s, early 2000s.

That's not my memory of it. I don't remember it being raised as an issue in our premiership years either.

 

[Stab Pass]

In the era of salary caps and the draft it should not be possible to remain in contention for 15 years but Geelong have so there "must be a reason" and rather than acknowledge the club has been well run and well coached across that period it's more palatable for opposition supporters to try and find a reason that they can claim is somehow "cheating". The ground dimensions are the thing they hang their hats on. The funny thing is that the more it gets talked up, the more it probably gets into people's heads and the more it becomes real.

 

[FredLeDeux]

The real irony in all this is that it is Richmond supporters, of all people, talking about "cheat grounds".
Are they totally ignorant of their own club's history?

 

[D BRIDGE]

The entire ground thing is annoying.
So many nuffies have no clue.
People saying it's not fair because we have our own ground... Like, HELLO!!!
Our ground is something to be proud of and it really pisses me off that we can finish top of the ladder and have to travel and play another team on their home deck.
We don't even get the opportunity to play all of our home games on our ground.

It's bogus as.

 

[Grumpy HalfCat]

I remember with the old stands there was definitely an advantage to kicking at goal from the Brownlow stand pocket compared to the Hickey stand pocket. You would always see us attacking up the Brownlow wing and forcing the opposition to attack up the Moorabool St side. I think that's more why we would win rather than the dimensions. I do recall my dad mentioned the dimensions to me as a curiosity as far back as the late 80s but we never thought that was why we would win so many, it was more knowing which was the dead pocket.

 

[Iago]

The real irony in all this is that it is Richmond supporters, of all people, talking about "cheat grounds".
Are they totally ignorant of their own club's history?

The answer to that is yes.

 

[My Tilly]

The Swans have an extremely successful record on a ground the size of a postage stamp but I don't think I've ever heard an opposition fan describe it as a 'cheat ground.'

I wonder why

The MCG is actually very similar to the dimensions of the SCG.
160m x 141m vs 155m x 135m

The Gabba: 156m x 138m (makes you wonder why this current Brisbane team struggle to get comfortable at the G)
Subiaco 165m x 130m
Docklands 160m x 129m
Kardinia Park 170m x 115m

A lot of extra boundary line throw ins and stoppages at our ground.

 

[Catman]

I still don't see how the midfield suffocation we gave Melbourne at the contest would have been reversed had we played at the G.