Dear ....,
Thanks for your email around our guernsey design and please do not assume that no communication around this issue with the members means that we have stopped talking about it internally.
The on-line survey, as you point out, was overwhelmingly in favour of a return to our traditional guernsey. The push by the “Bring Back the Wings” group was quite powerful and my personal view is that I agree with the campaign. To change the guernsey design for your home and away strips, you do need a 12 month lead-up. It is different for a one-off “event” guernsey like the Indigenous round guernsey and the AFL encouraged every club to embrace that concept. Suppliers, in our case Puma, also need some lead time to manufacture new home and away jumpers.
I understand your frustration because you have not seen any public comment on the matter, but that does not mean the brakes have been applied. The on-line survey saw a significant number of members and fans put their views and that data has been presented to the club Executive and Board, but we also have a large number of members who are not technologically savvy that need to be given the opportunity to have some input. This is not happening as quickly as you would like, but the issue is not being ignored. From the outside it might seem a simple fix, but it is a major issue and it needs careful consideration. Hopefully we will have some news around this matter in the near future.
Regards,
Gary Stocks
General Manager - Communications