Bendigo FL discussion 2025

[Wooden Robot]

Pre-season schedule is even worse. In Victoria, the "Community Series" will be played entirely at AFL venues. I didn't grow up in the BFL area so not aware of where games were hosted, but I have fond memories of attending a practice match in the late 90s at Tatura of all places.

Saw Port Adelaide play Richmond at Malseed Park in Mt Gambier as recently as 2017.
As much as I love West Gambier and their home ground, the QEO and indeed Maryborough and Canterbury Park would all be far better venues for an AFL-sanctioned game than Malseed Park, which has no grandstand by the way.

 

[JP Ollards]

We can agree to disagree on this point JP, but without putting words in his mouth, I understand the key point 'Harsh, but fair' was making was that the finals were too Bendigo-centric and playing some outside Bendigo would send the right message to a club like Moama looking at coming into the competition. Hence I really want to focus on the country (non-Bendigo) options for finals and in this regard go back to the comments I made about Castlemaine, Gisborne & Maryborough being the only current possibilities and in particular the pluses of having one at Maryborough. What do you think?

Yep love to see a final played anywhere outside the qeo mate, the grounds are all a pretty good standard

 

[JP Ollards]

Pre-season schedule is even worse. In Victoria, the "Community Series" will be played entirely at AFL venues. I didn't grow up in the BFL area so not aware of where games were hosted, but I have fond memories of attending a practice match in the late 90s at Tatura of all places.

You used to get a game pretty regularly at the qeo, deakin at shepp, colac, Wang, morwell. Pretty disappointing to be honest isn't it

 

[ROOTA#6]

Yep love to see a final played anywhere outside the qeo mate, the grounds are all a pretty good standard

Parking and getting in and out is an issue at all Bendigo grounds especially Eaglehawk

 

[fatkidinthepocket]

Parking and getting in and out is an issue at all Bendigo grounds especially Eaglehawk

Parking at Bendigo grounds is ordinary but to be fair there is a few sides with little or no supporters from what Ive seen. Havent seen the ground at Huntly could it be further developed to be an alternative(neutral) venue for finals?

 

[ROOTA#6]

Parking at Bendigo grounds is ordinary but to be fair there is a few sides with little or no supporters from what Ive seen. Havent seen the ground at Huntly could it be further developed to be an alternative(neutral) venue?

Bendigo really missed a trick when building the Epsom/Huntly precinct. One of those grounds should have been made to host regular senior footy

 

[ringo1]

Bendigo really missed a trick when building the Epsom/Huntly precinct. One of those grounds should have been made to host regular senior footy

The master plan included a full gym, heated pool, spa sauna, etc. There was also scope for doctors and physios etc. Unfortunately, it never happened due to funding issues.

 

[Forest St End]

This whole discussion really depends on the dividend question.

If there’s no money to share there’s not much point in giving a final to someone to host, unless it’s just to spread the game to different places.

What happens in Heathcote these days?

 

[howmuch]

This whole discussion really depends on the dividend question.

If there’s no money to share there’s not much point in giving a final to someone to host, unless it’s just to spread the game to different places.

What happens in Heathcote these days?

Finals shared on a rotation system from year to year. Club hosting the final get everything except the gate.

GF played at Huntly, all clubs work different shifts. League gets gate, everything else divided equally between clubs once overheads are covered.

 

[jayco13]

Pre-season schedule is even worse. In Victoria, the "Community Series" will be played entirely at AFL venues. I didn't grow up in the BFL area so not aware of where games were hosted, but I have fond memories of attending a practice match in the late 90s at Tatura of all places.

Yep I remember watching North at Tat... v Geelong maybe?

 

[Kilonewton]

Pre-season schedule is even worse. In Victoria, the "Community Series" will be played entirely at AFL venues. I didn't grow up in the BFL area so not aware of where games were hosted, but I have fond memories of attending a practice match in the late 90s at Tatura of all places.

Whilst I agree that the Community Series should be played at community venues, look at it from the clubs’ perspective. The players are getting paid big money, and if they get a long term injury due to the substandard venues, it’s a big lost cost that could have been avoided.
As Maryborough is being thrown up as where they “should” play a game, can you imagine a race for a loose ball in the goal square, and then the players not being able to pull up in time due to the short distance between the goals and the fence, which has that deep concrete trench in front of it? I could forsee an avoidable broken leg and there being much wailing & gnashing of teeth from Herald-Sun journalists. The Ballarat Goal Umpires moan about the lack of space and slope to the trench when they do Finals there!