Opinion Commentary & Media VIII

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If Ralphy wants answers to his questions, I can provide at least one...

How does Clarkson pitch the move to Luke Davies-Uniacke, open to signing a free agency contract extension but suddenly spending an extra fortnight in Perth every season and with finals further than ever away?

I'm sure Luke wouldn't mind spending his days off surfing off Margaret River, Cottesloe (if he needs to stay close to Perth) and Ningaloo (if he is allowed an extended break)!
 
gokangas said:
Whack from Jon Ralph.

Analysis: Why North’s big move out west will be hard to stomach for Alastair Clarkson​

Fair play to the Kangaroos for trying to secure a $2 million windfall each year by playing home games in Perth, but it’s hard to see how it will help them climb the ladder, writes Jon Ralph.
@RalphyHeraldSun

4 min read
October 31, 2024 - 2:56PM
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/.../87904494b2276c1e4b555eb31b16edb5#share-tools
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Fremantle didn’t quite end up covered in s--- after their last visit to Tasmania but they weren’t far short after that horrific cross-country trip.
The Dockers lost to Hawthorn by 13 points then were forced into a disastrous flight home as a plane malfunction saw cabin crew scooping human excrement from toilets as some passengers had to urinate directly into basins.
For a Dockers side already forced into a marathon flight across the country, it summed up their hatred of playing any games in Tasmania.
Fremantle have a 2-12 record in Launceston and lost their only clash in Hobart (to St Kilda).
Consider Justin Longmuir’s mood this week when he learned the club’s only clash against the Roos for the next three years is likely to be played in his own backyard.
Then consider the demeanour of Alastair Clarkson, who will spend the last three seasons of his five-year Roos deal wondering what the hell he is doing playing home games across the other side of the country.
The Roos will be a fixture in WA for years to come. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

The Roos will be a fixture in WA for years to come. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images
As revealed by the Herald Sun, the Roos are set to sell two home games a year to West Australia to play back-to-back weeks at Optus Stadium and Bunbury as they ease their way out of their Tasmania deal.
The Roos have been painted into a corner but how did the AFL think this was the only solution in an era of equalisation, forcing Victoria’s worst side into a deal that looks an on-field disaster?
The Roos need the cash ($2 million a year) and the AFL would like to lessen the WA teams’ travel burden.

But surely the better option for the Roos was to spend the final three years trying to find neutral venues to replace that cash before Tasmania enters the league in 2028.
The only upside is this – it will replace some of the roughly $3.5 million the Roos receive to play four games in Tasmania with Spirit of Tasmania branding, in a contract that expires next year.
The Roos will continue to play seven home games in Melbourne and ideally will bring one or two of those games back to Victoria from 2026 onwards because of the financial scope of this deal.
Ideally selling a game to a Victorian regional venue – similar to the Western Bulldogs deal in Ballarat – would have worked but the state government was broke and didn’t have a dollar to spare to throw at the Roos.
And yet if it makes sense financially, selling a game to any other stadium other than the one where the ‘away’ team already plays 12 home games a year would have been preferable.
How does Clarkson pitch the move to Luke Davies-Uniacke, open to signing a free agency contract extension but suddenly spending an extra fortnight in Perth every season and with finals further than ever away?
It’s a big win for Justin Longmuir’s Fremantle. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

It’s a big win for Justin Longmuir’s Fremantle. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images
Or George Wardlaw, who like his great buddy Harry Sheezel some chance to sign a mega-extension past 2026 but not prepared to do so until he sees signs the Roos are getting their act together?
Or the free agent they will try to sign next year, with even more cap space with Jaidyn Stephenson’s retirement and contracts to Aidan Corr and Callum Coleman-Jones also expire?
Clarkson has been kept up to date on the move and football boss Todd Viney has visited the Bunbury site, aware this move will allow the club to pay a full salary cap and soft cap in years to come.
But only months ago he made clear a side that hadn’t climbed out of the bottom two in the past five years needed to get a wriggle on.
The fans are pragmatic enough to know this club needs radical moves to survive.
But say what you want about the Roos playing well at Optus Stadium (they have won four of nine games there), it is preposterous to suggest they have a better chance of winning against Fremantle or West Coast in WA than playing in Melbourne, Tasmania or even a neutral venue.
St Kilda abandoned its Cairns home games last year after its 2022 season turned on its head after a loss to Port Adelaide in wet slippery conditions, with a previously 5-1 St Kilda outfit losing its way and missing finals.
The club’s year-end review recommended the club “sharpen our focus on football” and minimise distractions, which saw the club having “decided not to sell a home game in 2023”.
Richmond’s three games in Cairns were similarly disastrous, featuring a nine-point win over a bunch of Gold Coast babies, that infamous loss with Karmichael Hunt’s matchwinner and then another loss to the Suns the next year.
Can the Roos afford the move on the field? Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Can the Roos afford the move on the field? Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images
The Roos will play a Dockers side that should be stacked in those next three years, and a West Coast side it will simply have to beat if it wants to make a finals charge.
The two sides have played their last seven games with the margin either way not more than 15 points.
And while the Roos have beaten the Eagles twice at Perth Stadium in that time … well everyone beat the Eagles at Perth Stadium and they should be vastly improved from here on in.
So while the Roos keep their financial bottom line out of the red, and the AFL gets a solution to the travel burden for WA clubs, this time it is Clarkson who is getting the proverbial shizen sandwich.
Click to expand...
I guess the " key on Johnny Ralph's keyboard must be broken. He's telling us what Clarko must be thinking and saying about this deal but he hasn't managed to include a single quote.
 

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Frank Thring said:
So we play 4 home games in Tassie and 2 in WA next year?
Click to expand...
I have read both options in the media. 2 + 2 and 2 + 4. So not sure. Would be difficult to cut Tassy to 2 this coming season when memberships have already been sold based on four.
 
gokangas said:
I have read both options in the media. 2 + 2 and 2 + 4. So not sure. Would be difficult to cut Tassy to 2 this coming season when memberships have already been sold based on four.
Click to expand...
Not sure its that difficult for them.

I've paid for gold interstate memberships which include "access to redeem a reserved seat ticket to one North game in your state," only for the AFL fixture to come out a month later where lo and behold there aren't any games in my state.

It happens.

In a fairer world, they'd roll over memberships after the fixture was announced.

As it stands, they'll probably just suggest that supporters in Tassie are free to switch to a digital roos membership or the like.
 
Makeshift Park said:
Not sure its that difficult for them.

I've paid for gold interstate memberships which include "access to redeem a reserved seat ticket to one North game in your state," only for the AFL fixture to later come out a month later where lo and behold there aren't any games in my state.

It happens.

In a fairer world, they'd roll over memberships after the fixture was announced.
Click to expand...

Hope the WA move has no impact on finally returning to Qld next season.
 
Jon Ralph

1730360794845.png 1730360794845.png
 
big_e said:
It's been said repeatedly that we play seven home games in Melbourne next year. There'll be two home games in WA (one at Optus, the other in West Collie). I'll let you do the maths on how many games that means for Hobart.
Click to expand...
Extra Love for the West Collie…
Only thing is, brings down Collie
 
I could definitely see myself taking the family to WA for 2 weeks during this period. Great idea to do it as a block. Also might be a good for playing group to have a couple of weeks away together a year in a nice warm climate.

WA support for North has been terrific. They deserve something like this more than any other state/city.
 
DunderHead said:
I could definitely see myself taking the family to WA for 2 weeks during this period. Great idea to do it as a block. Also might be a good for playing group to have a couple of weeks away together a year in a nice warm climate.

WA support for North has been terrific. They deserve something like this more than any other state/city.
Click to expand...
Average maximums in Bunbury in June and July are 18.5 and 17.3, respectively.

Bring a jumper.
 

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DaveyBoy123 said:
If Ralphy wants answers to his questions, I can provide at least one...

How does Clarkson pitch the move to Luke Davies-Uniacke, open to signing a free agency contract extension but suddenly spending an extra fortnight in Perth every season and with finals further than ever away?

I'm sure Luke wouldn't mind spending his days off surfing off Margaret River, Cottesloe (if he needs to stay close to Perth) and Ningaloo (if he is allowed an extended break)!
Click to expand...
Bunno is REAL close to Margs/Gracetown. I'm sure LDU won't mind that one bit. World class breaks.
 
Would be interesting to see if the two additional games in Melbourne might be at the MCG.

Although it sounds like a fallacy, Watt does have contacts in the MCC and AFL. She can get it done.
 
That Ralph article is rubbish journalism. It feels like he needed to fill his quota for the week so he just vomited out an article that constantly raised questions but contained no actual answers or insight.
 
tricknologist said:
That Ralph article is rubbish journalism. It feels like he needed to fill his quota for the week so he just vomited out an article that constantly raised questions but contained no actual answers or insight.
Click to expand...
My friend, there’s a reason it feels that way.
 
gokangas said:
Whack from Jon Ralph.

Analysis: Why North’s big move out west will be hard to stomach for Alastair Clarkson​

Fair play to the Kangaroos for trying to secure a $2 million windfall each year by playing home games in Perth, but it’s hard to see how it will help them climb the ladder, writes Jon Ralph.

@RalphyHeraldSun

4 min read
October 31, 2024 - 2:56PM
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/.../87904494b2276c1e4b555eb31b16edb5#share-tools
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
follow
Fremantle didn’t quite end up covered in s--- after their last visit to Tasmania but they weren’t far short after that horrific cross-country trip.
The Dockers lost to Hawthorn by 13 points then were forced into a disastrous flight home as a plane malfunction saw cabin crew scooping human excrement from toilets as some passengers had to urinate directly into basins.
For a Dockers side already forced into a marathon flight across the country, it summed up their hatred of playing any games in Tasmania.
Fremantle have a 2-12 record in Launceston and lost their only clash in Hobart (to St Kilda).
Consider Justin Longmuir’s mood this week when he learned the club’s only clash against the Roos for the next three years is likely to be played in his own backyard.
Then consider the demeanour of Alastair Clarkson, who will spend the last three seasons of his five-year Roos deal wondering what the hell he is doing playing home games across the other side of the country.
The Roos will be a fixture in WA for years to come. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

The Roos will be a fixture in WA for years to come. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images
As revealed by the Herald Sun, the Roos are set to sell two home games a year to West Australia to play back-to-back weeks at Optus Stadium and Bunbury as they ease their way out of their Tasmania deal.
The Roos have been painted into a corner but how did the AFL think this was the only solution in an era of equalisation, forcing Victoria’s worst side into a deal that looks an on-field disaster?
The Roos need the cash ($2 million a year) and the AFL would like to lessen the WA teams’ travel burden.

But surely the better option for the Roos was to spend the final three years trying to find neutral venues to replace that cash before Tasmania enters the league in 2028.
The only upside is this – it will replace some of the roughly $3.5 million the Roos receive to play four games in Tasmania with Spirit of Tasmania branding, in a contract that expires next year.
The Roos will continue to play seven home games in Melbourne and ideally will bring one or two of those games back to Victoria from 2026 onwards because of the financial scope of this deal.
Ideally selling a game to a Victorian regional venue – similar to the Western Bulldogs deal in Ballarat – would have worked but the state government was broke and didn’t have a dollar to spare to throw at the Roos.
And yet if it makes sense financially, selling a game to any other stadium other than the one where the ‘away’ team already plays 12 home games a year would have been preferable.
How does Clarkson pitch the move to Luke Davies-Uniacke, open to signing a free agency contract extension but suddenly spending an extra fortnight in Perth every season and with finals further than ever away?
It’s a big win for Justin Longmuir’s Fremantle. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

It’s a big win for Justin Longmuir’s Fremantle. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images
Or George Wardlaw, who like his great buddy Harry Sheezel some chance to sign a mega-extension past 2026 but not prepared to do so until he sees signs the Roos are getting their act together?
Or the free agent they will try to sign next year, with even more cap space with Jaidyn Stephenson’s retirement and contracts to Aidan Corr and Callum Coleman-Jones also expire?
Clarkson has been kept up to date on the move and football boss Todd Viney has visited the Bunbury site, aware this move will allow the club to pay a full salary cap and soft cap in years to come.
But only months ago he made clear a side that hadn’t climbed out of the bottom two in the past five years needed to get a wriggle on.
The fans are pragmatic enough to know this club needs radical moves to survive.
But say what you want about the Roos playing well at Optus Stadium (they have won four of nine games there), it is preposterous to suggest they have a better chance of winning against Fremantle or West Coast in WA than playing in Melbourne, Tasmania or even a neutral venue.
St Kilda abandoned its Cairns home games last year after its 2022 season turned on its head after a loss to Port Adelaide in wet slippery conditions, with a previously 5-1 St Kilda outfit losing its way and missing finals.
The club’s year-end review recommended the club “sharpen our focus on football” and minimise distractions, which saw the club having “decided not to sell a home game in 2023”.
Richmond’s three games in Cairns were similarly disastrous, featuring a nine-point win over a bunch of Gold Coast babies, that infamous loss with Karmichael Hunt’s matchwinner and then another loss to the Suns the next year.
Can the Roos afford the move on the field? Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Can the Roos afford the move on the field? Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images
The Roos will play a Dockers side that should be stacked in those next three years, and a West Coast side it will simply have to beat if it wants to make a finals charge.
The two sides have played their last seven games with the margin either way not more than 15 points.
And while the Roos have beaten the Eagles twice at Perth Stadium in that time … well everyone beat the Eagles at Perth Stadium and they should be vastly improved from here on in.
So while the Roos keep their financial bottom line out of the red, and the AFL gets a solution to the travel burden for WA clubs, this time it is Clarkson who is getting the proverbial shizen sandwich.
Click to expand...
Personally, I'd like to see the Club embrace more Marvel games and ride the inevitable wave of a team containing the likes of George, Harry,Kerch, LDU and Chom.

But the Club knows it's finances and we'll need to trust its judgement on it.

But, seriously, Jon give us a spell.

Negative sh&t for negative sh&ts sake.

Extraordinary you'd pot a minnow Club for trying to pay its own way rather than carrying huge debt ( he's surely taking the pi55 with his reference to StKilda) or rely on gambling dollars.

The Club should be lauded if anything.

On Clarko, I'm not sure a bloke who's nailed 4 premierships is going to run around like Chicken Little worried about 2 games in Perth. FFS it's it's not Sierra Leone.

If leaking games to WC and Fremantle is costing us finals action - then we're not good enough to start with.

Barassi's and Pagan's teams would have relished the challenge and thrived on smashing them - not cowering and sooking like little boys.

Give me the strength.
 
Stuff all the current woes and hand-wringing.

Anyone watching the 1998 kangas vs dogs classic ‘live’ on fox footy at the moment?

What a side we were.
 

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Opinion Commentary & Media VIII

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