Play Nice Geelong home final at GHMBA Stadium, is this an unfair advantage?

[Hoops]

IF we make it past Essendon and IF Geelong lose in the first week (and if Richmond lose which would mean two finals in Melbourne SF week) I wouldnt be surprised if the AFL have the two teams play at GMHBA to shut the whinging up.

Nah, Collingwood and Richmond fans will still find a reason to whinge

 

[blue harvest]

Well, Geelong is also a different city.

Manchester and Liverpool are about 40km apart. City, United, reds, Everton and all other clubs in vicinity should be in one or two stadiums according to some melbourne club supporters.

The AFL have homogenised football in Melbourne, and now it’s accepted as the must way rather than the world-wide outlier it is

World wide outlier? Lol.
You want to go and live in the UK or US because they do things so great then go ahead.

 

[btdg]

Well, Geelong is also a different city.

Manchester and Liverpool are about 40km apart. City, United, reds, Everton and all other clubs in vicinity should be in one or two stadiums according to some melbourne club supporters.

The AFL have homogenised football in Melbourne, and now it’s accepted as the must way rather than the world-wide outlier it is

The point is that finals in this competition have always been played at neutral grounds. Always - dating back to 1897.

Premier league is a different sport in a different league. Even then, the FA cup is played at Wembley even though that is close to Chelsea than Manchester.

Pushing Melbourne teams out of their regular season home grounds and onto neutral venue is a separate matter. It’s an unfair disadvantage for the Victorian teams but fixed some of the other problems (namely that very few suburban grounds were suitable and the AFL and state government weren’t paying for 9 stadium upgrades, which led to teams being Carlton tenants, etc).

Honestly, if we are looking at inequities in the comp that’s where we should be looking - the regular season issues that routinely lead to Victorian teams clogging the bottom 4

 

[doppleganger]

Geelong in the last decade have played 76 games at the G, Essendon just 79.

North and Doggies ain’t even played 30.

Yet North, Dogs, Saints, Bombers, Carlton....all Vic teams know that if they finish 1st they have ‘earned’ a QF at the MCG.

 

[romeohwho]

In 1989 we played 1 at the G and the Cats played 7. Did we piss and moan? No, because finals are played at the biggest/best/most suitable ground.

Actually, you played your first final- which is the final we are talking about- at Waverley. You finished top of the ladder and Essendon had to play you at your home ground-Waverley.

 

[Adz]

Hawthorn only won the 1991 GF because they got to play the GF at their true home ground - Waverley #FACT

 

[blue harvest]

Actually, you played your first final- which is the final we are talking about- at Waverley. You finished top of the ladder and Essendon had to play you at your home ground-Waverley.

What has that got to do with the 7 games to 1 at the G for the Cats which I was talking about? Did we piss and moan about it? No.
Waverley and the G were the AFL's finals venues, you had to play where they told you to play.
Our home ground was Princes Park that year.

 

[blue harvest]

Hawthorn only won the 1991 GF because they got to play the GF at their true home ground - Waverley #FACT

Our home ground was Princes Park.
And we beat the Eagles at Subi in the finals too under the ridiculous final 6 system where 2nd had to play the top team to get to the 2nd semi where as 3rd only had to beat the 4th team to get to the 2nd semi.

 

[romeohwho]

What has that got to do with the 7 games to 1 at the G for the Cats which I was talking about? Did we piss and moan about it? No.
Waverley and the G were the AFL's finals venues, you had to play where they told you to play.
Our home ground was Princes Park that year.

Lol. What’s where you played the gf in 89 got to do with anything? Nobody is suggesting the gf be played in Geelong.
You played 9 games at Waverley. 8 at princes park.
And the fact you got to play the first final there is exactly what we are talking about here.

 

[blue harvest]

Lol. What’s where you played the gf in 89 got to do with anything? Nobody is suggesting the gf be played in Geelong.
You played 9 games at Waverley. 8 at princes park.

If you read my post I was talking about did people piss and moan back then about where they played finals? Does anyone on Bigfooty know what context means? Thanks for confirming you were wrong about our home ground being Waverley that year, we only got 8 games at our home ground!

 

[romeohwho]

If you read my post I was talking about did people piss and moan back then about where they played finals? Does anyone on Bigfooty know what context means? Thanks for confirming you were wrong about our home ground being Waverley that year.

You played 9 games at Waverley and 8 at princes park - funny sort of comp when you played more games away from your home ground. Give it a spell.

 

[blue harvest]

You played 9 games at Waverley and 8 at princes park - funny sort of comp when you played more games away from your home ground. Give it a spell.

Yep it was funny alright. We only got 8 games at our home ground that year! And then after finishing top of the ladder had to play our semi at the AFL's finals venue (as per the competition rules) and the GF at the G (as per the competition rules) where our opponent had played 7 times and we had only played once! Fcuk me. Did people piss and moan? No.

 

[FrakturedHalo]

And something else - this attitude by some Collingwood supporters is s**tty stuff too. If my club were kissed on the dick like this I’d like to think I’d just have the good grace to take it and run, not sit around rubbing the unfairness in. Pathetic.

Youre an idiot, how is that rubbing it in? Its simply a dose of reality if people cant handle some basic common sense concerning simple logistics and think its a "shitty attitude" for someone stating the cold hard facts then they need to get their heads out of la la land.

 

[Flags_In_The_Bag]

Yep but it was still a neutral venue-so neither team was disadvantaged. You didn’t get rewarded for finishing above, but at least you didn’t have to play the crows on their home ground.
If you’d been playing an MCG tenant at the G in that final, you’d have been disadvantaged despite finishing higher than the other team.
So you either say-fine-that’s how it’s always been, or do you say in a professional comp, we try for a fairer set up?
I would hope that in 10 years more finals are played on neutral grounds, or the higher finishing team gets a home final. I’d also suggest that we need to break the MCG contract and start recognising that a Grand final can be played interstate. It’s very old fashioned stuff happening here.

Understand Geelongs ground is in Victoria, so if we played the crows there it would suit the dogs who never play there? Understand same state does not mean home ground advantage. It's where you usually play when a home game.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

lol worthy if Cats go out in straights sets again all because Chris Scott is having a whinge about home ground advantage.

I agree with him but let it go you have a finals series to focus on

 

[James G]

If the AFL valued fairness/equality the game would be at KP!

Home state advantage and largest capacity stadium are only part of the reason for paying the game at the G

The MCC/AFL contract stipulates that a certain number of finals must be played at the G over a certain number of years. With all the current interstate/non-MCG finals, they jumped at the chance to schedule a game at the G for this reason as well as increased capacity/revenue.

 

[Cotcho]

This topic again. Still does my head in. I'll have another go at it.

Geelong are the only non travelling Victorian club in the league that have a home ground. Every year they get 2 or 3 genuine home games more than the likes of Richmond, Collingwood, Essendon.

They get the advantage during the home and away and forfeit that advantage during finals.

If they are unhappy with this situation become a bloody MCG tenant and allow Collingwood to build a unique stadium where they can lockout fans during the year and train. Geelong can be one of 7 other teams in the MCG.

Geelong fans still sooking and wanting their cake and eating it.

You get your advantage during the year. Take even 1 win off your record and you finish 4th this year and 2017 and don't gets home final anyway

Greedy greedy gooses down at Geelong.its pathetic.

Go pies!!

 

[rippersnipper]

It's self-interest. You're not going to get supporters of MCG-tenant clubs (a sizeable chunk of the AFL fanbase) to argue their team should lose a massive advantage and have to travel down to Geelong for it. Same as how us Geelong supporters are stuck arguing the reverse.

For me the interesting variable is the Marvel Stadium clubs. It's been a while since a team like Essendon, St Kilda, Western Bulldogs and North have been consistently making top 4 and hosting finals themselves. They have just as much an argument for a home final as Geelong does.

We have more of an argument imo. The three poorer clubs play 1-2 games there each year, far less than Geelong, and potentially less than a few interstate clubs. We would absolutely still have to host an MCG tennant at the G if we won the right to a home final against them. Example, we hosted Essendon there in the 2014 elimination final. The bombers seem to be stuck between two grounds in a similar fashion to geelong though

 

[Spanish_Fly]

If you finish 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th, you deserve a home final, not a home state final, a home GROUND final. Rules shouldn't be different for Geelong. I hate backing up Geelong, but it is completely unfair that they don't receive the same treatment as the other clubs who earn home finals.

If the Bulldogs finished 1st and Collingwood 4th, the Dogs wouldn’t get a home final, it’s not just Geelong. Pretty sure GWS played Sydney at a neutral venue also

 

[Whiskers]

Not a good article at all, entirely a vfl based article...since the vfl became the afl his points are irrelevant in the extreme. Interstate sides receive a home final, as do all Melb clubs, literally the only club in the afl (national comp remember) who doesn't is geelong.

Again this is super simple, just ask yourself if you would be happy and be prepared to put up with playing an away game despite earning the right for a home game...I know what the answer would be (even if some ppl's ego on here won't admit it) so hence why if it's good for goose, why not for the gander!!

I’m all for Geelong home finals but we are not the most disadvantaged club. Marvel tenants are. StKilda, Roos and the dogs in particular.

It’s all about familiarity with a ground. Those clubs don’t have it at all with the G only playing maybe twice a year there, we play maybe 6 times? Yet would play the MCG tenants away for a home final also.

If those 3 sides I mentioned hosted us at the G for their home finals, it’s advantage to us.

 

[Numero Uno]

Our home ground was Princes Park.
And we beat the Eagles at Subi in the finals too under the ridiculous final 6 system where 2nd had to play the top team to get to the 2nd semi where as 3rd only had to beat the 4th team to get to the 2nd semi.

diddums

we finished first and had to travel to Victoria for 3 successive finals

laughable

 

[ChappyUK]

The players don't live at the club anyway. There aren't 48 players living at Punt Road or the Holden Centre.

Probably 48 homeless people though.

 

[mcgarnacle]

World wide outlier? Lol.
You want to go and live in the UK or US because they do things so great then go ahead.

Well constructed response. Highlights your lack of argument

 

[ChappyUK]

Well the AFL'S official line is all about the fans. And you can't argue. If it was played at Geelongs home ground 10s of thousands of Collingwood fans would miss out on seeing their team play finals live.

Even more would miss out of they played at the Gabba or SCG.

 

[ChappyUK]

lol worthy if Cats go out in straights sets again all because Chris Scott is having a whinge about home ground advantage.

I agree with him but let it go you have a finals series to focus on

He answered a question. That is all he has said about it