Hawks and Cats shunted because of the Big Four?

[Slax]

In many ways if Port make the 8 it solves the AFL's problem, simple equation 5th v Port at Etihad, won't matter if it is Richmond or Collingwood, the game wouldn't attract more than 55,000 at the MCG so why put it there.

 

[Catfish Alley]

Wouldn't be so sure of that. Both Collingwood and Richmond in finals will draw a big crowd - no matter who they play.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I don't think a wet weather slog would be ideal to begin the finals. It's harder on the body, takes longer to recover and increases the risk of injuries. I'll take it in the Grand Final but for now I'm hoping they keep as fresh as possible.

Whatever would give our team the best chance to win (and get a week off) is ideal. I haven't taken the time to look at it in great detail, but on the surface, it would seem that several of Fremantle's main weapons would be hampered by wet conditions (particularly when you consider the different conditions in Melbourne, compared to Perth). Even during the period of Geelong's dominance, they have proven to generally be a better team in the wet than the dry. Even a player like Hawkins relishes the wet conditions.

 

[Hawkk]

Yes, but only once the Hawks and Cats drew over 80k, the Tiges, Pies, Bombers and Blues have done it 3 times each.

80,000 perhaps. But we've drawn 70,000 plus 4 times this season which isn't bad

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

At the end of the day any combination of Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon and Richmond would be the biggest crowd pullers with the most media hype and general public interest.

That's ok if public and media get sucked in to preferring quantity over quality.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

And if its wet first week of the finals the quality of football in eithad is going to be 10x better then the other games.

And what level of complaining will be done then against the side that plays under the Eithad roof while everyone else has a hard slog in the rain, it could gift someone a GF birth.

Irrelevant. The winner of the game would have a week off anyway and the loser would be just about cooked regardless.

Nothing wrong with the quality of the '11 GF in the wet. Unless it's an absolute deluge, quality sides play attractive footy no matter the conditions.

 

[Herne Hill Hammer]

Surely if it's Geelong v Freo then that game is shunted to Etihad considering Hawthorn, Richmond and Collingwood have the MCG as their home where Geelong share home games at 3 grounds.

They could petition for it to be played in Geelong but I think the AFL would say whilst the ground is improving it's not yet at finals capacity. Maybe for an elimination final but not a qualifying final.

It's tough that Geelong wouldn't get the G but considering they get a nice little home advantage at Geelong for a good chunk of their home games and have had significant AFL and Government support in developing their ground I would say bad luck this time.

We'll see what your thoughts are in 25 years time when Melbourne finish 1st or 2nd and have to play GWS in the first week of finals at Jihad.

If it's Geelong v Freo then of course it will be played at Jihad. I don't see what the big fuss is. It makes perfect sense and Geelong's record is pretty exceptional there.

 

[Pessimistic]

Yes, but only once the Hawks and Cats drew over 80k, the Tiges, Pies, Bombers and Blues have done it 3 times each.

Now the hawks wouldnt have been involved in at least one of those games, and etihad games v carl and ess were massive sell outs ?

My selective data beats your selective data

 

[NUFC Tiger]

I can definitely see why Hawthorn and Geelong fans would be upset at the prospect of being sent packing to Etihad - it's a tough one for the AFL. If it was my club being talked about having its home final moved, I'd also be pretty upset.

Being a tiger fan though, I have to admit I don't really care about other clubs and just want to see my team play a final at the MCG again. Might be selfish but my heart bleeds yellow and black and I'm sure I wouldn't be the only fan guilty of putting their club ahead of others. Reading the article, I think Hawthorn have actually won something like 8 in a row at Etihad? Sure it would be an inconvenience but in some ways, it might help them secure a win.

I think ultimately we will see if the AFL value the integrity of the comp or if they put money higher on the agenda...will be interesting to see

 

[Pessimistic]

Not too upset about attending a final at etihad esp if there is a guarantee there is no lock out for home fans

What peeves me off is journalists writing from the angle that its a given that haw or geel would draw less. Its just not the case these days

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I can definitely see why Hawthorn and Geelong fans would be upset at the prospect of being sent packing to Etihad - it's a tough one for the AFL. If it was my club being talked about having its home final moved, I'd also be pretty upset.

Being a tiger fan though, I have to admit I don't really care about other clubs and just want to see my team play a final at the MCG again. Might be selfish but my heart bleeds yellow and black and I'm sure I wouldn't be the only fan guilty of putting their club ahead of others. Reading the article, I think Hawthorn have actually won something like 8 in a row at Etihad? Sure it would be an inconvenience but in some ways, it might help them secure a win.

I think ultimately we will see if the AFL value the integrity of the comp or if they put money higher on the agenda...will be interesting to see

That's fair enough. To be honest, I'd say it's not so much the 'disadvantage' as the idea that a lower-ranked team would be favoured, just because they happen to be playing another Victorian team, that would have most Geelong supporters' noses a little out of joint. In the big scheme of things, the 'disadvantage' of having to play a (still only potential) home final at Etihad is completely insignificant, compared to the disadvantages that have been dealt out to non-Vic teams in the past.

At the end of the day, Geelong still has to beat Sydney and Brisbane for this to even be an issue. Otherwise they'll be getting on a plane for their first final, or playing Hawthorn at the MCG.

 

[Footy Smarts]

Hawthorn and Sydney should be told that if they draw each other in the first week of finals (which is a very good chance) it will be played on Thursday night. They play each other the Friday night in the last round so it wouldn't be unfair. It's a 6 day break for both teams. It also gives the losing team longer to prepare for their semi-final the next week.

That means if there's 4 Vic teams at home it's 4 games over 4 days at the G. The other Qualifying final (Geel Freo) gets played on Friday night at Paterson's or the G. Then the other two games are Sat night and Sunday. It also means if Richmond or Collingwood play Port they don't have to be shunted to Etihad either which they shouldn't be.

 

[Catfish Alley]

I'll just be happy with a QF in Victoria to be honest. 2 games to go. A lot can happen.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I'll just be happy with a QF in Victoria to be honest. 2 games to go. A lot can happen.

The other thing is I'm actually pretty surprised how rare the Etihad finals matches have been over the years. I was under the impression that it was a possibility, regardless of MCG availability, every time <50k was anticipated. At the time, I thought that the venue for our last two finals against Freo (in 2010 and 2012) was a genuine coin flip between Etihad and the MCG.

 

[Liger]

If it's at Etihad I'd like our chances. Ross rarely loses at Etihad. It wouldn't be 'fair' for Geelong but fairness is hardly a factor when it comes to the scheduling of games in the AFL, full stop.

The main issue for Geelong fans is we're the only club that's not allowed to play finals at their home ground even if they earn the right. Vlad has categorically said 'not under his watch'.

 

[Top_4_Tiger]

It's not about money, it's about the fans.

Why shaft tens of thousands of other clubs just because Hawthorn 'prefer' one ground over another?

- They still get their advantage by being in front of a home crowd
- They still get their advantage by forcing Freo to travel interstate while Hawks don't
- They still get their advantage by having a double chance

What's the problem?

Why screw over tens of thousands of fans because you think you're being disadvantaged by playing at the etihad instead of the g despite winning your last 8 games at etihad?

 

[Sttew]

What's the problem?

Th problem is that finishing No.1 ought to afford some privileges, like playing the final on a preferred ground. And the AFL is likely to say to Hawthorn and Geelong - "We know you finished 1 & 2, but we don't really care..."

Etihad is only used as a default finals venue because of contractual obligations, not because the AFL thinks its a suitable venue

 

[Pessimistic]

It's not about money, it's about the fans.

Why shaft tens of thousands of other clubs just because Hawthorn 'prefer' one ground over another?

- They still get their advantage by being in front of a home crowd
- They still get their advantage by forcing Freo to travel interstate while Hawks don't
- They still get their advantage by having a double chance

What's the problem?

Why screw over tens of thousands of fans because you think you're being disadvantaged by playing at the etihad instead of the g despite winning your last 8 games at etihad?

Because we would get a bigger crowd than richmond against a given opposition. If one is freo and the other is port its where it gets debatable, both have soft support in finals over here proven

 

[Pessimistic]

Etihad should have been 55 to 60 k, thats obvious

 

[blue harvest]

I'll just be happy with a QF in Victoria to be honest. 2 games to go. A lot can happen.

Yep me too, Hawks and Cats could easily be going interstate the first week.
Let's just worry about scheduling after round 23.

 

[SSSSSS]

If we do end up top 2 then we most definitely deserve to play at our home ground rather than the 'big four' clubs who are piddling away in the bottom four of the finals. If you didn't earn the top 2 place you don't deserve to play the home final, 'big four' or not.

That said we do have a good record at Etihad and our wet weather footy is hot and cold. We will just have to wait and see.

We could very well end up playing in Sydney for that matter.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

It's not about money, it's about the fans.

Why shaft tens of thousands of other clubs just because Hawthorn 'prefer' one ground over another?

- They still get their advantage by being in front of a home crowd
- They still get their advantage by forcing Freo to travel interstate while Hawks don't
- They still get their advantage by having a double chance

What's the problem?

Why screw over tens of thousands of fans because you think you're being disadvantaged by playing at the etihad instead of the g despite winning your last 8 games at etihad?

Because they finished higher than your team and they have every right to not give a flying rat's tossbag about your fans. Just like you couldn't care less about us.

Say you'd get 60K at the MCG for an elimination final against Port Adelaide. Then subtract all the MCC members who are not members of either club. You're probably left with a crowd that would fit inside Etihad.

 

[Top_4_Tiger]

Th problem is that finishing No.1 ought to afford some privileges, like playing the final on a preferred ground. And the AFL is likely to say to Hawthorn and Geelong - "We know you finished 1 & 2, but we don't really care..."

- They still get their advantage by being in front of a home crowd
- They still get their advantage by forcing Freo to travel interstate while Hawks don't
- They still get their advantage by having a double chance

They've won their last 8 at Etihad, so performance isn't an issue.

Why screw 30,000 fans so Hawks play at the G instead of Etihad, a negligent advantage?

 

[Sttew]

- They still get their advantage by being in front of a home crowd
- They still get their advantage by forcing Freo to travel interstate while Hawks don't
- They still get their advantage by having a double chance

They've won their last 8 at Etihad, so performance isn't an issue.

Why screw 30,000 fans so Hawks play at the G instead of Etihad, a negligent advantage?

I was actually thinking about Geelong. We play better football at the MCG.

 

[Top_4_Tiger]

Because they finished higher than your team and they have every right to not give a flying rat's tossbag about your fans.

This game is for the fans! The fans come first.

Say you'd get 60K at the MCG for an elimination final against Port Adelaide. Then subtract all the MCC members who are not members of either club. You're probably left with a crowd that would fit inside Etihad.

The argument is:

Richmond vs Carlton
Collingwood vs Essendon

Both games would command 90k at the MCG in the first finals with all four since the mid 70's.

It's a dream finals weekend for football.

I'm not sure why you're talking about Richmond vs Port Adelaide and MCC members to justify your position. Maybe there isn't a good argument for your position?