It isn't going to happen, but the one thing more than any other I wish still existed was each club maintaining - and playing at - its own home ground. And I wish South Melbourne and especially Fitzroy were a part of it. It really does suck that you have a whopping one team in Victoria (Geelong) with a genuine home ground, that's 90% or more their own fans. Technically Melbourne do as well, but because everyone has played at the MCG a million times it's far more diluted. It would be incredible if every single team had that. Completely understand the grounds would need to support x number of fans etc., that's the reality, but it would be a great thing nevertheless.
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Opinion Hypothetical, Back to pre nationalisation. What's your opinion?
- Thread starter Carringbush2010
- Start date
- Tagged users None
It isn't going to happen, but the one thing more than any other I wish still existed was each club maintaining - and playing at - its own home ground. And I wish South Melbourne and especially Fitzroy were a part of it. It really does suck that you have a whopping one team in Victoria (Geelong) with a genuine home ground, that's 90% or more their own fans. Technically Melbourne do as well, but because everyone has played at the MCG a million times it's far more diluted. It would be incredible if every single team had that. Completely understand the grounds would need to support x number of fans etc., that's the reality, but it would be a great thing nevertheless.
VFL would still be huge and I'd support it just as passionately but a national comp adds that greater interest and scale.
- Thread starter
- #53
Yes it'd be nice to have a national comp, something we don't have.
What we do have is an expanded vfl, an expanded vfl where the clubs have to leave the state to play, not ideal for their fans and members.
IF we didn't have an expanded vfl and just a vfl, wafl, sanfl, tfl, ntfl, qfl, it'd be better for the fans and members.
OK, so back to the beginning. Assuming post-1987 leagues were still as they were pre-1981. No Sydney, Bears or West Coast. And that no national league formed later either (it would have, but that's not the original premise); or other interstate relocations.
With all those predicates in mind; that there was no realistic possibility, one hypothetical among many others :
South fold, creating a bye in the VFL, potentially as early as 1981. Port Melbourne consider jumping to the VFL but decide against it as the league is too unstable and its seen they may end up talking their clubs under with them.
Needing to stabilise the sport in the state or both risk going belly-up, the VFA and VFL potentially move into a promotion-relegation system with the second tier continuing to dominate Sunday and the top tier Saturday. If that happened it would have hampered club growth, but possibly would have revitalised both competitions. if that structure happened, some more non-Melbourne teams would have been able to join; Ballarat and Bendigo probably surviving.
The VFL's draft proves to be a failure, as it was in the early days, with many players drafted and then choosing to stay in their home state's league. Or just getting more money in the SANFL.
The introduction of a salary doesn't stop St Kilda, Richmond and North from struggling to stay afloat - even with not very many players become full time in the VFL (or a successor league) until the mid 1990s.
In a failed attempt to win over fans without a team the North Melbourne Swans play from 1986, the same year as Fitzroy-Coburg Lions take to the field.
Without the Broadcom money or West Coast and Bears licence fees to help, Collingwood go broke, and a new club playing at Victoria Park, wearing black and white, adopting the Collingwood and Magpie monikers, but not at all the same entity according to the accountants and lawyers, take to the field for the first time in 1988. Multiple directors are found guilty of trading while insolvent.
Forced into a fire sale, the league sells its only tangible asset - VFL Park - for sod all, just a few years before the property boom begins in the mid 1990s. No stadium is built to replace it.
The St Kilda Tigers merger in 1991 remains the last for a while. Melbourne Hawks still does not happen; while revenues are lower, so are the expenses in keeping a club running.
In the VFL's doldrum years the SANFL pushes on, and maintains more than healthy attendances. It becomes the most financially stable of the leagues until the VFL (or its successor) rights itself.
But eventually the weight of not having the population growth of with Vic or WA take its toll and the SANFL probably drops to third financially and on field but still pulls much better crowds than it does in the real universe. it may even stay above WAFL financially. However, Woodville and West Torrens still merge.
The Vics start to flex the advantage of size, and bring in more players from SA and WA. Not to the extent the AFL was able to do, but more than in the pre-Crows (Crows don't exist in this universe) era.
Tasmania still forms a state league in 1986, but still loses it again and has it resurrected again, and loses it again (as is actually happening next year because **** knows why other than both AFL Tas and the AFL themselves love to re-screw everything every few years).
By the early 2000s, as air fares drop in real terms, Queensland puts together a state league as the top couple of teams from the Cairns league (which by some reports was just about as strong as the QAFL pre Brisbane moving to Brisbane) join the top teams from SEQ.
Many players play both a winter league and the NTFL over summer, making the NT league really quite strong for its small population.
The game does not gain any significant foothold in Sydney, and further loses relevance in the ACT and surrounds without a high profile professional league.
State of Origin remains massive, and while population dictates Victoria begins to dominate they still do get beaten sometimes in carnivals.
In the absence of a national league, a post-season champions league occurs in October. Which the competing teams take seriously, and again VFL sides win most - but not all - of the time. Run by Kerry Packer's Nine network "World Series Football", as some media dubs it, is the most lucrative of the competitions.
With all those predicates in mind; that there was no realistic possibility, one hypothetical among many others :
South fold, creating a bye in the VFL, potentially as early as 1981. Port Melbourne consider jumping to the VFL but decide against it as the league is too unstable and its seen they may end up talking their clubs under with them.
Needing to stabilise the sport in the state or both risk going belly-up, the VFA and VFL potentially move into a promotion-relegation system with the second tier continuing to dominate Sunday and the top tier Saturday. If that happened it would have hampered club growth, but possibly would have revitalised both competitions. if that structure happened, some more non-Melbourne teams would have been able to join; Ballarat and Bendigo probably surviving.
The VFL's draft proves to be a failure, as it was in the early days, with many players drafted and then choosing to stay in their home state's league. Or just getting more money in the SANFL.
The introduction of a salary doesn't stop St Kilda, Richmond and North from struggling to stay afloat - even with not very many players become full time in the VFL (or a successor league) until the mid 1990s.
In a failed attempt to win over fans without a team the North Melbourne Swans play from 1986, the same year as Fitzroy-Coburg Lions take to the field.
Without the Broadcom money or West Coast and Bears licence fees to help, Collingwood go broke, and a new club playing at Victoria Park, wearing black and white, adopting the Collingwood and Magpie monikers, but not at all the same entity according to the accountants and lawyers, take to the field for the first time in 1988. Multiple directors are found guilty of trading while insolvent.
Forced into a fire sale, the league sells its only tangible asset - VFL Park - for sod all, just a few years before the property boom begins in the mid 1990s. No stadium is built to replace it.
The St Kilda Tigers merger in 1991 remains the last for a while. Melbourne Hawks still does not happen; while revenues are lower, so are the expenses in keeping a club running.
In the VFL's doldrum years the SANFL pushes on, and maintains more than healthy attendances. It becomes the most financially stable of the leagues until the VFL (or its successor) rights itself.
But eventually the weight of not having the population growth of with Vic or WA take its toll and the SANFL probably drops to third financially and on field but still pulls much better crowds than it does in the real universe. it may even stay above WAFL financially. However, Woodville and West Torrens still merge.
The Vics start to flex the advantage of size, and bring in more players from SA and WA. Not to the extent the AFL was able to do, but more than in the pre-Crows (Crows don't exist in this universe) era.
Tasmania still forms a state league in 1986, but still loses it again and has it resurrected again, and loses it again (as is actually happening next year because **** knows why other than both AFL Tas and the AFL themselves love to re-screw everything every few years).
By the early 2000s, as air fares drop in real terms, Queensland puts together a state league as the top couple of teams from the Cairns league (which by some reports was just about as strong as the QAFL pre Brisbane moving to Brisbane) join the top teams from SEQ.
Many players play both a winter league and the NTFL over summer, making the NT league really quite strong for its small population.
The game does not gain any significant foothold in Sydney, and further loses relevance in the ACT and surrounds without a high profile professional league.
State of Origin remains massive, and while population dictates Victoria begins to dominate they still do get beaten sometimes in carnivals.
In the absence of a national league, a post-season champions league occurs in October. Which the competing teams take seriously, and again VFL sides win most - but not all - of the time. Run by Kerry Packer's Nine network "World Series Football", as some media dubs it, is the most lucrative of the competitions.
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