North want to play 2 home games in WA next season

[Woolly Mammoth]

The sad thing is these clubs were gifted a spot (and the status) in a national competition without any valid claim other than being in the right place at the right time. Much more successful clubs have been relegated to playing against "reserves teams" (e.g Norwood, East Fremantle, Sturt, South Fremantle, North Adelaide, etc)

Everytime the idea is floated to have a 3rd SA club, possibly an existing SANFL club, in the league it's shouted down by South Australians.
Can yas make up ya minds

 

[eastfreo75]

Its a dumb move.

Eddie came up with the solution on travel equality and it did not involve an extra home game for the WA teams. The teams spend 6 days away and play two away games in a row. Then two Vic teams do the same, head West and play the Eagles and Freo away 6 days apart.

Do that twice and you cut two flights / trips per season. No-one gets extra home games, just less travel. Not hard and great for tourism.

But with Gather Round the AFL has even further eroded the fixturing inequalities that now to fix that it needs to do things like this.

100%.

Double away games is a great idea.

Fremantle played Carlton and Port in Adelaide back to back.

If the Dockers played 5 games in Melbourne that could be done in 3

They've tried this in the past, with limited success. Players don't want to spend a week living in hotels - esepcially if they have families.

Seriously AFL players are soft. A lot of high paying includes travelling regularly. Cricketers spend months away and Footballers can’t live in hotel for a week.

 

[jdeezy]

Everytime the idea is floated to have a 3rd SA club, possibly an existing SANFL club, in the league it's shouted down by South Australians.
Can yas make up ya minds

I think the argument there is that when the national comp was first formed a few less VIC teams in favour of some of the big SA and WA clubs would've been ideal, building off their success and creating a proper national comp was a "best of the best" competition.

Now that those clubs are 30+ years removed from being relevant it would no longer make sense. In the same way that it wouldn't really make any sense to put in a VFL club now.

 

[Cuzz09]

Don Pyke gad this floated to him (by me) and seemed positive about the possibility of say...

1 big Wildcats style road trip play Bris, Syd, Melb, Adelaide then have a block of 5 or 6 at home.

Less travel back n forth etc

Cant see it TBH... 1-2 weeks Max

Sent from my SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[errant bounce]

Don Pyke gad this floated to him (by me) and seemed positive about the possibility of say...

1 big Wildcats style road trip play Bris, Syd, Melb, Adelaide then have a block of 5 or 6 at home.

Less travel back n forth etc

Cant see it TBH... 1-2 weeks Max

Sent from my SM-S908E using BigFooty.com mobile app

Freo's done it after Gather Rounds and it hasn't done a ****in thing.

Players don't want a month away from home for plenty of reasons.

 

[eastfreo75]

I think the argument there is that when the national comp was first formed a few less VIC teams in favour of some of the big SA and WA clubs would've been ideal, building off their success and creating a proper national comp was a "best of the best" competition.

Now that those clubs are 30+ years removed from being relevant it would no longer make sense. In the same way that it wouldn't really make any sense to put in a VFL club now.

There was a real opportunity to make the new national competition country wide and elite.

In WA, you would have got 2 teams from the start. Let’s say Fremantle and Perth. Four clubs align with each team ie Perth, West Perth, East Perth and Subiaco forming a Perth team. South and East Fremantle, Swans and Claremont.

Both teams with about the same amount of fans and resources.

SA could have Port and Adelaide straight off the bat.

Swans already existed.

7 Victorian Clubs invited to the new competition.

12 team competition with only the Swans needing financial support.

Maybe, you have added Tasmania and Brisbane with the 4 VFL clubs offered the opportunity to relocate.

People can say it would destroy Victorian traditions but WA and SA had their leagues reduced in importance.

 

[Woolly Mammoth]

I think the argument there is that when the national comp was first formed a few less VIC teams in favour of some of the big SA and WA clubs would've been ideal, building off their success and creating a proper national comp was a "best of the best" competition.

Now that those clubs are 30+ years removed from being relevant it would no longer make sense. In the same way that it wouldn't really make any sense to put in a VFL club now.

I get that, but in real terms, would it have been a best of the best state league clubs, or would it have been an A-league style comp with new composite clubs? and consider this-

Port- biggest club out of any SANFL or WAFL clubs, been an AFL team in a two team state for 27 years, been a top 4 lock four out of the last five years, acquired a number 1 draft pick and one of the most talked about players of recent times while still near the top of the ladder: $16 mil in variable funding last year
North- already one of the smallest clubs in a 10 team state, done bugger all for a quarter of a century, in the last 5 years the most horrendous onfield period, at any level, in the clubs 155 year history, and in fact statistically fielding one of the worst teams seen in the history of Australian rules football: $18-19mil in variable funding

So honestly how do we think a Norwood or an East Perth(let alone smaller clubs) would fair if they were in some kind of hypothetical superleague over smaller Vic teams? seems like this dream league would be exactly the same as what we have now with different names and faces (i.e you could have an even number of teams from each footy state, we know damn well the league is still choosing to have its grand final in a 100k stadium over a 50k stadium)

 

[Woolly Mammoth]

There was a real opportunity to make the new national competition country wide and elite.

In WA, you would have got 2 teams from the start. Let’s say Fremantle and Perth. Four clubs align with each team ie Perth, West Perth, East Perth and Subiaco forming a Perth team. South and East Fremantle, Swans and Claremont.

Both teams with about the same amount of fans and resources.

SA could have Port and Adelaide straight off the bat.

Swans already existed.

7 Victorian Clubs invited to the new competition.

12 team competition with only the Swans needing financial support.

Maybe, you have added Tasmania and Brisbane with the 4 VFL clubs offered the opportunity to relocate.

People can say it would destroy Victorian traditions but WA and SA had their leagues reduced in importance.

But you have done this yourself by, even in a fantasy scenario, opted for composite teams instead of real clubs with tradition and history. Thats very strange and a bit contradictory to me