Simonds Stadium Snubbed For Finals

[Teen Wolf]

Geelong have played at the MCG five times already this season. If an Adelaide-Geelong grand final eventuates, the higher-ranked team will probably have to travel interstate to a ground their opponents have had four more games at in 2017. Not ideal, but neither is the alternative. At some point you have to get on with it and just play the cards you're dealt. I find it weird how a lot of Cats supporters aren't willing to do that, they'd rather undermine the special and significant accomplishment their club might achieve five weeks from now.

 

[Nankervis brothers]

So I guess the next step is that Geelong will want the GF played at KP if the make it against of a lower ranked team.

Ridiculous.

No that would be stupid, because the MCG is where the GF is held.

Geelong finished above Richmond on the ladder, yet Richmond is being rewarded with the advantage of a home final. Effectively, the 4 points Geelong won against Richmond a few weeks back have stood for nothing.

The AFL just needs to be honest, and make it clear that profit trumps equitably in the comp. Just say it.

 

[Ancient Tiger]

No that would be stupid, because the MCG is where the GF is held.

Geelong finished above Richmond on the ladder, yet Richmond is being rewarded with the advantage of a home final. Effectively, the 4 points Geelong won against Richmond a few weeks back have stood for nothing.

The AFL just needs to do honest, and make it clear that profit trumps equitably in the comp. Just say it.

Apart from one final in the history of the AFL, when has Geelong played at KP in a final?

 

[Nankervis brothers]

Geelong have played at the MCG five times already this season. If an Adelaide-Geelong grand final eventuates, the higher-ranked team will probably have to travel interstate to a ground their opponents have had four more games at in 2017. Not ideal, but neither is the alternative. At some point you have to get on with it and just play the cards you're dealt. I find it weird how a lot of Cats supporters aren't willing to do that, they'd rather undermine the special and significant accomplishment their club might achieve five weeks from now.

All Geelong supporters are saying is that their team should be rewarded with a home QF if they have earned it. Finishing 2nd, and then having to play at the home ground of a lower place team, annuls the 'reward' of finishing 2nd. It's very simple.

 

[Bomber_Dan]

Ummm why not have it at etihad? Neutral ground

 

[dean33]

Apart from one final in the history of the AFL, when has Geelong played at KP in a final?

This is the thing I don't get, they get one final there ever in their history and now feel that every final they are higher ranked should be played there. Home state final its home state final so unless you move kardinia park to albury your finals will always be at the most suitable venue which will most likely be the Melbourne cricket ground.

 

[Greasyrhys]

The cats could host the Giants there in a Prelim?

 

[PetterdHoisted]

some of the entitlement in here is ridiculous, the game is funded by the people, play it at the 'G so they can actually go along, Cats and Tigers.

If Geelong are crying about being denied a home venue, spare a thought for the Tigers, we had to give up ours 50 years ago so Punt rd could be widened and the good people of the inner South Eastern suburbs could actually get to the city in under 2 hours.

In other words, for the greater good. Our home advantage was diluted ever since, playing at a ground that more and more became everyones ground. The one small pay back we get is that it is a frequent finals venue too.

 

[Teen Wolf]

All Geelong supporters are saying is that their team should be rewarded with a home QF if they have earned it. Finishing 2nd, and then having to play at the home ground of a lower place team, annuls the 'reward' of finishing 2nd. It's very simple.

The problem is you can play the should game all day long. Should all teams always get to play home finals at their preferred venue? Should rewards for ladder position be a priority when there's a lopsided H&A fixture? Should commercial realities and accessibility factors be considered and, if so, to what extent?

View any of these issues in isolation and the answers are very simple. The AFL have to weigh up all of these issues simultaneously. Many posters in this thread aren't accounting for that, which is very simplistic.

 

[Nankervis brothers]

The problem is you can play the should game all day long. Should all teams always get to play home finals at their preferred venue? Should rewards for ladder position be a priority when there's a lopsided H&A fixture? Should commercial realities and accessibility factors be considered and, if so, to what extent?

View any of these issues in isolation and the answers are very simple. The AFL have to weigh up all of these issues simultaneously. Many posters in this thread aren't accounting for that, which is very simplistic.

FWIW, I believe the equitability of the competition should be the most important concern, and that means fixing the fixture, which as it stands is silly.

The above over complicates the matter of the QF, which I believe should reward the team who finishes higher. If playing the game at the 'G is a commercial matter - which it entirely is - then the AFL should state that, rather than the current charade.

 

[Tzatziki_Man]

Why are geelong treated like an interstate club? If that's the case let the Bulldogs play their games at Whitten Oval and Richmond fans can stop traffic at Punt Road Oval. For a home game fine, for a final against Richmond? No way 36,000 is fair enough. They're not an interstate club. That's my opinion.

 

[Mad_Hatter]

I don't care about the venue but I am a bit disappointed at the time slot.
It's absolutely only about cash, Friday night in Melbourne is about the lowest drawing crowd for Geelong...
Oh but prime time tv!

 

[kaiserchief13]

Geelong v Richmond game should be at Etihad - more people can attend than in Geelong, but Richmond won't have the home ground advantage, when it is Geelong's home game.

 

[kaiserchief13]

If the Cats had finished on top then maybe a case for a home final, but they didn't, they were runners up on 2nd. No prize for runners up i'm afraid.

So Richmond finish 3rd and get a home final? Hows that work?

 

[Tzatziki_Man]

Geelong v Richmond game should be at Etihad - more people can attend than in Geelong, but Richmond won't have the home ground advantage, when it is Geelong's home game.

Richmond haven't beaten geelong at the G since 1999, what advantage??? Only downer for Geelong fans is it's Friday night, how can they travel to and from Geelong fairly

 

[Aramis]

Yep, because playing our home final at Richmond's home ground isn't a disadvantage at all.

The game at the G is about maximising fans isn't it?
Friday night games have proven to be the time of the week that the less amount of Geelong fans get to attend due to work commitments making the trip up to tight.

So can you explain what is the benefit to Geelong for having finished 2nd on the ladder?

It's simple: Geelong finished higher than Richmond at the end of the H/A season, yet Richmond will be rewarded with a home game. That is ridiculous. But whatever.

Good to see you're becoming acquainted with the lonely art of discussing other teams finals. Get used to it.

My heart truly bleeds for all you sooks.... get over it.... you got a home state final, shut your traps.
Here's the world's smallest violin playing just for you whingers.

You add no value in this thread besides trolling Cats supporters.

Go sit in a corner and put all your hopes on Burton for the Rising Star, Hawthorn have nothing else to be excited about.

Lol you know your up shit creek without a paddle when an Essendon fan has to come to your rescue.... Because I'd much rather be sitting around and waiting like a cow at the slaughterhouse to be knocked out of finals hahaha... you wont have ANYTHING to be excited about in a fortnight.

 

[TigerRoar]

I didn't hear any whinging and moaning last year when they 'hosted' the Hawks and swans at the MCG during the finals. Or any finals played in previous years against the pies, eagles, saints etc. Didn't seem to be an issue in the past, so why now?

 

[Aramis]

It isn't a hardship for teams, its a hardship for fans who would miss out.

The sooks attitude "who cares about the fans.... as long as the club gets a larger edge"... so good, typical handbagger spirit.

I didn't hear any whinging and moaning last year when they 'hosted' the Hawks and swans at the MCG during the finals. Or any finals played in previous years against the pies, eagles, saints etc. Didn't seem to be an issue in the past, so why now?

Because they realise this year they have a substantial edge worth sooking for more so than any other year.

 

[Rodney Dangerfield]

Geelong v Richmond game should be at Etihad - more people can attend than in Geelong, but Richmond won't have the home ground advantage, when it is Geelong's home game.

This was the problem when they built that shithole. Needed to be much bigger.
Most of Richmonds finals were at VFL Park pre Etihad. But then again this home ground issue was never raised anyway, teams just got on with it.

 

[kaiserchief13]

Richmond haven't beaten geelong at the G since 1999, what advantage??? Only downer for Geelong fans is it's Friday night, how can they travel to and from Geelong fairly

Irrelevant. Geelong should not have to host a finals game at another team's home ground

 

[Rabman]

How many "Home" finals did Geelong have at Kardinia park in the VFL era?

 

[fishardansin]

It's a boutique stadium for boutique games. Not the finals.

 

[Aramis]

It's a boutique stadium for boutique games. Not the finals.

^ THIS ^
needs to be stickied or inserted into the OP.....
Unfortunately this sound piece of logic is going to fall on deaf ears around these parts.
ahwell read it and wheep sooks...

MCG

 

[Tasfut]

Glad its at the MCG, 80-90 thousand screaming fans at the G on a Friday night will be great to watch!

 

[ReaperX]

Cats fans never sooked it up this much when they had to play finals at the MCG against the likes of Hawthorn and Sydney in recent years, did they? Perhaps they did and I just never noticed, I dunno.

But I have a feeling they were pretty cool with it, or at least not as frustrated as they currently are, so why are they so annoyed now?

It's simple really. We've seen how teams go at the Cattery with the Cats fans going nuts... but you can dial that up to 11 on Friday week, because they (and everyone else) knows that it's going to be a cauldron.