Review The Grand Final Disaster of 2017.

[darcytiger]

I find it interesting when reading posts like yours that mention about interstate sides getting a home ground advantage during the minor round, they always seem to fail to mention the lack of travel for Vic clubs. You played interstate 6 times last year, next year it’s 5. That more than makes up for the extra home games we get, so what that leaves us is the distinct advantage MCG based teams have come finals time.

A one hour flight to Melbourne is not taxing. The WA sides can possibly whinge about travel but not SA sides

 

[Elite Crow]

A one hour flight to Melbourne is not taxing. The WA sides can possibly whinge about travel but not SA sides

Is that all you think the disruption is? And you do know there are other states in Australia besides Melbourne SA sides travel to?

 

[Jenkins4]

A one hour flight to Melbourne is not taxing. The WA sides can possibly whinge about travel but not SA sides

Excellent. Victorian club can have extra games in Tasmania as it’s only 1 hour and 15 minutes to make up the difference.

AFL should pay for 22 rounds of games in Tasmania made up solely Victorian clubs.

After all it’s not Taxing

 

[Jenkins4]

A 1 hour flight.

From front door to hotel room compared to front door to change rooms.

Say 12 o’clock flight. Adelaide to Melbourne. 1 hour duration

Leave your house. Say 45 minutes 10:15
Arrive at air port 1 hour prior. 11 o’clock
Arrive, get luggage and get bus. 1:50
Drive to hotel 45 minutes 2:35

So 10:15 am to 2:35pm

Compared to a 45 minutes to 1 hour drive to the MCG. Oh the humanity. The Victorian clubs have it so tough. It’s an outrage.

 

[Jack is Back]

A one hour flight to Melbourne is not taxing. The WA sides can possibly whinge about travel but not SA sides

Isnt it a one hour flight from Melbourne to Adelaide and Melbourne to Sydney? Why have Victorian teams produced such a poor record in these fixtures?

The home ground advantage is a twin edged sword. We play 10 games at Adelaide Oval against interstate teams every year and our record in these matches is very good. We also play 10 games interstate against interstate clubs and our record in these matches is considerably less impressive. Statistically the chance of winning when travelling interstate is much lower for all clubs.

The difference for Victorian clubs is that they play far fewer games interstate but on the other hand they play less interstate clubs at home. In 2018 Richmond play 5 games interstate and 4 games in Melbourne against interstate teams. The interstate clubs have much more difficult away matches but a greater advantage in home matches. This should make it easier for very good Victorian teams to finish near the top of the table but very poor Victorian teams are more likely to finish near the bottom and history shows this to be the case. Melbourne teams playing away matches against Carlton at the MCG would hardly be wringing their hands in despair.

Part of the disadvantage of playing away is the disruption to preparation. If it happens 5 times a year it is a good chance for the team to bond, if it is 10 times a year it is a pain in the arse.

Finally, playing the Grand Final at the MCG is a significant advantage to teams that play most of their games at the G. It’s a fact, it isn’t going to change and interstate teams just need to suck it up. However denying that it is an advantage is ridiculous.

 

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

A one hour flight to Melbourne is not taxing. The WA sides can possibly whinge about travel but not SA sides

Because the players obviously live at the airport, get on the plane just seconds before it leaves and then step off the plane and straight into their hotel, which is conveniently also located right next to the MCG.

So, ignoring the complete lie about it just being 1 hour (it's actually 80 minutes)

It's not just that though, it's sleeping in a different bed, being away from children and partners (not an issue for some), having a different schedule (especially when so much of improving players is about getting them to maintain a set routine when kicking for goal, etc.), disruption for the following week's game if you play at night, but can't travel back until the following day.

In isolation a lot of these things are minor, but added together I think there's pretty clear evidence that home teams have an advantage over teams travelling from interstate (which is a double-edged sword as the Crows also get to play at home against an interstate team 10 times per year).