Was The AFL Wrong To Get Rid of Fitzroy?

Remove this Banner Ad

D

dymot

Premiership Player
Dec 4, 2012
4,816
2,627
AFL Club
Geelong
They had their chance in 1996 when the Hawthorn Melbourne merger was floated and discussed to get rid of the pea hearted downhill sking squibs known as the shemons then who were already a pathetic and deplorable team on field with little heart and effort then. Not to mention the culture of the club was rooted then with infighting and the need for Diamond Joe to bail them out.

17 years on the Shemons are still a bunch of frontrunning pansy downhill skiiers with no heart and really there is no foreseeable hope for the future. At least the Foldroy Bears played with heart weekly, had supporters who were loyal and keen and did things to ensure the club would stay around in the future (which were canned by the AFL).

So do you think had Fitzroy been allowed to stay afloat and they sent Melbourne to Brisbane we would have a team acting as a complete basketcase like Melbourne in the league still? I bet my right nut that Fitzroy definitely would be more competitive now.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Yes absolutely. Thanks to the draft and salary cap, we would be looking at a ladder with Fitzroy anywhere on it.

No team (with the possible exception of Carlton) should ever be merged or culled, especially not one with 8 premierships and 100 years of history behind them. The AFL's whiteanting of Fitzroy was nothing short of despicable. The competition is poorer for their loss.
 
woopedazz said:
Does that mean Fitzroy would have Jack Watts? I'm confused.
Click to expand...


Yes, they would have. And he'd have developed into the next Paul Roos, loving the six games a year he plays at Manuka Oval.

The Brisbane Bears would still exist, as would - regrettably - the Melbourne Demons.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

HirdysEars said:
Does that mean Fitzroy would have Jack Watts? I'm confused.
Click to expand...
HirdysEars said:
Does that mean Fitzroy would have Jack Watts? I'm confused.
Click to expand...
woopedazz said:
Does that mean Fitzroy would have Jack Watts? I'm confused.
Click to expand...
paul09 said:
Does that mean Fitzroy would have Jack Watts? I'm confused.
Click to expand...
Fyfie_ said:
Does that mean Fitzroy would have Jack Watts? I'm confused.
Click to expand...
KardiniaPark said:
Does that mean Fitzroy would have Jack Watts? I'm confused.
Click to expand...
paul09 said:
Does that mean Fitzroy would have Jack Watts? I'm confused.
Click to expand...

Yeah, probably.
 
The AFL hurt its image amongst supporters with the way it treated Fitzroy. But it probably enhanced its reputation amongst the board rooms of Australian companies. If the trolls are right, at some point in the future the wheel will turn and the AFL will lose patience with other smaller clubs like my own. I'm not convinced though. Not while media rights money is available... anyone else surprised that Cricket got $600m. That bodes well for AFL next time round.
 
dymot said:
They had their chance in 1996 when the Hawthorn Melbourne merger was floated and discussed to get rid of the pea hearted downhill sking squibs known as the shemons then who were already a pathetic and deplorable team on field with little heart and effort then. Not to mention the culture of the club was rooted then with infighting and the need for Diamond Joe to bail them out.

17 years on the Shemons are still a bunch of frontrunning pansy downhill skiiers with no heart and really there is no foreseeable hope for the future. At least the Foldroy Bears played with heart weekly, had supporters who were loyal and keen and did things to ensure the club would stay around in the future (which were canned by the AFL).

So do you think had Fitzroy been allowed to stay afloat and they sent Melbourne to Brisbane we would have a team acting as a complete basketcase like Melbourne in the league still? I bet my right nut that Fitzroy definitely would be more competitive now.
Click to expand...
The flaw in your little hypothetical is that we were financially sound at the time and the push to "buy out" the Hawks was to nab their best players. It was the Hawks that were floundering and had far more chance replacing Fitzroy as AD's ego experiment at shaping the league and leaving his mark.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Was The AFL Wrong To Get Rid of Fitzroy?

Similar threads

Aristotle Pickett
  • Poll
Game Day Port Adelaide can brush aside finals history to prove the doubters wrong VS Straight Set Cats
33 34 35 36 37
Replies
913
Views
11K
dav3
dav3
sthmelb_dimmies
Top 8 was a waste of time
2
Replies
26
Views
507
Saveloy Rockstar
Saveloy Rockstar
Tyler Durden007
Ha ha ha ha ha... puce. We get to play the purple awesomes... are we going to get ****en destroyed?
2 3
Replies
59
Views
1K
Saveloy Rockstar
Saveloy Rockstar
Elmer_Hauser
Game Brownlow Medal 2024. Name your top 5 place getters in order (Closet to the pin gets to troll Zackah with #Impunity for a year)
8 9 10 11 12
Replies
280
Views
3K
Saveloy Rockstar
Saveloy Rockstar
Sarcoidevo
Backfire Giants v Brions - Winner gets free pass through to the Grand Final
2
Replies
31
Views
670
Chronz
Chronz
Aristotle Pickett
Think Tank Is your club ready to get reamed by Richmond at the draft?
16 17 18 19 20
Replies
480
Views
8K
Triggering Tiger
Triggering Tiger
frggr
  • Locked
  • Poll
Game Day Little 4 Richmond Get Their Second Win of the Season vs Geelong - (relegated to) Kardinia Park
11 12 13 14 15
Replies
358
Views
5K
Elmer_Hauser
Elmer_Hauser

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top