Western Bulldogs and their partnership with Ballarat a success

[bresker]

I've driven up from Port Fairy , am staying with the first of my ex wives and her family in the 'rat.

I brought the full wet weather gear, waterproof pants and all. I work outdoors in addition to being from Ireland. As the Finns say, there's no such thing as bad weather; just bad clothing.

 

[Roogal]

Understandable

Saturday seems a good day as Monday but smack bang in middle Sunday is terrible

The game tomorrow in Ballarat is at 12.30 pm. The AFL cannot schedule the game any earlier. The stormy weather is forecasted to hit the WHOLE of Victoria from the North, so if the game was played at VUWO or at the MCG it would still be the same.

Have a look at the latest snippet from the BOM and make of this what you will. I reckon that the game might be affected by rain at some point but, hey, if the players can be out there and endure it, if you are loyal, you can too. You should be there to support them as they fight for their place in the final eight:

 

[geoffjennings79]

It's evidently been a very wet Winter in Ballarat.

It's been both an incredibly dry and mild winter in Ballarat.

 

[geoffjennings79]

Just posted this on the GD thread, but repeating here for anyone who misses the original post.

Weather update. I'm about 20 mins west of Ballarat. There was forecast rain overnight from 1am onwards through until about 6am.
Actual rainfall: 0 mm
There's a slight wind here (I'd say a 3-4 goal breeze), western sky is clear atm, but clouds moving north to south. And the northern sky is quite dark.
BOM radar though shows the front over northern Vic tracking to miss Ballarat.
Forecast temp for opening bounce is 19.
So who knows?
My advice for attendees: don't wear too many layers... but make sure the outer layer is waterproof. And sturdy waterproof footwear. I'm leaving the crocs, sandals and open toed stilettos at home.

 

[Mr. Walker]

I did ... and he's a good-looking young lad, but well and truly too young for me. But he is lovely.

I don’t see it. My wife said he was good looking too. I told her “ he looks nothing like me”. Apparently she had no comeback.

 

[bresker]

Getting windy in Ballarat. Might be a Wiliamstown Seagulls kinda day.

 

[BallaratBulldog]

Dogs are spoilt by the roof in all honesty

 

[bresker]

Dogs are spoilt by the roof in all honesty

True, but training at WO plus all that VFL experience should put us in good stead

 

[geoffjennings79]

Getting windy in Ballarat. Might be a Wiliamstown Seagulls kinda day.

Many years ago, not long after we moved to Ballarat, Footscray VFL played at Eureja/Mars (prior to the senior team arrangement). I was standing at the Creswick Rd end, Liam Jones was in his first stint with us, and playing FF/CHF. Very strong westerly blowing. The full back (can't recall which club) kicked out with Jonesy on the mark standing just outside the goal square. The ball travelled over Jonesy's head, about 15-20m past him, stopped, and blew back into Jonesy's arms/chest (he hadn't moved). He went back and popped it through.

Certainly a Point Gellibrand Oval kind of day, that one. And how often would a turnover be to your direct opponent on the mark, without it being a smother/skill error?!

 

[Roogal]

Dogs are spoilt by the roof in all honesty

They have to be good at playing without a roof to win the GF

 

[Roogal]

Looking at the daily hour by hour break down I think the game will dodge the worst. It will be a good Northerly wind throughout the game with the chance of rain increasing to about 42% by 3 pm when the final siren goes. They are still forecasting that it will be relatively warm at 3 pm. So I will assume that the change won't have hit by then. By about 4 pm the wind is forecast to turn Westerly and that's when I predict the change will hit because they are also predicting a considerable drop in temperature at that same time.

 

[Libbaaaa]

Dogs are spoilt by the roof in all honesty

Yet are form was very patchy in the first half of the year at Marvel. Giants away and Cats away in horrible conditions proves we can win anywhere (except Adelaide).

 

[flamethrower]

Could be a good day to lose the toss, as you are obliged to kick with the wind if you win the toss. You would want to be at least 7 goals up at 3/4 time if kicking against this wind in the last quarter.

Don't want to do a "Cochin", win the toss and kick against it and be 10 goals down at 1/4 time with the game all but over(in the hope that you can ride the wind home in the last quarter).

 

[GetDimmaBack]

Could be a good day to lose the toss, as you are obliged to kick with the wind if you win the toss. You would want to be at least 7 goals up at 3/4 time if kicking against this wind in the last quarter.

Don't want to do a "Cochin", win the toss and kick against it and be 10 goals down at 1/4 time with the game all but over(in the hope that you can ride the wind home in the last quarter).

Actually, winning the toss and kicking against the wind is what Ted Whitten usually did when at home.

Very much a winning formula at Western Oval in those days

 

[Freshwater]

My son had a big final mid morning today so we couldn’t make it. Looked great on TV, crowd super invested. Don’t know what they can do about the wind? A few of us here would like to see the main stand continued around goals but that wouldn’t help a northerly like today.
For those of you who live in Ballarat, how would the wind affect the beautiful old city oval right in town there today? Is North Ballarat a much more exposed part of the ‘rat?

 

[_Cerberus_]

One thing I will say.

I was in the standing area for the first time ever. The club needs to advertise these tickets as being restricted viewing. The hill isn't really much of a hill. Just three cement steps and a flat as top. For half the people in that area, you can't see almost half of the ground. Unless you're 6 foot tall or more, it isn't going to be a good viewing experience.

I had to squeeze me way through people and stand on my toes a bit. Saw zero action from the boundary line to about 10m into the field the whole game. Only saw action on the far side, both pockets and the center bounce area.

 

[lachy]

Given this was the last year of the agreement, granted our AFLW has commitments their too, has there been any movement on extending the deal?

On SM-S926B using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Ratdweller]

Actually, winning the toss and kicking against the wind is what Ted Whitten usually did when at home.

Very much a winning formula at Western Oval in those days

Perhaps the logic was that the wind assisted with getting distance on the ball as legs were tired. Particularly back then when most grounds were usually slow, muddy and heavy in Winter.

 

[Ratdweller]

One thing I will say.

I was in the standing area for the first time ever. The club needs to advertise these tickets as being restricted viewing. The hill isn't really much of a hill. Just three cement steps and a flat as top. For half the people in that area, you can't see almost half of the ground. Unless you're 6 foot tall or more, it isn't going to be a good viewing experience.

I had to squeeze me way through people and stand on my toes a bit. Saw zero action from the boundary line to about 10m into the field the whole game. Only saw action on the far side, both pockets and the center bounce area.

I don't think that the hill at Mars is any different in terms of it's pitch to the outer at the MCG. That said, I suppose that you can only have so much pitch on a standing hill before it gets uncomfortable to stand on for any prolonged period of time. It definitely isn't any different to the old outers or hills that used to exist at the old VFL grounds back in the day.

Anyway, it's moot now. The hill is going as part of the new construction next year. I am guessing that it will be fenced off and well and truly removed by the time that we play our first Ballarat game in 2025. At least the new stands will have a decent amount of pitch to them. The viewing from them should be extremely good when finished. The following image shows a pretty steeply raked pitch on the new stands next to the existing gate 2. Given that each row is about 25 cm raised from the row in front, if you are in the back row of the new stands you will have a seriously commanding view of the play at least 15-17 metres elevated above the grounds surface.

 

[Wizard17]

Bulldogs to visit the Wimmera - The Weekly Advertiser

Professional footballers from the Western Bulldogs will host free clinics in Stawell Ararat and Horsham next month as part of the club s annual community camp The Bulldogs have an affiliation with the City of Ballarat where they host their community camp each year but will extend the camp to...

theweeklyadvertiser.com.au

We are doing clinics for 5-12yo out Ballarat way this preseason apparently

 

[geoffjennings79]

Bulldogs to visit the Wimmera - The Weekly Advertiser

Professional footballers from the Western Bulldogs will host free clinics in Stawell Ararat and Horsham next month as part of the club s annual community camp The Bulldogs have an affiliation with the City of Ballarat where they host their community camp each year but will extend the camp to...

theweeklyadvertiser.com.au

We are doing clinics for 5-12yo out Ballarat way this preseason apparently

Hmmm. I might struggle to resemble the targeted demographic, might have to claim I'm Bevo to take part... or Bevo's uncle!

 

[Ratdweller]

Bulldogs to take pre-Christmas road trip to Ballarat & Western Victoria​

The Bulldogs are heading up the highway as part of the AFL’s Community Camp series.

The Western Bulldogs are heading up the highway for a special pre-Christmas road trip as part of the AFL’s Community Camp series. From December 10–11, the Bulldogs’ will travel to Ballarat, Ararat, Stawell, and Horsham for the first time, with more than 25 school visits, junior football clinics, hospital visits, and community events planned, including a player signing session and open training. See what we’ve got in store:

FREE Come & Play Super Clinics – Tuesday 10 December​

Calling all young footy fans aged 5–12. Join the Western Bulldogs for a FREE clinic where you can learn skills, have fun, and meet your favourite players. These events are open to all children, regardless of gender and registration is essential as places are strictly limited.

Ballarat:
When: 4-5pm, Tuesday 10 December
Where: City Oval
REGISTER HERE

Post the clinic, the local community is invited to a 30-minute player signing session from 5pm to 5:30pm.

Ararat:
When: 5-6pm, Tuesday 10 December
Where: Alexandra Oval
REGISTER HERE

Stawell
When: 5-6pm, Tuesday 10 December
Location: Central Park

REGISTER HERE
Horsham
When: 5-6pm, Tuesday 10 December
Where: Horsham City Oval
REGISTER HERE

Open Training – Wednesday 11 December​

Catch the Bulldogs in action as they get stuck into their pre-season preparations during an open training session at Mars Stadium. Fans are invited to watch their heroes on the field and join a post-training “snap and sign” session along the boundary.

• When: 2pm (approx. 90 min session)
• Where: Mars Stadium

 

[BallaratBulldog]

The 2024 financial result details a touch under 5,000 Ballarat Members, a number that has doubled in the last few years.

A little bonus along with the $ sponsorship

 

[Bulldogs85]

 

[VitalDread]

I'm glad we are staying with Ballarat

Two home games against Suns or a SA based team makes the most sense

Might as well get a full house than 1/4 at Marvel