Western Bulldogs want in on possible future Good Friday AFL game

[TheHoneyBadger]

It is hilarious when you hear Collingwood and Essendon supporters say they should keep ANZAC day because they put all the effort to develop it to what it is, yet are okay with North having Friday night games taken away from us 'for the good of the game' when we were the ones who developed it to be a premier timeslot and the other clubs bitched, moaned and complained that they didn't want to play us on Friday nights as the away team.

We lost a fair bit of money early on building it up and the AFL took it off us while we were still in the premiership window and drawing big 60-70k games when we played teams who were playing well.

It is just a lost opportunity, AFL went for sure beats and safety and it has cost the competition badly. Round 22, 1998, Dogs and North 1 and 2 on the ladder, Friday night game, 68k, one of the best home and away games, a lot of support for both clubs, what could have been if the AFL moved in and helped the clubs to promote themselves, draw more support here. They went the opposite direction, forced us both to near insolvency, given horrible timeslots, forced to sell games off, our supporter bases shrunk, didn't have the resources to put more into the on-field let alone to promote the clubs, build up the supporter base.

Attitudes have changed but the mindset has to move away from lifetime handouts to building an equitable competition with 10 strong Victorian clubs.

Precisely. Keep the smaller clubs weak so they can take everything and then take the moral high ground when equalisation is suggested. It's ridiculous.

 

[cammo78]

So McGuire's just stated on Fox that he believes all the club presidents agreed last month to equalization, as long as the big clubs get all the blockbusters so they can generate revenue to give to the little clubs. Not happy, is Ed.

 

[hotham]

So McGuire's just stated on Fox that he believes all the club presidents agreed last month to equalization, as long as the big clubs get all the blockbusters so they can generate revenue to give to the little clubs. Not happy, is Ed.

This is crazy. Eddie's view seems horribly inconsistent with Peter Gordon's view.

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

This is crazy. Eddie's view seems horribly inconsistent with Peter Gordon's view.

Eddie's view: Adopt a policy called equalization for face value, do not actually make any decisions that will lead to greater equalization.

 

[hotham]

Eddie's view: Adopt a policy called equalization for face value, do not actually make any decisions that will lead to greater equalization.

Do we an AFL commission ? Silence is deafening. The bullies are running the competition.

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

Do we an AFL commission ? Silence is deafening. The bullies are running the competition.

Lucky for the Doggies we've got Peter Gordon pestering the AFL on our behalf, and lucky for North they've got a loudmouthed, and very astute President in Brayshaw in charge (don't like him but admire his work at North immensely). The hierarchy at clubs such as Melbourne and St Kilda worry me.

 

[hotham]

Lucky for the Doggies we've got Peter Gordon pestering the AFL on our behalf, and lucky for North they've got a loudmouthed, and very astute President in Brayshaw in charge (don't like him but admire his work at North immensely). The hierarchy at clubs such as Melbourne and St Kilda worry me.

Next years fixture is going to be interesting. !

 

[Next Waiting]

Cannot blame Essendon for wanting what is best for their club.

True. And can't really blame Herod for wanting what was best for him. 2000 years on and the devil still wants a central role on Good Friday.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

So McGuire's just stated on Fox that he believes all the club presidents agreed last month to equalization, as long as the big clubs get all the blockbusters so they can generate revenue to give to the little clubs. Not happy, is Ed.

Ridiculous.

Us pushing for equalisation does not mean we want to become a charity case. Equalisation is not handing money to us from the big clubs; that's ridiculous and will never allow us to stand on our own two feet. Equalisation should come in the form of equal opportunities, but not unequal sharing of profits from clubs other than our own.

Collingwood and the other clubs have worked exceptionally hard and battled their way to success from the ground up to get where they are now, and far be it from us to attempt to leech off them. That's not what this is about.

We - and the other clubs that struggle financially - simply ask for equal opportunities to make money. At the moment, we don't have that - and the money hungry AFL's best solution is to rob the rich clubs and give to the poor clubs, which is an obscene suggestion. If they go down this road they're choosing a stopgap over an opportunity for long-term club stability and independence, and for what? Sheer greed and selfishness.

NO to handouts, shared profits and unequal distribution of resources to favour the small clubs. YES to the chance to stand on our own two feet - but to do this we need some fairness in fixturing and the sharing of these 'blockbusters'. It's time the AFL wake up and realise that having 18 financially independent clubs is much more profitable for them in the long term than continuing to hand the big clubs everything and just taking the money off them.

 

[SuperMacPherson]

Bring it on. Not everyone is brainwashed by the church!

 

[timtamWB]

Equalisation is not handing money to us from the big clubs; that's ridiculous and will never allow us to stand on our own two feet. Equalisation should come in the form of equal opportunities, but not unequal sharing of profits from clubs other than our own.

Can we somehow just get a huge banner erected in front of the AFL that says exactly this? This is precisely what we ask for, if we get the equal opportunities and then we fail we have no one to blame but ourselves, but the AFL aren't willing to give the smaller clubs those opportunities. They're happy to let the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor.

 

[Next Waiting]

So McGuire's just stated on Fox that he believes all the club presidents agreed last month to equalization, as long as the big clubs get all the blockbusters so they can generate revenue to give to the little clubs. Not happy, is Ed.

So Eddie is suggesting that PG agreed to a continued state of what amounts to welfare dependency as opposed to empowerment with things like FTA coverage, block buster games and games on days and at times other than Sunday at 4:40. If Eddie believes that, then I suspect that Eddie's comprehension skills are not quite at the level of PG's. Perhaps PG needs to dumb it down a bit so Eddie can understand.
Alternatively, Eddie is a self-serving p***k with a megaphone who is muddying the waters because he's being outwitted and out manoeuvred by someone who is putting the game's interests ahead of his own and there are few opportunities for him to claim credit.

 

[dogwatch]

...

The current policy to give preferential FTA exposure, premier timeslot access and the like artificially inflates the supporter base of the clubs who get the preferential treatment. We can't ask our sponsors for $5m each because we don't have the exposure, there is no compensation for that. When a kid turns on the TV and is first exposed to footy and he sees Collingwood, Essendon and Carlton non-stop then they are going to lean towards the teams that are on TV, our clubs only get better access when we approach the premiership window.

The priority should be to build North, Dogs and Saints to a sustainable 50k membership base in Victoria, when any club can fill out Docklands when they play an interstate team and when any two Victorian teams fill out the MCG then every week will be a blockbuster, too much revolves around 3 clubs and they are complicit in terms of dragging the competition down by having it lopsided.

Our clubs are just incompetent in terms of uniting with eachother and using the combined support of the smaller clubs to have the kind of voice we should have. Clubs just look out for their own skin and do not do enough to look out for eachother.

It is hilarious when you hear Collingwood and Essendon supporters say they should keep ANZAC day because they put all the effort to develop it to what it is, yet are okay with North having Friday night games taken away from us 'for the good of the game' when we were the ones who developed it to be a premier timeslot and the other clubs bitched, moaned and complained that they didn't want to play us on Friday nights as the away team.

We lost a fair bit of money early on building it up and the AFL took it off us while we were still in the premiership window and drawing big 60-70k games when we played teams who were playing well.

It is just a lost opportunity, AFL went for sure beats and safety and it has cost the competition badly. Round 22, 1998, Dogs and North 1 and 2 on the ladder, Friday night game, 68k, one of the best home and away games, a lot of support for both clubs, what could have been if the AFL moved in and helped the clubs to promote themselves, draw more support here. They went the opposite direction, forced us both to near insolvency, given horrible timeslots, forced to sell games off, our supporter bases shrunk, didn't have the resources to put more into the on-field let alone to promote the clubs, build up the supporter base.

Attitudes have changed but the mindset has to move away from lifetime handouts to building an equitable competition with 10 strong Victorian clubs.

Two great posts Tas

 

[grassman75]

Two things irrated the absolute crap out of me last night watching TFS:
1) James Brayshaw's "Johnny come-lately" comments in reference to us (or Gordon), and where clubs could go if they thought they'd get a chance at the Good Friday Marquee game over North/ Carlton, because they have already submitted the proposal to the AFL... I could not agree more with Australian idle - it was absolute megaphone diplomacy. Brayshaw may as well be quoting 'The Wedding Singer:' "Well I have a microphone and you don't, so you will listen to every damn word I have to say!"
2) The fact the Cooney just sat there and didn't say a word in defence of his club. Now before you pillory me let me elaborate a little more...
I was reading the Brendan McCartney coaching thread tonight and someone mentioned about leaders of the club not standing up - and someone else mentioned Cooney looking disinterested of late. Cooney should have stood up and said something on TFS - anything would have been preferable to his complancency. I don't know what it is about TFS... I remember Gia (*I think*) being on a couple of years ago with that tosser Mark McVeigh. McVeigh was practicallly choking back a laugh as he rated our chances when being asked for his tip. No respect for Gia what-so-ever... but again, Gia said nothing. Sometimes I think I'd prefer a little bit of a Malthouse reaction over being disrespected like that and taking it... maybe we might get taken a little more seriously...

Do you think that it may be possible that TFS told cooney to not say anything or he can kiss his appearances goodbye? Would not put it past them one little bit. There are plenty of players out there who would happily take the extra exposure and I assume "sponsorship" that TFS provides.

 

[Bulldog1954]

Do you think that it may be possible that TFS told cooney to not say anything or he can kiss his appearances goodbye? Would not put it past them one little bit. There are plenty of players out there who would happily take the extra exposure and I assume "sponsorship" that TFS provides.

I wish we didn't have any players appearing on that trash. I loved when Chris Grant completely ignored the show and refused to go on after Sam Newmans idiotic comments about him.

I suspect all this talk of equalization will lead to very little benefit to us in reality

 

[Dogs_r_barking]

I wish we didn't have any players appearing on that trash. I loved when Chris Grant completely ignored the show and refused to go on after Sam Newmans idiotic comments about him.

I suspect all this talk of equalization will lead to very little benefit to us in reality

Chris Grant is just a moral ethical person full stop.

 

[cammo78]

Two great posts Tas

I agree.

Have often disagreed with Tas, but he's certainly one of the few North supporters (on BigFooty) with a healthy grip on reality.

Well played mate.

 

[Igloo]

Even if we don't get the game, it's good to see the boys getting involved in the appeal year after year.

 

[staphy]

You know what let, the AFL give all the blockbuster games to the so called big clubs, but if the AFL is serious about equalization then they would put all gates receipts for the year in one pot and divide it by 18 clubs.

 

[fargy]

Even if we don't get the game, it's good to see the boys getting involved in the appeal year after year.

Such an amazing cause, the staff at the hospital are among the best in the world. I got 21 years of treatment there without having to pay a cent thanks to these appeals, and it's amazing how much more people give when it involves their hero's. By the players just turning up I have no doubt it would have raised thousands more dollars. I even appeared on the coverage one year to show some of the amazing work the staff at the hospital do.
The Dogs players seem to be among the most community minded in the AFL, and have been for a long time. I feel nothing but pride when I hear about the work they do, and the genuiness they do it with. Two of many examples are Will Minson and Lindsay Gilbee who go way above and beyond.

 

[paul scholes]

Lot of folk attend the Anzac Day game are there for the event.
Bombers still don't get it in regards to Hird. The return of Jim Jones is to be lauded with a blockbuster game?
Just mind blowing, and why don't we just instead of giving to the RCH appeal just pay of Jimmsy's legal fees, while we're at it!
You can have your blockbuster games, as long as revenue is quite rightly distributed equally to clubs, as you enjoy your maximum TV exposure for sponsors. Come on Fair is fair

 

[CJWBD]

An article by Dan Lonergan on The Roar. http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/04/1...good-friday-blockbustergood-friday-dogs-roos/

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

Interesting to see Conehead working for our cause instead of against it, for once.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Brayshaw with a not-so-subtle jab at us:

"That's one of the reasons why we think Carlton is a really good fit, because they're a big team. And I think to make a blockbuster work you need to have a big team involved," he said.

"I think both clubs play really exciting brands, so for us it's just a great fit.

"Every time we play the Blues we get 45,000-plus fans, so I think it needs to have a club like that to be involved."

This man suggests he's all for equality but his motives are a long way from working towards having a fair competition all round.

 

[TheHoneyBadger]

Brayshaw with a not-so-subtle jab at us:

This man suggests he's all for equality but his motives are a long way from working towards having a fair competition all round.

He must have rocks in his head if he can't see it's just an indictment on his own lack of belief in his club to attract 50,000 to a standalone fixture on a public holiday.
I almost hope North get it snatched off them, it'd certainly make watching the Footy Show worth it again.