When will the AFL address the systemic structures of Victorian bias in our game?

[Always Ballin]

It's 2020 and we're still dealing with this stuff. SMH.

No other professional sporting league has clear systemic structures of bias that favor certain teams over others.


1. The grand final is played at the MCG every year, regardless of who wins

We've talked about this time and time again, but are we actually going to address it?

An interstate team can dominate the entire season, undefeated, but STILL have to play away from home...

How is this fair? No other sporting league does something like this.

Imagine how radically different the 2010 decade would have been, had interstate sides got a home grand final...

2014 - Swans
2015 - Eagles
2016 - Swans
2017 - Adelaide

The only team that was able to overcome this was West Coast in 2018 - an epic performance.

In the past, some interstate teams have even been forced to play non-GF "home finals" interstate

1996 - "The Eagles won their opening final in 1996, resulting in what would normally have been a home semi final against Essendon. However, due to what Eagles fans saw as a poorly constructed contract between the league and the MCG, the game was scheduled to be played at the MCG instead of Subiaco."



1999 - "In the second week of the 1999 season the Eagles again found themselves in the situation where they earned a home final (after beating the Western Bulldogs at the MCG in the first week), but once again the MCG contract stripped the club of the right to host the final (the higher-ranked Brisbane Lions, who finished 3rd, kept its home final as a reward for finishing higher than the Eagles), and the Eagles faced Carlton and lost on the road."

"However, there was a huge storm of controversy afterward with many believing that the West Coast Eagles had gotten a raw deal, by being forced to travel to Melbourne to face Carlton when, by all rights they, as the higher ranking and winning team, should have hosted the final at their home ground. Part of this was due to the AFL’s contract with the MCG, which stipulated that at least one final per week had to be at the ground, regardless of the teams involved. The MCC Trust was totally implacable on this point and had the law on their side since the contract was agreed to by the AFL."


NOTE: This was the first week finals victory against Bulldogs

2002 - "Under the AFL final eight system, the Crows faced second-placed Brisbane at the Gabba in the Second Qualifying Final and lost by 71 points, 17.13 (115) to 5.14 (44). Due to finishing in the top four, Adelaide received a double chance and a "home" Semi Final against Melbourne, played at the MCG due to the MCC agreement. Adelaide led by 40 points at quarter time, before the Demons rallied, taking a 29-point lead late in the third quarter. However, the Crows responded with a final-quarter surge to win by 12 points, 20.10 (130) to 17.16 (118)."



2004 - "Reaching the finals in second position, Brisbane controversially had to travel to Melbourne to play against Geelong in the preliminary final, due to a contract between the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and the Australian Football League (AFL) guaranteeing one preliminary final would be played each year at the MCG.[8] Port Adelaide had finished on top of the ladder and hosted the other preliminary final in Adelaide. Despite this setback, Brisbane beat Geelong and reached the AFL Grand Final for the fourth consecutive year."



The AFL and the MCC reworked the deal after the 2004 debacle. Many think it ultimately cost The Lions a 4th premiership in a row.

Lee Matthews had this to say about what happened in 2004 (2013).

Matthews still 'feels sick' over 2004 preliminary final

AFL great Leigh Matthews has revealed he "always feels sick" when he thinks about the culmination of the 2004 season when he was coaching the Brisbane Lions.

In his new autobiography Accept the Challenge, Matthews is still angry the Lions, striving for a fourth-straight premiership, had been forced to play a preliminary final at the MCG on a Saturday night because of the AFL's contentious arrangement with the famed venue. The Lions had been entitled to a home preliminary final, but had to play Geelong in Melbourne.

The Lions were also baffled why the match had not at least been scheduled in the afternoon, because Port Adelaide had played at home the previous night and had a major advantage in preparation. It was the first time both preliminary finals had been held at night.

The Lions did beat Geelong to advance into the grand final but their hopes of a fourth-straight flag were dashed by the Power.

''The AFL's handling of this festering issue was at best incompetent, or maybe the Lions were being told in no uncertain terms not to get City Hall offside,'' Matthews wrote.


"It's the feeling that external intervention played a part that riles me the most. I always feel sick whenever I think about the culmination of the 2004 season."

Matthews says he remains ''suspicious'' of just how hard AFL chief Andrew Demetriou worked to convince the MCC to allow the Gabba to stage the game.

The AFL and the MCC reworked their deal soon after but, as Matthews notes, "it was a year too late for the Lions".
Matthews, with three premierships as coach of Brisbane and one at Collingwood, is one of the game's greatest mentors. But the man himself says David Parkin and Mick Malthouse are the ''very best'' coaches since he debuted with Hawthorn as a player in 1969.

''David took four different groups of players to top-four finishes: Hawthorn in 1977-78, Carlton in 1981-82, Fitzroy in 1986 and Carlton again in the 1990s. Mick did the same with the Bulldogs in 1985, the Eagles in the early 1990s, and Collingwood in two bursts, 2002-03 and 2010-11,'' Matthews wrote.

''You can be lucky once but not three or four times. David and Mick have proven their coaching abilities many times over.''

2. Too many teams in Victoria/Melbourne

Victorian teams have to travel less than interstate teams, equating to less injuries and fatigue...

"There is strong evidence that mood and cognition are adversely affected by jet lag. Some measures of individual and team performance are adversely affected as well."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3435929/

"By using 20 years of MLB data, we found the effect of jet lag to be context dependent and remarkably specific. Overall, our findings demonstrate how circadian misalignment can impact specific features of human performance in natural settings."
http://www.pnas.org/content/114/6/1407.full

"These results suggest that relatively brief air travel (across only two time zones) can influence team performance."
https://www.researchgate.net/public...n_the_Australian_national_netball_competition

A clear advantage for Victorian teams once again.

There have been instances where Melbourne teams have not had to travel interstate for 8+ rounds.



How is any of this fair?

This is bordering on illegal. With how much money is made in the AFL, why haven't there been inquiries?

Where is the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) on this?

It's not enough to be against Victorian bias. You have to be anti-Victorian bias. Silence is also a crime.

 

[HaroLad]

Has there been a salt mining accident in WA recently?

Seems to be quite a lot of systemic discrimination and targeting of Victorian clubs and interests these last few days/weeks.

 

[Senor M]

Will there be a new #VICBIAS thread made every time The Eagles lose a game?

 

[JayJ20]

Lol.

"Bordering on illegal". "Silence is also a crime".
Hilarious melt.

 

[Topkent]

It's 2020 and we're still dealing with this stuff. SMH.

No other professional sporting league has clear systemic structures of bias that favor certain teams over others.


1. The grand final is played at the MCG every year, regardless of who wins

We've talked about this time and time again, but are we actually going to address it?

An interstate team can dominate the entire season, undefeated, but STILL have to play away from home...

How is this fair? No other sporting league does something like this.

Imagine how radically different the 2010 decade would have been, had interstate sides got a home grand final...

2014 - Swans
2015 - Eagles
2016 - Swans
2017 - Adelaide

The only team that was able to overcome this was West Coast in 2018 - an epic performance.

In the past, some interstate teams have even been forced to play non-GF "home finals" interstate



2. Too many teams in Victoria/Melbourne

Victorian teams have to travel less than interstate teams, equating to less injuries and fatigue...



A clear advantage for Victorian teams once again.

There have been instances where Melbourne teams have not had to travel interstate for 8+ rounds.



How is any of this fair?

This is bordering on illegal. With how much money is made in the AFL, why haven't there been inquiries?

Where is the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) on this?

It's not enough to be against Victorian bias. You have to be anti-Victorian bias. Silence is also a crime.

Mate you might be the biggest ****ing sook on Bigfooty. Good effort.

 

[Brunswick Trap King]

Good thread. The arrogance of Victorian clubs to refuse to go to a hub in another state has just ended the season anyway.

 

[Brunswick Trap King]

I wouldn't be surprised if this Essendon positive case wasn't a ploy to prevent them having to go to a Perth hub.

Gutless club and gutless state.

 

[raymond35]

West Coast supporters seem to be afflicted with some bizarre mental disorder.

 

[RiverRat]

West Coast are a Johnny come lately type of arrangement. We run this competition. Don't ever forget it

 

[kozi]

Been almost 24 hours since an Eagles fan started another thread like this. I was getting worried.

 

[Dee Train]

 

[tropicaltiger]

West Coast supporters seem to be afflicted with some bizarre mental disorder.

Dampier salt disorder

 

[Inspecta Gadget]

This is our game, you're lucky to be playing it

 

[Coaster2012]

Will there be a new #VICBIAS thread made every time The Eagles lose a game?

Will you ever post without the #VICBIAS hashtag? Discuss something else for a while. Seems to really be getting to you.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

On the off chance this isn't a troll....

1. The grand final is played at the MCG every year, regardless of who wins

Why didn't WA build their stadium to a comparable size to the MCG? That would have killed the argument about maximising revenue. The WA government bear some responsibility for this.

2. Too many teams in Victoria/Melbourne

What do you want to do about that, cull five Victorian teams? That would cause irreperable damage to the fanbase. This could have been avoided had the WAFL not caved to the VFL in the 80s and established the Eagles, but we're stuck now. The only other thing that might help is making another AFL team in Perth, but at least going by BF posters from the West, they don't seem too keen on that. So the fault is with the WAFL.

How is any of this fair?

It isn't, but a lot of stuff isn't fair. The league didn't get to where it is by forgoing revenue in the interests of fairness. The country is imbalanced in population and business interests towards Sydney and Melbourne, they will always get the lions' share of events and opportunities.

 

[pablo668]

Well, unless something cataclysmic happens that actually forces their hand, then never.
Currently it's all about keeping the large segment of the market at home happy, while doing enough to keep the other smaller segments attached/interested, whilst expanding into newer bigger markets.
If the newer bigger markets happen to really take to the game like it has been in traditional states, and maybe sprout more clubs, then you may see a change.

At the moment they simply don't have to, so they won't. Especially not with the Melbourne boys club running the game.

 

[blue harvest]

1. The grand final is played at the MCG every year, regardless of who wins

We've talked about this time and time again, but are we actually going to address it?

An interstate team can dominate the entire season, undefeated, but STILL have to play away from home...

How is this fair? No other sporting league does something like this.

NRL does it.

 

[Brick Loosener]

Will there be a new #VICBIAS thread made every time The Eagles lose a game?

So only 14 or so more of these threads to go then.

 

[Flags_In_The_Bag]

It's 2020 and we're still dealing with this stuff. SMH.

No other professional sporting league has clear systemic structures of bias that favor certain teams over others.


1. The grand final is played at the MCG every year, regardless of who wins

We've talked about this time and time again, but are we actually going to address it?

An interstate team can dominate the entire season, undefeated, but STILL have to play away from home...

How is this fair? No other sporting league does something like this.

Imagine how radically different the 2010 decade would have been, had interstate sides got a home grand final...

2014 - Swans
2015 - Eagles
2016 - Swans
2017 - Adelaide

The only team that was able to overcome this was West Coast in 2018 - an epic performance.

In the past, some interstate teams have even been forced to play non-GF "home finals" interstate



2. Too many teams in Victoria/Melbourne

Victorian teams have to travel less than interstate teams, equating to less injuries and fatigue...



A clear advantage for Victorian teams once again.

There have been instances where Melbourne teams have not had to travel interstate for 8+ rounds.



How is any of this fair?

This is bordering on illegal. With how much money is made in the AFL, why haven't there been inquiries?

Where is the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) on this?

It's not enough to be against Victorian bias. You have to be anti-Victorian bias. Silence is also a crime.

You do realize all states joined a VFL don't you? it's not like Victoria thought, hey lets get a team together and join in on those great comps of W.A or S.A. And now you think Victoria have too many clubs in it.

 

[FreoGirl]

It's 2020 and we're still dealing with this stuff. SMH.

No other professional sporting league has clear systemic structures of bias that favor certain teams over others.


1. The grand final is played at the MCG every year, regardless of who wins

We've talked about this time and time again, but are we actually going to address it?

An interstate team can dominate the entire season, undefeated, but STILL have to play away from home...

How is this fair? No other sporting league does something like this.

Imagine how radically different the 2010 decade would have been, had interstate sides got a home grand final...

2014 - Swans
2015 - Eagles
2016 - Swans
2017 - Adelaide

The only team that was able to overcome this was West Coast in 2018 - an epic performance.

In the past, some interstate teams have even been forced to play non-GF "home finals" interstate



2. Too many teams in Victoria/Melbourne

Victorian teams have to travel less than interstate teams, equating to less injuries and fatigue...



A clear advantage for Victorian teams once again.

There have been instances where Melbourne teams have not had to travel interstate for 8+ rounds.



How is any of this fair?

This is bordering on illegal. With how much money is made in the AFL, why haven't there been inquiries?

Where is the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) on this?

It's not enough to be against Victorian bias. You have to be anti-Victorian bias. Silence is also a crime.

Well, that’s embarrassing...

 

[Wallaby]

NRL does it.

FA Cup Final is always played in London. Coppa Italia is always played in Rome. NFL Superbowl does change venues, but that has nothing to do with who is actually playing.

 

[Atomboy]

Will there be a new #VICBIAS thread made every time The Eagles lose a game?

Surely it should be a #qldbias thread given the last two losses ?.

Perth is apparently not even worthy of hosting a test match anymore let alone the Grand Final, so they have bigger problems.

Unless of course Cricket Australia is simply also racialist against WA.

 

[Nostradumbass]

They're so cute

 

[The 747]

This OP is offensive to the actual movement going on at the moment, not that WA posters seem have any insight or self awareness when they post these days.

"The clubs are too close to one another so they don't have to travel like we do" is an incredibly dumb argument by the way.

The other argument has been done to death and it is not even the main systemic flaw in the AFL, the fixture is. No point in arguing about hosting the finals if the process to qualify is not on merit. But that is already more thought put into a post than the OP deserves.

 

[Darcy 2 Fyfe]

Atleast WC have played a game in their home state this year, Freo haven't but lets not split hairs. The comp as we know it is more inequitable than "biased" which makes it really frustrating to see teams like Richmond lauded for a flag in a year where they barley left the CBD of Melbourne let alone the state of Victoria.
The fact we fly interstate 10 times a year minimum and they will give Freo 1 game at the MCG but roll out the red carpet in Launceston, Hobart, Canberra and Darwin it's hard to make a case for it not being biased quite frankly. Then we see Richmond play 8 in a row at home and win a "premiership". Need to have am Asterix with a fixture like that.