TOPIC:

It would've been nice to bring it back to 14 instead of going to 18 but now that its done the only thing that will happen is more expansion.
None of the existing clubs will ever fold once the equalisation tax comes in.

there are only 2 clubs based in Victoria who are forever in the firing line and that's Footscray and my beloved north Melbourne. the AFL would love to relocate one of them to Tassie and perhaps another to the ACT. Making it a truly national league. but getting those clubs to make the move is like trying to tunnel out of a prison cell with a spoon. But something along those lines will happen at some stage. cant see them reducing teams at all. therefore its a non-issue.

the NRL make me laugh with the fact they have no teams in either WA or SA. In this day & age its quite bizzare, even the A-League are more advanced than the NRL in that regard.

Was interesting to hear that the AFL have the 4th highest club attendances in the entire world, which given our population is remarkable. Right up there with the NFL, German football League and EPL. Very impressive really.

jardine wrote: there are only 2 clubs based in Victoria who are forever in the firing line and that's Footscray and my beloved north Melbourne. the AFL would love to relocate one of them to Tassie and perhaps another to the ACT. Making it a truly national league. but getting those clubs to make the move is like trying to tunnel out of a prison cell with a spoon. But something along those lines will happen at some stage. cant see them reducing teams at all. therefore its a non-issue.

the NRL make me laugh with the fact they have no teams in either WA or SA. In this day & age its quite bizzare, even the A-League are more advanced than the NRL in that regard.

Was interesting to hear that the AFL have the 4th highest club attendances in the entire world, which given our population is remarkable. Right up there with the NFL, German football League and EPL. Very impressive really.

Gday Jardine, with complete respect to your stance & feelings towards the EP alignment, at AFL level if your beloved Roos eventually relocate to say Tasmania for example, would you continue to support the new entity considering the probability of a name change as well if they did move? I hope for your sake they don't btw...

Dirty Weekender wrote: Gday Jardine, with complete respect to your stance & feelings towards the EP alignment, at AFL level if your beloved Roos eventually relocate to say Tasmania for example, would you continue to support the new entity considering the probability of a name change as well if they did move? I hope for your sake they don't btw...

I hope not too DW but I would still follow them regardless.
We are set up ok now. I was at the Arden Street ground a few months ago & it looks great. Nothing like it was 10 years ago. We just parked our car, walked over a hill and watched training. very good base there now. great footy club. I think we are safe for the short term at least. But long term? - obvious challenges, but that goes for many clubs too.

Interesting answer. I think at AFL level, if my beloved Bombers relocated in future (highly unlikely but u never know) I'd still follow them where they went. However at WAFL level, if the Black & Whites merged or moved or aligned I don't feel my heart could ever be in it, a bit like yourself.Funny how the blood runs deeper at WAFL level.

Visited Arden St back in Aug 2012 after ur mob took my mob down the night before. Was an inglorious day for me as I'd lost the bet, was forced to kit up in NM gear and roam the streets of Melbourne for a day including my first ever visit to Windy Hill with my best mate smirking alongside me all day. Not so good memories of the place but facilities looked great. Spent some time reading the plaques on the pathways celebrating past champions of the club. Have a lot of time for the Roos, a good club. Hope they can continue to improve on and off the field. Tassie should really have their own side anyway. So should the Northern Territory. 20 teams, play each other once per season. Alternate years home then away the following for each match up, unbiased fixtures, bit of a no brainer to me and a truly national sport from thereafter.

Dirty Weekender wrote: Interesting answer. I think at AFL level, if my beloved Bombers relocated in future (highly unlikely but u never know) I'd still follow them where they went. However at WAFL level, if the Black & Whites merged or moved or aligned I don't feel my heart could ever be in it, a bit like yourself.Funny how the blood runs deeper at WAFL level.

Visited Arden St back in Aug 2012 after ur mob took my mob down the night before. Was an inglorious day for me as I'd lost the bet, was forced to kit up in NM gear and roam the streets of Melbourne for a day including my first ever visit to Windy Hill with my best mate smirking alongside me all day. Not so good memories of the place but facilities looked great. Spent some time reading the plaques on the pathways celebrating past champions of the club. Have a lot of time for the Roos, a good club. Hope they can continue to improve on and off the field. Tassie should really have their own side anyway. So should the Northern Territory. 20 teams, play each other once per season. Alternate years home then away the following for each match up, unbiased fixtures, bit of a no brainer to me and a truly national sport from thereafter.

Nothing funny about it at all. Very understandable to me. It because deep down you both know this thing they call the afl is an extended vfl and a now corporate identity.

Yeah your right TFAF....AFL is something to watch whilst waiting for Grand Finals v Claremont to come around

Dirty Weekender wrote: Yeah your right TFAF....AFL is something to watch whilst waiting for Grand Finals v Claremont to come around

Dead right it is DW if only we could play them in a GF more often

jardine wrote: there are only 2 clubs based in Victoria who are forever in the firing line and that's Footscray and my beloved north Melbourne. the AFL would love to relocate one of them to Tassie and perhaps another to the ACT. Making it a truly national league. but getting those clubs to make the move is like trying to tunnel out of a prison cell with a spoon. But something along those lines will happen at some stage. cant see them reducing teams at all. therefore its a non-issue.

the NRL make me laugh with the fact they have no teams in either WA or SA. In this day & age its quite bizzare, even the A-League are more advanced than the NRL in that regard.

Was interesting to hear that the AFL have the 4th highest club attendances in the entire world, which given our population is remarkable. Right up there with the NFL, German football League and EPL. Very impressive really.

Thats probably more to do with the capacity of grounds, most EPL grounds max out at 40,000 - obvisously a much smaller playing field, the bigger clubs Man U , Chelsea , Arsenal have 60,000 seat stadiums. Beleive me if they had 100,000 seat stadiums they would sell them out every week. Its virtually impossible to get an EPL ticket these days unless your a seasons pass holder, unlike a game in Melbourne were you can rock up at the MCG or Docklands an hour before the game and grab a seat.

Bazza wrote:

jardine wrote: there are only 2 clubs based in Victoria who are forever in the firing line and that's Footscray and my beloved north Melbourne. the AFL would love to relocate one of them to Tassie and perhaps another to the ACT. Making it a truly national league. but getting those clubs to make the move is like trying to tunnel out of a prison cell with a spoon. But something along those lines will happen at some stage. cant see them reducing teams at all. therefore its a non-issue.

the NRL make me laugh with the fact they have no teams in either WA or SA. In this day & age its quite bizzare, even the A-League are more advanced than the NRL in that regard.

Was interesting to hear that the AFL have the 4th highest club attendances in the entire world, which given our population is remarkable. Right up there with the NFL, German football League and EPL. Very impressive really.

Thats probably more to do with the capacity of grounds, most EPL grounds max out at 40,000 - obvisously a much smaller playing field, the bigger clubs Man U , Chelsea , Arsenal have 60,000 seat stadiums. Beleive me if they had 100,000 seat stadiums they would sell them out every week. Its virtually impossible to get an EPL ticket these days unless your a seasons pass holder, unlike a game in Melbourne were you can rock up at the MCG or Docklands an hour before the game and grab a seat.

Stamford bridge holds 40,000, old Trafford 75,000. Newcastle draw 50,00plus. Epl tickets are not impossible to get. London based clubs seem the hardest though, particularly arsenal . The prices are crazy for clubs based in london. £50 to £60. Out side of london is easier and much cheaper. Makes you realise how lucky we are - and it is a much better game too.