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Joined October 2017
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The aptly-named Melbourne Stars have always boasted a multitude of big-name players and consequently have been one of two teams to feature in every…
Home grounds have always provided an advantage in the AFL. Unique dimensions, crowd imbalance and the travel (or lack of) required to get to…
I have no doubt that that is part of the problem — at least for some teams. We all know the Geelong example. Strong on narrow grounds like Kardinia Park but struggle on wider grounds like the MCG. Although I do not think any club should have to be able to play well on the MCG to win the premiership (unless they are an MCG tenant, of course) the fact is they do have to. Not much point getting to the Grand Final if you can’t win it. Non-MCG clubs must really make an effort to develop a game plan that works there.
Are all teams flat-track bullies now?
Touché. I’m not brave enough to claim that the best side of the year finished outside the Top 4 and didn’t make it past the second week of finals, but you’ve answered the question in my clickbait title. No, not all teams are ‘flat track bullies’, but it does seem to be becoming increasingly common.
Are all teams flat-track bullies now?
The MCG was an advantage to Geelong in the Semi Final simply because the Swans had to travel interstate. Obviously they didn’t have a strong home ground advantage that they might’ve had at Kardinia Park, but they didn’t have to get on a plane. They didn’t in the first week either, but neither did their opposition. I would’ve thought that it’s pretty clear that Geelong playing a Melbourne-based MCG tenant at the MCG in Melbourne does not provide the same advantage that they got playing a non-Victorian side in Victoria.
Are all teams flat-track bullies now?
For every win that is “banked in” at home, there’s probably a loss that can be banked in away.
As for Melbourne teams… yes, all the games between Melbourne-based clubs at neutral venues causes more unpredictability for how many games said teams will win, but the best of them can really take advantage of it by winning a high percentage of the neutral games as well as their home games. Perhaps it is best described as an advantage for the top Melbourne teams and a disadvantage for the weaker ones?
Are all teams flat-track bullies now?
Had to keep the piece short but I am happy to address the regular season fixture here.
Yes, MCG and Docklands tenants who share their home ground do have less true home games in the regular season.
However, they also have less proper away games.
West Coast, Fremantle, Adelaide and Port Adelaide get one “away” game at their home ground each year. Geelong, Sydney, GWS, Brisbane and Gold Coast get none. Melbourne-based clubs tend to have a plethora of “home” and “away” games at neutral venues against fellow Melbourne teams. I think it balances out okay. If not, wealthy Victorian clubs like Hawthorn are free to use all the money they spend on training facilities on contributing to a new stadium instead, or redeveloping an old suburban ground. If they wanted the “advantage” interstate teams supposedly have, I suspect they would be doing just that.
Are all teams flat-track bullies now?
That sounds great but would be very difficult to fixture. There are only four MCG tenants. Even if every non-MCG team plays away against every MCG team (which obviously is impossible) every year, you’d still only get a minimum of four H&A games there each. Essendon, Carlton and Geelong might add a few on, but interstate sides would still lack the experience Richmond, Hawthorn, Collingwood and Melbourne have there. And of course, they will always have to travel.
The AFL could just focus on teams they think will play finals and give them MCG experience (which they already do to an extent) but it’s difficult to predict who that will be. West Coast won the spoon in 2010 then got to a Preliminary Final in 2011…
Are all teams flat-track bullies now?
Yep, sorry. Shouldn’t imply that the 2013 Grand Final should’ve been in Perth.
West Coast beat the Hawks at Subiaco comfortably in a 2015 final though. That was the most recent result and, as a final, the most relevant one leading up to the Grand Final. Or, it should have been.
Are all teams flat-track bullies now?
And that is why it won’t happen. It’s a nice thought though.
Are all teams flat-track bullies now?
With regard to your comment on Geelong home finals, that is a very odd comparison.
Kardinia Park is Geelong’s primary home ground. Hawthorn’s is the MCG and North Melbourne’s is Docklands.
It would be unreasonable for either the Hawks or Kangaroos to request a home final in Tasmania as they each have a home ground that, firstly, they play more home games at, secondly, is actually in the city the club is based in, thirdly, is in the same state the club is based in, and finally, has a much larger capacity anyway.
Kardinia Park, on the other hand, is in Geelong and hosts the vast majority of Geelong home games. Surely it is not so outrageous for the Cats to request a Geelong home final in Geelong.
Are all teams flat-track bullies now?
Exactly. Only 35,000 tickets are allocated to competing club members in the first place. You can fit that amount at the Adelaide Oval, the new stadium in Perth, the SCG, the Gabba and Docklands. And you can add Kardinia Park to the list after the next stage of the redevelopment.
The only problem is that the AFL would have to cut down on the number of corporates who go, and we know they won’t do that. So what is needed, sadly, for the Grand Final to move elsewhere, is a stadium with a capacity of 80,000. That is roughly how many people currently get into the Grand Final minus the MCC.
Are all teams flat-track bullies now?
Clearly it hasn’t always been such a difficulty, but the trend now is for interstate sides to struggle against often inferior Victorian teams on the MCG.
The five most recent Grand Finals between Victorian and non-Victorian teams have all been won by the Victorians. Apart from the Bulldogs last year, they all had a lot more experience at the ground. Clearly it helps. Would Richmond be Premiers if the Grand Final had been in Adelaide? Would the Hawks have won in 2013 or 2015 if they’d played the Grand Final in Perth? I doubt it.
Are all teams flat-track bullies now?
I am Victorian and I live in Melbourne. Of course most Victorians will defend the MCG Grand Final. It probably benefits, to some extent, the club we support.
The frustration of non-Victorians is not unreasonable at all. The AFL is a national league with a Victorian mindset. There are two defences of the Grand Final always being at the MCG.
One is tradition, which is apparently more important than the fairness and integrity of the competition. Generally, “but it’s tradition” is usually used as a vague and intangible defence of something the speaker likes (either because they benefit from it or are afraid of change) as opposed to something that is new and better but might take away an advantage they had over another group of people.
The second one is capacity. Now, this is a more logical defence and might be a good one if the majority of Grand Final tickets didn’t currently go to corporates. It’s a bit ridiculous of the AFL to say, “the MCG is the only ground capable of hosting the Grand Final… and by the way, we’ll be allocating only 35,000 tickets to actual competing club members this year.” You can fit 35,000 people at most of the major grounds. But of course, the AFL want to get as many corporates in as possible.
Are all teams flat-track bullies now?