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Listening to SEN this morning, I was staggered by some of the arguments from presenter Kevin Bartlett on the Laws of the Game committee, making me question if age is starting to get the better of him.
Arguments included:
“They don’t play quality opposition down there.”
“It should be in Melbourne.”
“They only play teams like GWS and Gold Coast down there.”
“The highest attendance they have got there this year is 31,000 at a 34,000 capacity stadium.”
“They don’t play teams like Collingwood, Hawthorn or Carlton down there.”
Many of these points, to be, sounded like the ramblings of a mad man. If teams such as Sydney and Fremantle are not quality opposition, then I don’t know who is.
31,000 out of 34,000 isn’t too bad an attendance either, I believe. Given the fact that Simonds Stadium is approximately one-third of the MCG’s size, how many times has the MCG got over 93,000 people this year?
Is it also Geelong’s fault that the AFL prefers to schedule their home games against large Melbourne clubs in Melbourne?
The AFL now suggests it’s likely a Geelong V Fremantle qualifying final would be played at Simonds Stadium, which is sure to annoy Fremantle supporters for reasons other than President Steve Harris’s claim that it would stop 10,000 people from attending the game.
This is despite the AFL crowd modelling predicting a crowd of only 30,000-34,000 should the game be hosted at the Etihad Stadium, which, it should be mentioned, is Geelong’s third home ground behind Simonds and the MCG.
A more likely reason for Harris’ comments is the fact that Fremantle’s winning record under Ross Lyon at the Etihad is extremely good, while Ross Lyon’s winning record at the Etihad in his whole coaching career is also extremely good.
If the MCG is unavailable, as it appears is likely, why make the likely second place Geelong play their home final at the Etihad just to suit Fremantle, when it is likely to limit at most a few hundred spectators from going?
Given that this is also very possibly the only opportunity Geelong will have to host a final in the years to come, I say bring it on.
Of course, if Sydney beat Hawthorn and Geelong beat Brisbane, or Fremantle beat St. Kilda and Geelong loses to Brisbane, this entire article will be nothing more than a “what if” for Geelong fans to ponder for years to come.
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