Tag Archives: demons

Round one should be compulsory for all fans!

Feb 27 2011 016My mother believed any footy fan should always go to their team’s first game of the season, even if they missed all the others for the year. She reasoned that round one was the only time where hope and expectation collided.

Melbourne80sAs a long suffering Melbourne supporter, I have over the last ten or so years realised just how right my mother was. 2006 was the last occasion on which the Dees made the final eight (even beating St Kilda in an elimination final). As of 2007, after round one, all hope for Demon supporters is pretty much gone and expectations have been for a cold and long football season.

I don’t know how Melbourne will fare in 2015. I hope they improve and that Paul Roos has moulded a team that can be defensive as well as having attacking flair. Expectation is that the new signings will add some class and ability to the team.

Whatever may happen during the game, there is one thing certainmelbournefc and that is before the first bounce of the ball I will be filled with hope and expectation of good things to come. I am sure all sports fans have similar feelings on the opening day of the season.

It certainly is the one game of the season a fan shouldn’t miss!

AFL theory of equalisation a myth after free agency!

footballAfter writing yesterday’s piece on AFL broadcast rights, I gave some thought to free agency, the trade period and whether the current AFL system is equitable to all clubs. Most stories that have been in the media recently talk of lower ranked clubs like Melbourne, Western Bulldogs and GWS losing players to the top dogs of the competition in Hawthorn, North Melbourne, Sydney or Geelong.

It seems most players want to go to a club that can challenge for a flag immediately or in the not too distant future. Take for example Mitch Clarke – he wants out of the Demons to go to Geelong (a usual top four finisher) and James Frawley appears certain to also leave the Demons to go to…..well you take your pick of the top clubs. His name has been mentioned in the same sentence as Hawthorn (this year’s premiers in case you missed it), Geelong and Fremantle. Haven’t heard any rumors that he was considering St Kilda, Western Bulldogs, GWS or staying at Melbourne.

What this means is that the stronger clubs get stronger as they pick off the good talent from the weaker clubs….and we know what that means. The weaker clubs get weaker and so the cycle continues. How is this different to the pre-draft days of the 1970’s and 1980’s when the size of the cheque book dictated the strength of the team and where you finished on the ladder. Seems to me we have replaced one bad system with another and it will only get worse as the years go by.crowd

Speaking of broadcast rights…..if the AFL becomes too much of a lop sided competition, I don’t know that it will foster interest in the game, get bums on seats and people watching on TV, all of which affects the amount of money the broadcasters are willing to pay for the content.

I’d suggest this should be a priority issue for the AFL to address.