Fixing the interstate home ground finals advantage. | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Fixing the interstate home ground finals advantage.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bill James
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Bill James

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It is my view that the home ground advantage enjoyed by interstate teams during the finals is much greater than the disadvangate they have going to Melbourne.

On average each Melbourne Team would play in:
Brisbane and Sydney less than once a year
Perth and Adeliade less than 1.5 times a year
and travel on average less than 4.5 times a year.

The interstate teams on the other hand play in Melbourne
Seven times a year
and travel 10-11 times a year.

Clearly the interstate teams are far more used to travel and the Melbourne grounds than the Melbourne teams are to the interstat. Secondly when the Melbourne teams play a final in Melbourne it is a 60% chance they are playing another Melbourne team and therefore do not have a home crowd or travel advantage anyway. Why the Victorian footballing public is not screaming about this is beyond me.

The Melbourne clubs could fix the home ground advantage by lobbying for more home games at the MCG and limiting interstate clubs to one home and away game per year at the MCG (2005 Bris 1, Syd 2, Freo 4, WC 3, Adel 1, Port 1) and then play all interstate away finals at the MCG. This would go part way to evening up the home ground advantage.

The travel advantage during the finals is probably offset by the disadvantage during the year.
 
don't agree. the higher placed team deserves the home ground advantage. but that also means geelong should play home finals at geelong, st kilda and footscray at the dome, etc (and members of the home team get first choice on tickets).

in comparison, what a farce the rugby league is? melbourne storm v north qld in sydney? what a joke!!!
 
Not saying they don't deserve to play home finals. The point is that Melbourne teams don't enjoy the same advantage when they play finals in Melbourne.
 
the best way is 2 finish higher than them. problem solved. but u are right when we play our home games they are split between the G and the dome. the interstate teams play there almost as much as us. they travel more and are used to it.
 
Call me a deluded traditionalist (hey Ms Tantie, you're a deluded traditionalist!), however I think finals should all be at supposedly neutral grounds in the MCG or VFL Park, and as the last doesn't exist other than as flats or a big expanse of car park or somesuch now, by default Telstra Nodome.

If the interstaters don't like it they can go back to SANFLingand WAFLing! :cutelaugh

(Seriously though, WC having two finals in Perth this year - come on.)

Ms Tantie.
xox
 
Home ground advantage is non existent for Melbourne Teams. All because the white elephant Telstra Dome has to be paid for!

Terry Wallace endeavoured to spark the MCG advantage for the Tigers - they come to play the Tigers at the MCG they know they are in for a tough game. Problem is Terry we play home games at Telstra Dome too - advantage lost!

Level headed reasoning should tell us that those teams that have Telstra Dome as their home ground should play all their home games there. Richmond and Melbbourne should play all their home games at the MCG.

Round 21 this year - Richmond v Hawthorn at the Dome (Tigers home game) at the same time Essendon v Carlton at the MCG (neithers home ground - both have the Dome at their home ground) - how stupid is this fixture planning.

Surely the Essendon v Carlton game crowd of 37,841 could have fitted comfortably into the Dome whilst the Tigers could roar at their home ground the MCG! But now we have to have blockbusters at the the MCG - 13th v last some blockbuster.

Hence we have the issue that Melbourne Clubs do not enjoy a home ground advantage!

Controversial statement -
Along with TV contracts - Melbourne football fans through their feet and their pockets prop up the AFL - record breaking crowd attendances each and every year means big dollars to the AFL - why then does the AFL thumb their nose at these fans by making their teams second class citizens in the national competition by not recognising their teams need and deserve a homeground advantage.

With clubs like Essendon, Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs, St Kilda, Carlton, Kangaroos all claiming the Telstra Dome as their home ground surely there is enough home games from these clubs per weekend to fill the fixture for the Telstra Dome for the year. Simple maths tells us that three of these teams would have a home game on any given weekend surely that is enough games for the Dome. Any more home games on a weekend from these teams can be moved from the Telstra Dome to the MCG. That leaves Richmond and Melbourne the MCG for their home games and Geelong - Kardinia Park (or whatever it is labelled now).

But nah Melbourne AFL fans have to pay for the Dome and their clubs chances of getting to and come September can be totally ignored.

Totally peeved Tigers Member........RT
 
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