Well here's a turn up!

I think they also said we will affiliate with Casey...

Agreement with the Saints is for the next 5 years apparently. So I assume we'll sign a similar agreement with Casey now?

i'd love for us to field a go it alone side. i really hope we do. if not, as much as i respect the vfl teams and their traditions, i hope we have a seconds side rather than an alliance. i feel for the sides in the vfl, but for my club i think we need the best.

thanks for the memories and the good times sandy, i'll always have a soft spot for ya

From St Kilda FC:

St Kilda Football Club will change its VFL affiliate Club to Sandringham Zebras from Casey Scorpions to cement an ownership of the Bayside growth corridor and allow Melbourne’s growth plans into Casey.

The partnership will become effective at the end of the 2008 season and is for a five year period.

The change is a result of extensive discussions with all parties and the result will secure a long-term future between St Kilda and Sandringham.

The Saints and the Zebras began discussions as a result of the Melbourne Football Club’s intention to move to the city of Casey and enter into an alignment with the Casey Scorpions. Both Melbourne and Casey have been advised and updated on the continued discussions.

We'll finally be able to develop our own key forwards now!

Could someone please explain the affiliation we have with Sandy? I have never tried to understand it but i guess i need to know now to understand the Significance of this story.

news also just in, Casey Scorpions have recruited Nick Sautner for the 2009 season...

but this isn't surprising news... it makes sense considering we're looking at heading out to Casey, and st. kilda are looking at the bayside area as their area of melbourne and that frankston want to remain stand alone...

and how was this reported on SEN? did someone call in or was it reported by the station itself?

also this is a good time to thank Barry and the other Sandy fans for their contribution to this site over the past few years... lets hope we find some casey fans who are just as informative...

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl...3-19742,00.html

"We have made no secret we are finalising an arrangement to see us in the Casey region and have been talking to the Casey Scorpions for some time now," said Melbourne chairman Paul Gardner.

"We wish the Sandringham Zebras all the very best and look forward to making our own announcements as part of our future strategy in due course."

Part of me is sad about this, but another part of me recognises that this is the smartest move for all parties. I'm a local Hampton boy, so i've really enjoyed being able to go down to watch the Zebs play with a few of the Melbourne boys mixed in there, from next year i won't have that luxury.

Whatever people say about our inability to develop a key forward and other KPPs through sandy, i don't care. This has been a really successful partnership for both Sandy and the Dees (probably more so for the Zebs), it'll be a sad day when they play their last match with us as they're AFL affiliate but progress and all that must always play a part.

Thanks for the memories Sandy, depending on my feelings towards the Saints i might still wander down (but i won't get in free!).

From MELBOURNEfc:

After a decade of a very successful relationship between MELBOURNEfc and the Sandringham Zebras, the two teams involved in the alignment will be parting ways due to MELBOURNEfc's future re-location possibilities.

It has been the most successful alignment in VFL/AFL history since the disbanding of the AFL reserves competition in 1999, with premiership success being achieved by Sandringham in 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006.

MELBOURNEfc Chairman Paul Gardner said, "MELBOURNEfc has greatly respected our relationship with Sandringham. We have derived a great deal of pleasure from recent successes.

"I personally have been a fan of the Zebras for years and have been kept fully abreast by their Board and Chairman.

"We have made no secret we are finalising an arrangement to see us in the Casey region and have been talking to the Casey Scorpions for some time now.

"We wish the Sandringham Zebras all the very best and look forward to making our own announcements as part of our future strategy in due course."

Well today ends. tomorrow starts. Its an amicable divorce of sorts. Seems to have all been handled with repsect and common sense.

To Sandringham. Thankyou. I wish you continued successs beyond 2008.( Not as much as US though...lol )

And so things go forward. The writing for all this was very much on the wall. Seems to now have been read..Well lets al lgo forwards.. long live the Dees

as an addendum:

Obviously means that Casey is all but a very done deal. I await the next announcent.

I suppose many wil lament this. Change often brings some dissent.

I too liked to pop down to TBO from time to time It was close to an old stamping ground and I felt more than comfortabble in that area. But Im happy to embrace this chnage. i see it as a new beginning. Much is made of our demise ( MFC ) that we olf fuddy duddies. All "traktor" driving cromies looking for the next piste !! . I think that we as supporters and esp the AFL should commend the club for its pragmatism and vision.

We arent laying down, we arent accepting that the cards we have spell doom. They wont win us this round but they keep us in the game and thats something.

Whats left to say but look out Casey...coz all HELL is about to let loose :D

I wonder if some of the ol' Dandenong diehards ( VFL ) might now pop down to see the Red and Blue

If MFC can stitch up a satisfactory deal with Casey then I am supportive of linking up with side where we will have access to better training facilities and a better quality ground for football.

While I have enjoyed the trips to the TBO, the arrangement has benefitted SAndy more than MFC and I am glad its over.

As part of the deal with Casey, I would want to ensure that MFC has greater input in the selection and use of its players including the development of young players.

I have enjoyed following the sandy-melbourne alliance and want to thank everyone involved...............

.......but now we have a new team and an opportunity (as others have said) to hopefully develop some forwards. This, in my oppinion is good timing as we now are in need of the next generation of melbourne forwards.

Lucky i didn't buy a sandy jumper this season (like i was going to)..........i'll buy a scorpions one instead!

I have enjoyed following the sandy-melbourne alliance and want to thank everyone involved...............

.......but now we have a new team and an opportunity (as others have said) to hopefully develop some forwards. This, in my oppinion is good timing as we now are in need of the next generation of melbourne forwards.

Lucky i didn't buy a sandy jumper this season (like i was going to)..........i'll buy a scorpions one instead!

There is also a benefit in that the original Springvale colours were red and blue with a white SFC monogram. With a Casey alignment this means we can have an affiliate club that caries the same colours and not, of course, the daggy alternate strip we have to endure for the rest of the year at Melbourne.

No more Nick Sautner getting in the way of Newton, Dunn etc...

About time.

As a Sandy supporter I'm a bit disappointed that the alliance with Melbourne has ended....4 premierships has been the obvious highlight.....been a pleasure to see young Melbourne kids do their time at Sandy then progress to the Melbourne team...McLean,Silvia,Newton, Dunne, Green, Bruce....and to the other who were dropped or came back from injury and played their guts out..Rigoni, Yze,Robbo,Rivers,Lamb,Ward and of course the very sad story of a guy whose last game of football was a Sandy premiership...Troy Broadbridge.....and there are several MFC players whose only senior premiership will be the one(s) they won at Sandy...

There have been a few duds along the way...Van Schalk....Grgic...whose attitude to playing at Sandy sucked...Weetra..who is not good enough for Sandy 2nds let alone an AFL side..

To those posters here who think we held back some players development...you're kidding yourselves...any Melbourne player who showed form was given a chance at Melbourne...I'm continually bemused that some people think that Sautner has held back Michael Newton...he played well at Sandy...got his chance at Melbourne...if that's holding back then we have a different interpretation of what holding back constitutes...

I've enjoyed this forum immensely...always one of the first that I look at when I go online...

It will be interesting next year when Sandy play Casey and maybe facing up to Valenti and Warnock!!...I hope both of those players cement a spot in the Melbourne team

I even ditched my AFL team Essendon and ended up buying a MFC membership....

But for the remainder of this season it's GO ZEBRAS GO DEES

and I really hope that Melbourne's fortunes turn around

Fair post Zman.

I dips my lid to anyone who forgoes an Essendon membership and buys and MFC membership. B)

Sad news in one way, good in another given our training predicament.

The alignment with the Zebras was a dream come true for me when it happened.

My grandparents lived in Tennyson St Sandringham and as a little tacker apart from supporting the Dees, Sandy quickly became my other team. (Always handy to have a fall-back position.)

While my partner is a die-hard Sainter (!) at least I got her on board with Sandy. A bit of a cycle to the BRO, couple of beers, couple of pies and enjoy the local colour of a VFL crowd and good honest footy. Off to Princes Park come finals time and watch a hat trick of premierships.

Thanks Sandy.

Part of me is sad about this, but another part of me recognises that this is the smartest move for all parties. I'm a local Hampton boy, so i've really enjoyed being able to go down to watch the Zebs play with a few of the Melbourne boys mixed in there, from next year i won't have that luxury.

Whatever people say about our inability to develop a key forward and other KPPs through sandy, i don't care. This has been a really successful partnership for both Sandy and the Dees (probably more so for the Zebs), it'll be a sad day when they play their last match with us as they're AFL affiliate but progress and all that must always play a part.

Thanks for the memories Sandy, depending on my feelings towards the Saints i might still wander down (but i won't get in free!).

me too, l'm only 2 k's away from the ground and have be able to go down there but we need to go to Casey and thats the bottom line.

me too, l'm only 2 k's away from the ground and have be able to go down there but we need to go to Casey and thats the bottom line.

Sad for those with dual loyalties. The St. Kilda side of things has been confirmed -

AFL Victoria Chief Executive Officer Peter Schwab today confirmed that AFL Victoria has sanctioned an alignment agreement from 2009 between the Sandringham Football Club and the St Kilda Football Club for the next five years.

This agreement has been made taking into consideration a number of elements including Melbourne’s proposed move to Casey Fields.

Schwab said the alignment change was a strategic move for the future growth and success of the VFL and the game generally.

“The VFL has been evolving since its major restructure at the end of 1999,” Schwab said.

“The VFL’s strong foundation has made it possible for changes in alignment to take place.

“These are not spur of the moment decisions. They are well-thought through strategies for the betterment of both the VFL and AFL clubs and Victorian football generally.”

As a result of this move by Sandringham, Melbourne will now need to determine where their position in the VFL lies, be it stand alone or a new alignment with one of the now four stand-alone VFL clubs; Tasmania, Casey Scorpions, Port Melbourne and Frankston.

Thank heaps Sandy! I think it's been a great partnership. We were the first weren't we? A very common sense approach the whole way through i think, and a very professional way of looking at it. (and to the Saints, i liked the bit about allowing Melbourne into the Casey growth corridor, it seemed very professional)

I'll miss seeing the young Dees players at Sandy. But it's a good way to set up our new boutique stadium! It'll be good to watch young Dees boys playing at a ground that will hopefully house the Dees, with Casey playing a curtain raiser.

Sounds weird saying Casey instead of Sandy.

Again, thanks Sandy, i was a Sandy fan before our alignment, and i think i'll continue to be after (Aside from the obvious team).

Best of luck! Premiers '08 one last time (in the alignment anyway)!

I'm interested to see if Sandy hold onto Lovell as their coach next year.

For Sale: 1 x Sandringham scarf

1 x Sandringham '3 peat' stubby holder

1 x Sandringham car sticker (peeled off but still in OK nick)

Its been an amazing ride, the joy of the 4 Premierships (was there for all of them), the grand final aftermatchs at the Social Club, drinking from the Premiership Cup (something

I'd never get to do even if Melbourne won), watching the young Melbourne listed players coming through and becoming senior AFL players. The thing I wont miss is the bitter cold wind that swept across TBO, brrr! Thanks to Sandy for some great memories, next year will be a whole new and strange scenario.

I guess when Sandy play Casey next year, it'll be like being out on a date with your new girlfriend, and bumping into your ex. There will be many mixed emotions.