I’m pretty sure it was to try and get a presence in the growth area of Casey.

9 minutes ago, AzzKikA said:

Yeah I never understood why we affiliated with Casey after our break up with Sandringham.

Junction Oval had the best surface to train or play on in Melbourne

The surface was like carpet with no mud or slush (sand based?)

Sure, the buildings, stands and underneath the stands were ramshackle and decrepid but that's what the money could have been spent on. Would have been refurbished and paid for, years ago

I could never understand the undue criticisms of the Junction Oval. Players learn how to play footy on an oval with an excellent surface and the Junction Oval was universally regarded as the best (by the old-schoolers)

Would have loved to have played footy or cricket on it but did venture out to the middle on numerous occasions (and the kick to kick after the games)

On 23/02/2026 at 16:09, AshMac said:

The sooking over the location of Casey has been one of the most telling things about the culture of this footy club than anything that's happened over the last however long.

It's so precious and short sighted. Dingley is not exactly in the heart of Melbourne. If you're leaving at 7:30am getting to Hawthorn's new facility from Brighton it'll take you half an hour; from Hawthorn will take over 35 minutes; and if you're a little hipster player living in Fitzroy it'll be a 50-odd minute drive to get there.

If you're an Essendon player training at the Hangar and living in Fitzroy it'll take you over half an hour at 7:30am; 35+ minutes from Hawthorn, over 45 from Brighton.

Moggs Creek is about an hour from GMHBA and I've never once heard Patrick Dangerfield complain, nor anyone suggest that Geelong's location is anything other than a huge asset and benefit.

Casey should've been bought into years ago, developed into a world class facility (likely with the backing of the state and federal governments), and become the envy of the league.

NFL and EPL clubs don't train anywhere near their home stadiums, Brisbane's new facility in Springfield is miles from the inner city suburbs like New Farm that players would be living. That we allow this absurd narrative of players not liking driving to training is one of the most embarrassing things about this club.

If players have the option of playing for Melbourne who train out in the boondocks or Collingwood/Carlton/Richmond etc who are based in the heart of the inner city, which do you think they'd prefer?

It's not really comparable to Geelong, Geelong has the surf coast down the road with the lifestyle that entails to appeal to certain demographics of players, the peninsula isn't exactly the same.

3 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

If players have the option of playing for Melbourne who train out in the boondocks or Collingwood/Carlton/Richmond etc who are based in the heart of the inner city, which do you think they'd prefer?

It's not really comparable to Geelong, Geelong has the surf coast down the road with the lifestyle that entails to appeal to certain demographics of players, the peninsula isn't exactly the same.

The peninsula would be far more appealing to an inner-city kid though. There is way more "life". The peninsula is really just an extension of Melbourne now since they built Peninsula Link. The surf coast is borderline rural.

1 hour ago, Demonsone said:

Casey was a poor choice by the bandaid approach by the club on its knees around 20 yrs ago, why we didn’t affiliate with Port Melbourne with equally strong history and sane theme song and a club in desperate need of a revamp of its facilities, great proximity to the MCG, public transport, I bet you players would rather drive to port vs Casey

I doubt that Port would have had us back then. They were a very strongly minded club. We split with Sandringham because they had too much say in selection.

If we had gone with Port and bought the land next door (was the postal sorting building or similar) we'd be laughing... not to mention enjoying Burra Burgers

On 23/02/2026 at 19:16, Dee Dee said:

First time I’ve entered this discussion.

I certainly hope Caulfield goes ahead, but if for some reason Casey is the chosen venue, I wonder what current staff working at the Melbourne cricket ground and AAMI Stadium will think about it. It certainly would be a big move for many of them to travel every day from maybe north of the city to way down south.

I’m sure a number of workers would have to reconsider their positions at the club and find work elsewhere. There are a number of very talented people working for the Melbourne football club who’s expertise and know how would be sorely missed.

Remember it isn’t just about the players where ever the club moves; be it to Caulfield or elsewhere.

If Casey wins out, we'll keep AAMI/Gosch's and the Admin will, in my view, stay where they are (MCG & AAMI (?)

Which is the set-up right now

And I'm not sure that we train at Casey more than once a week anyway

As far as I can make out we use the facilities at AAMI (whenever) and train at Gosch's twice a week

So one off-peak drive to Casey for training and use of the facilities per week? How is that an imposition?

Those thinking it's 5 days a week, it's not. Not even close

It's once a week, maybe twice a week (sometimes)

We have 2 training venues and the player contact hours are set at 15 or 16 (hours)

But I sincerely hope that Caulfield ends up being a goer but even if it is a goer, we may not get there until 2029 or 2030

In the meantime, it's business as usual

Edited 23 minutes ago23 min by Macca