6 hours ago, Craig T said:

I think the poor turnout of fans at the prelim was at least part due to us not developing our base to begin with. Yes, being in a prelim should pull plenty of the casual fans, but if the hardcore numbers aren't what they should be that doesn't help. And playing the vast bulk of our home games at Casey won't meaningfully grow our numbers. It's always instructive to say "what if the men.....". Well imagine if all but one of the men's home games were played at such a remote location, and despite having a great winning culture from go to woe attendance numbers weren't great. I know where much of the blame would be leveled.

As for alternative venues, that's been discussed at some length previously, with several good suggestions, so I'm not going to go over that ground (ha!) again, except for drawing one comparison. In round two last year we played St. Kilda at Casey, and despite it being our first home game, the whole helicopter ball drop incentive, and the fact the Saints had just beaten Adelaide in round one, 2152 people showed up. The following week we played Collingwood at Vic Park, and the crowd was 2794, an increase of 30%. And being there I can tell you most of them were Dees fans. So I'd venture to suggest that ANY inner city venue would be preferable.

But I will say that from my own experience, I've had enough. I've traveled out to Casey for the vast bulk of our games since 2017. I do so by public transport as I prefer to leave the car for my partner should she need it. From the inner city it's usually a seven hour round trip for an 80 minute footy match, and often more if buses are replacing trains. If I was living in country Victoria and I wanted to watch my team play in Melbourne that's fair enough, but having to give up that much time to attend home games for a team that geographically is literally minutes from where I live is ridiculous. And as I said previously, with no real explanation from the club as to any meaningful reason why it might be beneficial for anyone involved.

Thanks @Craig T for doing the hard yards and all the others that make the long trip.

Surely it wouldn't be that hard to use an inner city ground much more often to grow our base.

I don't buy the "game standards are not good enough" argument for our matches, because Stinnear had us playing a great game style and our skills have lifted really well year by year.

Maybe those disillusioned should send some emails to the president / CEO and keep giving them the feedback.

We're Melbourne football club and we should be playing in Melbourne!

I tried last year about the lack of promotion in the finals series and got no response at all.

But we should be squeaky wheels right?

On 27/02/2026 at 17:59, Brownie said:

But we should be squeaky wheels right?

Absolutely. And the more the merrier.

I like to credit myself with the better shaded seating at Casey after years of going on about it in AFL and member surveys. Probably overselling myself there!

Meanwhile, (and correct me if I'm simply missing it) there's been no mention on the club website of Sloane being appointed interim head of women's football... Yes, there's a lot of other stuff to report about, leading into Round 1 for the men. And I'm kind of forgiving of this in the pre-preseason, because I recognise its about resources and so on. But still. It adds to the "is anyone actually across this" vibe or at least the perception of it, which I do believe directly impacts the way that members and fans engage with the team, in turn.

On 27/02/2026 at 17:59, Brownie said:

Thanks @Craig T for doing the hard yards and all the others that make the long trip.

Surely it wouldn't be that hard to use an inner city ground much more often to grow our base.

I don't buy the "game standards are not good enough" argument for our matches, because Stinnear had us playing a great game style and our skills have lifted really well year by year.

Maybe those disillusioned should send some emails to the president / CEO and keep giving them the feedback.

We're Melbourne football club and we should be playing in Melbourne!

I tried last year about the lack of promotion in the finals series and got no response at all.

But we should be squeaky wheels right?

....but not only in Melbourne......the AFL owns Docklands stadium. Just use it for every game in Melbourne.

No wind, no rain, with lighting for night games, which makes the game for AFLW so much better to watch and execute.

1 location for broadcasters who don't have to shuffle staff and equipment from Casey, to Victoria Park, to Arden st, to Princes park, Dingley etc.

Won't have to open the whole stadium, but until the AFL gets serious about the womens game, rather than blaming them for the lack of attendances rather than themselves, we will continue to see the game fail to attract spectators and interest.

6 hours ago, george_on_the_outer said:

....but not only in Melbourne......the AFL owns Docklands stadium. Just use it for every game in Melbourne.

No wind, no rain, with lighting for night games, which makes the game for AFLW so much better to watch and execute.

1 location for broadcasters who don't have to shuffle staff and equipment from Casey, to Victoria Park, to Arden st, to Princes park, Dingley etc.

Won't have to open the whole stadium, but until the AFL gets serious about the womens game, rather than blaming them for the lack of attendances rather than themselves, we will continue to see the game fail to attract spectators and interest.

I think the AFL's interest is more to do with what leverage they can get with State and Federal governments and funding from them.

Edited March 5Mar 5 by rjay

The closest thing to an update yet, via Steven Smith's letter:

"Looking at our AFLW program, the players have started to return from their break and integrate back into the club, ticking off their gym, condition and skills sessions as preparations begin for the 2026 AFLW season. There is terrific energy around the group, and we are excited about what our AFLW team can achieve this year. 

We are currently in the final stages of a thorough process to appoint our new AFLW Senior Coach. This is an important decision for the future of the program, and we look forward to sharing that news with you very soon."