BOUND FOR SOMEWHERE ELSE

by Whispering Jack

In today's Australian, Chip Le Grand reports (Kangaroos leap final hurdle on way to Gold Coast) that the Kangaroos are to become the third of the Victorian clubs to move interstate with a decision expected to commit to a permanent move to the Gold Coast in 2010 before Christmas. They will follow South Melbourne which was relocated to Sydney in 1981 and became the Swans and Fitzroy which was virtually bludgeoned out of existence in 1996 to become part of the merged Brisbane Lions.

There is talk of the possibility of a legal challenge but Kangaroos fans should be bracing themselves for the move. There will be another AFL team in southeast Queensland by the end of the decade and it will be the Northern Kangaroos playing out of Gold Coast Stadium at Carrara.

When the Demons make their first interstate trip of the AFL 2008 home and away season to meet the Kangaroos at the above venue, there will be plenty to think about for those who have our club's interests at heart, not the least of which is whether it is possible the Melbourne Football Club might one day suffer a similar fate to that of the Swans, the Lions and the Kangaroos and find itself bound for somewhere else.

The AFL is surely looking at the potentially lucrative markets of Sydney's burgeoning westen suburbs for its next foothold and with mergers now firmly off the AFL agenda, there is one major and compelling reason which is the basis for the relocation of AFL clubs – poverty! As Le Grand states -

"A report commissioned by the Kangaroos and conducted by sports consultancy Gemba found the economic climate was tough for North Melbourne and would get tougher as its traditional supporter base continued to atrophy.

"The Kangaroos this season attracted 22,196 members, the fewest of any Melbourne-based club and a 10 per cent decline on last season's tally. More alarming, it has a shrinking supporter base of just 176,000 people, the smallest in the competition. According to Roy Morgan Research, the Kangaroos had 50,000 more supporters six years ago."

Here is a club which was considered as the AFL club of the 'nineties - the most successful of the decade - incredibly consigned interstate because of lack of interest among supporters and a lack of money.

The concern for Melbourne, the foundation club of the AFL entering its 150th year, is that the Demons are not that far in front of the Kangaroos. The club will post a financial loss this season after budgeting for a sizable profit and it faces an uphill struggle to increase membership numbers on the back of a poor season on the field in 2007.

The club received no assistance from the AFL in terms of the fixture which was released yesterday and which gave the club just one Friday night fixture for the year giving it 70 per cent of its games on Sundays, including 12 out of 13 from rounds five to 17. Commercially, the Demons have been sent to the trash heap even if the draw might be relatively more favourable in playing terms compared with the horrors of what was served up in 2007. Meanwhile, the blockbuster clubs like Collingwoood will once again receive their good share of free kicks both in terms of commercial and on-field benefit. The club has no contol over the matter now and if Dean Bailey's charges can produce their best the draw will be the least of their worries.

The lesson of the Kangaroos is there for all to see. The club must dig in and work harder than ever not just to achieve success on the field but off it as well. There is no easy route – a better season on the field might help but we need even more than a red and blue facsimile of the "shinboner" spirit both on and off the ground in 2008 and beyond to ensure that the Melbourne Football Club remains at the spritual home of the M.C.G where it all began some 150 years ago!