Tiger turf is 'crap', says Demetriou

"Demetriou said the AFL was prepared to intervene in a bid to allow Richmond to train once a week on the MCG for the rest of the season, adding that the Tigers' ground was also too small and several years away from any significant improvement."

What the hell? Isn't this our ground that we aren't even allowed to train on?

Tiger turf is 'crap', says Demetriou

"Demetriou said the AFL was prepared to intervene in a bid to allow Richmond to train once a week on the MCG for the rest of the season, adding that the Tigers' ground was also too small and several years away from any significant improvement."

What the hell? Isn't this our ground that we aren't even allowed to train on ???????????????????????????????????????

Could not agree more - what the hell is our Football Dept doing ????? Flippin' around all summer at sub-standard venues, meekly accepting that this is our lot in life - WHEN ARE WE GOING TO STAND UP FOR OURSELVES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No. Its not our ground any more than its theirs.

Relax. Ski season approaching.

Don't worry, they won't get to train there, the MCC won't allow it.

Don't worry, they won't get to train there, the MCC won't allow it.

I heard Stephen Gough on SEN this morning; he said no way would the MCC entertain it. The other thing he said that was interesting - in discussing the training oppourtunities at the G he said that earlier in the season the tenant clubs and Melbourne were allowed to train at the G. It may have just been a Freudian slip.

Tiger turf is 'crap', says Demetriou

"Demetriou said the AFL was prepared to intervene in a bid to allow Richmond to train once a week on the MCG for the rest of the season, adding that the Tigers' ground was also too small and several years away from any significant improvement."

What the hell? Isn't this our ground that we aren't even allowed to train on ???????????????????????????????????????

VLAD was a north melb player & as such doesn't want North to be one to move or go under.

Obviously he would prefer Melbourne go down as he doesn't like us anyway.

"While Melbourne's training-base problems and lack of a permanent home ground have been widely discussed recently and North Melbourne's sub-standard facilities at Arden Street are a problem for the competition, Demetriou said that Richmond's problems were significant."

Cop that from Vlad, WTF. Not having any ground for 5 months is OK then? Oh yeh, our problems have been discussed, that's OK then.

Just commenting upon the surface (sic) of this topic.... No way ought the Toiges be allowed any access to the G !! They can bloody well go find some "other' training location just as we have had to ffs.

The focus should maybe be on Casey as a fulltime base for admin & training rather than just as a summer training base.

Why on earth would an AFL club want to be headquartered in a soccer stadium?

The whole feel of the place will be wrong, the Demons will eventually feel like intruders and the rectangular sports tenants will resent their presence. It just won't create the right sort of positive vibes that a club needs as it strives for success.

Maybe they offered Demetriou some land down in Sandhurst

"We need to try and help them find a better place to train," he said. "

No Andrew you tool, THEY need to try and find themselves a better place to train...if your helping out richmond so much, where the hell was our help

The focus should maybe be on Casey as a fulltime base for admin & training rather than just as a summer training base.

Why on earth would an AFL club want to be headquartered in a soccer stadium?

The whole feel of the place will be wrong, the Demons will eventually feel like intruders and the rectangular sports tenants will resent their presence. It just won't create the right sort of positive vibes that a club needs as it strives for success.

i'm not so sure...the rec stadium is simply the base for our admin, our gym and recovery, medical etc. we will train outdoors on an oval.

i'm not so sure...the rec stadium is simply the base for our admin, our gym and recovery, medical etc. we will train outdoors on an oval.

I don't disagree with what you say there - but it's the welcome, the atmosphere, the fit (spiritually - not physically).

It just doesn't have the right feel, and an oval sport tenant will always feel, and be, a second-class tenant in a rectangular world.

The focus should maybe be on Casey as a fulltime base for admin & training rather than just as a summer training base.

Why on earth would an AFL club want to be headquartered in a soccer stadium?

The whole feel of the place will be wrong, the Demons will eventually feel like intruders and the rectangular sports tenants will resent their presence. It just won't create the right sort of positive vibes that a club needs as it strives for success.

are you on here to try and win us over? just your name suggests your from casey, and probably not a dees supporter...

i think we should just use casey until the new stadium is built, and then be out of there... even over summer we will still have our ground available next to our new stadium, no need to head out to cranbourne...

casey fields is convenient for now, but it's only a short term fix for us until we get our stadium built...

are you on here to try and win us over? just your name suggests your from casey, and probably not a dees supporter...

I haven’t tried to hide that I’m from Casey, but it’s taken a while for the penny to drop. I’ve also said in an earlier post I’m not a MFC supporter, but I’d welcome MFC to Casey (as would many people in the growth corridor).

i think we should just use casey until the new stadium is built, and then be out of there... even over summer we will still have our ground available next to our new stadium, no need to head out to cranbourne...

casey fields is convenient for now, but it's only a short term fix for us until we get our stadium built...

You may feel that you can arrogantly just suck the juice out of a poor cousin, but let me assure you it won’t work. It won’t work because you won’t get into Cranbourne without making a commitment to hang around. It also won’t work because you’ll be turning your back on possibly thousands of members who could be brought up as MFC supporters (there’s lots of impressionable kids in the growth area), and you’ll wither on the vine in an inner city location with a CEO telling you to stick with the elites – a recipe for a slow but certain death.

I haven’t tried to hide that I’m from Casey, but it’s taken a while for the penny to drop. I’ve also said in an earlier post I’m not a MFC supporter, but I’d welcome MFC to Casey (as would many people in the growth corridor).

You may feel that you can arrogantly just suck the juice out of a poor cousin, but let me assure you it won’t work. It won’t work because you won’t get into Cranbourne without making a commitment to hang around. It also won’t work because you’ll be turning your back on possibly thousands of members who could be brought up as MFC supporters (there’s lots of impressionable kids in the growth area), and you’ll wither on the vine in an inner city location with a CEO telling you to stick with the elites – a recipe for a slow but certain death.

I went to Centro Cranbourne a few weeks ago, god it was scary the types who hang around there. Felt like I was on another planet. The $2 bin in K-Mart was surrounded by people three deep!

I like the Casey idea and I really hope it works, but there are so many bogans out there...forget the exclusive members tie in next years membership pick, we'll have to include a pair of MFC Moccasin's instead!

I went to Centro Cranbourne a few weeks ago, god it was scary the types who hang around there. Felt like I was on another planet. The $2 bin in K-Mart was surrounded by people three deep!

I like the Casey idea and I really hope it works, but there are so many bogans out there...forget the exclusive members tie in next years membership pick, we'll have to include a pair of MFC Moccasin's instead!

I had to do some market research down there earlier this year, and it was certainly one of the least desirable places I've ever visited (and I spent 12 years in the Middle East).

Mind you, Cranbourne > Deer Park

*shudder*

(With my sincerest apologies to anyone who resides in either of these suburbs).

I wouldnt mind some Demon Moccies...

I think some are just slightly over exagerating Cranbourne's persona <_<

The rec stadium is imperative for the club.

It is more attractive to new players than Casey, and it means that IMMEDIATELY after playing a game after the 'G the players can be in ice baths and recovering.

You may feel that you can arrogantly just suck the juice out of a poor cousin, but let me assure you it won't work. It won't work because you won't get into Cranbourne without making a commitment to hang around. It also won't work because you'll be turning your back on possibly thousands of members who could be brought up as MFC supporters (there's lots of impressionable kids in the growth area), and you'll wither on the vine in an inner city location with a CEO telling you to stick with the elites – a recipe for a slow but certain death.

I just think the MFC has to make the best decisions for itself at any given time, as Casey will I'm sure.

Currently, we need somewhere to train, mainly over summer when the Junction oval isn't available. Casey fields provides a solution to this problem, as we will have a permanent base over summer where we can train. The club is willing to go even further, and move our footy department out there at the end of the season, till such time that our new stadium is completed, which is likely to be another 12-18 months from this time.

But once we have our facilities in the precinct complete, I can't see any reason why the Melbourne Football Club would want to do any training out at Casey fields, even summer training, when we're going to have superior facilities available to us in the Olympic Park Precinct.

Perhaps Casey Fields will create new opportunities for us to sign up more members, generate more support for the club (however I'm quite skeptical of this to be honest), but any permanent move out to Casey comes at the disadvantage of the football department, and I know I value on field success more highly than the club perhaps getting a couple of extra thousand members. We start winning and the members will come.

You also seem to be very one-eyed on this matter, skeptical of our new stadium, condemning us to a slow but certain death if we don't embrace the all-mighty Casey fields. Saying that we won't fit in with the new stadium because we aren't playing a rectangular sport.

Myself and many others will be interested in your thoughts, as Casey is going to be important to this club over the next couple of years, but please try and keep an objective point of view, or otherwise it will be hard for us to take you seriously.

Demons set new goals but they won't be training at the MCG (nor will the Tigers, Vlad!)

Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stephen Gough yesterday ruled out any clubs being allowed to regularly train at the ground.

"The MCG is not a training ground," Gough told The Age.

"We let interstate clubs have a run here before a game so their Victorian counterparts — when they go interstate — can get use to grounds over there."