Demon Spofforth

I dare say Victoria's dominance also relates to a lot of AFL recruiters reluctance to travel interstate. That's certainly a complaint here in QLD; that there's an inherent laziness of scouts/recruiters when they can just turn up to weekly Coates and private school games rather than look far and wide and assess talent elsewhere. I attended the National U15s this year and WA thrashed Victoria in the final and even QLD led Vic late in the third quarter in their pool game. But I bet most of that Victorian side ends up getting drafted whereas only a few from WA will. You could see it with the Player Agents too. A lot of the well known ones turning up for the Vic games but no others. No doubt Vic is the main footy nursery in the country and it will always have most of the draftees. But there's a bit more to it than pure talent if you ask me.

Yeah, my initial reaction was that the Sharp deal could be 49 for Sharp & 66. Gives Lions extra 200 points for Academy bids while leaves us with a third pick still. Sharp effectively for pick 55 according to the calculators.

Maybe the Sharp deal is 49 for Sharp & 66? Gives Lions extra 200 points for Academy bids while leaves us with a third pick still. Sharp effectively for pick 55 according to the calculators.

Yep. All valid points. And here we are dealing with those decisions of last 100 years. Originally Albion was slated for a new stadium on the site of the old greyhound/harness racing track. I thought that made sense given it would have been a large greenfield site with good transport links. But understand the Gabba and Lang Park people kicked up a fuss about having a competitor, and as you say, the Gabba decision is likely about justifying Cross River Rail too.

Well, that's a matter for the rugby codes and soccer. I'm a footy and cricket man 😀 But given a boutique (approx 20K) rectangular stadium isn't needed for the Games, I'd say its lower on the priority queue. In the end, footy and cricket will be the biggest beneficiaries of the Games due to the new Gabba.

It's actually 34k to 52k. They put in a deck structure a while ago so capacity for footy and cricket hasn't been above 34k for a number of years. But agree getting up to 60K would have preferable.

Geez, what a pile on. As a Brisbane resident, I say bring on the Games. 80% of the venues already exist with only 4-5 needing to be built so the overall infrastructure build is actually pretty light on. I agree the Gabba rebuild is a lot of money, but its bloody needed. The stadium is falling apart and has lost cricket test matches due to that, and needs to be done up whether the Games are coming or not. A complete rebuild was a bit of a surprise but it will make it the best equipped stadium in the country and will provide transport links that are missing at the moment. The boutique stadium for the Lions/Heat at RNA also makes sense as the RNA will be used for the Equestrian at the Games. It'll be used every year for the annual EKKA event as well as adds more capacity around the inner city for sports event, festivals and concerts. I do think the State Government should be chipping in more for it though given the displacement of the Lions/Heat from the Gabba. But re: the comments about using Metricon, both the Lions and Heat themselves flat out refused that option. And Springfield isn't even in Brisbane and would need a tonne of works to upgrade it also. All in all, both the Gabba rebuild and RNA stadium are needed and will provide legacy benefits well after the Games. The actual dollars are a lot I know, but so is everything these days. Definitely reckon the pros outweigh the cons. My two cents anyway. Just thought some perspective needed perhaps.

Brisbane has become one I reckon. Clashes in recent years have been pretty spiteful, thanks largely to the likes of Zorko. But maybe it's just me living here in Qld.

Massive advocate of getting Gunston in for a couple of years while we're in the window.

As a QLDer, perhaps a more pertinent point is why did the AFL choose to continue to call it the VFL when there were 6-8 teams from outside Victoria. This year down to five I believe with the likes of Aspley/Canberra dropping out. But the VFL top 5 this year was 4 teams from outside Victoria, including 3 from the footy heartland of Queensland (sarcasm). And yes, Southport are the biggest club in QLD with no alignment to any AFL club. They have a massive leagues club which means they're able to offer good money to ex-AFL players who'd rather spend their winters on the sunny Gold Coast.

I'll be there too after waking up with butterflies and feeling a tad nervous now. Living in Brisbane, absolutely love it when we beat the Lions. FYI - Gates open at 6:30pm but first bounce isn't until 7:50pm so plenty of time for set up.

Looking for advice for next Saturday's game vs Giants. Flying down from Qld for it. Basically, my membership plus my two sons are in general admission but I'm looking at buying a general admission ticket so my wife can attend as well. Does anyone know what sections general admission are at the MCG currently? Cheers in advance.

Got a new email too saying my order has had its status changed. Upon checking I'm getting my premiership jersey but not the three other items I ordered - stubbie holder, t-shirt, pennant. When I queried my order about a month ago I was told those items were waiting on the arrival of the premiership jersey before they could be sent all together. The irony then - the jersey is now coming but not the other items. Good thing waiting my entire life for a premiership has given me patience.

Yes really frustrating. I've made two orders via the Demon Shop - 28 Sept and 7 Oct - and no word whatsoever. Just 'Awaiting Fulfillment'. I've written to see what's going on as kids in particular are getting pretty antsy. OK, adults too.

How'd you access the competition? I searched high and low for details to try and enter but couldn't find any.