BDA

Have you heard something OD or just a hunch?

I think this is a key point. If we re-locate to Casey then our whole brand has to change. I don’t think it makes since to have a club which carries the name of the city to be located in Casey or any other outer locality. It would be like re-locating Sydney to Penrith. And I know it’s not the same as the swans or the Lions moving to a new city but the old ties and connections will eventually fade away. If we move to Casey we would have to become a team of that locality which reflects the people and identity of that region. We would be going from what is considered an affluent supporter base to working class. I don’t think our brand makes sense out there. We either stay central and retain the brand or move to Casey and re-brand so that we are attractive to the potential supporter base out there. I mean, would a new migrant to this country, probably of working class or lower socio economic means, want to become a member of the current MFC. I doubt it.

i agree with all that Not sure why we use Geelong as a comparison. Geelong is a 150 year old established club. And they are heavily govt backed for unique reasons specific to Geelong. And they are not cleaning up. Take a look at their financials. They're flogging assets as well even though they play consistent finals. And i seem to recall (could be wrong) that Dandenong was previously looked at as a site for a boutique stadium. Didn't get off the ground and it have more people and has public transport.

Our issue has not been blooding younger players. None of the youngsters let us down last year. They may have been inconsistent but none looked out of place and in Jackson and Rivers we have 200+game players. Pickett too if he can develop some composure. Our senior players have been consistently letting us down. Other than May, Gawn, Trac and Clarry all those players listed have had inconsistent or injury affected recent seasons. Jetta and Jones have been warriors but are now barely best 22. There's a lot depending on that group of senior players. I don't think it's a strong leadership group compared to Richmond, Geelong, Port or even Brisbane. I think we need a good start and get wins on the board against Freo and the Saints to get some momentum and give us time to get BB up to speed (he is critical to our success). Start badly and i wouldn't have confidence this group can turn it around.

I can't take a train to Casey. I haven't even consider busing it but i'm sure it would be a mission. So i drive the 55 minutes to Casey Fields which means i can't have a beer (i always have a beer at the G because i take the train home). If i lived in Casey and the option was driving to a nearby station to catch a train for a 1 hour+ journey, can't have a few beers, I definitely wouldn't be going to every home game.

Does anyone have a copy of or know where to locate the report that Glen Bartlett references every time the reason for basing the site in the MGC precinct is raised. Apparently this report looked at other sporting organisations and how they made the decision regarding where to locate. I would love to know why the board are so wedded to the MGC precinct to the exclusion of all other options. What are the pros and cons. What are the alternatives. We seem to be having a very uninformed debate at the moment.

Never heard of this bloke but if he had responsibility for our website then probably best to part company

I've been patient but it's getting harder to keep the faith 58. GB will need to resign if there isn't movement before the next AGM.

I don’t believe Casey is the best option. In fact i think it is a terrible option. It’s desolate out there. It’s even got that bleak prairie wind blowing across the tundra feel to it. No public transport you need the car to get anywhere. I suggest to anyone advocating Casey to head along to the next ALFW game there and have a look around. You might change your mind. If MGC precinct falls over then we have to look at other sites closer to the city.

That bloke with his bloody cheese plater has a lot to answer for.

When you say alternative revenue streams what are thinking of DV? Serious question. I don’t know of too many sporting clubs who derive income from non-football sources. The below link details how Real Madrid re-structured their operations to clear debt and generate better profits. They essentially exploited their brand to the max and the strength of the brand is ultimately dependent upon on field success. They’re obviously in a different stratosphere to us but the same principals apply to most clubs. https://www.drandyfranklynmiller.com/1305-2/

I think its given to all players who play 150 or more games.

Rosman to win the rising star! Hunt off half back is a bad idea. The coaches are setting him up for failure.

besides a home base what this club needs more than anything else is premierships or at least some sustained finals appearances. Increased membership and financial stability are all ultimately dependent on what happens on the field

Leighoaks is a pokies joint LH. I’m not sorry that people now realise its unethical to be profiting from gambling. And anyways, if we hadn’t sold it we’d be borrowing from AFL HQ to keep us afloat. I don’t ever want to be beholden to HQ. It’s been raised elsewhere but this idea that we should be developing alternative revenue streams is a furphy. We’re a football club and that’s where 100% of our focus should be. Winning premierships attracts sponsors, members and bigger game day crowds. On field success will drive our financial success and stability. If we happened to be involved in a sector thats been badly hit by covid such as hospitality we’d be tipping member money into those enterprises to keep them afloat. What a waste that would be. I’m not sure what was so compelling about the MGC precinct compared to other sites. I’m certainly not wedded to it. Peter Jackson was very adamant as well so it wasn’t just Bartlett in favor. There’s only one off-field KPI that matters as far as this board is concerned. Deliver a home base. If concrete plans aren’t in place by the next AGM then Bartlett will have to go.

For those interested in putting a ticket together can i suggest getting the Geelong government liaison on board. Whoever they are they're doing a heck of a job.

Bartlett has well and truly hitched his wagon to the MCG precinct. If it falls through he won’t have anyone’s confidence that he can deliver an alternative. My sense is there will be announcement within the next 6-12 months one way or the other. Either a site is confirmed or the project has fallen over and if it does fall over he’ll have to resign. I’m not sure what has happened behind the scenes to spook the board into changing rules and stage managing the process to this degree. They should have been able to pull together enough support without the chicanery. And even if Lawrence did get on the board he is only one vote so would always get outvoted. It wouldn’t have been difficult to manage him so I can only surmise they thought he was going to de-stabilise and get in the way. Financial health will be determined by membership and sponsorship renewals. Not sure how we’re going on the membership front but I haven’t heard of any sponsors pulling out. Whoever wants to put an alternative ticket together then by all means go for it. But whoever is involved they must have the contacts and know how to get large, complex construction projects off the ground otherwise I’m not convinced there’s any real point.

We have no alternative but to be patient for now. Bartlett has again been bullish about the home base saying construction to commence by 2023. And again he has been definitive about the MCG precinct. Working back from there you would think an announcement is required fairly soon and definitely before next years AGM. Either he’s full of it (i don't believe he is) or he is genuinely confident. He must be getting positive signals from the government. He mentioned that Kate Roffey is heading up the Facilities working Group. She has been involved in a number of government advisory panels and authorities so she’ll have good contacts. Hopefully she can grease the wheel and get things moving. @deevotee Petitions before having a genuine alternative board isn’t the best way to go about it. You have to have people in place and ready to go otherwise you de-stabilise for no benefit. You’ll need high profile people with the requisite skills and influence who are prepared to volunteer their time and energy. The potential pool isn’t big. I share your concerns with the slow progress but I suggest you hang tough for another 12 months. By all means see if you can garner support from influential people in the meantime and work on an alternative ticket. But do it discreetly and definitely stay away from petitions. Btw the pres looks unwell.

That’s the dreaded MFCSS overpowering you Action. You have to fight against it! Joking aside, I think we can just about cover it. TMac has the perfect opportunity to redeem himself, Jackson is looking good. I think one or two youngsters will need to hit the ground running but our start is favorable with Freo at home and the injury ravaged Saints at Marvel after which we’ll have players returning. I’m staying positive but i’d prefer not to see any more injuries or niggles.

Its possible to over analyse sometimes. We missed very gettable set shots which drained our confidence. If we had applied scoreboard I believe we would have run out easy winners. We had twice as many scoring shots as the doggies. We beat ourselves yesterday. The doggies took their few opportunities. Their confidence grew as we kept them in the game. They are a limited side and won’t be around for the pointy end of the comp. Our defence is shaky. Magee nowhere near ready, she doesn't know what she's supposed to be doing. Colvin doesn’t inspire confidence either. Our forwards need to present much better against the pies. Delivery was poor but our leading was dreadful. And for God’s sake, kick straight otherwise game plan, tactics, personnel won’t matter.

The doggies were physical but I didn’t realise they roughed up some of our players. I was there. Being at the game you get a good overall view of what’s happening but you miss the tight stuff and close ups that the TV reveals. I’ll take your word for it though because I’m not going to look at a replay of the game.

Nah. We more than matched them on the inside. Our clearance work and contested game were fine. You may well be right about Cunningham. I’m thinking put Zanker to FF, she’s much more mobile than Cunningham and would present better. But you’d lose what she gives you around the ground.

Back down to earth with a bang. We had more than enough opportunities to win. Inaccuracy did for us. It happens. Bitterly disappointing to cough it up like that but we just have to regroup and go again. We weren’t outclassed or outfought and I wouldn’t be too worried about facing the doggies again. Paxman outstanding as per usual. No lack of effort but not much inspiration from anyone else around her other than perhaps Shelley Scott. Cunningham worries me. She’s just not a reliable kick. Delivery was poor but our forwards were so static. There was no separation at all. And no crumbing other than Scott’s goal. We now know the importance of Hore to this team. Defensively it was panic stations every time the ball went in there. Goldrick will be welcomed back with open arms next week. Next week against the Pies is now a critical game. Lose and we're back in the pack with very little margin for error left.

It's not. Whenever a politician describes something as gold standard you should be worried.

Valid points LH. The mysteriousness of the draw and Covid uncertainly could all work against us yet. The conference system was a joke last year and Carlton fluked their way to the final. It won't happen again this year because they are very average imv. Prespakis and Harris is all they've got. They made Richmond look decent yesterday! I wouldn’t discount the travel factor though. We were very sluggish out of the gate v gold coast and tired badly in the last quarter. A better team would have run over the top of us. Granted we travelled up and back same day which other teams probably won't do. Anyways I have to get myself organised and head to Footscray. Go Dees!