Lucifers Hero

I called the membership department and was told the 2023 numbers will be posted in the new year. I mentioned in past years they started to appear on mfc website form mid Oct/early Nov. The feedback was it is the marketing department who do the update and they have been quite busy.

Update for Howes' two year contract renewal until 2025. Next: Kozzie please. 🤩

After last year's GF Vic was still in lockdown with curfews and only a few hours of 'day release'. It meant there was no chance for players to R and R. So they didn't have much to do except exercise/train. When I read some of the training reports I get a bit anxious that we are repeating last year's error of going too hard too early (Max said the 2022 season felt and extension of 2021 with a heavy preseason workload). But I stay positive and think we have learnt to pace the preseason better this year.

Members vs Memberships numbers was covered in this thread I don't see much point repeating the discussion here.

Thanks ITFA. If I get a chance I'll call the club tomorrow. Hope you figure out bribe your way back for the GF, if we make it. 😉

@Its Time for Anotherdo you still have the contact in 'Memberships' at the club to obtain the latest figure - it seems they have forgotten to update it to this year. ps Really like your name change. Agree: Its Time for Another!!

I know the example is hypothetical but the number of 'additional' memberships from that source(s) are so few that the impact on membership numbers is negligible.

Not sure about the 'bolded' comment if 'favourable' means winning a premiership or even going to the PF stage. An 'easy' fixture hadn't helped Geelong for over a decade. It is fair to say they were the best managed team in 2022 that peaked in September as we did in 2021. The teams that make the finals by virtue of an easy fixture get found our very quickly during the finals, especially those that haven't been there for a while. The two that made it to a Premiership on the back of an 'easier' draw were Bulldogs in 2016 and Richmond in 2017 both having finished 13th in the prior year. However, both teams had made the finals (with early exits) in the years prior to those premierships. So they were relatively experienced finals teams. Without checking I don't think there is a team that has made a PF/GF or won the premiership 'out of the blue' without prior finals experience. While Collingwood made it to a PF last year on the back of an easier fixture they had a decent and recent finals history. Some might say we benefited in 2021 having been 9th in 2020 but that would be very difficult to support as we blasted all comers out of the finals. 'Dark Horses' don't win premierships out of the blue nor on the back of easy fixtures.

They have to make finals first! So add at least another 365 to eos 2024 as they do not plan to even make finals in 2023! going-to-take-time-bombers-not-entertaining-finals-talk And Scott is preaching patience. A brave man preaching patience after nearly 20 years in finals wilderness! They'll eat him alive if he doesn't get wins on the board.

Change of heart after they drafted him by the look of it. Not the first time a player has been recruited with the promise of a role then find themselves with something else. J. Howe is an obvious one. It won't be the last. At least Owe went into a back line role he had been performing well in. Jackson is yet to lay claim to a fwd role. But Bell thinks it is mfc's fault for our 'narrow' forward play. Time will tell.

Definitely forward : luke-jackson-fremantle-traded-from-melbourne-contract-game-plan-where-will-he-play Note the 'drive by' chip at mfc.

iirc JT said we planned to have Jackson as a fwd. I think it was in one of the 2020 pre-draft interviews. However, we saw something different in him and changed that early view. Maybe Freo will change their view. After all, the best stretch of his career so far was the GF when he was in the middle. At the Dees he learnt his ruck craft from Max. At Freo he may learn from Darcy but Darcy himself is still learning. But then again, not sure what big men Freo have to help get the best out of Jackson. Time will tell.

May not be in theory but Freo intend to play Jackson as a fwd so he is a Lobb replacement in practice. Bell even said we didn't use him enough as a fwd and our game style didn't suit him as a fwd. They intend to change his role to be predominately a fwd. Not sure how Jackson will like that...

Freo can see they have an uphill battle next year: cant-have-it-all-dockers "Dockers CEO Simon Garlick says the club and players aren’t “overly concerned” with the draw that will also include double games against preliminary finalists Brisbane and finalists the Western Bulldogs". (Plus Geelong and Sydney double ups). Just a little concerned perhaps? “There’s no doubt we’ve seen all the analysis over the last couple of days and the double ups and the like that we’ve got some on-field challenges ahead of us..." The downside of finishing in the top 6! "From Round 16, the Dockers will play six consecutive games against teams that finished in the top nine last year – but three of those games will be at home". A tough run home. As Garlick rightly points out what looks like a hard/easy draw now may not turn out that way. Without doing the 'death ridie' thing, I don't like their chances of making finals especially as they need to integrate key players: Jackson for Lobb, O'Meara for Mundy and cover the loss of Logue, Tucker, and Acres who are in their 'best 25'. It may take the first third of the season, when they need to win a lot of games, to settle the team by which time the season may have slipped away, given their tough run home. They are a young side so can see them sliding next year 🤞 to come back in 2024. Which means we will end up with a fairer price for Jackson.😉

Those aren't but the other 4 are almost 'gimmes'! So overall it is about the easiest double ups of all.

With an extra game and each team now having 6 not 5 double ups the 6-6-6 fixture rule doesn't work so well.

Ess have paid the price for being consistently poor. Not only are they playing at Geelong they have no night games in the first 15 games. Looks like they have been the loser to Carlton's elevation as the AFL fixture darling.

Me too! I will get to most night games as I now live on a different train line which will make night travel safer in that my station is no longer the second last.

In the first 15 ruonds. we have seven night games : 1 x Thursday in Geelong 2 x Friday night interstate 1 x Friday night at the G 2 x Saturday night at the G 1 x Monday night at the G for sponsors it is ok as they still get the FTA exposure of the 1/state games. for fans we don't have much to complain about: the usual problems with night games have been removed: winter weather, school/work the next day, digital tickets, late finish (3 of the 4 start before 7.30), we have lots of day games. all except one night game will be FTA. It looks like the club has prioritised crowd attendance. Fans wanted more day games, we have them so hopefully we support the team by turning up, day or night!

The AFL seem desperate to promote Carlton: Two additional 'blockbuster' games: Good Friday and KB Eve vs Ess Umpteen FTA prime time games The easiest 'double up' games possible: Collingwood, Melbourne, St Kilda, Gold Coast, Greater Western Sydney, West Coast. Anyone would think they just won the premiership!! I so hope this backfires on the AFL and Carlton.

I would wait and see what accommodation looks like closer to the date and the gauging may peter out.

Can't see many people outside SA travelling there to watch their game or most other games. Eagles fans fly to be flogged by Geelong? Freo fans to go to some backwater to play GCS? Lions or North fans to go to some backwater to watch a training run for Lions? Collingwood fans to watch Saints? etc etc. I had thought the idea was to attract huge crowds to this 'Festival'. Can't see it happening. A crowd drawing festival would include at lest some of the 'rivalries': Adelaide vs Port Freo vs Eagles Syd vs GWS Bris vs GCS Haw vs Ess etc Boring name, boring fixture! An own goal in the making for the AFL!

Agree. For the general SA and visiting i/state public there is no other match that seems worth attending. Almost as if the bigger Vic clubs didn't want to play each other and loose a gate taking bounty back in Melbourne. Ditto the rivalry WA, NSW and Qld 'derbies'. The only Vic teams that play each other are Ess vs Dees and Coll vs Saints which are unlikely to be big drawcards. As for the opening night: 9th vs 14th (2022 ladder). Missed opportunity to max out crowds for the festival. There is a real risk of it being an attendance fizzer. Our game might be one of the highest drawing crowds. From a crowd drawing point of view, I reckon it would have been smarter to fixture us vs Freo: The Jackson showdown!!!! And, at least another serious Vic vs Vic game. Edit: just noticed Port play WBD so that might draw a good crowd as AFL would be hoping the WBD fans will hop across the border so that is a sensible match up.

Looks like Geelong win the playing a WA team lottery and save them a trip to Perth. Unlikely that if they play the Eagles again it will be in WA.

"The many fan ideas for the round included United Round, AFL Roadshow, Footy Fiesta, The Big Show, Family Round, Connection Round, Roving Round, Premiers Round, The Grape Escape, Hanger Round, Round Five!, AFL Mega, Celebration Round, All-in Round, Magnetic Round, Destination Round, Fanatics Round and Festival of Footy". How they picked 'Gather'.with those suggetions... Someone has a sense of humour suggesting to call it: Round 5!