Diamond_Jim

The reality is that we will not be able to challenge the power clubs for many years. It would require 10-20 years of success. The aim over the next five years should be to break out of the bottom bracket and move into the next bracket. The immediate goal should be to equal if not move ahead of Carlton and the Bulldogs both on and off field. I'm not sure we have the Board or the coach to achieve this but for once we do have the players. By pursuing a training ground etc in the Jolimont park precinct demonstrated that the Board lacked knowledge of realities.If we had adopted the Gosch's Paddock initiative three years ago it would be well in progress now if not completed. Coaching.... well we all know that story

I was testing my kayo a few days before the NRL and came across a show called the Big Marble or similar. Yes it was a game of marbles played in a non contact manner.Believe me after five minutes of that the NRL was scintilalating. Mind you Melbourne Storm played like the Dees. Massive time in their forward twenty with no result while Canberra waltzed up the other end and scored. ?

Not quite sex dolls but..... Over the weekend a photograph of mass murderer Harold Shipman made an appearance in the stands, then a TV sketch featured an image of Adolf Hitler, prompting furious criticism from Australia’s Jewish community. The broadcaster and the show’s host subsequently apologised, while the NRL said it would review its screening process. Shipman was found guilty in 2000 of murdering 15 of his patients by lethal injection, and while he may not be as infamous in Australia as he is in the UK, the inclusion of his likeness raises questions over the vetting procedure used by the NRL in its scheme

Story in the Age about AFL resisting calls from their broadcasters for a reduction in the rights deal. At the very least it signals no increase. Foxtel are at the proverbial cross roads. Will be interesting

Perhaps we should invite Mr Vlardy to be chairman and chief executive of the MFC.....He has a certain style "The NRL will meet the NSW government this week armed with the threat of moving the grand final away from Sydney if the state doesn't deliver up to four boutique suburban stadiums over the next decade. With the state government on Saturday dumping plans for the $800 million redevelopment of ANZ Stadium as it deals with the financial fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, NRL powerbrokers are set to demand funds be redirected towards suburban venues as part of a push to regenerate tribalism in rugby league."

Very true.... take North... it's major asset is leasehold improvements on its ground at Arden Street. At its simplest that is a zero or low value asset from a resale or borrowing viewpoint. It does have some value to North as it saves them renting admin and gym space etc. Collingwood has hard income producing investments through its future fund. Hawks have bricks and mortar entertainment venues with poker machine licences. MFC has solid assets in the form of $8M in cash and the Bentleigh club at a 2011 valuation of $8.7M (presumably worth around $11-12M now). If we can minimise our 2019-2020 loss and come out strongly in following years we could go okay. The temptation is to do a North and invest in training facilities which would deplete our asset base. (Difficult decisions which frankly the Board needs to share with members because once this load of cash goes its hard to see where the next lot comes from.)

Noticed that they were getting better as the weekend wore on with matching the crowd noise to the tempo of the game. It could become quite scientific with multiple overlays. Of course NRL has an advantage in that most of the coverage excludes the stands so it is not as obvious. The cardboard cut outs are so lame but I suppose some like them. Cannot see them lasting beyond the first few weeks unless they become a cult thing with peoples pets etc. Perhaps sending dead relatives to the footy will become a thing this year. (I quite like the European idea of having the photo of people on their graves.)

A study done in Japan of the distribution of saliva droplets in a dining context showed that the sound "th" was particularly bad. Accordingly Hawthorn should be banned until there is a vaccine.

was reading on the Bombers fan site that Hird used these tactics for a season or so and failed so it could well be where Goodwin got the idea. We all know it doesn't work consistently....just seems our coach doesn't

Not since where they first threw a forward pass in NFL has a sport been changed so much by tactics. We can all look back on the now infamous Bulldogs v Essendon game in 2000 where the flood was first played and say football changed forever. Add in the fitness, the interchange and increased tactical use of zoning and the game is nothing like what it was for over a hundred years. The other momentous game was the 1970 grand final which saw the famous handball at all cost tactic. It was a positive change at least. I have now become convinced we should move to 16 players on the ground and 2-3 on the bench.

No.... they were fund raising for Dingley (most of it anyway) and they have put the fund raising on hold. Kennett said sometime back that they could pay for it in full but they preferred to fund raise a substantial proportion from government and supporters. Hate to say it but they're shovel ready if any grants come the way of professional sports.

don't hold your breath Hawks had a current asset surplus of $20M as at October 2019 not to mention a net equity of over $50M Makes you cry as to what they have done since the failed merger compared to us.

That could do it assuming that in the off years we finished 8-12 and broke even at worst in those off years. First step is to overtake Carlton in an off field sense. They are vulnerable. Also if we can swing Carlton, Dogs Port and Freo (along with Saints and North) to our side we could push the AFL for a realistic draw. Mind you if the comp made a loss we would be cutting our own throat in the short term. It would be a high stakes gamble. In ten years the game will be saved by TV/media rights of some kind.I have no idea what it will be but the challenge is to be there as a real player in ten years.

the system works well for the AFL and for about ten of the 18 clubs. Unfortunately it wont change.

that is simplistic....you need sustained results for five plus years and you need them at a time that delivers maximum revenue. One bad year will easily wipe out four good ones for a club like the MFC Unfortunately we are just horribly vulnerable to this downturn and without the AFL we would be well and truly insolvent.

Collingwood sold off its pokies in 2018 for $12M ... repaid its then debts of $1.6M and invested the balance in what it calls the CFC Future fund. For the 2019 FY it had an operating profit of $6M resulting in a net profit after interest etc of $4M. North has little long term debt ($650k) but had current liabilities of several million over and above receivables. Mind you this is at end October 2019 so you really need to know their annual cashflows. It has non current assets (long term leaseholds) values at cost of around $20M (North will almost certainly have a cashflow problem) The rest are all here if you want to look http://www.footyindustry.com/?page_id=4982

You echo the thoughts of many of us AF. The positive is that we now have four winnable games. Goodwin has backed his system.If we don't win three of those games the season is almost over.

the AFL are just hooked on the compromise draw. This year was the perfect opportunity to have a random draw subject only to hub requirements but no...if anything it is even more compromised. As mentioned the power clubs will soon tire of not being able to spend their money as they wish. If the Dogs have joined the dark side we had best watch out as there are now only three weaklings waiting to be picked off by the metaphorical lions

What could possibly go wrong..... Dominic Cummings may be weathering the storm that engulfed him for apparently flouting the government’s coronavirus lockdown guidance but that has not stopped Boris Johnson’s top adviser being ridiculed on the other side of the world. As Australia’s NRL season restarted this week, the Fan in the Stand initiative allowed the public to pay $22 for a cardboard cutout of themselves to be placed in a seat to “watch” their team in action. It seems one Sydney Roosters fan with a sense of humour had other ideas. A cardboard cutout of Cummings appeared at Bankwest Stadium for the Roosters’ match against South Sydney Rabbitohs and did not go unnoticed by TV viewers. “He’s travelled to Sydney now. Cummings doesn’t give a [censored]!” posted Sam Rowlett, along with a photo of the match coverage – a post which quickly gained several thousand likes on Twitter. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/may/29/dominic-cummings-cutout-appears-at-rugby-league-match-in-sydney-australia

The argument for GCS and GWS was that you needed the second team to maintain interest in the home market. The ninth game being marginal is I think more a message for Melbourne clubs... Mind you I think we could easily do without GCS.... GWS I hold some hope for based on the Western Sydney/ ACT/Riverina corridor. I find 3 games ample over a weekend from a TV viewing angle. I have a friend who watches them all so there are some people glued to the box.

winning this year is important for the future but money wise this year it means nothing. Could we be the only team in the AFL era to register a loss in a premiership year... now that would be typical MFC ?

The premiership win didn't deliver anywhere near the money that the power clubs get. IIRC it was around 20-30% of what Richmond received from additional merchandising etc. The Whitten Oval upgrade was substantially funded by Federal money and they run it in conjunction with Victoria University. Revenue streams include a childcare centre for example. How they have managed to stay in the black is a real credit to them and to their Board. Never thought that the Bulldogs would join forces with Kennett and Hawthorn but I have noticed that Gordon when on the ABC Jon Faine program often questioned the lack of a solid business case for many of the AFL's exotic ventures (China etc) Interesting that there is a story in the Age today saying that the increase in TV money as a result of the ninth game each week is marginal.

Top right is the playing jumper for the Broncos. Couldn't find an image for the back and the sleeves but they are full of ads.Walking billboards...

I was thinking of another word that starts with "D"

Was watching the NRL last night. I messaged my brothers who live in rugby states that the players looked like walking advertisments. Would hate to see the MFC go like that. Where do you stop ...we may as well call ourselves the Sexyland xyzs !! a la the Japanese leagues. Interesting aside with the NRL coverage was tight camera shots focused on players meant the round the ground ads became almost invisible. I also see that we have moved to a one minute break between a goal and the resumption of play.I assume this is a TV demand to allow for more ads.