Diamond_Jim

Just some thoughts.... The only rationale I have heard for the existence/continuation of the GCS is that of maintaining a media presence in a large market. The argument goes that if you only have Brisbane playing each two weeks the AFL coverage is flooded by the coverage of other sports namely NRL. As part of this is the argument saying Brisbane/Queensland needs a local live TV game each week. The downside is that it splits the local following and sponsorship etc which were available to Brisbane. Crowd wise Brisbane and GCS will always struggle. There just isn't the historical tribal base that delivers crowds week on week. You could say the same about GWS but I think that with the right product (particularly the inclusion of the ACT) that team is worth investing in. FWIW I think they made a mistake basing the team in Western Sydney. Sounded good but a central base is what was needed. Then again the Sydney Olympics saw the Sydney sporting precinct being moved a long way from central Sydney. They have struggled ever since to win the hearts of the the local as a desirable go to destination. While we are at it Port and Freo should not escape review. A few years back Port were in trouble. By keeping their old Magpie connection they alienated 70% of the local market.They need to realign and take advantage of the fact that following the Crows is financially prohibitive due to closed membership lists etc. I don't know enough about Freo but I expect they need to take a similar path. Tasmania...maybe but they need a covered stadium which they cannot afford.

A thought provoking article: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/31/pause-due-to-covid-19-gives-afl-a-chance-to-build-a-more-agile-and-inclusive-game If the community the AFL is hoping will return do so, how battle weary will they be? Post-isolation, post-sickness – after experiencing a fraying of the very social fabric the game relies on – how will football serve this forever altered community? Is it ready? If survival is only for the elite, then the game will not be any more than the disappointing spectacle that was the soulless round one of the men’s competition this month. The world in which football re-emerges will be a very different one. The easy option would be to piece together a version of the old that would be just as susceptible to increasingly common global disasters. The opportunity that presents itself now is to build something new – something that will last. Something more agile and inclusive.

North to Tasmania doesn't save any money. In fact it costs money if the AFL are required to fund the transfer as they offered for North to move to the Gold Coast. GCS to Tasmania (if the Tasmanian govt is still prepared to heavily subsidise) and merge two to four of the the bottom Melbourne teams.That's money saving. The media deal has always been a strange one with Foxtel being prepared to pay more than half the total fee for the lesser games.This has meant you need lots of product. The next round will be completely different with say Netflix (or Optus) owning Friday night football and various combinations like we have not seen before. If they can match revenue wise what they got under the last deal they will be doing well.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-31/coronavirus-afl-nrl-clubs-desperate-to-keep-fans/12103818 But even if our appetite for sport remains voracious the cost of attendance has risen sharply over the years for families who might now consider club membership a discretionary item rather than a necessity. As we've observed previously, AFL clubs particularly have come perilously close to shaming supporters into purchasing membership over the past 25 years with campaigns that created the underlying assumption that "You are not a real supporter if you are not a member".

Good news but I suspect there is still a bit to play out here with lists and finances.

Interesting as the Constitution guarantees free trade between the states. While the Constitutional power is not a guarantee of free movement complete lockdown of a State could be hard to enforce.

Just looked up the length of the current media deal and as signed goes through until the end of 2021. What I had not realised is that the AFL were close to getting a 2 year extension out of Channel 7 in February this year (2020). Channel 7must be thanking its lucky stars that the deal was not signed. Would not be surprised to see an extension agreed however at a "fair price." You would not be wanting to go to the media market early 2021. PS: According to this article they were close to extending the deal as recently as two weeks ago. https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/league-set-for-tv-broadcast-deal-extension-despite-shortened-season/605c74fd-6de4-4ca1-95a7-14a74f251bc9

Piece of trivia.........WA were the last to agree to join the federation. In fact if the previous move to federation had got off the ground it would have had NZ in and WA out. They could do a Scotland in years to come.

Money......

Thanks... I had assumed our Brayshaw had headed west. Life in a shared house these days would be interesting to say the least. The millenials are heading home now that the pubs and avocado cafes have been closed or so I've heard ?

So will the brothers comeback fitter than the lone players. Assuming they are bunkered down together. Brayshaws, McDonalds Wagners etc

No problems Andy Will be interesting to see what the advertising bot sends my way ?

Definitely worth discussion. I think form should play a lot bigger part in total remuneration. To some extent it already does through contract renewal but there is certainly room for more incentives due to form. Injury is a lot tougher. Long term injuries are probably tougher again. If they are still paid 75% of the cap that would be a fair outcome. In fact I think it a little too fair.I would set it closer to 66%. Perhaps need to ask should a club still be required to pay almost 100% of the cap when it finishes 16th or thereabouts. Leigh Matthews was big on this at Brisbane a few years back saying why should they pay the same to a bunch of mediocre players when they had no marquee player at the time. Also underscores the need for the bulk of players to have a clear path to work after football. Finally it's important that the clubs aren't allowed to game the system and use the formula to poach the high paid players (a la Sydney with their COLA) while the bulk of the team take the minimum.

Go to Bomber Blitz and you can read the email from Essendon to its members if you wish

It was a Herald Sun article reporting that Essendon had put out a statement to the affect that members who pay for their membership by instalments must continue to pay those instalments.

not a good move.... this story and related ones has a way to go. The AFL and the clubs are businesses and people pay accordingly. If they want donations that is up to the membership. This is why they are desperate to get in some form of season

very strange that they have not been classed as an essential service but then again getting very hard to find a gin and tonic here as well ?

Where I am presently they make a large percentage of the world's surgical gloves and condoms.We are now in day 7 of a four week lockdown and I just read an article that the local condom maker who makes one in five of the world's condoms has ceased production due to the lockdown. They predict a worldwide shortage if they don't start up production.

Our gameplan works relatively well against GWS as long as you can pressure their ball carrier.If you allow them the handball to space they will cut us to pieces. Of course while their kicking skills have improved and ours have gone the other way over the last two years it has become harder to maintain that pressure. Round 23 2018 was a highlight game for me. Mind you it was a lot closer than it ended up had they kicked straight in the second quarter.

what did you think of the gameplan?

Of course Bernie E has sold the rights so he can say things like that. Other than the European winter it's a sport that can be rescheduled if there is a will. The problem they have is crowd revenue as I think it will be September minimum before big crowds are allowed to gather and of course flight restrictions. Perfect weather in the Gulf Sates over December January along with Sochi, Vietnam and Singapore and of course Melbourne.

Have been in businesses where we have had overseas branches that while good idea re expansion had no clear timeline or path to profit. Therefore they are a pure expense centre which sucks heavily on the bottom line. On that basis GCS goes and GWS staggers along for a few more years. I say this simply because I do not understand fully the importance of GWS to the overall media revenue/broadcasting rights. In fairness you need to apply the same rule to all other teams but with that goes either a fair draw or a third party calculation of financial equalisation due to the draw. With this in place clubs have three years to show a clear path to profit.

not sure I can remember a time when we have had not had around seven to ten players unavailable (sure not always best 22 players) so it would require a big change in our approach to the list. The real losers out of this will be the VFL comp. I can see players being "loaned" out to the amateurs or similar just so the clubs don't have to pay for the VFL comp.

There was little doubt that Hogan at his best was the X factor we needed to go deep in September. Unfortunately like most things at the MFC it was not to be.

You know I cannot remember this game at all. 2016 was not exactly a memorable season but which ones ever were for the MFC. Wait I remember 2016 .........the Bulldogs won the flag and we became the longest premiership drought club. And then there was 2017 which was probably worse