Victorian vs Interstate clubs (a bit about the RFC in 1988)

[one-eyed]

Victoria bitter
19 August 2006   Herald-Sun
Trevor Grant

THERE are times when reality hits you out of nowhere.

Indeed, you could say current Fremantle chief executive Cameron Schwab learned the harsh truth about the parlous state of Victorian football when he was least expecting it.

It was 1988 and he had just taken over as general manager at Richmond. But it wasn't while reading the balance sheet that he made this discovery. It was while eating his lunch in his office under the dilapidated Punt Rd grandstand.

"It was in my first week. A dead possum fell through the rotted ceiling and landed on my chicken, mayonnaise and lettuce sandwich," he recalled this week.

It's not something you forget easily and Schwab vividly recalled the day the possum came to lunch while this week chewing over the question of whether Victorian football is in a cycle of decline, thankfully while sitting in a comfortable office, with solid, secure ceilings, at his club's well-equipped, modern base in Fremantle.

While Richmond has recently upgraded its once-shabby base, there are those who believe that AFL clubs in Victoria are still existing as hand-to-mouth paupers compared to the non-Victorian clubs, which are often portrayed here as rich, powerful magnates living in unashamed opulence.

It's a comparison taken from the extremities of a vigorous debate that has been going probably since the first non-Victorian side won an AFL premiership -- West Coast in 1992. But it has gathered strength in recent days, as interstate sides take control of the top of the table once again at the business end of the season and Victorians face the prospect of a sixth successive year without a local premiership.

While some say it's alarmist paranoia to suggest Victoria is about to be consumed whole by these interstate monsters, the figures show that the non-Victorian clubs have considerably more resources and are putting them to significant advantage.

For example, on average, they spend 12 per cent more on their football departments, which includes 16 per cent more on players, 19 per cent more on coaching and 21 per cent more on recruiting, medicine and fitness.

They also receive 26 per cent more, on average, than Victorian clubs, from financial deals with their grounds. The average non-Victorian club's net assets are valued at 82 per cent more than its Victorian counterpart.

Full article at: http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,20175087%255E19742,00.html

There's a similar article in The Age as well today:

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/08/18/1155408020414.html

[Moi]

You try to do the right thing by giving your GM like a little bit extra in his sandwich and he's still complaining lol
Going down to Subway and ordering a chicken,mayo, lettuce and possum on a 6 incher 
Might get it toasted as well 

[mightytiges]

The sad thing is nothing had changed when Wallace arrived 16 years later

[mightytiges]

LOL @ Barrass. Why do we need a inqury or summit full of hot air just to tell us what we already know - there's too many clubs in Melbourne and in the main they make poor quick-fix decisions.

[one-eyed]

Four Victorian clubs have to be axed
18 September 2006   
Herald-Sun
Liam Houlihan and Jacqueline Freegard

FANS and prominent Victorians have raised the alarm for the future of the AFL as for the first time no teams from this state have qualified for the preliminary finals.
 
Football legend Alex Jesaulenko backed calls for AFL reform, warning interstate dominance was the greatest threat Australian rules had faced.

The Carlton legend said a truly national competition, with just six Victorian teams plus teams in Canberra, the Gold Coast, Darwin and Tasmania, would revitalise the game.

As the premiership cup heads interstate for the sixth year in a row, sporting, community and political leaders have rallied against the trend. It has prompted leaders on both sides of politics to urge an investigation into the theft of the state game.

Premier Steve Bracks said yesterday the AFL's pursuit of a national competition had been good.

``But, importantly, we want that to be shared around and we want Victorian clubs to go well,'' he said. ``Ron Barassi is always someone who should be listened to.''

The Premier's comments followed Barassi's calls for an investigation into what had gone wrong with Victorian football.

Jesaulenko said his plan would stop Victorian teams fighting over a small pool of players and dilute interstate talent.

``We've got strength in Victoria but to make it a really strong (football) state again we'd have six clubs,'' he said.

``Everyone now is playing for Melbourne. They're not playing for North Melbourne or Carlton. That's gone. Princes Park is gone. Victoria Park is gone.

``The Carlton-Collingwood clash is not there any more - it's Melbourne versus Melbourne. The suburban rivalry is no longer there.''

The only way to strengthen Victorian football and start winning flags back from interstate was to have fewer Melbourne clubs, he said.

``They're fighting over the same dollar. Today the reality is it's all finances. It's just a money game. It's a television game.

``The rivalry, the traditions, all that, they're no longer there.''

It would be brutal, he said, but ``had to happen'', and he suggested the weakest clubs, financially and in terms of supporters, had to be first under scrutiny. Asked if that were to mean the demise of his club, the Blues, he acknowledged it might have to be the case.

Sports Minister Justin Madden, a former AFL player, said Victorians signing up as members would pull clubs out of the doldrums.

``At grassroots level (Victorian football) is probably stronger than ever but our AFL teams aren't performing the way we'd all like them to,'' he said.

``The interstate teams' greatest advantage is that in each of their home cities people want to be members in huge numbers. That puts those clubs in a strong financial position. That's the biggest difference.''

It could become worse on Brownlow Medal night in Melbourne next Monday. The AFL always prefers its medallists to be in the room but, depending on results of the weekend's preliminary finals, Sydney's Adam Goodes, Adelaide's Simon Goodwin and West Coast duo Chris Judd and Ben Cousins might not be there.

All are among the leading fancies, but will stay in their home cities if their side reaches the Grand Final rather than fly to Melbourne early.

Mr Bracks and Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu both backed an investigation into the state of Victorian football.

``If the AFL are willing to examine how Victorian clubs can go, well, I think that would be welcomed,'' Mr Bracks said.

``I don't think we can talk about the death of Victorian football. It's going to be very sweet when we beat them in the future - and we will.''

Mr Baillieu said the problem went beyond the disappointment of the weekend losses by the Bulldogs and Melbourne in Perth. ``It's broader than that. This is a real problem for Victorian footy and an issue for Victorian sport,'' he said.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,20429518%255E20322,00.html

[one-eyed]

The real draft rookies
18 September 2006   Herald-Sun
Damian Barrett

THERE is no need for a summit to explore what's gone wrong with Victorian footy.

It would be a waste of money because we already have the answer.

Many Victorian clubs, compared with those interstate, do not adequately respect the national, pre-season and rookie drafts.

Yes, there are relevant arguments about home-ground advantages and facilities providing benefits for those outside this state, but they can easily be overcome provided the drafts are used properly.

Adelaide, West Coast and Fremantle have been using recent drafts to produce playing lists that have allowed them to reach preliminary finals this year.

Those at the other end of the ladder -- Essendon, the Kangaroos and Carlton -- have headed down a contrasting path.

The competition's best ruckman, Dean Cox, and perhaps its second best, Aaron Sandilands, were rookie-listed by West Coast and Fremantle before becoming stars.

As were Ben Rutten and Nathan Bock at Adelaide and Chad Fletcher (West Coast).

No one was stopping the 10 Melbourne clubs from recruiting these guys. Victorian clubs have not been really prepared to work the SANFL and WAFL systems.

Too often, they are prepared to go with a kid who has played only against kids, and not a 19, 20 or 21-year-old who has put together a couple of good seasons among men.

Need evidence? Try this. Adelaide has used the rookie list -- the list that some Melbourne clubs don't bother with -- for Ben Rutten, Nathan Bock and Martin Mattner.

It used pick No. 67 in the 2000 national draft to recruit Graham Johncock and No. 58 in the 2003 national draft for Ben Hudson.

From the pre-season draft -- the draft that most Melbourne clubs use merely as an after-thought and actually often bypass -- the Crows have secured Tyson Edwards, Simon Goodwin and Trent Hentschel.

This is expert talent spotting and clever use of a system which, aside from the father-son clause in the national draft, provides equality.

It is not part of a woe-is-us argument from Victorian clubs.

Fremantle used pick No. 55 to recruit Ryan Crowley from Calder Cannons in the 2002 national draft. At the end of last year, after a stint as a rookie, he was elevated back to the senior list and is about to enter a preliminary final as a crucial member of the Dockers.

Seven Victorian clubs, including the Bulldogs and Demons (twice each), passed on Ryan Murphy in the 2003 national draft before the Dockers snared him at No. 12.

In the same pool, Fremantle secured David Mundy with pick No. 19.

No one wanted the now-budding star Michael Johnson. He went with pick eight in the 2004 pre-season draft.

Need more? Sandilands went at pick No. 33 in the 2002 rookie draft. That's the rookie draft, which West Coast had used two years earlier to recruit Cox (at No. 28).

The two favourites for next Monday's Brownlow Medal count are Victorian -- Chris Judd and Adam Goodes.

Two Victorian clubs overlooked Judd in 2001, and all 10 ignored Goodes in 1997 before the Swans used pick No. 43.

In recent years, Essendon went for Scott Camporeale and Chris Heffernan, and Richard Cole and Ty Zantuck, and Justin Murphy and Matthew Allan, and Mark Alvey.

Even when it did choose kids, did it get it right? Mostly no.

Then there's the Kangaroos. They gave up a first-round pick for Jonathan Hay last year and used six of nine selections in last year's national and pre-season drafts to recruit players from other clubs.

Including Jade Rawlings, who was virtually a VFL-only player, including Mark Powell who didn't last beyond December, including Hay who may never play again.

Carlton? Where do you start? Callum Chambers? Troy Longmuir? David Clarke? Daniel Harford? Digby Morrell? Ricky Mott? Glen Bowyer? Clearly, the hysteria about what's wrong with Victorian football is misplaced.

Poor use of the player drafts is a problem far greater than hostile crowds at home grounds and state-of-the-art facilities.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,20429579%255E19742,00.html