Memory Lane: Does anyone miss Waverley?

[tiga]

Waverley/VFL/AFL Park was one of my favorite grounds. I remember seeing the light towers in the distance as we headed down Wellington Rd towards the hope of a Tiger victory. For me it was a ground for the people where you could pretty much sit anywhere you wanted to and the atmosphere was amazing even if it wasn't full . I think this may have been because everyone was pretty much on the same tier.
It had a huge ammount of parking which sometimes was a pain getting out but I never seemed to notice it as much when we won.
I also saw my first ever night cricket match there when World series cricket played there regularly. It was Australia V West Indies and all the greats were playing Like Lillee, Thommo, Walters, Viv Richards etc..
When I was a little Tacker I went to my very first Semi Final in 1977 when the Tigers went down to Nth Melbourne.In 1978 My School (Assumption College)  played a night game curtain raiser there where we wnt down to Coburg Tech. Neale Daniher was the Captain at the time and we were all outraged at the loss due to the fact that most of the Coburg tech guys averaged 20 years of age. Some of them even had healthy beards.
The last game I went to there was one of my favorites in 1989 before I moved to NSW when the Tigers beat the West Coast Eagles by 2 points.
It would be great to hear if anyone else had fond or not so fond memories of this great Footy ground.

[Piping Shrike]

I don't miss Waverley much, was a pain to get to. I did enjoy the 93 pre-season final, it was great fun to have a big game after so long away from it, even though we lost. Then it took 2.5 hours to get out of the carpark. I was worried about running out of petrol.

I went to both finals there in 1980 - but hardly remember them. Remember the GF though!

In the 70s Waverley was OK because I mostly went to a corporate box - plus Richmond were worth watching then.

[Bulluss]

Could never forget the Night Grand Final, being stuck on the freeway for about 1 hour trying to get into the bloody ground.

I didnt mind driving out there though. Was atleast an hours drive for me, but i still didnt mind it.

I also like going to Telstra dome now also, i can be home in 15-20 mins!!

[tiga]

I guess living in Ormond at the time mean't that getting to Waverley was never an issue for me unlike cross towners.

[mightytiges]

You got out of Vic at the right time tiga. We lost the next 13 games straight at VFL Park after that Eagles game  .

I was never a fan of Waverley but that may have to do with us losing there all the time from the mid 80s onwards. I don't remember going to VFL Park to often before then. Watching a flogging is never fun but it always seemed to be that much worse sitting in a huge open wide concrete stadium built in an area of highest rainfall and freezing antarctic blasts. The mound in the centre was also too high and sitting at one end of ground meant you couldn't see the play at the other end.

I also as a kid lived in Footscray and would always use public transport to go to the footy. Waverley was the pits to get to. Train from Seddon to Flinders, train to Ormond, Bus to VFL Park. It was worse leaving as nothing seem to connect so it took over 2 hours to get home from there. My dad would everytime blame former premier Bolte for not building a railway line from East Malvern to VFL Park  . I probably would have a completely different view now if it was still in it's former "glory" as I live within a 20 minute drive of Waverley. I'd guess footy fans living in the outer south-east find travelling to the Dome a pain.

There were positives. It had the best playing surface of any ground. Even better than any AFL used ground today IMO. The rooms underneath the main grandstand were also the best in the league by a mile. They were so large and coincidently had great acoustics that KB or any coach for that matter could be heard blasting the players from way down the other end of the long corridor that linked the different changerooms  .

Personally I don't miss it and prefer Docklands over it. Of course the 'G is favourite . 

[WilliamPowell]

Although it was always cold even in summer during the pre-season Ansett Cup matches I do miss VFL Park.

It had one great advantage.

It was a good 45-60 minute drive home - so after getting beaten the anger and "s--t on the liver" that I am renowned for was not an issue after the long trip home - family members were always quite pleased about that

[froars]

Except for it's proximity to where i lived i didn't mind it.
But it was a very cold place - remember when they played finals there in the early '90s, and one final was the coldest day i'd ever been to at the footy - for memory, a Saints/Geelong game.  So cold, i left early.
I can't see too good lol - and i didn't like the boundary line so big - just made it harder to see and players seemed further away.  That might have just been my imagination though.  I really can't see much at a game - have to rely on replays to get a better idea!

[Jackstar]

It was a sh-t hole.
Facilities were poor.
Government promised a train or tram line and didnt deliver.
Should of been bulldosed 10 years earlier.
Great vision on the then VFL for going there

[mightytiges]

It was a sh-t hole.
Facilities were poor.
Government promised a train or tram line and didnt deliver.
Should of been bulldosed 10 years earlier.
Great vision on the then VFL for going there

But apart from that Jack loved the place 

[mightytiges]

I can't see too good lol - and i didn't like the boundary line so big - just made it harder to see and players seemed further away.  That might have just been my imagination though.  I really can't see much at a game - have to rely on replays to get a better idea!

Becoming an umpire Moi lol 

[froars]

Becoming an umpire Moi lol 

I certainly qualify lol

[cub]

Mate it was freezing in the middle of winter with hardly any cover, I remember one of games there towards the end against the dawks peeed down with rain all day - me and my mate were allready wet from getting there so just stayed standing up the back in the rain all day drinking pee. I rtemeber getting home was drenched right down to the socks and jocks - Good character builder those one's.

Apart from that have some great memories and some no memory. Used to get on it pretty hard in the early days. Would catch the train to Nuna then bus have the bus stop at the Burv or the pub in Glen waverly (cant remember the name at the moment) for a warm up - Back on the bus to the park. Some of the bus trip's back to the station were reminiscent of footy trip action lol 

I'll never forget nuna station packed with drunken VFL park crowds after the game.

Must say when they got rid of the bus from nuna - A mate from Croydon and I would catch a via the cape bus from Croydon which eventually about 60 mins later went straight past the front of VFL park. That was a real biatch.


In a nutshell cant really say I miss those long trips out or if driving being stuck in the carpark for ages trying to get out - but will have many cherished memories which I wouldn't trade for the world - RIP VFL Park 

[Fwoy3]

Hmmm...let's see. I remember:

• Jason Dunstall kicking 17 goals against us
• Andrew Dunkley taking a dive on the goal line as Chris Bond's disallowed goal sailed through above him
• Glen Manton, then a baby bomber, touching a ball one foot over the goal line and the goal umpire giving us a point when we were coming home strong in the last quarter of the Night Final. We lost all momentum at that point
• Driving in terrential rain to the ground to see us beat Hawthorn whilst kicking one less goal and about nine more points
• Jon Dorotich missing a goal from the point of the goalsquare and us winning the game against the blues

[LondonTiger]

I used to live in Waverley. I never missed a game there. I would be home in about 10 minutes after clearing the car park. (and that was walking).

I saw all those games you talk of Fwoy.

Highlights for me

Being a VFL member watching all of the coaches coming back to the coaching box was awesome especially late 70s early 80s

The Night Grand Final against Essendon - Took my girlfriend (at the time) to her first footy match and when the lights went out for the fireworks, actually lost her...

Watching the City end scoreboard catching fire and burning down.

First twilight game (cannot remember who it was between)

Lowlights for me

Watching the poor performance vs Geelong in the Prelim Final in 1995 after our gutsy win vs Essendon the week before.

I think that was the last game I ever saw there


 

[Ox]

I miss Waverly for the following reasons.

Me and my mates would sneak in every night game durinhg 79,80,81 via the vertical,slate
scaffolding that was situated to the left of the members ebtrance,just behind the bushes.

We were so small we were even able to scale the hurricane fences on the stairwells and squeeze thru the opening at the top of which there was about a 12 inch clearance between the top of the fence
and the concrete ceiling.
As a result we were able to sit in the Sirkenneth luke stand,unhindered by the general public.

I was also a frikken pie boy for3 weeks until I realised I was being shafted big time,so I ripped the carnts off and never went back
LMAOO@Me staying away from the south side of the ground for 2 years.

Another time whilst still a pie boy,we filled the mens toilets with dry ice which we'd scored off our mate
in the ice cream distribution racket.

LMAOOOOO@Security shutting down that side of the ground because they thought a major gas pipe had broken
because of all the smoke coming from the lavatories and urinal.

LMAOOOO@Carnts running out covering their mouths from dry ice.

LMAOOOO@Being a little idiot.

Finally I saw Kiss at Waverly and had the time of my life.

LMAOOOO@Two old jews wearing wigs and playing rock and roll now.
Loved them.