Cooking up bunny business
Caroline Wilson | July 27, 2008
THE philosophical ruminations of Paul McNamee on the battle for supremacy that is AFL football are unlikely to get much more airplay now that the former tennis star has been humiliated and briskly moved out of the picture.
McNamee's strengths clearly did not include attention to detail and Jim Stynes and his board made it more than clear regarding their position on his vision for the "Premier Club", but some of the former tennis star's reasoning made sense.
McNamee understood, he said, that Collingwood was the most powerful club in the AFL and certainly the biggest. But the Magpies' power had been helped along by the premium quality that had given them extra shine over the years since Eddie McGuire became president. A significant part of that shine has come about through big sponsorship agreements, the elite training facility at the Lexus Centre, an off-field football line-up the envy of other Victorian clubs and — crucially — a relatively excellent deal in Victorian terms with the MCG.
McNamee was not a football genius, but he couldn't understand why other clubs hadn't taken on the Magpies at the premium game. Which is exactly what Carlton and Richmond should do over Collingwood's audacious attempt to hijack — with Geelong — night football on the Thursday before Easter.
Collingwood, through McGuire, loves to point out at any given opportunity how many clubs are keen to play the Magpies twice — or at least host one home game against them as a big gate-taking, television audience-attracting revenue-raiser. Which is absolutely correct.
Even North Melbourne, despite its guernsey clash issue, wants to play the Magpies every year in a home game before round five. But surely there comes a point where the AFL, not Collingwood, will have blockbuster fatigue where the Magpies are concerned.
Because how on earth will the rest of the Victorian pack have any opportunity of catching up if the game does not continue to show leadership and continue to create new blockbuster combinations?
It is true that Collingwood and Geelong have drawn big crowds in recent times and put on one of the games of the year in the 2007 preliminary final. But so did Hawthorn and Geelong two nights ago in the most anticipated game of the year. Fans, where most Victorian clubs are concerned, will turn up to any big game at the MCG.
It may have been the first game of the season boasting Chris Judd in a new navy blue jumper, but 72,000 for a game between the previous season's cellar-dwellers, Carlton and Richmond, was a huge number for the 2008 opener. In total, about 150,000 fans have turned up to watch the traditional rivals this year.
The Blues and the Tigers have proved this season they can draw big numbers despite being nowhere near respective premiership tilts. Carlton is climbing back after its worst slump and Richmond has not been a genuine contender for a quarter of a century.
Its debt still sits at around $4 million, whereas Collingwood and Geelong, financially, are flying.
The Cats have devised a brilliant home-ground agreement and advantage at Skilled Stadium, which for all its profitability, locks out fans at any all-Victorian clash.
Collingwood has Anzac Day, the Queen's Birthday, the June split-round game in Sydney and a minimum match deal with the MCG.
It does not need another hand-delivered blockbuster.
Certainly, the Magpies boast the best attendances and TV ratings in the competition, but do they deserve an Easter free kick?
The biggest financial problem facing the Victorian clubs surrounds their stadium returns. The MCG has a big debt it must repay and Telstra Dome must return profits to its shareholders.
The Telstra Dome clubs, apart from Essendon and, to a lesser degree, St Kilda, are the worst off but no Victorian club apart from Geelong can go anywhere near the two West Australian clubs where match-day profits are concerned.
The indication from the AFL is that it is looking at several bold solutions to resolve the inequality by the time the 18-team competition has been launched in 2012. Surely it must be searching for its own clean stadium.
In the meantime, it must continue to prop up the weaker Victorian teams and create special dates for more clubs.
In the case of Collingwood and Geelong, those two clubs have every right to fight for supremacy and certainly push to play each other twice.
But why try to take control of something special from Carlton and Richmond just when those two clubs have started to show improvement and just when their fans have never seemed so supportive?
There is room in the competition for more than one premium club.
http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/cooking-up-bunny-business/2008/07/26/1216492813633.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
