If the already compromised finals system isn't bad enough with home finals in Bendigo and Tasmania, if you trust today's Herald Sun next weekend will be:
Saturday - Werribee v Tasmania/Northern Bullants
Sunday - Sandringham v Bendigo
Surely given that Bendigo played yesterday they should play next Saturday and next Sunday Werribee should play their game against whoever. I know by giving Werribee a Saturday game they will have an extra day break before a possible Grand Final appearance, but surely it is even fairer if Bendigo and Tassie/Bullants both have 7 day breaks, rather than Bendigo having 8 and Tasmania/Bullants only 6, leading up to such vital Preliminary Finals.
Bendigo is hardly "Interstate".
And could you imagine the MCG with even as "few" as 5,000 people. It would be horrible, and the cost would be way over the possible gate.
Like the idea, but just isn't feasible.
Wouldn't Geelong be a better analogy?
They play their home finals at the MCG.
Barry Mitchell commented on this same point in today's Herald Sun and Phil Cleary on the ABC.
Definately an issue - yet another issue which is seeing criticism of Football Victoria from a wide range of people. Onslaught can have a crack at me for saying stuff like this which is critical of the competition and thats fine, but I've only got the best interests of the competition in mind. Things like this are BIG off field and very topical issues. Finals are being compromised because of fixturing issues, and simply they shouldn't be.
Let's hope in 2006 it is clear who hosts home finals and all these issues are sorted out. It is up to the clubs to take FV on with these sorts of things, your supporters are not happy. If I was a Bullants fan, I'd be spewing tonight. They miss a spot in a Grand Final by losing today coming off a 6 day break after an underserved trip to Tasmania. A lot of work goes on at clubs behind the scenes, supporters and sponsors cough up plenty of hard earned or give up their time to see it go down the drain.