On SENs VFL show tonight, Mark Stone floated the idea of a Regional Round, similar to concept District Cricket have used succesfully for some years.
The comments came about after the successful experiment of Werribee playing out at Reid Oval Warrnambool.
Would you follow your club to a rural game?
Where area in country Victoria should your club play?
I think it would be a great idea.
His idea of Frankston playing on Mornington Peninsula would not work I don't think any ground would be suitable enough.
I'm not in favour of it. Why?
Firstly, because clubs value using their home ground. Each team only has nine home matches a year, and most will not want to give up one home match. Both financially and from an on field advantage point of view. To compensate, the clubs would need signifcant guarantees financially in the form of compensation similar to how the VFL propped up the Waverley Monday night games in 2000. But losing the ground you train on three times a week to play somewhere you haven't seen before...no thanks.
Secondly, in some smaller way aren't VFL clubs and country clubs rivals? I'm sure Sandringham would love to play a game at Chelsea or the Bullants would love to play a match at Seymour :roll:
Thirdly, not a great deal of country clubs really have the facilities for VFL standard footy. Coaches boxes, appropriate dressing rooms etc.
If we are going to have a round where home grounds are not used, I'd be in favour of a "blast from the past" round where teams go back to Oakleigh, Camberwell, Prahran etc for a one off game.
I reckon poster 'vfa' will be a big supporter of this idea.
I guess one of the questions is will VFL clubs draw supporters from these areas, even for a one-off game? Aligned clubs stacked with AFL-listed players might draw a decent crowd, but perhaps the games would have to be played when local leagues have a bye due to representative carnivals?
I'd follow the Scorps to a country match (I went to Warnnambool last weekend) so long as it didn't conflict with other commitments.
I'm pretty sure that the local comp wasn't on in Warnambool last weekend because they were playing an inter-league game somewhere else (Berwick was mentioned as the location of that match, although I hadn't heard about that).
We already play "regional rounds".
This season we go to Tasmania, Bendigo, Ballarat & Geelong.
Where else would you like to go?
As for the idea of going to other facilities, I doubt taht there would be any up to the standard required, as has been stated earlier.
Some would be, but you would have to wonder what the benefit would be for the competition to go to, say, Lavington etc.
There's enough travel at the moment without adding anymore in.
Isn't Bendigo, Ballarat, Cranbourne and Geelong regional enough?
I like the concept.
Football Victoria and the vfl would have to be right behind such a move.
No reason why it wouldn't work.
I would travel anywhere in VIC.
You would have to choose a weekend carefully where there was inter laegue games and did not interupt the local comps.
Where would they travel to ??
Start off with
Werribee- Warrnambool Reid Oval
Geelong- anywhere from Colac to Bellarine
Williamstown at Melton
Sandringham at ??
Port Melbourne at ??
Bendigo at Swan Hill or as far as Shepparton
Ballarat at Maryborough or Bacchus Marsh
Northern Bullants at Seymour or Mansfield
Casey any where from Berwick to Traralgon
Frankston at Mornington, Hastings or Dromana
Box Hill at Healesville or Woori Yallock
Coburg at Sunbury or Lavington
I reckon it we be great for the novelty which could be a regular round once a season.
Bring it on.
Don't want to appear to be critical of the concept, but Mornington is only 6 minutes away. Dromana is 18 minutes and Hastings 25 and neither have a ground anywhere close to being suitable.
Being this close kind of defeats the purpose.
Won't happen down this way, but dont have a huge problem playing away.
I think the idea has some real merit.
Remember many areas of Country Victoria have experienced the VFL. Ovens & Murray, Tralagon just to name a few.
Our station covers the premier cricket weekend away, we use as a team bonder going away for the whole weekend.
But it has to be done right like Cricket Victoria has. Each team that plays in Country Victoria their players will conduct programs, clincs and get involved at local cricket clubs.
All games would have to played on a Sunday to avoid any Country League clashes. Football Vic would need to work with the local leagues to really promote it.
One idea is to maybe play a side like Casey down at Morwell, have the U/18's as a curtain rasier to form closer bond with their U/18's and also links to that market. You could look at doing it for all U/18's and VFL
Doing that would ensure some crowd numbers at most venues
One drawback is getting AFL approval for some of the Country grounds for AFL. But cant see any other reason not to go!
I think it's a great idea as well.
Are you sure, Robbo is there not a grand which is capable of hosting a VFL game?
Which venue is used for MPNFL finals?
They could always use that ground.
Victorian Premier Cricket have had a regional round for several years, taking top class sport to regional areas which otherwise might not get an opportunity to either host or see it.
The same could be applied to VFL and TAC Cup football.