2018 Fixture

[mateinone]

Have to disagree. We were the fourth highest drawing team in 2017! Only beaten by Collingwood, Essendon and Richmond. In the late 1990s Elliot planned a development including lights and an underground car park to be shared with Unimelb. A capacity of 40-50000 was mooted. Unfortunately for us there was a Mr Fitzpatrick leading a private equity group that was involved in the development of Colonial Stadium and they wanted tenants. Messers Kennett and Demetriou were also keen on Colonial Stadium. The former drawing closer to an election that he would eventually lose and he didn't want to upset his voters in Carlton. No help for us. Geelong has been gifted funding from the AFL and both Liberal and Labor state governments. They have a ground that is narrow and long which gives them a distinct playing advantage over teams that rarely play there. The AFL has helped them way too much.

So Geelong is not entitled to have a home ground you are saying?
That should in fact be forced to play in a different city 1 hour away?

Our mismanagement of our football club meant there was no way we could afford to continue playing games at our home ground. We done that. We ran our club badly, no one made us. If Geelong was able to obtain funding for their stadium that is because they were able to convince those with the cheque books that it was a good investment.
They (like any club) have a right to play their home games at their home stadium. It makes them a lot of money playing home games. We don't often fill stadiums anymore and if Geelong can make more money playing us in Geelong then why wouldn't they put that forward as a request? Wouldn't we do exactly the same thing if we could make more money playing teams at Princes Park?

Carlton used to be a huge drawcard everywhere we played, be it Melbourne, Geelong or interstate, but at the moment we are not. You quote Richmond, yet Richmond had to play in Geelong this year.

I don't get why we feel as a club we have more of a divine right to determine where we play our away games. Like I said if North or Hawthorn want to put us forward as one of their games in Tasmania, well it is their home game... Melbourne (for example) have had to travel their (and to Kardinia Park) many times over the years.

I stick by it, if we want to force our games to be in Melbourne we need to ensure they are always sellouts.

In any case in the future I can see Geelong playing all of their home games back in Geelong