Club relationship with the AFL !!

[Eastern]

From where I sit I can see the club doing ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING it can to cement a good working relationship with the AFL going forward. Recent events include;

Being very diplomatic with its response to the 2009 fixture

Being the 1st club to put its hand up to play a home game on the Gold Coast

Offering to have Community Camp on the Gold Coast (and I suspect we put our hand up to play the 1st nab cup game there too)

Having players available for AFL announcements (Sam F at the announcement of the nab cup rule trials)

I may have missed some things.............please post below

I do hope the club gives the AFL a few subtle reminders of this when we put in our wish list for 2010 around Rd 15. Being 12-3 with 110-120% and a few sellout crowds would also help our cause into 2010. Yes, we need to think that far ahead !!

[Eastern]

Ooops, forgot

Ross' idea for the umpires "No Go" zone !!

[JeffDunne]

Favors from the AFL are bought not earned..

[onlooker]

I reckon you have just about covered all the more recent initiatives from the Club that has tried to retrieve the working relationship with the AFL. The Club has made a big effort to improve the situation; and from a distance I would say it could only improve. I was always at a loss to work out why the Club was treated as it was by the AFL in the recent past (going back at least 2-3 seasons) and I was told the basis of it was the existing relationship (or lack of it) between GT and Andrew D dating back to their North Melbourne days and any opportunity the AFL had to create or add to a difficulty it was followed up eg past fixtures, crticism of umpires, tribunal decisions and the list goes on. I dont have personal knowledge to know if this is correct but the source is reliable. Eventually this 'new' relationship will be tested hopefully on an important Saints issue and it will be very interesting to see what influence the Club can exert.

[degruch]

Favors from the AFL are bought not earned..

Exactamondo...if we started to get a good run from the AFL, I'd feel dirty.

[evertonfc]

It's something we've needed to work on....however:

It's very much a two-way street - you'll notice the big clubs frequently clash with the AFL and the AFL respects them, often allowing them to force their agendas through.

We must be careful not to become the lapdogs of the AFL, but we probably aren't in a position to dictate terms.

So it's a delicate balance, but you don't want to become a yes-sir-AFL types, as has happened to North, WB & Melbourne.

[Solar]

It's something we've needed to work on....however:

It's very much a two-way street - you'll notice the big clubs frequently clash with the AFL and the AFL respects them, often allowing them to force their agendas through.

We must be careful not to become the lapdogs of the AFL, but we probably aren't in a position to dictate terms.

So it's a delicate balance, but you don't want to become a yes-sir-AFL types, as has happened to North, WB & Melbourne.

um we haven't?

we have been the AFL's lapdogs for way too long.....

sirengate, whispers in the sky, the baker incident, hall decking goose, always playing interstate without complaint.....

You need to have 35k plus members and lots of crowds to be able to take on AFL house....