The Best Thing About the 2016 Fixture

[Sainternist]

RIP Wellington, NZ Experiment

"Dismember the corpse and send the widow (CityWest) a corsage"

HALLELUJAH! Sanity has prevailed.

We have ANZAC weekend footy back where it belongs!

[Enrico_Misso]

RIP Wellington, NZ Experiment

"Dismember the corpse and send the widow (CityWest) a corsage"

HALLELUJAH! Sanity has prevailed.

We have ANZAC weekend footy back where it belongs!

Went to Wellington and really enjoyed it (apart from the result).
But the experience was excellent.

And the $400k was very handy.
How will we replace that?

[bigred]

By winning most of our games at Etihad

[remboy]

By winning most of our games at Etihad

Shame we don't make any money for playing there.

[saintbrat]

By winning most of our games at Etihad

Shame we don't make any money for playing there.

and thanks to Etihad management even less next year
the $400- $500 was pretty useful
Unless we get close to that 40,000 members we wont get close to replacing the money lost

and the AFL bullies get their precious Anzac monopoly back.

[Bluthy]

RIP Wellington, NZ Experiment

"Dismember the corpse and send the widow (CityWest) a corsage"

HALLELUJAH! Sanity has prevailed.

We have ANZAC weekend footy back where it belongs!

Don't agree. This is Tassie all over again - impatience and short sighted thinking. We need to keep expanding our base or we'll be left behind. Ok crowds have diminished after losing and some poor games in the wet. But we sometimes struggle to pull 15,000 at our home games in our heartland at the moment. The talk is that Auckland is on the cards next year and I'm assuming it will be us playing. We have to give this time. It gives us money we desperately need and if we can crack the NZ market, then the rewards could be brilliant in the long run.

We should be a better team next year, and then the year after again. If we can get big likable Paddy out there smashing packs like an all black front rower, and Billings dazzling with brilliant tricks and Freeman running like a rocket and Carlisle pulling in huge grabs we could blow those Kiwi's away with our game.

[ripplug66]

RIP Wellington, NZ Experiment

"Dismember the corpse and send the widow (CityWest) a corsage"

HALLELUJAH! Sanity has prevailed.

We have ANZAC weekend footy back where it belongs!

Don't agree. This is Tassie all over again - impatience and short sighted thinking. We need to keep expanding our base or we'll be left behind. Ok crowds have diminished after losing and some poor games in the wet. But we sometimes struggle to pull 15,000 at our home games in our heartland at the moment. The talk is that Auckland is on the cards next year and I'm assuming it will be us playing. We have to give this time. It gives us money we desperately need and if we can crack the NZ market, then the rewards could be brilliant in the long run.

We should be a better team next year, and then the year after again. If we can get big likable Paddy out there smashing packs like an all black front rower, and Billings dazzling with brilliant tricks and Freeman running like a rocket and Carlisle pulling in huge grabs we could blow those Kiwi's away with our game.

So we should play there even though Wellington wont give us any money. Surely you jest. And if its Auckland it will again work for one year only. NZ don't give a stuff about AFL. Please don't worry about those Games Saints.

[resaintlee]

Went twice and both times wete great. Wellington got behind the idea and were welcoming, particularly the first year. I look forward to maybe going back to see the Saints in Auckland?

[saintspremiers]

Stupid thread. Like saying we don't need half a mill.

[Sainternist]

Stupid thread. Like saying we don't need half a mill.

If it was making money for the club, then why did the club scrap the idea?

[saintbrat]

Stupid thread. Like saying we don't need half a mill.

If it was making money for the club, then why did the club scrap the idea?

The club didnt and have looked at other NZ options, and AFL release suggests alternatives will be considered for 2017/ 2018
Wellington did not renew on their optio

[saynta]

Went twice and both times wete great. Wellington got behind the idea and were welcoming, particularly the first year. I look forward to maybe going back to see the Saints in Auckland?

Three games. Three losses. Time to move on.

[Clayton Davis]

Time to move on.

If da sayntas ev-ah wanna do some promotional work out West Baltimore way, well sheeeiiittt, Clayz most happy to make sum enquiries......

Ay reckons ay could tee up a news crew ta do an inteyview with Jaykey........if he cen still remebah his lines. They cooood alsuh film Jayke doing his thinyang wit sum of dem corner boyz.......an maybe even kickin fooootball o two as well. Heh heh heh.

Clayz always here ta be o service to da peeple.

[Sainternist]

Time to move on.

If da sayntas ev-ah wanna do some promotional work out West Baltimore way, well sheeeiiittt, Clayz most happy to make sum enquiries......

Ay reckons ay could tee up a news crew ta do an inteyview with Jaykey........if he cen still remebah his lines. They cooood alsuh film Jayke doing his thinyang wit sum of dem corner boyz.......an maybe even kickin fooootball o two as well. Heh heh heh.

Clayz always here ta be o service to da peeple.

Shhheeeeeeeeeeeeiiiittttttt!!!!

[saintspremiers]

Time to move on.

If da sayntas ev-ah wanna do some promotional work out West Baltimore way, well sheeeiiittt, Clayz most happy to make sum enquiries......

Ay reckons ay could tee up a news crew ta do an inteyview with Jaykey........if he cen still remebah his lines. They cooood alsuh film Jayke doing his thinyang wit sum of dem corner boyz.......an maybe even kickin fooootball o two as well. Heh heh heh.

Clayz always here ta be o service to da peeple.

Get off your crack-pipe and repost in English please!

[matrix]

How many people do we need thru the gate to make profit at the Dome?
And when do the afl get to buy it for $1?

[samuraisaint]

For some reason we just struggle to play and win games in the elements. We struggled to win 50% of our games down in Launceston in our second most successful era in the club's history, and we stunk it up in Wellington despite being gifted two sides out of three who were even worse then we were, despite us being a bottom side.
I hope we go to Auckland and get a great deal, but the whole thing is a bit like Richmond selling games to Cairns; we win off-field but on field it is a non-event. New Zealand is really off-Broadway too - I mean an 11 am start?? What's up with that?

[samuraisaint]

Stupid thread. Like saying we don't need half a mill.

If it was making money for the club, then why did the club scrap the idea?

The club didnt and have looked at other NZ options, and AFL release suggests alternatives will be considered for 2017/ 2018
Wellington did not renew on their optio

It'll need to be Auckland, you'd think. It is by far the biggest city in NZ. Mind you, having just won the Rugby World Cup, the AFL and the Saints will really battle to win hearts and minds, especially if we struggle in 2017 with the impending retirements of Roo, Joey, Fisher, and Dempster. I think we could go backwards a step then, before we move up the ladder and into the finals.

[citywest]

RIP Wellington, NZ Experiment

"Dismember the corpse and send the widow (CityWest) a corsage"

HALLELUJAH! Sanity has prevailed.

We have ANZAC weekend footy back where it belongs!

You really are a dunce.
Anyway, NZ will be back bigger and better in 2017 with the Saints announcing 1 home game and 1 NAB Challenge game in Auckland. This will bring in much needed funds and potentially thousands of new members the club so desperately needs. It will be a joint venture with the AFL to grow the game in New Zealand. St Kilda CEO Matt Finnis sees this opportunity as lucrative as the Hawthorn deal with Tasmania. He believes that down the track it has the potential to make St Kilda a power house off the field in terms of new revenue streams and new members.

As for supporters like Saintermist, please refer to the link below just to gauge how much growth there has been in New Zealand in terms of AFL footy.

http://aflnz.co.nz/

[ripplug66]

RIP Wellington, NZ Experiment

"Dismember the corpse and send the widow (CityWest) a corsage"

HALLELUJAH! Sanity has prevailed.

We have ANZAC weekend footy back where it belongs!

You really are a dunce.
Anyway, NZ will be back bigger and better in 2017 with the Saints announcing 1 home game and 1 NAB Challenge game in Auckland. This will bring in much needed funds and potentially thousands of new members the club so desperately needs. It will be a joint venture with the AFL to grow the game in New Zealand. St Kilda CEO Matt Finnis sees this opportunity as lucrative as the Hawthorn deal with Tasmania. He believes that down the track it has the potential to make St Kilda a power house off the field in terms of new revenue streams and new members.

As for supporters like Saintermist, please refer to the link below just to gauge how much growth there has been in New Zealand in terms of AFL footy.

http://aflnz.co.nz/

There is no interest in the game. We are wasting our time over there. It has already been proven. And where are we playing in Auckland? There is potentially 100's of members over there. maybe as many as 307.

[kosifantutti]

Went twice and both times wete great. Wellington got behind the idea and were welcoming, particularly the first year. I look forward to maybe going back to see the Saints in Auckland?

Three games. Three losses. Time to move on.

We should avoid Grand Finals as well.

[ripplug66]

Went twice and both times wete great. Wellington got behind the idea and were welcoming, particularly the first year. I look forward to maybe going back to see the Saints in Auckland?

Three games. Three losses. Time to move on.

We should avoid Grand Finals as well.

I think we are trying to.

[samuraisaint]

The money is great and the reality of St. Kilda's situation is we are not going to be a remotely reasonable side for a few seasons yet. Next year we will have a few new faces and the team will definitely be inconsistent until it settles.
2017 will see multiple retirements, possibly as many as four of our greats leaving the side at once, like in 2013, relegating us to a bottom six finish again. 2018 should see us finishing just outside the top 8. Three more seasons of mediocrity, with two of those seasons bottom four-six finishes IMO.
And I would suggest respectfully that the money will be handy if we can play a few games during that time in NZ as it won't matter as much if we do lose them with respect to our finishing ladder position in 2017-2018.
From 2019 onwards the cost of dropping games we shoud win because we play them in Auckland, Christchurch or Palmerston Nth will become a critical issue, much the same as it was in Tasmania 2003-2009. Just my 2 cents.

[Bluthy]

The money is great and the reality of St. Kilda's situation is we are not going to be a remotely reasonable side for a few seasons yet. Next year we will have a few new faces and the team will definitely be inconsistent until it settles.
2017 will see multiple retirements, possibly as many as four of our greats leaving the side at once, like in 2013, relegating us to a bottom six finish again. 2018 should see us finishing just outside the top 8. Three more seasons of mediocrity, with two of those seasons bottom four-six finishes IMO.
And I would suggest respectfully that the money will be handy if we can play a few games during that time in NZ as it won't matter as much if we do lose them with respect to our finishing ladder position in 2017-2018.
From 2019 onwards the cost of dropping games we shoud win because we play them in Auckland, Christchurch or Palmerston Nth will become a critical issue, much the same as it was in Tasmania 2003-2009. Just my 2 cents.

It's not like we have a huge home ground advantage anyway at Etihad. The melbourne teams play there stacks and we don't get much of a crowd to intimidate the oppo. We should be aiming to be a "win anywhere" team and learning to be flexible. Hawks back themselves to win anywhere. You could see they weren't that phased losing to WC and knowing they would have to go to Freo in a couple of weeks. A good system will stand up no matter the shape of the ground or the conditions. Bailing out of TAssie because we were scared of its effect on our winning strike rate was ridiculously short sighted. Lets not do the same to NZ.

[citywest]

The money is great and the reality of St. Kilda's situation is we are not going to be a remotely reasonable side for a few seasons yet. Next year we will have a few new faces and the team will definitely be inconsistent until it settles.
2017 will see multiple retirements, possibly as many as four of our greats leaving the side at once, like in 2013, relegating us to a bottom six finish again. 2018 should see us finishing just outside the top 8. Three more seasons of mediocrity, with two of those seasons bottom four-six finishes IMO.
And I would suggest respectfully that the money will be handy if we can play a few games during that time in NZ as it won't matter as much if we do lose them with respect to our finishing ladder position in 2017-2018.
From 2019 onwards the cost of dropping games we shoud win because we play them in Auckland, Christchurch or Palmerston Nth will become a critical issue, much the same as it was in Tasmania 2003-2009. Just my 2 cents.

It's not like we have a huge home ground advantage anyway at Etihad. The melbourne teams play there stacks and we don't get much of a crowd to intimidate the oppo. We should be aiming to be a "win anywhere" team and learning to be flexible. Hawks back themselves to win anywhere. You could see they weren't that phased losing to WC and knowing they would have to go to Freo in a couple of weeks. A good system will stand up no matter the shape of the ground or the conditions. Bailing out of TAssie because we were scared of its effect on our winning strike rate was ridiculously short sighted. Lets not do the same to NZ.

Great post Bluthy!!!!!