WE SHOULD be screaming out and jumping up and down on our seats right now.
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Hey AFL – we have what you need right here.
Want to know if we can handle the pressure and crowds? We are about to unleash tens of thousands of people on our streets after dark in one massive sound and light party this Saturday night. We thrive in spotlights.
We should be an option for AFLW grand final action.
Our team, Western Bulldogs, is facing a massive decider this Sunday against fellow pioneer club Melbourne. The winner makes the grand final in what is a top-two face-off structure for now.
But AFLW chiefs are talking an IKON Park setting in Carlton?
They say Western Bulldogs’ Footscray home Whitten Oval is not big enough. But then, they say Melbourne’s home base Casey Fields is too far from the city.
Why must the league be so unadventurous?
AFLW is still new. This is a league not bound by a century-old, hallowed MCG ritual.
While the game is suited to boutique stadiums, we have a brand new AFL stadium just off the Western Highway with a 16,000-fan capacity. The inaugural AFLW grand final between Brisbane and Adelaide last year drew 15,000 people to Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast.
AFLW football boss Nicole Livingston this week said the league hoped for just as many people at this year’s grand final as the first.
"My preference is for a Grand Final that is filled with atmosphere - that creates the best-possible atmosphere for the two teams competing," Livingston said when asked about a likely venue.
Mars Stadium can offer that plus a whole lot more. The AFL wants diversity and Ballarat can bring in a bumper regional crowd, tapping into a new live audience.
And we are really not far away.
North Ballarat Roosters would travel all the way through the city and down to Casey Fields or Frankston to contest a Victorian Football League bout on the one day. Officials from some inner-city VFL clubs would travel down and spend the night in Ballarat like an interstate trip.
That should surely be a warning sign the game as a whole is far too Melbourne-centric.
Start afresh.
We have a strong appetite for AFLW matches. About 3000 people turned up for Western Bulldogs’ AFLW practice match against Carlton on a sweltering January day earlier this year.
Collingwood – the nation’s biggest sporting club with arguably the nation’s most fervent fans – barely scraped that for the men’s pre-season match in Moe last week.
Western Bulldogs chief Ameet Bains told The Courier there was potential to grow AFLW in Ballarat as the league evolves. Personally, Bains is keen – and he grew up an arch-rival in Bendigo.
The Bulldogs only secured three home games this year in a seven-round AFLW season. There could be more wiggle-room next season with Geelong and a Tasmanian-focused North Melbourne brought into play. Richmond, West Coast, St Kilda and Gold Coast join ranks in 2020.
Why wait? We should seize the spotlight now, not hope to be invited.
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