The Saints in India.

[WellardSaint]

a 16 hour flight becomes closer to 20 hours each way; add in the essentials like packing, getting to Tulla in time to get through Customs, etc...
I am worried about the team seeming to have a problem with travel (in my opinion) based on poor showings against Crows and WCE.
Not a good idea to add to their workload and stress levels. They need to be in tip-top shape all the time, why make it harder for them?

[White Winmar]

I checked my calendar, and confirmed that today is not in fact April 1st, so all I can say is, you have got to be joking.
This idea is so "out there", that it needs to stay "out there".

You must think- cricketers like Marcus Stoinis, the Marsh brothers, etc all go to India to play IPL, so why can't footballers travel to the subcontinent?
I'll tell you why.
Cricketers go over for an extended stay, and play a series of games, get great money, and come back and play BBL and state games, etc.
The football season is different. A team can't just go to India, play a game, and come back.
Delhi is over 12 hours (flying time only- add a lot more time for travel to the airport, check-in, etc)
Kolkata is 14-16 hours via Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, or New Delhi. Or if the only available flight is Air India, try 19 hours via Yangon and Guangzhou.
You've effectively ruled a big red line through TWO days (there and back) !
Timeframes are far too tight, guys need to get straight into recovery to treat tired bodies.
International travel will screw with all the preparation, it's simply ludicrous.
Can you imagine playing our guys in India the week before playing the Swans. It's hard enough to be competitive against them, and you want to make it even harder?
It's like a V8 Supercar having a huge crash in practice, and their team is up all night panel-beating, welding, getting the engine right...
This is a rubbish idea.

Have to say I agree with WS on this. Don't want to play spoil sport, but the logistics of it are daunting. And........it's India. Timetables, schedules, transport can be very "flexible". Can only imagine the culture shock for young fellas flying in and out to play a game of AFL footy. Landing in India is like landing on another planet.

It is, but I've never had a problem with internal flights in India and I used them a lot. The trains, if travelling in first class are comfortable and the service is fairly reliable, on a par With V-Line. I've been stranded in plenty of places in Europe, Australia and the USA, far more than in India. I remember when GT took the boys to China for a preseason trip. The culture shock was enormous, but the general consensus was it helped mature and develop the group.

[saintspremiers]

Won't happen.

It's the wet season and sometimes monsoon during our footy season.

You need to play footy in Dec/Jan maybe Feb in India. Golden rule.

[White Winmar]

Won't happen.

It's the wet season and sometimes monsoon during our footy season.

You need to play footy in Dec/Jan maybe Feb in India. Golden rule.

It's in the south that they get monsoons and sustained heat. Hasn't stopped the Kerala Bombers, though. Around Dehli and to the north in the Punjab, the climate is temperate and stable. In the mountainous north it snows for a good part of the year. Honestly, can we try and come up with any more reasons not to do it? The weather is the most fanciful objection yet. Having worked and travelled extensively there, the weather is the least of potential problems. Maybe we shouldn't play there because it will anger their gods because we are the saints.

[White Winmar]

Sorry, should've mentioned the best time to play there would be June. After the hotter bits and before the rains. Perfect. The coolest months are Decemner to February, the reverse of our summer. Pre season game, anyone? To combat any potential heat problems, we could play at night, which would be ideal anyway. I think air pollution in places like Delhi would be a far more legitimate concern than the weather.

[White Winmar]

Sorry, should've mentioned the best time to play there would be June. After the hotter bits and before the rains. Perfect. The coolest months are December to February, the reverse of our summer. Pre season game, anyone? To combat any potential heat problems, we could play at night, which would be ideal anyway. I think air pollution in places like Delhi would be a far more legitimate concern than the weather.

[st.byron]

Won't happen.

It's the wet season and sometimes monsoon during our footy season.

You need to play footy in Dec/Jan maybe Feb in India. Golden rule.

It's in the south that they get monsoons and sustained heat. Hasn't stopped the Kerala Bombers, though. Around Dehli and to the north in the Punjab, the climate is temperate and stable. In the mountainous north it snows for a good part of the year. Honestly, can we try and come up with any more reasons not to do it? The weather is the most fanciful objection yet. Having worked and travelled extensively there, the weather is the least of potential problems. Maybe we shouldn't play there because it will anger their gods because we are the saints.

I reckon the logistics are very challenging. That's a lot of travel for a footy match within the season.

[White Winmar]

Agreed SB. Travel of that distance is a challenge. That's why I suggested back to back games, ideally running into the bye. It's almost a mid year footy trip, minus the grog, drugs, burning dwarves etc. We have to think differently about this. Soccer and Rugby teams can manage it. They are already muscling in on this very lucrative market. The Indian economy grew by over 7% last year. That gives us a bit to think about.

[st.byron]

Agreed SB. Travel of that distance is a challenge. That's why I suggested back to back games, ideally running into the bye. It's almost a mid year footy trip, minus the grog, drugs, burning dwarves etc. We have to think differently about this. Soccer and Rugby teams can manage it. They are already muscling in on this very lucrative market. The Indian economy grew by over 7% last year. That gives us a bit to think about.

Crikey. Back to back games. Give the boys a chance for a little taste of India. Just don't know WW. India is so intense. Perhaps for well paid, cossetted sportsman who go everywhere in big buses, stay in flash hotels and have their food micro-managed, it's a very different experience and they're somewhat insulated from the 'raw' India. Got to be the most intense place in the world to travel. Maybe a crazy sounding idea like this could bear fruit.

[White Winmar]

I experienced two Indias. Travelling for work, chauffeured around by my private driver, 5 star hotels, fine restaurants etc. the privileged sportsman would not struggle in India. The living standards for the well to do are amazing. Sportsmen are treated like gods. They would be shielded from most of the craziness. As a plain old tourist, it is a confronting place, full of challenges. It tests every ounce of your being. I've found people either love it or hate it. A one week raid, taken up mainly by training, marketing and staying in luxury hotels wouldn't stretch the lads too much.

[White Winmar]

I experienced two Indias. Travelling for work, chauffeured around by my private driver, 5 star hotels, fine restaurants etc. the privileged sportsman would not struggle in India. The living standards for the well to do are amazing. Sportsmen are treated like gods. They would be shielded from most of the craziness. As a plain old tourist, it is a confronting place, full of challenges. It tests every ounce of your being. I've found people either love it or hate it. A one week raid, taken up mainly by training, marketing and staying in luxury hotels wouldn't stretch the lads too much.

[sendmehomehappy]

Glad I don't have to read of a third India.

[sendmehomehappy]

I am cautiously excited about this idea, but has anyone spoken to Warnie or the club about it yet?

[Jacks Back]

Won't happen.

It's the wet season and sometimes monsoon during our footy season.

You need to play footy in Dec/Jan maybe Feb in India. Golden rule.

It will be just like being back at Arctic Park then.

[supersaints]

My only comment is that India has proved to be the most corrupt nation in the world with regards to betting scandles I presume the AFL ( as corrupt as they are) would be lukewarm at best.
You only have to have a little look as to what's gong on. Anyone remember Shane Warne getting several thousand dollars for a weather report that would cost nothng on the internet... it would stink stay well away.. too risky for mine

[White Winmar]

True, SS, but Indians take offence to perceptions of corruption, when they reckon we're every bit as bad. Cue those two intellectual Giants, Warnie and Mark Waugh. My Indian colleagues throw them at me at every opportunity. The thing is, they accept corruption to a greater extent, a part of life. They reckon we're just as corrupt, it's just we pretend we're not and get much more offended over the accusations. They'll forgive Warnie, Ponting Steve Waugh et al anything. That's an advantage. Logistics remains the biggest hurdle, but think of the potential payoff! A sellout crowd of 100,000 in the Demetriou Dome in Delhi, compared to 313 in the cake tin on a cold July night.

[desertsaint]

[desertsaint]

[WellardSaint]

True, SS, but Indians take offence to perceptions of corruption, when they reckon we're every bit as bad. Cue those two intellectual Giants, Warnie and Mark Waugh. My Indian colleagues throw them at me at every opportunity. The thing is, they accept corruption to a greater extent, a part of life. They reckon we're just as corrupt, it's just we pretend we're not and get much more offended over the accusations. They'll forgive Warnie, Ponting Steve Waugh et al anything. That's an advantage. Logistics remains the biggest hurdle, but think of the potential payoff! A sellout crowd of 100,000 in the Demetriou Dome in Delhi, compared to 313 in the cake tin on a cold July night.

Damn you, WW, damn you and your persistence.
This writer is drawn back to this thread like a moth to a flame.
Damn you and your impeccable debating skills.
With each post you make here, I find myself confused and torn-
part of me convinced of the folly, yet another inner voice agreeing with you.
This pro-India feeling within me appears to strengthen, much to my dismay.
It says you may be onto something, especially the timing of potential games.

We've all heard of "glass half-full" and "glass half-empty", but an Indian foray would have the club
seize the entire market of said glassware in the subcontinent and stun the other clubs

[stevie]

AR could have the White Album blaring out in the rooms to evoke the atmosphere!

[White Winmar]

I was told I can be a bit condescending (that's when you talk down to people).

[White Winmar]

A recent picture of Sikh soldiers in the Punjab expressing their delight as their state had been selected over Rajasthan as the host state of the St.Kilda AFL club.

[White Winmar]

This woman had just been informed she was responsible for catering for the expected crowd of 100,000 at the inaugural St.Kilda FC AFL match against Essendon on the 9th of June, 2018. " Not much time to prepare", she was heard to mutter, along with, "what is a meat pie?"

[desertsaint]

good on you white winmar - may just win me over.

[WellardSaint]

I was told I can be a bit condescending (that's when you talk down to people).

I find it condescending that you feel you have to explain the meaning of the word!
Or was it addressex to Con Gorozides