Junction Oval in funding crisis.

[The G Train Legacy]

The Hillbillies have missed the finals only twice under Chris Kray,

They are currently an ageing 6-12 on the ladder team.

Yet, they finished top 4. (Would have been 2nd, if The Shockers hadn't lived up to their moniker.)

And, they're now in a Prelimary Final.

So what is their secret...?

No doubt, lots of factors. But there's one, that if it was taken away, would derail their record.

Their homeground advantage.
(We'd very arguably have won that Round 1 game if it was at Dockedlands or the MCG.)



And not forgetting all the grounds the AFL has started playing matches at, that hold (often way) less than 25,000 people. (Norwood's Postage Stamp Park Oval... anyone...?)




It's not too late Sainters...

The have a home ground advantage because their stupid oblong ground has no wings and they're used to it.

Moorabbin and the Junction, are proper ovals that hold no unique advantage.

[The Fireman]

The JO is the GO

[B.M]

What?

And leave our spiritual home in Moorabbin?!

Seriously though, JO is used by cricket vic and we cannot co exist

So, for the same reason we pissed off StK CC is the same reason we will never go back

It’s a pain in the arse to get to anyway.

[Dave McNamara]

It’s a cricket ground

We left there in 65 because it was a cricket ground

I'm confused B.M. What do the 'C' and the 'G' stand for in MCG? Are you advocating that we should refuse to play there also...?


We didn't leave the JO because it (too) is a cricket ground.

We left because the St Kilda Cricket Club held the lease to the venue, and so, got to call the shots.

The worst part of that, was it meant they got too much of the gate-takings from our games (which were very well attended). In the early 60s VFL clubs started bringing over big name players from WA and SA. Doing so wasn't cheap. So if we wanted to keep up with the competition, that meant that we could no longer afford to be handing over most of our gate-takings.

The then Moorabbin council wanted a VFL team. (From memory, Fitzroy and Richmond were also candidates.) Given the control on offer via a long term lease, and given that club polling showed our supporter base was the bayside suburbs, we took up the offer.

But, nothing to do with the JO being a cricket ground (in the summer). Everything to do with gaining control over 'our' ground I reckon.

[Dave McNamara]

The have a home ground advantage because their stupid oblong ground has no wings and they're used to it.

Moorabbin and the Junction, are proper ovals that hold no unique advantage.

Whilst I concede that 'local knowledge' is a factor, it's not a major one, IMHO. The major factor is having almost the whole crowd behind you. Geelong, Perth and Adelaide games... there's SFA tickets available for opposition supporters.

Whilst not claiming to match their record, if like Geelong, we actually had a home ground advantage, then we'd defintitely have played in more than just 2 final series since 2010.







As an aside, something I find weird about Wogans' and Sons of Beaches' home games... most opposition teams still has more supporters in the crowd. Which is a bit embarrassing for Gestapo HQ.

[Dave McNamara]

The JO is the GO

[Dave McNamara]

Seriously though, JO is used by cricket vic and we cannot co exist

Why can't we co-exist? Are there now plans to put a roof over the whole venue, so that turf wicket cricket can be played there during the Melbourne winter...?

Even without our presence there, or Fitzroy's, or Melbourne's, for that matter, footy was still being played on the JO. 'Strangely' though, as had always been the case with the JO, that didn't affect the standard of the pitches. Nor of the outfield, which was and is arguably the best in Victoria.

What was affected though... Cricket Victoria lost $15 million in State government redevelopment funding when they refused to share with us. Idiots!

And now, trying to go it alone... looks like they're in a financial mess. Idiots!

It’s a pain in the arse to get to anyway.

I suppose that the up to 700,000 people who rock up for the St Kilda Music Festival each year also share you thoughts on that one...?

As do the 250,000-odd who somehow manage to get the Oz Formula 1 GP each year...

What?

And leave our spiritual home in Moorabbin?!

I like your dry sense of humour.

[Dave McNamara]

The JO is the GO

[WellardSaint]

The have a home ground advantage because their stupid oblong ground has no wings and they're used to it.

Moorabbin and the Junction, are proper ovals that hold no unique advantage.

Whilst I concede that 'local knowledge' is a factor, it's not a major one, IMHO. The major factor is having almost the whole crowd behind you. Geelong, Perth and Adelaide games... there's SFA tickets available for opposition supporters.

Whilst not claiming to match their record, if like Geelong, we actually had a home ground advantage, then we'd defintitely have played in more than just 2 final series since 2010.







As an aside, something I find weird about Wogans' and Sons of Beaches' home games... most opposition teams still has more supporters in the crowd. Which is a bit embarrassing for Gestapo HQ.

oi.....
i've lived in Perth for a long long time.
Been to every Saints game played in Perth. Whether it was WACA ground (up till 2000 or so), Subiaco, and now Optus Stadium.

ALL visiting teams are allocated several very large sections/bays.
Cheer Squad and other members are given large bays behind one of the goals.

A week or 2 before a Saints' game, the club emails members telling us the date and time that Ticketmaster will be open for Saints members to log in to get tickets.
It's always been a few hours before GA tickets are available.
Saints members therefore sit together in very large sections with no issues. Some Perth folk get tickets for family that barrack for the enemy, but there's not many.
I look around and see the odd Eagle or Docker scarf scattered around.

And we make enough noise, let me tell you.

Facebook after a Perth game always has comments about how loud we were after a goal

[B.M]

Prefer to play at Docklands in front of 30k next to Southern Cross, indoor and where we have a good record.

JO is a relic

Moorabbin is just a training base - personally I couldn’t give a fk if they trained on the moon.

[amusingname]

Dave, I have no idea where you get your figures for your cut and paste document that you regurgitate in your posts about this, but saying that St Kilda festival gets 700,000 people is some Donald Trump level exaggeration of crowd numbers, as the festival themselves say they had up to 375,000 people over the entire weekend in 2023!

https://www.stkildafestival.com.au/fest ... e-festival

[Dave McNamara]

Dave, I have no idea where you get your figures for your cut and paste document that you regurgitate in your posts about this, but saying that St Kilda festival gets 700,000 people is some Donald Trump level exaggeration of crowd numbers, as the festival themselves say they had up to 375,000 people over the entire weekend in 2023!

https://www.stkildafestival.com.au/fest ... e-festival

No, no, no! It is 700,000! I saw it on the telly. Sky News. Right after the segment that warned me about those nasty Haitians who are eating white people's family pets.

That said, I'll see your 375,000, and, raise you to 460,000.
https://artsreview.com.au/st-kilda-fest ... d-numbers/


But regardless, no one is disputing that year after year, well over 100,000 people consistently manage to get there... on a single day.

And that's why all these arguments re 'access to the ground' and re 'no public transport' are simply nonsensical.

If such things were actually an issue, the toxic gnome (aka Bernie E) would never have allowed his beloved international F1 Gran Prix to be staged there.

[Dave McNamara]

And speaking of the toxic gnome's beloved international F1 Grand Prix...

did I say international...?

Guess which venue also appears on all those international TV screens...?




What would it be worth to company to sponsor the Saints, and so, be able to put up a dirty big big billboard for all those domestic and international viewers to see...? Did I say international...?

And for some cream on top, what would it be worth to the Saintas to have the Social Club opened up as a venue for some of those punters to go to after the events of the day...?

All that isn't pie-in-the-sky. It's called visionary. And it's very doable.





But then again, to be fair, training on the moon could also be called 'visionary'. Though, maybe not in a good way.

[Dave McNamara]

This has no doubt been posted before, but, it's (way) overdue for another airing.




Why? Why, would the coolest club in the comp' not want to be tapping into this sort of thing* ?

This is so us! So St Kilda!









* I can't confirm the source, but I've heard that Harley Reid is a huge Angels fan.

[Dave McNamara]

The JO is the GO

[Killa]

Judging by the Scorecard today the Junction Oval still has some life in it

[Killa]

And just a couple of other factors with dedicated cricket facilities.

There is now the cross over of seasons with the domestic One Day competition underway now

Then there is access to outdoor training facilities so both practice wickets and for fielding drills and the requirement for indoor practice facilities

Also injury recovery resources

So “cricket ovals” are not just Ovals

Then you get to administration and administration facilities

[B.M]

Which AFL teams have administration or training facilities at the MCG?

How many ovals have drop in pitches?

Not one club shares a home base with a cricket club

[Dave McNamara]

And just a couple of other factors with dedicated cricket facilities.

There is now the cross over of seasons with the domestic One Day competition underway now

Then there is access to outdoor training facilities so both practice wickets and for fielding drills and the requirement for indoor practice facilities

Also injury recovery resources

So “cricket ovals” are not just Ovals

Then you get to administration and administration facilities

The season overlap thing shouldn't matter. We train over the road at the Trott Reserve (or whatever it's called) till the cricket season is over. Most clubs train at various venues, for various reasons, in the pre-season.

And as for the 'off-field' facities... that's where Cricket Victoria's inability to comprehend the idea of mutual synergy cost them $15 million in withdrawn JO redevelpment funding.

[Dave McNamara]

Which AFL teams have administration or training facilities at the MCG?

How many ovals have drop in pitches?

Not one club shares a home base with a cricket club

Which...?

How...?

Which of those points is relevant?

How...?

[Dave McNamara]

The have a home ground advantage because their stupid oblong ground has no wings and they're used to it.

Moorabbin and the Junction, are proper ovals that hold no unique advantage.

Whilst I concede that 'local knowledge' is a factor, it's not a major one, IMHO. The major factor is having almost the whole crowd behind you. Geelong, Perth and Adelaide games... there's SFA tickets available for opposition supporters.

Whilst not claiming to match their record, if like Geelong, we actually had a home ground advantage, then we'd defintitely have played in more than just 2 final series since 2010.

oi.....
i've lived in Perth for a long long time.
Been to every Saints game played in Perth. Whether it was WACA ground (up till 2000 or so), Subiaco, and now Optus Stadium.

ALL visiting teams are allocated several very large sections/bays.
Cheer Squad and other members are given large bays behind one of the goals.

A week or 2 before a Saints' game, the club emails members telling us the date and time that Ticketmaster will be open for Saints members to log in to get tickets.
It's always been a few hours before GA tickets are available.
Saints members therefore sit together in very large sections with no issues. Some Perth folk get tickets for family that barrack for the enemy, but there's not many.
I look around and see the odd Eagle or Docker scarf scattered around.

And we make enough noise, let me tell you.

Facebook after a Perth game always has comments about how loud we were after a goal

Ok, this link is now a few years old, so the story may be different. Though, probably not by much. Optus Stadium holds 60,000. Tickets available to the general public.. 6000. (And they ain't cheap.)
https://thewest.com.au/sport/perth-stad ... 881165474z

I can't find a link, but have heard that for Kardinai Park, tickets availabe for opposition supporters number only in the few hundreds... the cheer squad, and SFA others.


But regardless of the numbers, and regardless of the passion of the alien fans who do somehow manage to breach the border defences of these stadiums, the home ground support and advantage in favour of those sides far far exceeds that of playing a home game at the MCG or Dockedlands.

It amounts to Geelong or an interstate team (Wogans and Sons of Beaches aside)... middle of the ladder standard team (like us currently) plays finals, bottom eight standard team makes top four, and top four standard team makes top two.

That's a humoungous advantage that simply can't be understated.


Oh, and that could be St Kida's advantage also.

[Saint 58]

+1 !

[B.M]

I’ve never seen a fan kick or mark a footy in a game

Relevant Dave

Because Cricket and Footy cannot co-exist at the same base

Plus we have a 30million dollar facility at Moorabbin

Unless you are actually intimating we play games there - which is a pipe dream - it’s barely fit to host First Class Cricket with a crowd of less than 100 - it would need to have 80 million spent on it to even be capable of holding 20-30k and we have 60 000 members

I am absolutely certain H/A - AFL footy will NEVER be played at the Junction Oval, Princes Park, Windy Hill, Arden Street, Punt Road, Whitten Oval or any other suburban ground

Geelong is a bit different - it’s a city in its own right
As is Ballerat which hosts some games

[Saint 58]

Mr. Fox is the man ... worth billions
If he wants to leave a legacy, then this is it, not his trucking empire
Liaise with the state & federal governments
60,000 seat stadium, painted & lit up red, white, black
Adjustable panelling at each end (opened when we are kicking with the wind, closed when not)

200 seats for opposition clubs (top deck on the wing)
Free saints flags for all kids
Northern cheer squad at one end, Southern cheer squad at other end

Retractable roof that actually opens/closes so we can prepare for finals at Marvel, MCG, etc.
6 to 8 games against interstate teams & Geelong (SEE HOW THEY FXXXXING LIKE IT !)
Guaranteed finals very year
We can pick & choose which free agents we will bring in

Rejig one of the Ross Gregory, Harry Trott, Ian Johnson Ovals, or two or all three for training
Also for car parking (players & staff)
Overpass walkway over Lakeside drive

ANZAC (new), Windsor & Prahran train stations
Stadium can be used for concerts, other activities, etc. not interfering with the AFL season
Overpass walkway over St. Kilda & Queens roads

Buy Abert Park Golf Club, turn it into a transport car park for buses and a pitch & putt
Also a massive AFL store & huge kids play ground

Massive electronic billboard(s) near the junction, how many vehicles drive past every day ?

Let's go Saints !!

... and set up a day care centre

[The Fireman]

Saint58. Love your work

Could we add playing the Saint Kilda theme song after every goal along with fireworks?

Hi Lindsay, the JO is the go