204cm WAFL Ruckman

[Killa]

And all that is before you get to the total lack of building regulations so be very, very careful in purchasing a dwelling!!

[1971]

I moved from Melbourne to a small town about an hour north of Melbourne. Best thing I have done - apart from meeting my wife of course . Never met so many welcoming people. We catch up at people's places and pubs more than we have ever done. Now back to Blakiston...

[ace]

Moods

Have you lived in Tassie before

I’d rather live in Hobart than Geelong or NW or West Melbourne

Hobart is an awesome city. Beautiful! Affordable!

It’s not a country town -
It has 250 000 population
Beaches
Mountain
Derwent River
No traffic jams
And is footy mad

Would you rather play at a packed indoor stadium in TAS or to 5000 fans in Western Sydney paying millions for a shitty house in the burbs. Or a river view inner city dwelling in Hobart.

Not everyone likes inner city or suburban Melbourne

I’ve lived in Coogee (Syd) Fremantle (WA) Bayside (Melb) and of course NW Tassie

There is NO place like home - would go back in a heartbeat

Hobart is where you go when you want to experience living in the last millennium every day.
But by the time a player retires it may just move into this century.

[Moods]

Lived in Hobart for work in my early 20’s and travelled extensively over the island. It is a beautiful place, plenty to see and experience in the outdoors etc.Outgrew the place after about 18 months and the thing that got me the most, in the end, was the small mindedness of the people and how insular they were.

Yep. My brief stay this year in the midlands,the one thing that struck me was the small mindedness of some of the people. Apparently the north v south issue is real. Plenty of Launceston people proudly boast that they have never been to Hobart. Apparently it was a real issue when deciding where to build the stadium. Because they want the who state to support the club but plenty refuse because it’s in Hobart. Even public holidays are different apparently between the north and the south. That’s small town backward thinking right there.

And B.M if you don’t think these young blokes getting drafted want to be a part of the big smoke and all the bells and whistles, you don’t know young blokes. I was told that the biggest issue in Tassie with footballers is that they all leave for the mainland.

Hopefully this site will be still be running in 5 years, because I’d love for this to be bookmarked.

[Dave McNamara]

I lived in Hobart for two years around the mid 80s. Loved it! Same population as Geelong, but so much happening.

Salamanca Market on a Saturday morning. Simply the best market in Oz. Then, drive out of town, climb a mountain, sit down, and have lunch whilst looking out over the world. Salamanca Market to 'the view' - one hour.

Then, back to Hobart. Go to a party. Or a show at the wonderful old Theatre Royal, or maybe one in Salamanca...?

(We also did Salamanca Market in the morning, then went and clambered around Cradle Mountain in the arvo'. Though we then stayed up there.)

Now obviously people have their own priorities, but for mine, if one lives in Tassie, Hobart or surrounds is the place. (Sorry Martin. )

There were some issues however for me back then. Everyone in my 'circle' was so transcient. And also, the feeling of 'isolation'. But with the internet, I doubt the latter would still be an issue.

Also, as Moods alluded to, there's the 'divide'.

It's real. And not just north-south. There's also the north-west. Lets just say, it'll be interesting to see how that all plays out with support/attendances for the new footy team... way down in Hobart.

I remember some locals being gob-smacked when a group of us drove up to Lonny for a Cold Chisel concert, and then back again... in the same day!!! As in, that's up and down the Midlands Highway... two hours each way.

[Dave McNamara]

And the point of all that?

A 204cm WAFL ruckman most likely wouldn't feel too unhappy in Hobart. He'd have his team mates to provide a social circle. And in his off time, there'd be heaps to do.

Also, every second week they'd be playing 'on the mainland'. So he'd have the opportunity to make some arrangements to maybe spend a bit more time before coming back to Hobart.

[B.M]

It’s funny ho

People think the centre of the universe is the where they live!

Melbourne wouldn’t rank top 10 for me

Hobart would

[magnifisaint]

It’s funny ho

People think the centre of the universe is the where they live!

Melbourne wouldn’t rank top 10 for me

Hobart would

So why live in Melbourne?

[Killa]

Excellent question!!!

[Yorkeys]

It’s funny ho

People think the centre of the universe is the where they live!

Melbourne wouldn’t rank top 10 for me

Hobart would

So why live in Melbourne?

Circumstances
Different world view to you
Some may like it
Effects of climate change will make Melbourne last viable place, for a short while.
Sts home games

[B.M]

My wife and I both work in Melbourne

I don’t hate Melbourne and live in a nice area thanks to buying more than 20 years ago

But
I could sell my house and live in Battery Point

[Yorkeys]

Do you honestly think the only happy people in Australia are those who live in metropolitan capitals

Big Mortgages - no view
Traffic
Living in the burbs or apartments with no land
Youth Crime, drug crime
Noise


Some people enjoy the quiet life, the relaxed atmosphere, the sense of community

Some people love the country, the coast, small towns, the hills, small cities, rugged forests, in the hills, near alpine areas.

Your naive to believe everyone want to live in a city

I’m from Stanley Tas

A more beautiful place would be hard to come across


As for Tas footy having no history
The Devils will be wearing the same jumper and representing the same state as
Baldock, Hart, Hudson, Stewart, Lawrence, Johnson, Richardson, Lynch, Eade, Fletcher, Wright, Febey, Gale, Paul Hudson, Pritchard, Creswell and a a fk load more…

Nothing wrong with Tassie FC history

There is no Tasmania FC playing history and it has no AFL players. All that comes in an artificially molded future.

Tasmania is beautiful. Weather is problematic. Travel to the place often difficult. In a country full of awful pollies it still easily has the worst, except for Wilkie (no relation). Its an economic basket case on the teat of all other States. As an island it has produced a lot of fantastically talented players. I can not imagine playing on the Queenstown gravel oval, you'd have to be tough, brave and really well balanced to run out on that track.
Good luck to the Devils, the AFL Commission will do all it can to ensure its success at the expense of sides like StK and bleed what it can from Tasmanian taxpayers.

[Killa]

The Bass Straight ferry now the focus of the attention it is getting, is very, very heavily subsidised

But the new boats are coming - if they can find somewhere to store them pending them becoming operational with a port site

Imagine our media if a like catastrophe occurred in a Labor held jurisdiction

The same with the much vaunted Snowy hydro project - noting it is now irrelevant with our transition to nuclear powering 12% of our requirements in 20 years or more time

They could bury the waste in Tasmania as a growth industry

[D.B.Cooper]

I love Tassie but particularly Hobart, one of my kids is there on a two year contract, we keep an apartment in Hobart, Ball and Chain Grill at Salamanca place is my favourite steak restaurant in Australia. I visit at least 4 times per year but I wouldn't live there.

I think the perceived issue for the AFL players could be weather, at least the new stadium will have a roof therefore that will be somewhat mitigated for game day.

I think the lifestyle would surprise quite a few and the housing is relatively affordable in comparison to bayside Melbourne & Gold Coast as examples.

[Otiman]

Standards of living 25 years ago much better than today, many would jump at the chance to live in the last millenium.

[CURLY]

The biggest problem with living in rural/country areas is the people that move from the inner suburbs that won’t allow change. Even worse are city dwellers that make policies that affect growth development and work for those in rural areas.

[Killa]

I have some relations (in law) who have moved to Launceston for personal reasons

They have found acceptance difficult across the board despite their best efforts to integrate with the local community who they find, in truth are insular both in regards who they associate with and more generally

But they are persisting - and providing work to local tradespeople to correct deficiencies in the home they have purchased (they are astounded that there are the problems which regulation in Melbourne would not se, the problems they are encountering such as wiring surplus to household needs still alive and buried underground)

In terms of the impact of rural communities on government, we are about to find out in Queensland where there in now the divide between the Brisbane vote and the regional and rural vote - noting the Coaition are Queensland centric, providing over 20 seats of just over 50 seats in the lower house (of 150 seats overall) plus providing the leaders of both the Liberal Party and the National Party naturally)

So we will see how this plays out Nationally noting the Teals taking Liberal seats for this precise reason

The LNP and their media have a very significant problem

Then you get to the government in Tasmania currently cobbled together as it is (which is probably a template for the incoming Queensland government and where there are already ructions re abortion and other conservative attitudes (hence the divide between City and rural and regional)

So if the ALP wins seats in greater Brisbane, the Teals win Liberal seats in the metro areas and Labor hold their vote in the face of the Greens, where does that leave the landscape?

[Killa]

Noting the National Party was once the Country Party!!

[Yorkeys]

Noting the National Party was once the Country Party!!

Politicians of all colours once put Australia's interests first as well. That carriage has well and truly left the landscape.

Re ques above: I think it might leave the majority of the landscape desperate to vote for something other than the 2 majors and/or wishing voting wasn't compulsory.

Unless in Townsville you have had your car hijacked or house broken into, then you vote for whoever pretends to care about changing that.

[Nick DalSanto Claus]

Politicians in general, take the electorate for granted. There was a time when the majority of people voted for the same party for life. This choice was usually inculcated in people from childhood, so that by the time voting age was reached, the choice was set.

Enter free tertiary education in the 70s, and the old rules were weakened. More people went into higher education, explored alternatives and the, "Swinging voter" entered the equation in significant numbers.

Over the journey we saw alternatives bob up, stay a while and eventually fade into irrelevance. The DLP who were effective spoilers of Labor, the Communists, and the Australian Democrats, who under Don Chipp, promised to, "Keep the bastards honest!" (Spoiler alert: They didn't!)

Social media and the ever changing landscape of how, where and when people access their information has created a bewildering array of choice.

The two main parties' voter bases are under seige, the "Teals" being the latest to undermine them. An often ignored group is the socially mobile tradespeople/workers group, who have graduated towards and into an ever growing middle class.

In the end, however, most elections are still about those pesky swinging voters, whose fickleness drives political strategists nuts. The upcoming US election is perhaps the most important of the past 70 years.
What a choice their voters face. It almost makes you think we're lucky to have the politician's we have (almost).

And I think we should choose Gerreyn or Dodson as our ruckman if we can. Blakiston in case of emergency.

[Killa]

Good points

Education hopefully sees decisions made on the basis of sound analysis therefore reducing the impacts of media and media bias (which includes much of what I understand is on social media so those peddling influence

For example withdrawing accumulated superannuation to purchase a home

So short term gain (pushing house prices even higher?) for long term negative impact on income in retirement

Absent trading down (at cost including Agent Fees on selling), your home does not provide an income stream, unlike superannuation and compounding

And who is to say house prices will always go up?

Sub prime lending and the GFC anyone?

And before that the Savings and Loans decade (well actually from the late 1970’s until the early 1990’s and regulation - noting that in Australia strict regulation of the banking industry was subverted by banks owning finance companies, then came deregulation and the rest is history including people borrowing in Swiss Francs unawares of the currency risk so cowboy lenders

Books have been written - and we trust the lessons are not forgotten

Plus Volker and inflation - or the levels of inflation because we all need a helping hand from inflation hence the inflation bands the Central bankers refer to - and wages growth slightly in advance of inflation for economic growth

It is inflation in advance of the Central bank bands which is the problem - which Australia and the World has had post the pandemic and impetus given to those that impetus fed the pockets of thru the tax system in Australia - so the collection jurisdiction not Social Security being the payment jurisdiction

The question is the scope of education being subjects at the entry levels of education - so school

[Killa]

The only thing I would add is that the problem as I see it is the lack of memberships of political parties

We all have the offer to join a political party, to promote opinion and seek the numbers to impact policy

I would understand that the ALP has conferences where delegates (party members) thrash out policy - and the parliamentary party presents in accordance with that policy

The LNP appears more leader centric

The Teals have the common denominator of funding by Holmes A’Court and a focus on climate

So perhaps, just perhaps, instead of complaining we should all look in the mirror

We could even nominate to become an endorsed candidate - but given what we see in the media who would want such a position?

Noting that “journalists” are just a name and nothing more known of them past a name (and the opinions they give attempting to influence!)

So there you go

After that digression back to adding to and improving St Kilda’s list!!!!

[Killa]

The only thing I would add is that the problem as I see it is the lack of memberships of political parties

We all have the offer to join a political party, to promote opinion and seek the numbers to impact policy

I would understand that the ALP has conferences where delegates (party members) thrash out policy - and the parliamentary party presents in accordance with that policy

The LNP appears more leader centric

The Teals have the common denominator of funding by Holmes A’Court and a focus on climate

So perhaps, just perhaps, instead of complaining we should all look in the mirror

We could even nominate to become an endorsed candidate - but given what we see in the media who would want such a position?

Noting that “journalists” are just a name and nothing more known of them past a name (and the opinions they give attempting to influence!)

So there you go

After that digression back to adding to and improving St Kilda’s list!!!!

[King Max]

Noting that this thread is about a 204cm WAFL ruckman.

One wonders on the relevance of an essay on the political landscape to the future of said ruckman.

So there you go.

[Nick DalSanto Claus]

Well, I did get back on track with my last sentence.