Whacky left field idea for a premiership

[skeptic]

If I’m not mistaken… we’re now the longest premiership drought in the AFL noting that Freo, GC and GWS aren’t yet on the board.

You know what the AFL should do to make this interesting..?

They should publicly acknowledge our premiership drought as the biggest challenge in the AFL and effectively put a kind of bounty on it…
Any coach and anyone in the top 22 of a St.Kilda premiership team should get an absurd AFL sponsored payout when they lift the cup. $100k+ per player (not sure what amount is most effective). Chuck in other incentives to immortalise the list that makes the achievement.

In doing this… you’re seriously incentivising FA and the best staff to come and take on the toughest challenge in football.

And it costs the AFL nothing until it happens. Could level the playing field a touch.

Is this a good an idea or am I loopy from too much moderation?

[loris]

Alas “skeptic” in answer to your final statement- methinks it may be the latter

[Darth Vader]

More likely to work if they offer the bounty to the other teams to let us win...

[SinCitySainter]

It would have to be a hell of a lot more than $100K per player to entice a Free Agent.
The FAs we are trying to acquire will be expecting that in their monthly pay packet.

Also, the AFL would not and should not do it as it would be seen to be favoring one side over others.
Now while we are all aware that they favor the big clubs over the small ones they don't do it in such an explicit way.

[Otiman]

AFL probably learned from Melbourne and Bulldogs drought breaking that it's better we don't win a flag.

[skeptic]

Far be it from me to suggest this is well thought through…

But I’m just saying… seems to me that there is an incredible marketing opportunity here.

A St.Kilda premiership is the toughest, most elusive thing in football -
I think the club/AFL should exploit the idea and attach the promise of AFL immortality for the group of people that can get it done.

The competition is already something of a circus… IMO this is a great way to stand out

[skeptic]

Also, the AFL would not and should not do it as it would be seen to be favoring one side over others.
Now while we are all aware that they favor the big clubs over the small ones they don't do it in such an explicit way.

Is it though…
There’s no advantage until after the fact.

Certainly not as blatant 22 Melbourne based games to Collingwood next season (or whatever) and the additional academy first rounders that will be wrapt up and gifted to Sydney/expansion clubs etc under the guise of national health of the comp

[St Dave]

Yeah, too much of an explicit favouritism for one club over others. Even doing it for every club with 0 premierships or a drought over 30 years (or whatever) would be too much I think.

Might be something more suited to an offer from a major sponsor, but even then could be seen as a Visy/Judd style incentive.

[The_Dud]

Could a private backer do it?

[Vortex]

The club should issue the jumper number 66.

The story telling around it has massive potential.


It’s such a cool number.


Would look awesome on a players Jumper.

Imagine our captain wearing the number 66 on the podium with Ross as they lift cup number 2 into the air…

[skeptic]

Could a private backer do it?

Oooh I like this

[shrodes]

Could a private backer do it?

Oooh I like this

Would be salary cap tampering basically.

Personally I think it would be better to win a premiership off our own merits, and in spite of all the concessions elsewhere in the league that we have not been the beneficiary of for various reasons. We've always been the underdog and will make winning that much sweeter.

[CURLY]

The AFL could simply just gift us top end talent each year no matter where we finish and give us extra salary cap. Give us 18 Vic games each year and our finals at our home ground.

[skeptic]

Could a private backer do it?

Oooh I like this

Would be salary cap tampering basically.

I don’t disagree with yourself or Dave’s view of this… nor the desire to win a premiership strictly on our own merits.

That said… I find it quite rich that with the plethora of academy picks, father sons, concessions to GWS/GC/Syd, the creative Cotton On dealings with Geelong, whoever’s father it was that was hired as a “recruiter” to the club his son was traded to etc that this is where the line could be perceived to be drawn.

You could do this today and the Saints don’t win a premiership for say 20 years and players may come or the club and not a single dollar is paid out.

Unlike all those advantages listed above… this would be an after the fact one with the advantage in the idea drawing people in

Seems as far as tampering and advantages go… feels to me that this is absolutely the least actual impactful one in the immediate term

[Sanctorum]

I like your thinking skeptic, even if it is a bit loopy

But the idea of St Kilda's marketing team "workshopping" this proposal should be put to the club, as there must be quite a few ways that corporate sponsors can get into the act to get behind the team in the next few years.

After all, a break in the longest ever premiership drought will be wildly celebrated around the country for a hell of a long time!

I like to think the stage is set with the club on the brink of achieving a fair bit of success in the next three years.

The major changes to the list and coaching panel since 2021, the quality coaches that will be in control of the team in 2025, all suggest to me that the board is leaving no stone unturned to get that elusive second premiership!

[spert]

Just need a coach who knows how to win a premiership

[Beno88]

I have no doubt this incentive already secretly exists for Gold Coast and GWS.

[Saints58]

Not a bad Idea maybe GT could put up the money he sold his company for over $100 million a few years ago sure he has some loose change lying around.
He always has something to say maybe this would make him happy and give us a premiership.
It would make us a destination club for sure then.

[SaintPav]

Jokes not withstanding, marketing gimmicks usually don’t work and do more harm than good as all it will do is put another layer of unnecessary pressure on players.

Club should be aiming to improve performance across the board in an incremental fashion. It’s boring but it works.

[Killa]

Well a very large slab of that time included the proverbial “brown paper bag” period where Clubs with significant financial backers bought players including from Interstate
St Kilda, as was explained to me, were selling their Form 4’s to the “wealthy” Clubs in an attempt to meet outgoings (and Creditors then receiving 20 cents in the $1-, an arrangement forced on the secured creditor by Lindsay Fox)
So it was not a level playing field and St Kilda were the paupers (before you got to the Social Club versus the Football Club)
Then came “equalisation” with Salary Caps and Drafting - except that has been compromised as well and is continuing on that path
Remember also that the financial path of 2 Establishment Clubs with large followings - so Collingwood and Richmond - has been rocky - before you get to Carlton and the price for manipulation - and Melbourne
Fitzroy and South Melbourne have gone
And Hawthorn nearly did (by merger with Melbourne)
At the very least there is still a St Kilda FC competing in the (now) AFL

[Otiman]

At the very least there is still a St Kilda FC competing in the (now) AFL

Amen

[Yorkeys]

At the very least there is still a St Kilda FC competing in the (now) AFL

Amen

No more BNE Bears or Footscray either.
Just memories and hybrids.
SA can buy a whole round and extra home games for its clubs.
Personally, that seems a better use of public funds than a Grand Prix, but each to his/her own redistribution of our earnings.
Northern clubs gifted favourable byes as a result of round zero.
One thing in our favour is the bookies have us long odds to win a premiership so they should conspire to have us knock off the favourites and cause upsets.
I imagine Gillion still has access to umpires phone numbers.

[Big Max]

Interesting concept .. perhaps we can brainstorm a few additional ideas to provide some advantage for those teams suffering a long drought ..

What about a variation to the Draft .. as of today, the team finishing last has the 1st draft pick .. what if there was a 'concession' based on the number of years since premiership .. say for every year without a flag you get a 'bonus' of (say) 10 draft points .. meaning you can move further up in the draft ..

Say St Kilda finish 10th, and the 10th draft pick is worth 1000 points (based on calculation for father-son etc), but St Kilda hasn't won a flag for 58 years, so we get 580 (58 x 10) bonus points. So we now have 1580 points, which is enough to elevate us to (say) pick 4 or 5.

Keep in mind, the AFL already hand out bonus draft selections to some teams (Nth Melbourne), based on a whim. Putting some science into the process is a lot fairer.

[SaintPav]

Charity and handouts are cowardice dressed up in good intentions - no thanks​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​!