freo geelong final, page-93

The decision to allow Simonds Stadium to host the final between Geelong and Fremantle smacks of an AFL money grab and a decision implemented on the fly against the backdrop of a league distracted by the Essendon situation.

It's probably not surprising the AFL need some extra cash. After all, the cost of keeping their legal team well caffeinated during the intense negotiations with Essendon is probably alone worth the $750,000 it's been reported the league will make from playing the game down there.

But despite Geelong's incredible record at a venue where they have won 43 of their last 44 matches, playing at Simonds may suit the Dockers.

Of all the Victorian grounds, the long, narrow pitch is probably the closest any venue comes to Patersons Stadium's dimensions, while the Dockers would be more than a little accustomed to a roaring wind ripping through from one end of the ground.

The Cats record at the venue has also been artificially inflated as they've played a host of inferior sides there in recent years before its re-development, while they failed one of the key tests they faced down there against a desperate opponent in Sydney during 2011.

But regardless of how much the venue may affect the respective fortunes of each team, the decision appears a rushed and flawed one on a number of fronts and one purely motivated by financial considerations and not the fans who could potentially miss out on seeing their side.

League chief Andrew Demetriou has said the AFL models suggest a mere 33,000 people would attend a final between the Cats and Dockers in Melbourne.

But his reasons for this sound a little dubious. To start with, it's primarily based on the fact that a crowd of just 44,460 people attended the Elimination Final between these sides last year.

Demetriou believes this crowd was inflated by approximately 10,000 MCC members and 6000 series ticket holders and that only 1000 Freo fans travelled across the Nullabor for the game. Therefore a ground with a capacity of 34,000 would seem perfect, according to the AFL.

But that was for an elimination final. It wasn't for a qualifying final between two sides in the top four, often one of the great contests of the season as a place in the preliminary final is up for grabs.

Added to this, based on admittedly anecdotal evidence, some Geelong supporters last year were so confident their side would beat Fremantle in that game they didn't attend as they were saving up for a potential interstate trip the week after for a semi in Adelaide or for the preliminary final.

In many ways, the AFL has made a rod for its own back here. By declaring it only believes 33,000 will want to go they create a self fulfilling prophecy as some fans will be put off from even trying to purchase a ticket.

And, by saying this, it also seems they're admitting defeat, suggesting their advertising department can't promote a game featuring the likes of champions Jimmy Bartel, Steve Johnson, Paul Chapman, Matthew Pavlich, Aaron Sandilands, Luke McPharlin and uber villain Hayden Ballantyne to the footy public.

Added to this, the league seem to be courting controversy at a time when the game can just do without it.

This controversy mainly stems from the fact a lot of people look likely to miss out. You can already see those people inevitably plastered all over the news on Monday evening rightly asking why they can't get a ticket when a 50,000-seat stadium designed specifically for AFL purposes lies dormant just 70km up the road.

The speed with which the decision was made is also controversial. According to Cats chief executive Brian Cook, Geelong were caught as unawares of the proposal to use Simonds as anyone, making it seem likely the suggestion was only raised at last week's AFL Commission meeting and hurriedly approved.

This, of course, was the same meeting where the AFL were also having to deal with the Essendon supplement saga.

The speed with which the decision was made just seems a little unprofessional as both Geelong and Fremantle would be preparing for a final at Etihad or the MCG. The various set plays and tactics both sides would have been working on with finals in mind would have been tuned to the dimensions of those venues, not to Simonds Stadium, so it may force some very quick tactical re-thinks for both teams.

And the suggestion that the Cats have earned a right to play a final in Geelong seems a complete nonsense when it comes with the proviso that if any other Melbourne club or Sydney were playing, then there is no way Simonds would host a final.

This seems a major slap in the face for Fremantle - a club with one of the healthiest membership bases in the competition - as effectively the AFL is saying the Dockers are a team only worthy of playing at a regional centre. It also implies they're a commodity that simply can't be marketed and won't attract a big crowd, suggesting Freo fans are not passionate enough to put their money where their mouth is and fly over for the game.

Conspiracy theorists have another suggestion. Don't forget it was only two years ago the Dockers stunned the football world by sacking Mark Harvey and poaching Ross Lyon from under St Kilda's nose.

That move may have led to the Dockers appearing in consecutive finals for the first time in the club's history but it also forced a furious AFL to consider big fines for clubs who poach coaches.

As Essendon have found out this week, you can't fight City Hall and maybe this is the punishment that was always on the cards for the Fremantle footy club.

LD;
Demetriou and Fitzpatrick must go and soon - An organisation of this size and importance cannot function burdened down with rubbish inept management.