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  1. #1
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    North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    NORTH Melbourne is disappointed by a shift in AFL strategy that has seen Ballarat repositioned from a Roos' development zone to Western Bulldogs' territory.

    North has worked hard to entrench itself in the Ballarat region over the past six years, forming an official partnership with the Ballarat City Council that saw it conduct annual community camps, partner in community programs and play pre-season games at Eureka Stadium.

    However, the AFL announced on Tuesday that the Western Bulldogs – and not North – would next year host a NAB Challenge game at Eureka Stadium, against Melbourne.

    AFL.com.au also understands that North has also been told by the League it will no longer hold its pre-season community camp in Ballarat.

    AFL scheduling manager Simon Lethlean told AFL.com.au that with North now focused on developing its fan base in Hobart the Bulldogs had moved to extend their western corridor growth strategy to Ballarat.

    Click here to see the 2015 NAB Challenge fixture


    "The Bulldogs have entered a relationship with the local council in Ballarat, which is based essentially on their western corridor strategy," Lethlean said at the NAB Challenge fixture launch.

    "North Melbourne is focused on Tasmania and elsewhere, so they (the Bulldogs) asked whether we would support a game there?

    "We were certainly keen to support the Dogs and the Ballarat City Council, who are starting off a new relationship.

    "If you look across the natural areas of Victoria – the hot spots to develop the clubs – that western strategy certainly extends to Ballarat for the Bulldogs.

    "We're keen to help them with that strategy as it extends down there and again support councils who want to support our clubs."

    North CEO Carl Dilena told AFL.com.au North was disappointed in the AFL's shift in thinking on Ballarat, stressing that the Roos had not voluntarily abandoned their relationship with the region.

    "We understand the AFL's thinking that the Bulldogs are the team of the west and should now be the club to work with the Ballarat region," Dilena said on Wednesday.

    "But we are disappointed because as a club we valued our relationship with the local community and its people very highly.

    "Over the past six years we have worked closely with the City Council and a wide range of community groups, and it is a shame we won't get to continue to build on all of that.

    "All I can do is stress that this is not something we're doing voluntarily. We had hoped we would be continuing as we had over the years, but the AFL obviously had other plans."

    Dilena did not see North's development work in Hobart and Ballarat as mutually exclusive, saying that despite the Roos' membership gains in Tasmania over the past three years they still needed to grow their fan base in Victoria.

    The Roos boss said the club could continue to concentrate on its existing Melbourne growth areas Wyndham and Hume, but still needed to establish a regional Victorian stronghold.

    North has played two pre-season games at Ballarat's Eureka Stadium, this year against Carlton and in 2012 against the Bulldogs.

    In 2013, when the ground was unavailable for the NAB Cup because of ongoing works on its changerooms, North played an intra-club game there at the end of its community camp.

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    FFC: Established 1883

    Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.

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  3. #2
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    They've got Hobart already .

  4. #3
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    Does make sense.
    Norf can't really cover Hobart and Ballart.

  5. #4
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    North have been so scatter-gun over the past few years that this was bound to happen. It's just common sense.
    The name change from Footscray to Western was supposed to lay claim to Werribee, Caroline Springs, Melton, Bacchus Marsh etc. makes sense to spread it to Ballarat. It's going to be a massive growth area over the next 25 years. If we can have some on field success over the next 25 years, the club will go from strength to strength. I can see North's logic in dabbling there, but it always seemed a bit of an anomaly - them being there.

    Perhaps scheduling a game versus Gold Coast in freezing Ballarat mid-winter would also be prudent?!

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  7. #5
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    Regional Victoria towns like Ballarat and Bendigo have grown substantially in the last few years. If we can get the Ballarat region interested in supporting the Bulldogs it will be a major positive.
    Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"

  8. #6
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    It is great to see the club being pro-active and lobbying the AFL to get things like this done and having a NAB challenge game at the whitten oval.
    More of an In Bruges guy?

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  10. #7
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    This is great news for me and mine. Hated having Norf here.

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  12. #8
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    Quote Originally Posted by GVGjr View Post
    Regional Victoria towns like Ballarat and Bendigo have grown substantially in the last few years. If we can get the Ballarat region interested in supporting the Bulldogs it will be a major positive.
    Got a real head start with Bendigo too, plenty of locals on the list.
    If you kicked five goals and Tom Boyd kicked five goals, Tom Boyd kicked more goals than you.

    Formerly gogriff

  13. #9
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    Quote Originally Posted by boydogs View Post
    Got a real head start with Bendigo too, plenty of locals on the list.
    I often thought that if we drafted Wines instead of Macrae we really could have had a push to the Bendigo heartland maybe supported by playing some VFL home games there now that the Gold have finished.
    Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"

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  15. #10
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    Quote Originally Posted by boydogs View Post
    Got a real head start with Bendigo too, plenty of locals on the list.
    Not to mention a certain kid from Daylesford who made us the most popular team in that town a few years back. They even changed their footy club's nickname to the Dogs and their colours to red white and blue! (Partly also due to a league switch).

    The loss of the name "Footscray" and the gaining of the name "Western" begins to make a bit more sense, now, with Ballarat being declared ours.... I wish North all the best in becoming the "North Hobart Kangaroos."

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  17. #11
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    Quote Originally Posted by Webby View Post
    The loss of the name "Footscray" and the gaining of the name "Western" begins to make a bit more sense, now, with Ballarat being declared ours
    I'm as big a supporter of the name change as anyone, but make no mistake this was done because we are struggling - it could equally have been assigned to Geelong or North
    If you kicked five goals and Tom Boyd kicked five goals, Tom Boyd kicked more goals than you.

    Formerly gogriff

  18. #12
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    Quote Originally Posted by GVGjr View Post
    I often thought that if we drafted Wines instead of Macrae we really could have had a push to the Bendigo heartland maybe supported by playing some VFL home games there now that the Gold have finished.
    We have 5 ex Bendigo Bombers players on our list.
    FFC: Established 1883

    Premierships: AFL 1954, 2016 VFA - 1898,99,1900, 1908, 1913, 1919-20, 1923-24, VFL: 2014, 2016 . Champions of Victoria 1924. AFLW - 2018.

  19. #13
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    Quote Originally Posted by bornadog View Post
    We have 5 ex Bendigo Bombers players on our list.
    A great marketing opportunity if we supported it by playing some VFL games there. We could even rookie list a local Bendigo boy or add a couple of the ex Gold players to the Footscray side.
    Western Bulldogs Football Club "Where it's cool to drool"

  20. #14
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    As a current Ballarat resident, I 100% support this initiative
    Our 1954 premiership players are our heroes, and it has to be said that Charlie was their hero.

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  22. #15
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    Re: North disappointed to lose Ballarat zone to Bulldogs

    Seems like a bit of a waste of time to me unless we are going to play actual games there and have membership packages.
    The curse is dead.

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