What do we have to do to keep Good Friday Footy?

[bornadog]

Was always likely to be Essendon or Collingwood scheduled on Good Friday in 2019 due to the timing of Easter and ANZAC Day - the other team will play Good Friday Eve (Thursday night April 18th) - 7 days prior to ANZAC day.

So what about Anzac day Good Friday within 7 days, the AFL can schedule it on Saturday.

This is just a kick up the arse. I want to see the club really fight this, it is just BS

[KT31]

Channel 7 are reporting the AFL has given Good Friday football to Essendon starting next year.

Makes total sense, Easter is all about a bloke coming to after getting jabs in the feet and wrists.

[Funke disco]

Given it to them?.... Starting from next year?, so in essence permanently? if so that is BS and completely at odds with AFL's equalization mantra. What the fork!

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

If true, then the AFL aren't even bothered making any effort of disguising their contempt for smaller clubs.
The equalisation mantra is just a pretence.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

Yep. As is my indifference to it. I'd rather watch repeats of Hueys Kitcken, Judge Judy, the Best of Senate Question Time (so far), All Together Now (with Jon English), Peter (g'day) - Russell (g'day) - Clark, A Country Practice (after it went to Ch 10), Iron Chef involving the Italian Iron Chef or the original Iron Chef Japanese, or Dr Phil or whatever other shit clogs up the channels of not 7 on a Good Friday. Frankly, if SBS just gave me 24 hour re-runs of Iron Chen Kenichi battles, I might not watch footy at all other than our games.

There is no way in hell i will be watching the footy on Good Friday now.

I can't stomach ANZAC day either so this is just another fixture to add to the growing list of non-bulldogs games i have zero interest in.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Absolutely pathetic if true.

I would hope us, Norf and Saints sling some mud over this.

[Sedat]

I'd be more than happy to open the bowling with regard to slinging mud at that piece of shit club.

1. They are the only club in VFL/AFL history to win a flag when cheating the salary cap (twice actually - 1993 and 2000)
2. They ran a systematic doping regime the likes of which has never been seen before in professional team sport

Instead of kicking them out of the competjtion, the AFEL sees fit to make everyone else stand aside and get these bastards back on their feet by giving them every single blockbuster game the AFEL has on the cards.

Fark the EFC and fark the AFEL.

[bulldogsthru&thru]

I'd be more than happy to open the bowling with regard to slinging mud at that piece of shit club.

1. They are the only club in VFL/AFL history to win a flag when cheating the salary cap (twice actually - 1993 and 2000)
2. They ran a systematic doping regime the likes of which has never been seen before in professional team sport

Instead of kicking them out of the competjtion, the AFEL sees fit to make everyone else stand aside and get this bastards back on their feet by giving them every single blockbuster game the AFEL has on the cards.

Fark the EFC and fark the AFEL.

What the AFEL have given to Essendon since running a systematic doping regime the likes of which has never been seen before in professional team sport:

1. A free look at the best mature talents not in the AFL
2. The number one draft pick
3. Cap flexibility to sign the players recruited in number 1
4. Extra blockbuster games

What an absolute joke. Zero integrity. This competition stands for absolute f*** all except the all mighty dollar. That s***stain of a club should have been sent packing, yet the AFEL instead reward them. That in itself speaks VOLUMES as to what the AFEL are all about.

[S Coast Simon]

Clear evidence they are not interested in equalisation. This is purely based on money. Anyone notice all the fines this year and not so many suspensions.

[Eastdog]

Was hoping this would be a blockbuster game for us but doesn't look that way with it being shared. Hasn't really taken off as yet. Not promoted enough. Would it be better for it to be at the MCG for more people to go and for it to be on in the evening?

[GVGjr]

Was hoping this would be a blockbuster game for us but doesn't look that way with it being shared. Hasn't really taken off as yet. Not promoted enough. Would it be better for it to be at the MCG for more people to go and for it to be on in the evening?

Hard to say Easty, the AFL has provided the option for people that have been asking for it so it's now up to the fans to get to the games

Needs to have a 40K crowd at Etihad or 60K at the MCG

[Eastdog]

Hard to say Easty, the AFL has provided the option for people that have been asking for it so it's now up to the fans to get to the games

Needs to have a 40K crowd at Etihad or 60K at the MCG

Yeah with the crowd yes would need to get that. They really should share the opening game of the year around. That is something they can change as well. Anzac Day, Queens Birthday and Easter Monday are kind of set now.

[Twodogs]

Hard to say Easty, the AFL has provided the option for people that have been asking for it so it's now up to the fans to get to the games

Needs to have a 40K crowd at Etihad or 60K at the MCG

Such as the 42, 814 crowd we got last year for the Good Friday match? As opposed to the 33, 966 North and St Kilda got this year?

We've been ripped off here.

[Eastdog]

Such as the 42, 814 crowd we got last year for the Good Friday match? As opposed to the 33, 966 North and St Kilda got this year?

We've been ripped off here.

We certainly got a good crowd in.

Do we need to promote the game better or are doing that enough as it is?

The other ‘blockbuster’ games are at the G so this one could be played there as well to get as many people in. Really it should be for those clubs that don’t have that ‘blockbuster’ time slot to get an opportunity.

[Axe Man]

In a move that will surprise absolutely nobody:

St Kilda set to be dumped from Good Friday as AFL considers power club to join North Melbourne

NORTH MELBOURNE will be handed a third consecutive Good Friday encounter as the AFL considers whether to introduce a power club to the concept after a poor crowd this year.

St Kilda is expected to be dumped as a Good Friday participant after only a single year with a moderate Etihad Stadium crowd of 33,966.

Kangaroos chief executive Carl Dilena told the Herald Sun North Melbourne expected to play in the contest again next year in what is a packed early-season schedule.

Brisbane is confident they will be fixtured a Good Friday Eve game at home against Collingwood, followed by the Roos again taking part in the third Good Friday game.

The next Wednesday night Richmond and Melbourne take part in their now-traditional game on Anzac Eve before the Collingwood-Essendon game on Thursday April 25.

There is speculation either Richmond or Essendon could take on North Melbourne because it would help maximise the break for the team playing the week after Good Friday.

Richmond would need to play Good Friday then the next Wednesday — only a five-day break.

Essendon would play Good Friday then the next Thursday — and would get a six-day break before taking on a Roos outfit that it played this year in an epic 35-goal shootout.

As of Thursday neither club had been told whether they will take part in the contest, with the league set to start drip-feeding out fixtures to clubs over the weekend.

Carlton, which has long lobbied for a Good Friday slot, will not play in that slot and will be handed a fixture with its traditional season opener against Richmond and many Sunday afternoon slots after just two wins this year.

The Roos-Saints Good Friday game drew a poor crowd and resulted in a game just as flat, with both sides kicking 2.10 to halftime before North Melbourne eased to a 52-point win.

Dilena said the Roos were keen to continue building on the Good Friday appeal contest, confident of a greater crowd with North Melbourne set to enter 2019 as a much-hyped team.

He said the understanding was the Roos would be participating in Good Friday when the fixture is released on Wednesday.

“That is our expectation. The only discussions we have had along the way are who our opposition should be,’’ he said.

“We have put in a massive amount of work with the Good Friday Appeal and the Royal Children’s Hospital.

He said the Roos were confident of a bigger crowd next year after this season’s average attendance.

“The predictions for our season weren’t too rosy either so there was probably a bit of negative sentiment about what both teams could bring to the table.

“This year we have come off a very competitive year and have some additions to our team and should be looking to play some pretty good footy next year so it augurs well.”