Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

[GVGjr]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

Back to the venue I have to say I was a bit disappointed. The seating is small and cramped compared to other grounds with little leg room. It certainly doesn't help when so many fans want to take their seat 2 or 3 minutes into the quarter and then get a jump on the queues 2 or 3 minutes before the quarter ends. The section I was in was constantly performing a lame Mexican wave type effort letting people through.

Parking wasn't adequate and I'm told the shuttle buses weren't that quick. People coming off the train waited a while for the buses to move

The positives were the view is great you feel right up close, the surface looked perfect however, many of our players were falling over particularly in the first quarter so it must have been dewy or we had the wrong boots on.

The city seems to have embraced it which is a massive positive and I can't fault the staff and effort that went into organising the day.

[comrade]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

Parking wasn't adequate and I'm told the shuttle buses weren't that quick. People coming off the train waited a while for the buses to move

The positives were the view is great you feel right up close, the surface looked perfect however, many of our players were falling over particularly in the first quarter so it must have been dewy or we had the wrong boots on.

The city seems to have embraced it which is a massive positive and I can't fault the staff and effort that went into organising the day.

You'd almost think it was the first time the venue held an official AFL game, with plenty of positives and some areas to improve.

[The bulldog tragician]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

It was an enjoyable day apart from the result. The ground looked a picture. The sound system worked better than Etihad where in our section it is impossible to hear interviews or even the song. It was magnificent seeing the red white and blue everywhere and hardy souls in the outer with their picnic rugs and blankets.

I don't believe we would have won at Etihad. This is where we are at right now - it's now too apparent over the entire season wherever we've played that for a whole host of reasons - some obvious, some less so - we don't have the same fanatical hunger, our match tactics and selections don't seem to have hit the mark, key players have been inconsistent or injured, and our skill level has dropped alarmingly. The players that missed the flag but could have given us that 10% improvement to cover for the slow form decline of our veterans - Jong, Crameri, Redpath, Wallis - haven't been able to do so. 2017 has been a bust. Roll on 2018.

[Bornadog]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

It was an enjoyable day apart from the result. The ground looked a picture. The sound system worked better than Etihad where in our section it is impossible to hear interviews or even the song. It was magnificent seeing the red white and blue everywhere and hardy souls in the outer with their picnic rugs and blankets.

I don't believe we would have won at Etihad. This is where we are at right now - it's now too apparent over the entire season wherever we've played that for a whole host of reasons - some obvious, some less so - we don't have the same fanatical hunger, our match tactics and selections don't seem to have hit the mark, key players have been inconsistent or injured, and our skill level has dropped alarmingly. The players that missed the flag but could have given us that 10% improvement to cover for the slow form decline of our veterans - Jong, Crameri, Redpath, Wallis - haven't been able to do so. 2017 has been a bust. Roll on 2018.

The reason we lost yesterday was when the game was there to be won (remember scores level with 5 minutes to go), there was no one to take hold of the game and be a hero. The Bont was way down yesterday and he is usually the one to take hold and do it for us. We also made some crucial errors that gifted Ryder and Dixon the ball. These were from the kick out. Why would you kick the ball straight to Ryder.

[Bornadog]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

Back to the venue I have to say I was a bit disappointed. The seating is small and cramped compared to other grounds with little leg room. It certainly doesn't help when so many fans want to take their seat 2 or 3 minutes into the quarter and then get a jump on the queues 2 or 3 minutes before the quarter ends. The section I was in was constantly performing a lame Mexican wave type effort letting people through.

Parking wasn't adequate and I'm told the shuttle buses weren't that quick. People coming off the train waited a while for the buses to move

Yes parking was inadequate, but the city did a great job to have the parkn ride facilities. I drove out to the BWEZ area on the ring rd, and there was massive parking available. The buses were there ready when I arrived, and took off pretty much straight away, and after the game the buses were there at the ground to pick us up. I will say, the architects, like at Etihad, and MCG southern stand, don't know how to design a big enough toilet.

[Eastdog]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

Was speaking to my mate today who went up to Ballarat yesterday. Said he enjoyed the game day experience although like all of us the result in the game not so good in the end. The beers he said were in cans not plastic cups and that it was very much like just going to local footy ground except with a bigger crowd. The crowd number he said was good with many Doggies fans making the trips and locals going as well.

One thing he said is that we need to get used to playing on the ground a bit more and playing in those type of conditions different to Etihad. We train in them a lot at Whitten Oval but don't actually play much in wet and windy conditions which I think is important.

[ledge]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

We have played 3 games there now and haven't won one.
Admittedly two practice matches but it might be a ground that doesn't suit us . Are the dimensions similar to Etihad ? We know the conditions aren't but training at Whitten oval would be the closest you would get in that respect.

[Eastdog]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

We have played 3 games there now and haven't won one.
Admittedly two practice matches but it might be a ground that doesn't suit us . Are the dimensions similar to Etihad ? We know the conditions aren't but training at Whitten oval would be the closest you would get in that respect.

Yes they said on the TV coverage on Saturday that the ground dimensions are pretty much the same as Etihad. Whitten Oval training and any games we play at the MCG when it rains is the closest we get to that.

[Bornadog]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

We have played 3 games there now and haven't won one.
Admittedly two practice matches but it might be a ground that doesn't suit us . Are the dimensions similar to Etihad ? We know the conditions aren't but training at Whitten oval would be the closest you would get in that respect.

During the redevelopment, they changed the configuration to be the same as Etihad.

[Bornadog]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

The best thing about going to Ballarat (as it turned out), was having a meal at Catfish. Great restaurant and highly recommended.

[comrade]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

The best thing about going to Ballarat (as it turned out), was having a meal at Catfish. Great restaurant and highly recommended.

Yep, probably the best restaurant in the region. The town overall has definitely upped it's food game over the past few years.

[Smads57]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

Really enjoyed the day out with a fellow Bulldog die hard. We were in the outer and it reminded me of the outer at Cazaly Stadium a few weeks back in respect of to having a picnic atmosphere - with the obvious exception of warmer weather. Like someone mentioned above, the atmosphere in the outer was like a local game and was something I really enjoyed.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

That's an honest appraisal, the Council are studying everything from the Live Site which was under patronised to aerial footage to look at how roads were used and where people parked. We would expect the next game to be a little slicker in terms of logistics and they will build on the strengths and improve on the weaknesses.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

You nailed that. We brought our Etihad game to the first quarter. We were handballing when we had a decisive wind advantage that we should have been kicking with. We lost about four goals that quarter. Yes we should have been training in Ballarat from the Monday not at Whitten Oval on the Friday night before the game.

[GVGjr]

Re: Western Bulldogs hope Ballarat clash persuades state government to boost Eureka Stadium’s capacity

That's an honest appraisal, the Council are studying everything from the Live Site which was under patronised to aerial footage to look at how roads were used and where people parked. We would expect the next game to be a little slicker in terms of logistics and they will build on the strengths and improve on the weaknesses.

Many thanks, my concern was also around the seating which appeared to be cramped and uncomfortable and I wouldn't think thats something that will be fixed