There are salutory lessons for the Saints, if they’re open to looking.
The Demons have rarely played ‘home’ games away from the famous MCG, but it hasn't been their spiritual home for many years — perhaps since the mid-sixties ground-sharing agreement with the Tigers. Aside from a couple of brief flowerings under John Northey and Neale Daniher, the Demons have been in the wilderness since the 60s. Various training centres and adminsitrative centres have seemed like more band-aids plastered onto a festering wound.
The original Lions, Fitzroy, gave up their traditional home in Brunswick Street for various ground-sharing deals and a shooting star-like rennaissance at the Junction Oval in the 80s. Each move seemed like a step down and back, giving up far more than they gained. By the mid-90s it was all over.
The Hawks spent years playing at Princes Park, turning it into a gold and brown cauldron, but retained their spriritual home at Glenferrie Oval. When they moved to Waverley, it was for the right reasons and for a far superior facility. They've gone from strength to strength and become a powerhouse on and off the field.
More recently, the Barcodes and the Bombers have made strategic moves to new facilities, cutting and loosening, respectively, their ties with their traditional homes. Like the Hawks, it’s hard to see them on the wrong side of the ledger as a result.
But the Saints. From a traditionally-lowly base at Junction Oval, their move to Moorabbin in the mid-60s was one of the first moves away from traditional venues in the VFL. And the Saints prospered on-field with three Grand Final appearances over seven years. Despite indifferent form through the 70s and 80s, bayside was Saints territory.
The Linton Street facility was tired, so a move was needed. It doesn’t seem that Seaford has been everyone’s cup of tea, but it was a bold strategic move for a far superior facility. Talk of a return to Junction Oval or Moorabbin suggests they haven’t embraced the change in the way that the Hawks embraced theirs.
The Kangaroos haven't broken many records on membership, but the Shinboner spirit remains strong and Arden Street keeps that spirit strong. Similarly, despite few on-field successes, the Bulldogs and Whitten Oval are synonymous (despite the players shooting themselves in the foot over their coach at the end of the 2014 season).
Forget about Moorabbin or the Junction Oval, Saints. Embrace Seaford and move heaven and earth to make it the embodiment of everything you aspire the club to be. Location isn't a deal-buster. The Hawks have shown that outer suburbs can work, and it’s firhgtening how many Geelong fans live on the opposite side of the Bay from Sleepy Hollow.
Don't pine for something else. Make Seaford a fortress for the Saints brand. Own it.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Saints’ big risk in move from Seaford
The Demons have rarely played ‘home’ games away from the famous MCG, but it hasn't been their spiritual home for many years — perhaps since the mid-sixties ground-sharing agreement with the Tigers. Aside from a couple of brief flowerings under John Northey and Neale Daniher, the Demons have been in the wilderness since the 60s. Various training centres and adminsitrative centres have seemed like more band-aids plastered onto a festering wound.
The original Lions, Fitzroy, gave up their traditional home in Brunswick Street for various ground-sharing deals and a shooting star-like rennaissance at the Junction Oval in the 80s. Each move seemed like a step down and back, giving up far more than they gained. By the mid-90s it was all over.
The Hawks spent years playing at Princes Park, turning it into a gold and brown cauldron, but retained their spriritual home at Glenferrie Oval. When they moved to Waverley, it was for the right reasons and for a far superior facility. They've gone from strength to strength and become a powerhouse on and off the field.
More recently, the Barcodes and the Bombers have made strategic moves to new facilities, cutting and loosening, respectively, their ties with their traditional homes. Like the Hawks, it’s hard to see them on the wrong side of the ledger as a result.
But the Saints. From a traditionally-lowly base at Junction Oval, their move to Moorabbin in the mid-60s was one of the first moves away from traditional venues in the VFL. And the Saints prospered on-field with three Grand Final appearances over seven years. Despite indifferent form through the 70s and 80s, bayside was Saints territory.
The Linton Street facility was tired, so a move was needed. It doesn’t seem that Seaford has been everyone’s cup of tea, but it was a bold strategic move for a far superior facility. Talk of a return to Junction Oval or Moorabbin suggests they haven’t embraced the change in the way that the Hawks embraced theirs.
The Kangaroos haven't broken many records on membership, but the Shinboner spirit remains strong and Arden Street keeps that spirit strong. Similarly, despite few on-field successes, the Bulldogs and Whitten Oval are synonymous (despite the players shooting themselves in the foot over their coach at the end of the 2014 season).
Forget about Moorabbin or the Junction Oval, Saints. Embrace Seaford and move heaven and earth to make it the embodiment of everything you aspire the club to be. Location isn't a deal-buster. The Hawks have shown that outer suburbs can work, and it’s firhgtening how many Geelong fans live on the opposite side of the Bay from Sleepy Hollow.
Don't pine for something else. Make Seaford a fortress for the Saints brand. Own it.
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