Our relationship with the AFL !!

[Eastern]

It is common knowledge that there was/is a whole lot of friction between Andrew Demetriou and Grant Thomas and this boiled over into an AFL v St Kilda thing. I believe that this goes way back to when GT was Chairman of Selectors at Nth Melbourne when they gave Demetriou his marching orders as a player. Both are very strong willed people and it has been said that Demetriou has a very vindictive side to him that suggested that Grant Thomas/St Kilda were not going to receive any favors from him because of this history.

Well, all of that has changed since the demise of GT. It is only recently that we are starting to see a NEW relationship between St Kilda and the AFL. A relationship that is being built on hard work and compromise on the part of St Kilda FC.

We were the 1st club to put our hands up to play games on the Gold Coast when Nth Melbourne pulled out.

We appear to have included the AFL in all our media etc re Seaford (this could be because of their money)

We are sending our entire list up to the Gold Coast this week on a training camp.

We are going back to the Gold Coast for our Community Camp in Feb.

We are playing our 1st nab Cup game on the Gold Coast

All of the above will win us "brownie points" with the AFL as they are in love with the Gold Coast.

We could have gone "real hard" on the AFL when the 2009 fixture was released, but chose the soft approach instead. It could be that we have adopted the strategy of short term pain for longer term gain.

I believe that we are heading in the right direction, although we are a long way away from being the "white haired boys" in the eyes of the AFL. Greg, Archie & Co still have a lot of work ahead of them.

I am interested to hear of others thoughts on this topic !!

[saintbrat]

We could have gone "real hard" on the AFL when the 2009 fixture was released, but chose the soft approach instead. It could be that we have adopted the strategy of short term pain for longer term gain.

!!

I was ready to add this as a negative on the ' relationship'
but hadn't looked at the way you have eastern-- the sundays and twilights are just Tough and if they are the better of what was offered..

can we send the AFL the rest of the list to remind them that we are being " helpful"?

[WayneJudson42]

SAdly, and despite the changes, I still reckon your direct relationship with the AFL is based on your potential to draw sponsorships, members and attendances as a club.

What was the movie? Animal Farm... All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.

[Pilgram]

I like your logic Eastern: "short term pain for long term gain".

the relationship is better now than it has ever been in the history of the club.
we have very little representation in the media compared to other clubs.
the combined interest in the media represents the larger membered clubs.
i see 34,000 members as a target for when the larger clubs start to take note. that, and a premiership.

everywhere you look there are positives.

[happy feet]

There is no profit for us in a bad relationship with the AFL and its people. What we need is a professional and strong administration who can foster a working and professional relationship and put the Club in as best position as possible. It is essential that we are strong and we show the AFL that we are proud professional and committed and that we intend to be the best we can be both on the field and off the field.

[onlooker]

There is no profit for us in a bad relationship with the AFL and its people. What we need is a professional and strong administration who can foster a working and professional relationship and put the Club in as best position as possible. It is essential that we are strong and we show the AFL that we are proud professional and committed and that we intend to be the best we can be both on the field and off the field.

Happy Feet I reckon you are absolutely spot on with this post. Integrity is the name of the game and when I look at clubs who have consistently shown integrity in recent times I can think of Geelong (Cooke) and E'don (Jackson). Most other clubs including StK have been up and down in their relatively recent relationships with the AFL and it shows with some of the problems that have surfaced. The AFL knows full well that when it deals with these 2 clubs however they have to be right on their game because it knows that these 2 clubs will be. As far as the Saints are concerned they are certainly getting to this level IMO. Despite some of the comments that appear re:Archie Fraser I think we are fortunate to have him.