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The Advertiser
5 days ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
A calculated $2 million gamble, or will this come back to haunt an AFL pioneer?
North Melbourne has long been a pioneer in Australian football, going back more than 50 years when it nabbed the huge signature of Ron Barassi as coach then exploited the short-lived 10-year rule to recruit a clutch of established stars on its way to a first premiership. And more than half-a-century later, everything but nothing has changed. That is, the Roos are no longer anything like the powerhouse football team they became back then. But as a club, North Melbourne is still punching above its weight, trying to offset inherent disadvantages with some left-field thinking. Like on Sunday afternoon becoming the team to launch AFL football's newest venue, Hands Oval in Bunbury, 170 kilometres south of Perth, in a "home" game against a side actually from WA, West Coast. Taking calculated gambles in the hope of growth is indeed an old North Melbourne calling card. After the 10-year rule, a decade later in the mid-1980s, North was doing it again when, with newly-erected floodlights at the MCG, the Kangaroos stamped their brand as Friday night football specialists. But with innovation comes risk, as the club discovered in 1999 when it officially changed its primary name from North Melbourne to Kangaroos in a bid to become a "national team", playing four home games in Sydney and another in Canberra. It was a move fiercely resisted by the Swans, didn't inspire the surge in support for which the Roos had hoped, and perhaps even unintentionally assisted the AFL's push to move North Melbourne to the Gold Coast over 2006-07, a bid the Roos only just managed to prevent. As a smaller Victorian club, however, North Melbourne is constantly having to be "flexible and agile", as former AFL chief executive Gill McLachlan famously put it, in a commercial sense. The Roos have been playing three or four "home" games a season in Hobart since 2012. But with the arrival of a Tasmanian AFL team imminent, they've now struck a three-year deal with the West Australian government to play two "home" games in WA, which happen over the next two weekends. After Sunday against the Eagles in Bunbury, the following Saturday the Roos will play Fremantle in Perth. And yes, it will be classed as a "home" game, despite it being at its opponent's real home ground, one of the most notoriously difficult venues for visitors from other states. The deal is believed to be worth $2 million per year to North Melbourne. But not for the first time in these situations, the side playing home away from home is on a hiding to nothing. The Roos might be 17th on the ladder, but there's one team below them, and it's Sunday's opponent, which has won only one game for the season. A North Melbourne victory will be exactly what is expected of the Roos. Lose to the Eagles, and a well-worn debate will kickstart again. Just a few days after the last one. St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has been stirring the pot quite a bit lately. His reference to Gold Coast as the AFL's "nepo baby" the other week had the Suns seething. And his comments about clubs moving home games made last February were dragged out and dusted off after his Saints beat Melbourne in Alice Springs last Sunday. "Once you start selling your home games interstate you are hanging your shingle out the front that says you are not a serious footy club," Lyon said back then. And that remark certainly carried more weight after St Kilda inflicted Melbourne's third straight loss in an Alice Springs "home game". MORE AFL NEWS That could prove costly indeed, given the Demons are already two games outside the top eight after having lost their first five games of the season. But is it always that simple? Lyon's own St Kilda, for example, like Hawthorn, played "home" games in Launceston from 2001. But after six seasons, at the end of 2006, the Saints bailed, for football rather than financial reasons. Hawthorn promptly relished the opportunity to be the only AFL presence in the city, and is still ensconced there, having signed another two-year extension in February worth about $9.1 million. Those Tassie home games certainly weren't worrying the Hawks too much when they won the 2008 premiership, nor that famous flag hat-trick from 2013-15. And while it's easy for the likes of Lyon to stand firm on the question of home venues and their importance to a club's heart and soul, how can a club accurately calculate just how much a lower ladder finish will cost it in pure dollar terms were it to sell home games? That is a hard figure indeed to estimate, and a dangerous one to play guessing games with, particularly if you're North Melbourne, which has historically always had one of the smaller support bases, small even during the club's most successful eras of the 1970s and 1990s. Wouldn't any responsible administration and board be accepting the $2 million rather than banking on one or two of 23 home and away games being played at a "real" home making all the difference in football terms? North Melbourne has played that game of hope before without any tangible return. Indeed, it won its 1996 premiership the same year it came within a whisker of merging with Fitzroy. So you can't blame it now for looking primarily at dollar signs rather than a slightly better chance at merely grabbing four match points. North Melbourne has long been a pioneer in Australian football, going back more than 50 years when it nabbed the huge signature of Ron Barassi as coach then exploited the short-lived 10-year rule to recruit a clutch of established stars on its way to a first premiership. And more than half-a-century later, everything but nothing has changed. That is, the Roos are no longer anything like the powerhouse football team they became back then. But as a club, North Melbourne is still punching above its weight, trying to offset inherent disadvantages with some left-field thinking. Like on Sunday afternoon becoming the team to launch AFL football's newest venue, Hands Oval in Bunbury, 170 kilometres south of Perth, in a "home" game against a side actually from WA, West Coast. Taking calculated gambles in the hope of growth is indeed an old North Melbourne calling card. After the 10-year rule, a decade later in the mid-1980s, North was doing it again when, with newly-erected floodlights at the MCG, the Kangaroos stamped their brand as Friday night football specialists. But with innovation comes risk, as the club discovered in 1999 when it officially changed its primary name from North Melbourne to Kangaroos in a bid to become a "national team", playing four home games in Sydney and another in Canberra. It was a move fiercely resisted by the Swans, didn't inspire the surge in support for which the Roos had hoped, and perhaps even unintentionally assisted the AFL's push to move North Melbourne to the Gold Coast over 2006-07, a bid the Roos only just managed to prevent. As a smaller Victorian club, however, North Melbourne is constantly having to be "flexible and agile", as former AFL chief executive Gill McLachlan famously put it, in a commercial sense. The Roos have been playing three or four "home" games a season in Hobart since 2012. But with the arrival of a Tasmanian AFL team imminent, they've now struck a three-year deal with the West Australian government to play two "home" games in WA, which happen over the next two weekends. After Sunday against the Eagles in Bunbury, the following Saturday the Roos will play Fremantle in Perth. And yes, it will be classed as a "home" game, despite it being at its opponent's real home ground, one of the most notoriously difficult venues for visitors from other states. The deal is believed to be worth $2 million per year to North Melbourne. But not for the first time in these situations, the side playing home away from home is on a hiding to nothing. The Roos might be 17th on the ladder, but there's one team below them, and it's Sunday's opponent, which has won only one game for the season. A North Melbourne victory will be exactly what is expected of the Roos. Lose to the Eagles, and a well-worn debate will kickstart again. Just a few days after the last one. St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has been stirring the pot quite a bit lately. His reference to Gold Coast as the AFL's "nepo baby" the other week had the Suns seething. And his comments about clubs moving home games made last February were dragged out and dusted off after his Saints beat Melbourne in Alice Springs last Sunday. "Once you start selling your home games interstate you are hanging your shingle out the front that says you are not a serious footy club," Lyon said back then. And that remark certainly carried more weight after St Kilda inflicted Melbourne's third straight loss in an Alice Springs "home game". MORE AFL NEWS That could prove costly indeed, given the Demons are already two games outside the top eight after having lost their first five games of the season. But is it always that simple? Lyon's own St Kilda, for example, like Hawthorn, played "home" games in Launceston from 2001. But after six seasons, at the end of 2006, the Saints bailed, for football rather than financial reasons. Hawthorn promptly relished the opportunity to be the only AFL presence in the city, and is still ensconced there, having signed another two-year extension in February worth about $9.1 million. Those Tassie home games certainly weren't worrying the Hawks too much when they won the 2008 premiership, nor that famous flag hat-trick from 2013-15. And while it's easy for the likes of Lyon to stand firm on the question of home venues and their importance to a club's heart and soul, how can a club accurately calculate just how much a lower ladder finish will cost it in pure dollar terms were it to sell home games? That is a hard figure indeed to estimate, and a dangerous one to play guessing games with, particularly if you're North Melbourne, which has historically always had one of the smaller support bases, small even during the club's most successful eras of the 1970s and 1990s. Wouldn't any responsible administration and board be accepting the $2 million rather than banking on one or two of 23 home and away games being played at a "real" home making all the difference in football terms? North Melbourne has played that game of hope before without any tangible return. Indeed, it won its 1996 premiership the same year it came within a whisker of merging with Fitzroy. So you can't blame it now for looking primarily at dollar signs rather than a slightly better chance at merely grabbing four match points. North Melbourne has long been a pioneer in Australian football, going back more than 50 years when it nabbed the huge signature of Ron Barassi as coach then exploited the short-lived 10-year rule to recruit a clutch of established stars on its way to a first premiership. And more than half-a-century later, everything but nothing has changed. That is, the Roos are no longer anything like the powerhouse football team they became back then. But as a club, North Melbourne is still punching above its weight, trying to offset inherent disadvantages with some left-field thinking. Like on Sunday afternoon becoming the team to launch AFL football's newest venue, Hands Oval in Bunbury, 170 kilometres south of Perth, in a "home" game against a side actually from WA, West Coast. Taking calculated gambles in the hope of growth is indeed an old North Melbourne calling card. After the 10-year rule, a decade later in the mid-1980s, North was doing it again when, with newly-erected floodlights at the MCG, the Kangaroos stamped their brand as Friday night football specialists. But with innovation comes risk, as the club discovered in 1999 when it officially changed its primary name from North Melbourne to Kangaroos in a bid to become a "national team", playing four home games in Sydney and another in Canberra. It was a move fiercely resisted by the Swans, didn't inspire the surge in support for which the Roos had hoped, and perhaps even unintentionally assisted the AFL's push to move North Melbourne to the Gold Coast over 2006-07, a bid the Roos only just managed to prevent. As a smaller Victorian club, however, North Melbourne is constantly having to be "flexible and agile", as former AFL chief executive Gill McLachlan famously put it, in a commercial sense. The Roos have been playing three or four "home" games a season in Hobart since 2012. But with the arrival of a Tasmanian AFL team imminent, they've now struck a three-year deal with the West Australian government to play two "home" games in WA, which happen over the next two weekends. After Sunday against the Eagles in Bunbury, the following Saturday the Roos will play Fremantle in Perth. And yes, it will be classed as a "home" game, despite it being at its opponent's real home ground, one of the most notoriously difficult venues for visitors from other states. The deal is believed to be worth $2 million per year to North Melbourne. But not for the first time in these situations, the side playing home away from home is on a hiding to nothing. The Roos might be 17th on the ladder, but there's one team below them, and it's Sunday's opponent, which has won only one game for the season. A North Melbourne victory will be exactly what is expected of the Roos. Lose to the Eagles, and a well-worn debate will kickstart again. Just a few days after the last one. St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has been stirring the pot quite a bit lately. His reference to Gold Coast as the AFL's "nepo baby" the other week had the Suns seething. And his comments about clubs moving home games made last February were dragged out and dusted off after his Saints beat Melbourne in Alice Springs last Sunday. "Once you start selling your home games interstate you are hanging your shingle out the front that says you are not a serious footy club," Lyon said back then. And that remark certainly carried more weight after St Kilda inflicted Melbourne's third straight loss in an Alice Springs "home game". MORE AFL NEWS That could prove costly indeed, given the Demons are already two games outside the top eight after having lost their first five games of the season. But is it always that simple? Lyon's own St Kilda, for example, like Hawthorn, played "home" games in Launceston from 2001. But after six seasons, at the end of 2006, the Saints bailed, for football rather than financial reasons. Hawthorn promptly relished the opportunity to be the only AFL presence in the city, and is still ensconced there, having signed another two-year extension in February worth about $9.1 million. Those Tassie home games certainly weren't worrying the Hawks too much when they won the 2008 premiership, nor that famous flag hat-trick from 2013-15. And while it's easy for the likes of Lyon to stand firm on the question of home venues and their importance to a club's heart and soul, how can a club accurately calculate just how much a lower ladder finish will cost it in pure dollar terms were it to sell home games? That is a hard figure indeed to estimate, and a dangerous one to play guessing games with, particularly if you're North Melbourne, which has historically always had one of the smaller support bases, small even during the club's most successful eras of the 1970s and 1990s. Wouldn't any responsible administration and board be accepting the $2 million rather than banking on one or two of 23 home and away games being played at a "real" home making all the difference in football terms? North Melbourne has played that game of hope before without any tangible return. Indeed, it won its 1996 premiership the same year it came within a whisker of merging with Fitzroy. So you can't blame it now for looking primarily at dollar signs rather than a slightly better chance at merely grabbing four match points.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Carlton, Fitzroy and Brisbane great Robert Walls did it his way – in life and in death
The Walls family statement was succinct: 'Robert did it his way and chose to end a fight that had seen him spend more than 250 nights in hospital in the past two years.' He always did it his way. But there were other influences that shaped the way he played, the way he coached, the way he lived and ultimately, the way he died. It was the uncompromising ways of Ron Barassi. It was the imperial Carlton of the 1970s. It was the pitiless, often violent sport of that era. It was the wretched death of his wife, Erin, who succumbed to lung cancer in 2006. It was the Brunswick he grew up in. It was the French village he retired to. As a 15-year-old, he was gawky, gangly and nervous as hell as he rode his bike to training at Princes Park. But he had good timing. It was the summer of 1966 and Carlton was poised to be a powerhouse. Ron Barassi – much like Walls himself as a coach later on – was not a man to be trifled with. He demanded perfection and total commitment. He had some of the greatest footballers of the generation at his disposal. But he also had young players like Walls – players who were malleable, who would run through brick walls for him and who could be relied upon on the big stage. Advertisement Related: From the Pocket: Richmond find their aura as rebuild roars ahead of schedule Walls had a wonderful playing career at Carlton. At the age of 16, he booted a goal with his first kick. He ended up playing in three premierships, and captained the club. After being well held in the first half of the 1970 grand final, he played a key role in one of the most famous games ever played. He was wiry, wily, and tough. As a coach, initially at Fitzroy, he was a mirror of Barassi in two ways – he was uncompromising in what he expected from his players, and he was an innovator. He was the architect behind 'the huddle' from kick outs, eschewing bombing to the same ruckman every time play stopped. The club didn't have a hook to hang itself on, but it was rich in talent and spirit. They played in finals three of the five years he was there, and they were desperately unlucky in several of them. His old club came calling. By then, John Elliott was one of the most powerful men in football, and touted as a future prime minister. Walls had a lot more to play with than he did at Fitzroy. He had Steve Kernahan, one of the best leaders and forwards in the country, a host of crack recruits from South Australia and a band of willing goers from Carlton's metropolitan and country zones. In 1987, in stifling heat, his Blues ran all over the top of the beaten-up Hawks. A few weeks later, in the infamous Battle of Britain, the exhibition game degenerated into a farce, a flurry of fists. Afterwards, he lashed out at Elliot in the rooms. It was that moment, he said, that he knew his cards were stamped at Carlton. Advertisement It was made official about 18 months later, on a dim day at Princes Park, when Warwick Capper, who'd done bugger all at Brisbane and who hadn't kicked over 35 metres in 10 years, nailed a last-minute shot from outside 50. Elliot, who was in Portugal, sacked Walls the next day. At the Brisbane Bears, he walked into a club in complete disarray. The club had been run by complete charlatans. Prior to games, he often walked on the beach at Surfers Paradise, handing out free tickets. But he quickly shipped the playing list into shape. These days, if you said some of the things he said, or copied some of his training methods, you'd probably have the police at your door. He refused to accept mediocrity, or half measures. His training sessions and his sprays were ferocious. He made Shane Strempel, a less than professional player partial to a night out and a sneaky dart, stand in a makeshift boxing ring and be pounded by his teammates. Significantly, several of the players he coached at Brisbane went on to be successful senior coaches themselves. They all later reflected on the influence Walls had on their playing and coaching careers – on the discipline he instilled and on the standards he implemented. The careers of Michael Voss, Chris Scott, Craig McRae, Nathan Buckley and Justin Leppitsch all owe a lot to the teachings of Robert Walls. At Richmond in 1996 and 1997, he coached a typical Tigers team of that era – talented and passionately supported but perennially on the fringes of making finals. The club was riven by factional turmoil and Walls was not a man suited to that. He slotted seamlessly into commentary, where he was a stern but fair observer, with a good eye for tactics and an even keener eye for shirkers and squibs. Heaven help the young footballer who dropped his head or pulled out of a contest when Robert Walls was on special comments. Walls battled acute lymphoblastic leukemia since being diagnosed in September 2023. When it returned, he chose voluntary assisted dying over a second cancer fight. He had seen the horrific toll cancer took on his wife. On Thursday, he was universally remembered as a teacher and a competitor, a hard man but a fair man, a man much loved, much feared and dearly missed.
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Carlton, Fitzroy and Brisbane great Robert Walls did it his way – in life and in death
The Walls family statement was succinct: 'Robert did it his way and chose to end a fight that had seen him spend more than 250 nights in hospital in the past two years.' He always did it his way. But there were other influences that shaped the way he played, the way he coached, the way he lived and ultimately, the way he died. It was the uncompromising ways of Ron Barassi. It was the imperial Carlton of the 1970s. It was the pitiless, often violent sport of that era. It was the wretched death of his wife, Erin, who succumbed to lung cancer in 2006. It was the Brunswick he grew up in. It was the French village he retired to. As a 15-year-old, he was gawky, gangly and nervous as hell as he rode his bike to training at Princes Park. But he had good timing. It was the summer of 1966 and Carlton was poised to be a powerhouse. Ron Barassi – much like Walls himself as a coach later on – was not a man to be trifled with. He demanded perfection and total commitment. He had some of the greatest footballers of the generation at his disposal. But he also had young players like Walls – players who were malleable, who would run through brick walls for him and who could be relied upon on the big stage. Walls had a wonderful playing career at Carlton. At the age of 16, he booted a goal with his first kick. He ended up playing in three premierships, and captained the club. After being well held in the first half of the 1970 grand final, he played a key role in one of the most famous games ever played. He was wiry, wily, and tough. As a coach, initially at Fitzroy, he was a mirror of Barassi in two ways – he was uncompromising in what he expected from his players, and he was an innovator. He was the architect behind 'the huddle' from kick outs, eschewing bombing to the same ruckman every time play stopped. The club didn't have a hook to hang itself on, but it was rich in talent and spirit. They played in finals three of the five years he was there, and they were desperately unlucky in several of them. His old club came calling. By then, John Elliott was one of the most powerful men in football, and touted as a future prime minister. Walls had a lot more to play with than he did at Fitzroy. He had Steve Kernahan, one of the best leaders and forwards in the country, a host of crack recruits from South Australia and a band of willing goers from Carlton's metropolitan and country zones. In 1987, in stifling heat, his Blues ran all over the top of the beaten-up Hawks. A few weeks later, in the infamous Battle of Britain, the exhibition game degenerated into a farce, a flurry of fists. Afterwards, he lashed out at Elliot in the rooms. It was that moment, he said, that he knew his cards were stamped at Carlton. It was made official about 18 months later, on a dim day at Princes Park, when Warwick Capper, who'd done bugger all at Brisbane and who hadn't kicked over 35 metres in 10 years, nailed a last-minute shot from outside 50. Elliot, who was in Portugal, sacked Walls the next day. At the Brisbane Bears, he walked into a club in complete disarray. The club had been run by complete charlatans. Prior to games, he often walked on the beach at Surfers Paradise, handing out free tickets. But he quickly shipped the playing list into shape. These days, if you said some of the things he said, or copied some of his training methods, you'd probably have the police at your door. He refused to accept mediocrity, or half measures. His training sessions and his sprays were ferocious. He made Shane Strempel, a less than professional player partial to a night out and a sneaky dart, stand in a makeshift boxing ring and be pounded by his teammates. Significantly, several of the players he coached at Brisbane went on to be successful senior coaches themselves. They all later reflected on the influence Walls had on their playing and coaching careers – on the discipline he instilled and on the standards he implemented. The careers of Michael Voss, Chris Scott, Craig McRae, Nathan Buckley and Justin Leppitsch all owe a lot to the teachings of Robert Walls. Sign up to From the Pocket: AFL Weekly Jonathan Horn brings expert analysis on the week's biggest AFL stories after newsletter promotion At Richmond in 1996 and 1997, he coached a typical Tigers team of that era – talented and passionately supported but perennially on the fringes of making finals. The club was riven by factional turmoil and Walls was not a man suited to that. He slotted seamlessly into commentary, where he was a stern but fair observer, with a good eye for tactics and an even keener eye for shirkers and squibs. Heaven help the young footballer who dropped his head or pulled out of a contest when Robert Walls was on special comments. Walls battled acute lymphoblastic leukemia since being diagnosed in September 2023. When it returned, he chose voluntary assisted dying over a second cancer fight. He had seen the horrific toll cancer took on his wife. On Thursday, he was universally remembered as a teacher and a competitor, a hard man but a fair man, a man much loved, much feared and dearly missed.
