VFL Taking Over

[boydogs]

I've noticed a lot of attention on the VFL side in the last few weeks, not just on here but from the club as well. It's understandable to be excited that a team comprised mostly of AFL listed youngsters is doing well, as was the case in the Williamstown days, but it seems to have graduated beyond that to be a more attractive product in its own right.

The club's Facebook page posted the AFL and VFL side teams in the same post. Inside The Pack this week had extended footage of the Fletcher Roberts mark and goal.

In the GWS match committee thread, posters are suggesting Cordy is being rewarded by being dropped to the VFL to play in the finals and at the Whitten Oval, and that they would prefer not to promote our better players from the VFL side to the AFL side so we can win in the VFL finals

"Footscray" has been used much more liberally including by Peter Gordon in his Star Weekly column and Robert Murphy in his articles to describe the club as a whole, not just the VFL side

Tom Young is his Star Weekly column wrote that he has enjoyed his footy playing in the VFL this year much more and that it has made him fall in love with the game again

Several posters in the Friday Night Footy thread and elsewhere have posted their frustrations with the way the AFL is run, suggesting they enjoy VFL games more and that we should just concentrate on the VFL and forget about the AFL

Some questions -

- Do you think the attention the VFL side is receiving is detracting from the support the AFL side is receiving?

- Has the VFL side been too much of a success, such that it is doing more harm than good to the club by leading supporters to withdraw from attending our AFL games? This concern was raised when having our own VFL side was first suggested

- Is it just that we are starved of success, with no finals since 2010, together with the novelty of the Footscray name and Whitten Oval footy returning that is distracting people?

- Is there merit in pulling the pin on the AFL side, acknowledging we can no longer compete with the bigger clubs, and competing in the VFL competition only?

[bulldogtragic]

We are one and the same. I think people who got the privilege of seeing Footscray at WO are excited because it takes us back to a happier time. People liking talking about what makes them happy. We are all very happy, so were talking about it.

We are a fixture of the AFL, we are not going anywhere. But. If anything ever happened my heart would still follow Footscray in the VFL and I'd probably not watch AFL very often.

Can someone ask President Gordon to ensure the song is 'sons of the SCRAY', not the AFL song. Small thing, but it's important to me.

[boydogs]

We are one and the same.


Can someone ask President Gordon to ensure the song is 'sons of the SCRAY', not the AFL song. Small thing, but it's important to me.

I see that suggestion as divisive. It's been 17 years since the name change and many people don't know the club by any other name. Supporters outside of Footscray in other western suburbs may see that as a step away from them. In the VFL competition it makes sense to be Footscray when Werribee & Williamstown have their own sides but if the VFL side is going to be part of and assisting the AFL club then I think it needs to be seen as the same entity and not a competing product

[SonofScray]

It is. The Footscray Football Club fields teams in the AFL and VFL.

[bulldogtragic]

I see that suggestion as divisive. It's been 17 years since the name change and many people don't know the club by any other name. Supporters outside of Footscray in other western suburbs may see that as a step away from them. In the VFL competition it makes sense to be Footscray when Werribee & Williamstown have their own sides but if the VFL side is going to be part of and assisting the AFL club then I think it needs to be seen as the same entity and not a competing product

A song with 'scray' in lieu of 'west' is hardly divisive. It's a question of utilitarianism.

It's also a question of Peter putting down a million dollars to personally fund the VFL side and he can call us the 'fugly flying arsefish monkey rooters' if he likes. 'Sons of the ffamr'. If you go on any given week and talk to Peter for even 30 seconds, as he's usually around talking to our people, you'll understand that everything is awesome.

[bulldogtragic]

It is. The Footscray Football Club fields teams in the AFL and VFL.

Yep, 'western bulldogs' is branding (trading as).

[bornadog]

Yep, 'western bulldogs' is branding (trading as).

Last week PG said the senior team will not be going back to the name Footscray on the field.

[bulldogtragic]

Last week PG said the senior team will not be going back to the name Footscray on the field.

And nor should we that's us now. Like divorces, deaths, kids, jobs, illness etc, you get to where you get to. I think it's the best of both worlds. I feel like reading some of Webby's posts on Saturday to prepare myself for Sunday. I can only hope since all my 'aunts Joyce' (three I think were Joyce) are now passed that someone's aunties are screaming 'kick the bloody thing' sitting around the ground and can lecture me about how good Teddy was. :)

[Remi Moses]

The Western Bulldogs Footscray name debate bores me to tears.
I guess what most here perceive is the AFL is just a giant ogre at the moment who seem pre-occupied with non Aussie rules markets.
Plus you have the lopsided draw and awful time slots, and it's just so clinical now.
For me it's all good the VFL team doing well, but the objective should be foremost the development of our players for the rigours of AFL football.
I guess it also has a community local footy feel, and the experience at Etihad is sterile in the extreme.

[boydogs]

The Western Bulldogs Footscray name debate bores me to tears.

That's not what I wanted this to be about


I guess what most here perceive is the AFL is just a giant ogre at the moment who seem pre-occupied with non Aussie rules markets.
Plus you have the lopsided draw and awful time slots, and it's just so clinical now.
For me it's all good the VFL team doing well, but the objective should be foremost the development of our players for the rigours of AFL football.
I guess it also has a community local footy feel, and the experience at Etihad is sterile in the extreme.

Sounds like you're in two minds a bit, would that be accurate?

[Remi Moses]

That's not what I wanted this to be about
Sorry about that.


Sounds like you're in two minds a bit, would that be accurate?

Obviously the AFL team is the main interest, but enjoying the retrospective aspect of the VFL.

[GVGjr]

I did express caution about the naming of our VFL side because I thought it had the potential to move supporters away from the AFL especially if games were played at the Whitten Oval.

I'll follow both sides but I can see why some might just follow the VFL more

[SonofScray]

I did express caution about the naming of our VFL side because I thought it had the potential to move supporters away from the AFL especially if games were played at the Whitten Oval.

I'll follow both sides but I can see why some might just follow the VFL more

I don't believe there is any doubt that this has happened at some level, however you'd expect that everyone is still a member of the Club. So long as the Club maintains its discipline in keeping an AFL flag the goal, which I think it absolutely is doing I can't see the growth of interest and passion for the reserves being a bad thing for the Club.

I've only missed a few VFL games this year, mostly due to clashes with the Firsts. I have to say though, I haven't felt as good about the Club and as close to the players and other fans as I have this year since the early 90s. That feeling sits on the back of the decision to call the team Footscray and play out of the Whitten Oval. As these kids move into the top tier, that feeling is going to carry over.

[G-Mo77]

I did express caution about the naming of our VFL side because I thought it had the potential to move supporters away from the AFL especially if games were played at the Whitten Oval.

I'll follow both sides but I can see why some might just follow the VFL more

I know which game I'm looking forward to more on the weekend. This is my first trip to WO this season though but I can see why locals would prefer to go down to WO as apposed to Etihad.

[always right]

I know which game I'm looking forward to more on the weekend. This is my first trip to WO this season though but I can see why locals would prefer to go down to WO as apposed to Etihad.

Hardly a fair comparison is it. One team is playing in a final back at our spiritual home in their first year as the re-born Footscray. The other team is playing at the sterile Etihad Stadium against a team no-one is interested in for four points that mean very little. Thank god Gia is playing his last game......I mean that in a nice way.

Personally I've enjoyed following Footscray in their own right this year even though I have only attended one match. It does take me back to yesteryear when you watched the reserves to see who is playing well, who has the potential to be elevated to the seniors, and which young recruit looks like developing into the next bulldog champion. This is exactly how I see Footscray now.

Let's wait until the Western Bulldogs are back competing in finals before we debate whether the Footscray side is more meaningful to supporters than the Western Bulldogs.

[soupman]

I'm sure a major contributing factor this week is that the seniors are playing in a meaningless match against a meaningless side in a meaningless timeslot. Aside from the Giansiracusa send off it isn't the most appealing match of our season to attend, even if we are the favourites to win.

To me the Footscray games seem to be more fun and less sterile, and the prospect of a full Whitten Oval compared to Etihad stadium being at 50% capacity for our bigger games is drastically different.

[Daughter of the West]

Everybody love a winner, and that's what the VFL side is doing at the moment. It's also a far better scenario than asking why supporters are not interested in either side...

[Murphy'sLore]

I think this is a really interesting discussion. Personally, as someone who didn't grow up in Footscray, was indifferent to football and thus is carrying no nostalgia baggage, I can report that I've attended almost as many VFL games as AFL this year, and had a much better time at those games overall. But it hasn't made me feel estranged from the AFL team, if anything it has made me feel more intimately involved. I have a better sense of the two teams forming a cohesive whole. It's easier to follow the development of the youngsters and see where they might fit in the AFL side in future (eg the possible Campbell/Cordy tandem plan).

Yes, it's more enjoyable to watch a winning side than a struggling one (obviously) and the WO is a far more congenial and intimate venue than soulless Etihad. But I think the enthusiasm for the Footscray side reflects a deepened love for the club as a whole. The success of the VFL side feels like a harbinger of future success for the seniors -- a window into our future.

[Mofra]

I'm sure a major contributing factor this week is that the seniors are playing in a meaningless match against a meaningless side in a meaningless timeslot. Aside from the Giansiracusa send off it isn't the most appealing match of our season to attend, even if we are the favourites to win.

To me the Footscray games seem to be more fun and less sterile, and the prospect of a full Whitten Oval compared to Etihad stadium being at 50% capacity for our bigger games is drastically different.
Nailed it.
I'll be definitely be going to the VFL game, and only "probably" going to the AFL game.
Gia is a ripping bloke off the field too - if it wasn't his send off, I probably wouldn't be going.

[1eyedog]

I get much more excited about Stinger running through two players and kicking a goal in the firsts than I do about Hunter kicking a miracle goal in the seconds. If the VFL team win the GF this year the Bulldogs still haven't won a flag since 54 and that's what matters most to me now - the senior team winning a flag. Given the above, the VFL team playing a final at home has a high dose of nostalgia and I am as excited as I have been this year about watching a game of footy.

[SonofScray]

I get much more excited about Stinger running through two players and kicking a goal in the firsts than I do about Hunter kicking a miracle goal in the seconds. If the VFL team win the GF this year the Bulldogs still haven't won a flag since 54 and that's what matters most to me now - the senior team winning a flag. Given the above, the VFL team playing a final at home has a high dose of nostalgia and I am as excited as I have been this year about watching a game of footy.

Absolutely. Anyone trying to link a successful tilt at the VFL flag with the '54 win is kidding themselves and showing the Club a great disrespect.

[Twodogs]

I get much more excited about Stinger running through two players and kicking a goal in the firsts than I do about Hunter kicking a miracle goal in the seconds. If the VFL team win the GF this year the Bulldogs still haven't won a flag since 54 and that's what matters most to me now - the senior team winning a flag. Given the above, the VFL team playing a final at home has a high dose of nostalgia and I am as excited as I have been this year about watching a game of footy.


Absolutely. Anyone trying to link a successful tilt at the VFL flag with the '54 win is kidding themselves and showing the Club a great disrespect.


This one would go with the VFA flags and make it ten flags in the second tier competition I reckon.

[Eastdog]

I'm still more interested in the senior side than the reserves side. Don't get me wrong i think it's great that we have our own stand alone VFL team named Footscray playing out of the Whitten Oval and hope we do win a VFL premiership but its not the same as an AFL premiership which is in the premier competition today. I hope in the coming years we get a better deal at Etihad and play more games at the MCG. It's unacceptable that we only play once at the home of footy the MCG this season.

[KT31]

I think this is actually just a case that we have a hint of success in the reserves, if the seniors were in the same position we would hardly know the reserves existed.

[Webby]

I think this is a really interesting discussion. Personally, as someone who didn't grow up in Footscray, was indifferent to football and thus is carrying no nostalgia baggage, I can report that I've attended almost as many VFL games as AFL this year, and had a much better time at those games overall. But it hasn't made me feel estranged from the AFL team, if anything it has made me feel more intimately involved. I have a better sense of the two teams forming a cohesive whole. It's easier to follow the development of the youngsters and see where they might fit in the AFL side in future (eg the possible Campbell/Cordy tandem plan).

Yes, it's more enjoyable to watch a winning side than a struggling one (obviously) and the WO is a far more congenial and intimate venue than soulless Etihad. But I think the enthusiasm for the Footscray side reflects a deepened love for the club as a whole. The success of the VFL side feels like a harbinger of future success for the seniors -- a window into our future.

Actually just passing through West a Footscray station after a heavy night out. Wouldn't normally post in this state, but you've got me. You've nailed it. Well done.

[Eastdog]

I think this is actually just a case that we have a hint of success in the reserves, if the seniors were in the same position we would hardly know the reserves existed.

Yeah I tend to agree with you KT31.

[Eastdog]

Actually just passing through West a Footscray station after a heavy night out. Wouldn't normally post in this state, but you've got me. You've nailed it. Well done.

How many did you have Webby :D

[Rocco Jones]

I don't get the Footscray being divisive to the Western Bulldogs. Two main points:

1- Sure there are a few who are more pro Footscray VFL team than Western AFL team. I knowing some. However these guys were also mainly lost as AFL fans anyway. I think having the VFL team will drag more in than lose fans. It promotes our club as getting back to our roots.

2- The Footscray team is winning a lot and the AFL team is losing a lot. Winners > losers. As many have said, when (hopefully) the AFL side starts winning, I am sure fans will be pretty keen.

Also, please join my Footscray Facebook group in my signature!