bornadog
30-05-2015, 10:36 AM
Link (http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/western-bulldogs-eye-a-bite-of-friday-night-football-20150529-ghcds2.html)
http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/c/y/g/z/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.ghcds2.png/1432896920793.jpg
Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon says the team's encouraging form this season should warrant at least one Friday night match next season.
After a largely miserable 2014 campaign, the Dogs again do not feature in the league's marquee television slot – a spot that club sponsors crave.
However, the attacking style of play under new coach Luke Beveridge, which has so far helped to claim four wins, and a playing list boasting some of the league's elite young talent, means the Dogs should have a good case to put before free-to-air broadcaster Channel Seven and league executives once this season is done.
"Whilst the AFL doesn't set the fixture with the Bulldogs necessarily in mind, I have been really pleased with the fact that our members are turning up to games," Gordon said.
"I think we had four or five thousand more at our Freo game this year than for the equivalent game last year. We are pleased that is going on and we hope that some of the form that we have generated in 2015 might mean that we will merit at least one Friday night fixture on free-to-air sometime next year, even though we haven't managed to take one off some of the teams that are getting six or seven in 2015."
One club that has six this season - Carlton - may have as little as one or two matches next season. While the Blues remain a well-supported club, they are set to have a major rebuild, with a significant number of losses likely.
Gordon revealed that the Dogs are likely to break their membership record or more than 34,000. It stood at 32,215 as of Friday afternoon.
"We will probably have the highest membership we have ever had in 2015," he said.
"I am reasonably confident we will break 35 [thousand] as long as that trend continues from our point of view. It is showing growth in the right direction. That is important to us."
That membership will almost certainly grow should the Dogs end a three-game losing skid and re-energise their finals hopes by toppling Greater Western Sydney - and former skipper Ryan Griffen - at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Gordon, who says he holds no grudge towards Griffen, expects the two emerging playing lists to have some "epic" battles in the years to come, with each expecting to be a regular finalist.
"GWS have managed their list build really, really strategically. They have got, obviously, some of the finest players in the game and they have added to their stocks with some terrific players and they have had some terrific results," he said.
"We know we have a big challenge ahead of us on the weekend and we choose to believe that over the course of the next five to 10 years, there are going to be some epic struggles between two lists comprised of some of the better young players going around. We know they are focused on that, and we are focused on that, too."
http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/c/y/g/z/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.ghcds2.png/1432896920793.jpg
Western Bulldogs president Peter Gordon says the team's encouraging form this season should warrant at least one Friday night match next season.
After a largely miserable 2014 campaign, the Dogs again do not feature in the league's marquee television slot – a spot that club sponsors crave.
However, the attacking style of play under new coach Luke Beveridge, which has so far helped to claim four wins, and a playing list boasting some of the league's elite young talent, means the Dogs should have a good case to put before free-to-air broadcaster Channel Seven and league executives once this season is done.
"Whilst the AFL doesn't set the fixture with the Bulldogs necessarily in mind, I have been really pleased with the fact that our members are turning up to games," Gordon said.
"I think we had four or five thousand more at our Freo game this year than for the equivalent game last year. We are pleased that is going on and we hope that some of the form that we have generated in 2015 might mean that we will merit at least one Friday night fixture on free-to-air sometime next year, even though we haven't managed to take one off some of the teams that are getting six or seven in 2015."
One club that has six this season - Carlton - may have as little as one or two matches next season. While the Blues remain a well-supported club, they are set to have a major rebuild, with a significant number of losses likely.
Gordon revealed that the Dogs are likely to break their membership record or more than 34,000. It stood at 32,215 as of Friday afternoon.
"We will probably have the highest membership we have ever had in 2015," he said.
"I am reasonably confident we will break 35 [thousand] as long as that trend continues from our point of view. It is showing growth in the right direction. That is important to us."
That membership will almost certainly grow should the Dogs end a three-game losing skid and re-energise their finals hopes by toppling Greater Western Sydney - and former skipper Ryan Griffen - at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Gordon, who says he holds no grudge towards Griffen, expects the two emerging playing lists to have some "epic" battles in the years to come, with each expecting to be a regular finalist.
"GWS have managed their list build really, really strategically. They have got, obviously, some of the finest players in the game and they have added to their stocks with some terrific players and they have had some terrific results," he said.
"We know we have a big challenge ahead of us on the weekend and we choose to believe that over the course of the next five to 10 years, there are going to be some epic struggles between two lists comprised of some of the better young players going around. We know they are focused on that, and we are focused on that, too."