Regardless of their club allegiance, AFL fans across the country tend to share pretty similar views on our great game. or signup to continue reading That is, until it comes to state borders. There's a fundamental difference of mindset between how followers of clubs in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia particularly see various rivalries across the competition.
And it was reinforced again last weekend. It was a bad few days for some big Victorian clubs, as Collingwood lost a nailbiter in Sydney, Essendon lost the unloseable at home to Gold Coast, and Carlton was beaten up by Hawthorn and picked up a swag of injuries. The downturn for those three traditional powers in recent weeks has been quite stunning.
After Round 15, the Blues, Bombers and Magpies were second, third and fourth on the ladder respectively. After last weekend, all three are outside the top eight, with only Carlton any more than a remote chance now of playing finals. As a result, not for the first time, there was a catalogue of social media snark from Perth and Adelaide headed Melbourne's way all about a "Big V disaster", how will those arrogant Vics cope, etc.
, etc. And not for the first time, that betrayed a fundamental misunderstanding of how us Victorians do things. If those dealing out the memes had bothered to check the various footy fan forums around the internet, they would have surely seen the collective yelps of delight from Victorian supporters who almost weekly take great delight in the downfalls of either the Blues, Pies or Dons.
All three failing at once and perhaps all missing out on finals? For fans of other Victorian clubs, that's the stuff of X-rated fantasy. What footy fans from WA and SA often seem not to be able to comprehend, is that if you're a Victorian fan who doesn't follow the Blues, Dons or Pies, or even the likes of Richmond or Hawthorn, you'd take the prospect of an AFL flag going interstate anytime ahead of the irritation of it going to one of your local rivals. Trust me, non-Victorians, if you barrack for a Victorian club which won't be involved in finals in 2024, the sight of Sydney, Port Adelaide, GWS, Brisbane and Fremantle filling five of the top six spots on the ladder last Sunday evening would have been a beautiful one.
The flag leaving Victoria? Honestly, we don't care. Not only are we unfazed every time a non-Victorian team walks away with an AFL premiership (and that's been going on for more than 30 years now) we'd actually prefer it to having one of our local rivals lording it over us. Particularly this year, given how long and loudly Collingwood celebrated last year's success.
Actually, to be fair, it's not only non-Victorians who often appear not to get this. There are still some Melbourne-based media outlets who annually attempt to stoke the fires of state parochialism for the sake of some clicks. It was going on again this week as one newspaper asked: "Worst finals ever?" My response is that could only have been thought up either by someone without a clue, from beyond the Murray River, or who's been living in a different universe for the last three decades.
I mean, this is hardly a recent phenomenon. As long ago as 1991, there was no desperate defending of the barricades when West Coast became the first non-Victorian club into a grand final. There were plenty of deserved plaudits for the Eagles when they won the flag the following year against Geelong, and again in 1994.
Just two years after that, Sydney, having gone (as South Melbourne) without a premiership since 1933, had the bulk of the unaligned cheering them on against North Melbourne. That was even more the case when Brisbane upset Essendon in 2001. And so on.
In 2004, when Victorians contemplated for the first time a grand final without a local representative, one major newspaper got too clever by half by insisting that the footy public wouldn't even bother watching, and was roundly pilloried for the suggestion. We're just not that parochial. As if to underline that, 2004 was merely the first of three AFL grand finals in a row contested by two non-Victorian clubs, followed by those two epics between West Coast and Sydney, still roundly recalled as two of the best grand finals of the AFL era, and which played to packed audiences.
In 2006, Melbourne hosted only three of nine finals, and none at all between the first week and grand final day. Somehow, we survived. Every time some local politician feebly insists during grand final week that a Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond or Hawk fan jump on the bandwagon of a rival they truly loathe simply because they reside in the same state, they are routinely called out for at best naivety, at worst downright ignorance.
So listen up, non-Vics. We're happy for you. Really.
The Swans, having lost their last three grand finals, would be popular premiers in these parts. Brisbane and Port Adelaide have been banging on the door a long time, too. The Giants are good to watch, and who doesn't love the Purple Haze of Freo barring Eagles fans? It's more than likely one of that bunch will be a lot of Melburnians' "second team" this September.
We certainly won't be nursing bruised pride because only a handful of local clubs were good enough to earn a crack at the premiership. Indeed, mention Carlton, Collingwood or Essendon, and the most likely response outside those clubs' rabid fan bases will be: "Please, anyone but those guys." Rohan Connolly is one of the most experienced and respected sporting journalists in the country, particularly passionate about football, and with a 40-year track record of observing it at close quarters in print, online, and on radio and TV.
Rohan Connolly is one of the most experienced and respected sporting journalists in the country, particularly passionate about football, and with a 40-year track record of observing it at close quarters in print, online, and on radio and TV. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis.
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