The Melbourne Football Club is poised to end its controversial deal with Alice Springs, with growing voices within the club calling for an end to the Northern Territory contract.
Senior coach Steven King’s recent comments — following the team’s Round 12 loss to the Giants in the Red Centre — have sparked a broader conversation within the club about its future in Alice Springs. The problem for Melbourne, of course, is that they don’t win there, and following another devastating loss in the NT, King made his position clear.
“Personally, selfishly, for me as a senior coach, I’d love to play every game at MCG. That’s our home,” King said after the GWS game. “But I completely understand the club’s position and our responsibility to grow the game.”
The results speak for themselves. Melbourne has lost every single game in Alice Springs over the past four years, despite some strong seasons for the club during that period.
“I was critical of Steven for not owning the sale of that game and that money that the Melbourne Football Club bring in,” Wilson said on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters on Tuesday night. “But it seems like his voice is one of many growing voices, that is going to see an end to that deal with the Northern Territory and the Melbourne Football Club.”
Melbourne is currently weighing up its options. Can they afford to next year, because the contract is now up, forego a million dollars and play ... the game in Melbourne if the AFL can guarantee that they can play that game at the MCG? Wilson said it is what the members wanted and “it’s what their coach wants”.
“The Melbourne board, I’m told now, is feeling more and more aggrieved about it (too),” Wilson said. If the AFL can guarantee the Demons can play the game at the MCG instead, the financial gap would be reduced as the club would still receive revenue from a home game in Melbourne.
Sources indicate the board is feeling increasingly aggrieved about the arrangement and will meet with the football department in the coming week to discuss the club’s options. The situation is complicated by the fact that just months ago, Melbourne’s recently departed CEO Paul Guerra was looking at selling two home games. Guerra’s private view was that he wanted to find another game in Darwin, a decision the board was reportedly unaware of at the time.
A crucial meeting is scheduled for two weeks’ time between the Melbourne Football Club and the AFL to discuss the issue. 7SPORT expert Tom Morris called it a “a money decision versus a football decision”.
And Wilson said the decision possibly represented a shift in priorities for Melbourne, with the club now focusing on winning rather than revenue. “And it’s a football-focused president who, as my understanding is, looked at these results and has gone, ‘why are we doing this?’” Wilson said.
The AFL wants to maintain three games in the Northern Territory every year, as part of a $9 million three-year deal with the NT government. And the AFL would love for Melbourne to stay in Alice Springs. But with crowds surging to 90,000 at the MCG for the Big Freeze game, and Melbourne’s home record at the venue strong, the club is positioning itself as a serious finals contender.
“Well, I just love it,” Kane Cornes said. “If I’m a Melbourne supporter sitting home watching The Agenda Setters (tonight), I’m going, ‘OK, we’re serious again now. We’re serious.’ Did you see the beanies in the stands yesterday? Did you see the 90,000 there? Do you see our record at the MCG? Do you see our crowds coming from everywhere?” Cornes said. “Twelve months ago, I don’t know, 35,000 people on a Sunday afternoon in Melbourne for just your standard game. Now they’re all turning up. Their record is enormous. This is a serious footy team with a serious coach with a ruthlessness about it. We saw that with Paul Guerra. OK, CEO’s not our guy. Bang, we’re done. They’re now in a position I reckon, to be pretty aggressive with their list (too).”
However, Melbourne still face challenges off the field. The club hasn’t settled its legal situation with Guerra and remains uncertain about its future home base. Until the Caulfield facility is locked in, Morris said the club may still struggle to attract big-name players despite its on-field success.
