13 July 2006

Roos are gone

| johnboy
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Thanks to Growling Ferret, here’s the letter sent to Kangaroos fans:

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Dear Member,

As you are well aware, the Kangaroos have played a package of home matches in secondary markets for the best part of a decade – most recently playing a package of three matches at Manuka Oval. This has been part of the club’s long-term plan for growing our brand and increasing our national support base.

I am writing to inform you that while we have had a great relationship in Canberra, the Board of the Kangaroos has taken the decision that we will not be renewing our contract with the ACT Government in 2007 and as such the Kangaroos will play a maximum of 10 games over the next three seasons on the Gold Coast.

Our decision on this matter was not made lightly. It was very difficult, and the issues very complex. We undertook an enormous amount of research and due diligence.

In the end we had to decide – in the long term interests of the club – that the opportunities for greater exposure of our brand on the Gold Coast and the potential for growth outweighed the benefits of remaining in the present arrangement in Canberra.

Throughout the decision making process the prime considerations of the Board have been the Kangaroos members, supporters, and the future growth and success of this football club.

We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the tremendous contribution of the ACT Government, the AFL, AFL New South Wales, AFL Canberra, the local football community, our corporate partners and most importantly our members.

We have had fantastic support in Canberra and wanted to let our Kangaroos supporters know how much we value their contribution and support to the success of the club and the growth of football in the region. We sincerely hope this support continues.

We are sure our joint commitment over the past six years will provide a strong foundation for AFL football to continue to prosper in the ACT region.

Again, I wanted on the behalf of the Board and the Club to acknowledge your support of the Kangaroos and we look forward to continuing our strong relationship with our Canberra-based supporters.

Regards,

Graham Duff AM
Kangaroos Chairman

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Absent Diane9:29 am 27 Jul 06

thats one of the reasons I could never relate to victorians when living in melbourne. Their inability to see past the the border of their own state.

Besides, if you weren’t a one-issue blow-in, you’d know that this isn’t a Rugby League site – we’re a Rugby Union site. Better class of thuggery, dear boy…

Maybe if they’d ever committed to us we’d have committed to them.

EDIT;

We’re glad some people are happy we’re going cos we’re pretty happy to be going also.Was never behind the Canberra and this situation was always going to come along sooner or later.You can’t turn boiled lollies into chocolates.As I said, with the amount of time the Roos would be flying up doing clinics, promotions, seminars mostly in their free time, to be getting 8-10,000 to a game regularly wasn’t cutting it.Go back to your NRL and Super league crap.

Heavs

You really are coming across as a knob.There was a consistent them through the truths posts and the theme was REALITY.You want Collingwood or Carlton up there regularly? HAHAHA good luck champ.The Kangaroos can’t afford to stay there and Canberra don’t deserve an AFL team.They’ve never got behind it, only 1,500 brought memberships, conclusion = stuff ’em.

They are redeveloping Carrara

Gabba is in Brisbane. Carrara holds the same or less than Manuka. It is not signage free like Manuka. Short sighted and stupid. Good riddance though. Whores.

Hate to say but big mistake to think that the Gold coast is growing just because of retirees. As I said before the population is now 90,000 more than canberra. The game between the blues and lions at the gabba was a sell out (horrible game though). The place is really changing (and humming with energy)

you can’t blame the roos for moving to Queensland –
growing population and all… not to mention the fact that half of Victoria’s population can be found there during the winter months.

you are damn right TT. my wish for carlton to come here was of course purely selfish.

Carlton will NEVER transfer a home game here cos it will cost them money – t he most they can get to a game here is 15,000, their smallest crowds in Melbourne even when they are in spoon form are usually at least 20,000 – god the battle for the spoon next week will get 40,000 as both teams supporters see it as a game they can win

posted for the trebley:

The Gold Coast’s population is going quickly yes – cos of retirees

AND the Lions have made Qld AFL aware cos they won 3 flags in a row recently – will see in about 3 years time how many supporters of AFL there are when the Lions languish at the bottom of the ladder for a few years – hello the Lions used to play at Carrara and got SFA crowds, the Roos are hardly the team on the way up to maintain the Lions’ momentum

so waiting for someone to kick me in the head hehe – i’d better put my carlton beanie (yes i do have one!) on to cushion the blow.

and fevola is on the top of the goal kicking table too!

thetruth, the mighty blues might be having a bad run at the moment but don’t forget we (and essendon) are the most successful club in that we hold the most premiership flags overall. go the blues!

Barking toad suggestion might be what is needed for the pies to win a premiership! oh thaty used to be so much easier to say in the past (as a blues supporter)……..

Growling Ferret2:55 pm 14 Jul 06

You talking a lot of sense Barking Toad…

Shame El Pres won’t allow the mighty pies to return to Canberra – they would need a 50,000 seat stadium to fit the magpie army…

The Gold coast has changed quite a lot since the bears era (the the Giants / seagulls in the NRL). Over 70,000 more people – now bigger than canberra by about 90,000 people. the lions have made QLD very AFL aware.

things are moving so fast in that region that people recollection of what they are like are out of date within 12 months.

The kangaroos have got the pick region to align themselves with no doubt about it

barking toad1:47 pm 14 Jul 06

Lexus Centre

that was a passionate lot of garbbled mess….

But does anyone think that if Canberra’s population was growing at 14,000 people per year (as the Gold Coast is) that the roos would have moved (or we may not have had to accept the roos in the first place, because carlton or melbourne would have seen the opportunity). By way of comparison our population only grows by about 1,900 pa (under the national average).

Which market would you like to hinge your clubs future on?

No I do like canberra a lot – but we tend to get a bit complacent about what it means to build a city – the old attitude that the Governemnt will look after us is still here, despite self government for 17 years. I am seeing everything slip away (Cannons, comets, cosmos, kangaroos, schools, population, raiders having trouble convincing people to live in canberra, John James hospital going broke, Government going broke). The shift has been on for some time and our response is to buy stuff to fill the gaps not work on the underlying things that attract stuff. The main problem is exactly what has happened here if it can be bought once it can be bought twice.

The reason that the AFL pointed the roos the QLD is because the underlying fundementals of growth are there not here.

barking toad1:12 pm 14 Jul 06

The Norf Melbourne Pauperoos and the Carlton Bluebeggars should have been made merge at the start of this season and the whole lot relocated to the Gold Coast where the strength of the emerging market could give them the level of the support that same market gave the Bears.

Once that merged team fails, replace them with a merger of Snorethorn and Smellbum and that failure will leave us with a sustainable national competition of 12 teams.

I don’t think you like Canberra very much dude. There is a consistent theme to your little posts.

I would say that the crowd for the game held earlier this year at Carrara is an indication of what the whores will be getting in coming years. Still less that 10K but without the benefit of a clean arena. Shortsighted on their part but most people would be glad they have left.

What opportunity?

To play at a ground that doesn’t look good on TV in front of 10,000 supporters (of which 8,000 don’t actually go for the team)in a market that is growing below the national average and where you have to deal with an amatuer hour government.

After five years the roos only have 1,500 members here – they will get that in the first 12 months in the Gold Coast. I have no doubt that in the future they will become the Gold Coast Kangaroo’s.

may not be the best for Canberra, but was the only sound commercial move they could make. My only concern is that Carlton didn’t take up the opportunity to play in the growth market.

good riddance to a nothing team. the roos suck.

i hope a far more interesting club like melbourne or carlton takes up this opportunity. go the blues!

barking toad11:10 am 14 Jul 06

“Dear Canberra Member,

as you are well aware, we have been prostituting ourselves in Canberra for some years by playing home games there because we can’t make enough money by playing home games in Melbourne.

We have now been courted by another suitor and can make more money by pulling up our panties in Canberra and dropping them on the Gold Coast in Queensland (well, not exactly on the coast, more inland).

We realise the 1500 Canberra members may be pissed off with this move but we don’t really give a fuck because we might be able to make up the loss in members from the Gold Coast. If we don’t, it doesn’t matter because our new suitor will just keep giving us money regardless.

We flirted with the Southport Football Club for a little while but the chance to become a fully maintained concubine of our new suitor was an opportunity not to be missed.

If our Canberra members, AFL Canberra or the ACT Government want to complain about our infidelity please don’t write to us at Arden Street. Contact Andrew Demitriou at AFL headquarters in Melbourne.

Andy reckons that as long as we are a compliant concubine everything will be sweet so we don’t really care.

Thank you for the opportunity of taking your money.

Yours Truly,
North Melbourne Kangaroos
(AFL Whores)”

Same with me G.F. Said they were a joke who were just in it for the money. Have fun Southport.

Growling Ferret9:44 pm 13 Jul 06

Heavs

Had a chat with someone seriously in the know today – their description of the Kangas as amateur hour and a old boys club were two of the nicer things that were said. He was almost pleased to see them go…

Ainslie will be happy – they can be the Tricolours again.
ACTEW may be happy – they can sponsor all Canberra Junior leagues instead of defacto government sponsorship of a professional AFL Club.

Lets just cross our fingers and hope this void is filled…

hope the AFL QLD is prepared to put up with as much shit as they gave AFL Canberra in the time they were here. Lazy bastards. Good riddance. And if it gets Carlton up here for a game or two even better i say.

Its good news because Carlton will fill the void and their jumper is ready make because the C in the CFC logo will stand for Canberra during local games.
The Kangaroos are just uncommitted nomads lured away by the same bait that that the Reds used to snarn a local sports star.

Don’t for one minute believe that it is quick bucks. The Kangaroos future will be secured when it finds a growing dynamic and hungary market in which to operate. The Gold Coast is that and Canberra is not – fact.

If the Government took our money and invested in the canberra product or took some of the planning limiters off (not in the “lets get snow way” of late). many people would choose to move to canberra and a team may see a future here.

Not helped by the Stabnhope “shrink yourself to greatness approach”

AFL Canberra wanted the hard word put on them a long time ago. They are money grubbing whores, have been since the day they pitched up here. Glad they are gone is the word I have.

hardly a surprise but very disappointing.

note – not a word on the afl continuing to promote afl in the act.

positives ? well i’d like to see 6 different teams play instead of 4 next year.

ultimately the roos chased the QUICK dollars. i imagine if theyd stayed and committed to canberra, they would cement themslves as the act afl team. do they expect ‘tradition’ and ‘club loyalty’ after 4 or 5 years ?

it’s inevitable they will leave melbourne – the question is have they jumped from a good long term home to quick bucks (i note the afl are tipping in several million to support the gold coast venture) to shore up short term problems ?

or is that Boo who? Wouldn’t waste my money on going to say bye? What is Stanhope going to put the money saved into now (did anyone tell him that by saving a kangaroo, we weren’t talking about actual wildlife??) Now who will the intrepid social reformer save now with your money?

Growling Ferret4:19 pm 13 Jul 06

Should their farewell game be an appropriate time to Boo a Roo?

Oh great another bunch of losers to throw your hard earned at!!!! Bloody hell if Canberra could support a team we would have one – stop living in a fools paradise get over it and watch Tuggers v Ainslie

Absent Diane3:56 pm 13 Jul 06

heard that the d’s might be looking at taking over…

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