MCG staff working hard to provide a better fan experience after round 1 issues
After long waits for food and drinks in round 1, the MCG has responded and is promising a better fan experience this weekend.
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The MCG says it is working hard to provide a better fan experience at the footy this weekend after staff shortages caused extensive delays for food and beverage service during Round 1 matches.
Fans reported queuing up to 45 minutes to secure some hot chips or a beer last week amid hospitality staff shortages at the venue.
The AFL trumpeted bumper crowds across the opening rounds of the season, but many fans were left frustrated by long queues, a lack of parking and ticketing problems.
The MCG hosted four matches across five days during Round 1, severely testing the ground’s hospitality provider Delaware North.
Covid-19 has led to staff shortages in the hospitality industry across the country.
“It’s no secret that we struggled through the quarter and halftime breaks because of the staffing shortage we’re experiencing,” MCC chief executive Stuart Fox said.
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“The recent and extensive public recruitment drive is starting to take effect and we’re having some success in growing the hospitality workforce in particular. This will see more bars and food outlets open for the MCG’s two Round 2 matches.
“However, we’re still short and encourage anyone who is looking for casual work to apply now.
“We thank everyone for their patience and understanding while we explore all avenues in facilitating a great experience.”
Public parking at Yarra Park will be available this weekend after being off-limits in Round 1 due to activities around the MCG for the Victorian Festival of Footy.
The AFL had hoped for a record Round 1 crowd which would eclipse the 400,401 fans who attended the opening round of the 2017 season, but was still left happy after 362,892 supporters attended matches around Australia.
Some 263,102 fans attended matches in Victoria, making it the state’s ninth-highest attended round in history.
“It was fantastic to see members and supporters back at all games across the weekend, especially in Victoria and NSW where they have been starved of men’s footy for a longer period,” AFL executive Travis Auld said.
AFL Fans Association president Cheryl Critchley said most supporters had shown they were keen to return to games, but scheduling and ticketing problems had kept some away.
Critchley said Wednesday and Thursday night games to start the season were not family-friendly or suitable for those travelling to games from regional areas.
“We’d also say that simplifying the ticketing system would help as well, because it can be quite complicated if you want to sit in a desired location,” Critchley said.
“Anything that puts up a perceived barrier can put some people off.”
FREE AGENCY LOOPHOLE: LIONS AVOID DANIHER CONTRACT SCRUTINY
Jon Ralph
Brisbane is adamant it has no case to answer in extending Joe Daniher’s contract by two seasons only 15 months after brokering a three-year free agency deal.
The Lions are having conversations with the AFL’s salary cap team about a two-year extension for Daniher they have yet to lodge.
If the Lions had offered a five-year initial deal it would likely have watered down the first round compensation Essendon received, raising the prospect of the Bombers instead forcing a trade.
Lions football boss Danny Daly told the Herald Sun on Monday Daniher’s contract had been extended after he proved his durability in 2021, meaning his tenure at the Lions will be over five seasons.
There is no official investigation into the Lions’ conduct.
The Lions’ initial three-season deal was clearly structured to secure first-round free agency compensation for Essendon, which did not match the deal and retain Daniher, despite early threats.
But there are no AFL rules against pushing money from free agency deals back into later years — except for Sydney’s Lance Franklin — as long as the total price of that deal is paid.
Rivals wondered if the Lions had initially agreed to a five-year deal, but Daly said Daniher was coming off 15 games in the previous three years.
“We have done nothing wrong. We signed him to a three-year deal and then decided to extend it after a year in which he played in every game,” he said.
“At the end of the day he hadn’t played for three years and it was buyer beware for us. We wanted to keep him as long as we can so we extended his contract and that is the lay of the land.”
Former Melbourne star Garry Lyon suggested on Fox Footy’s On The Couch clubs should be forced to pay the salary as written in free agency deals each year instead of being allowed to defer payments into later seasons.
Franklin’s shock move to Sydney instead of GWS on a $10 million nine-year deal saw the league ensuring every dollar of that salary was paid in each season as per his official offer.
Clubs have long structured free agency contracts to ensure their rivals secure maximum compensation so they do not match deals and force trades which ensure picks have to be exchanged.
Last year, George Hewett’s exit for Carlton handed Sydney a second-round pick, Adelaide secured a third-round pick for departing Jake Kelly and Richmond were handed a second-round compensation pick when Mabior Chol left for Gold Coast.
Fresh push for mid-season trade period
Leading AFL player agent Colin Young says the league must introduce a mid-season trade period next year to help clubs navigatethe introduction of a Tasmanian team and move into line with international sporting codes.
Young told the Herald Sun on Monday there was broad AFL support for a trade period that would allow clubs to help fill immediate list holes as well as long-term list strategy.
Former AFL football boss Steve Hocking is a huge fan of a mid-season draft and more player movement, with the AFL open to proposals if there is strong club support.
Young’s Corporate Sports Australia is one of the league’s most powerful player management stables with Aaron Naughton, Jeremy McGovern, Tim English, Liam Ryan, Oscar Allan and David Swallow as clients.
He said in meetings over recent seasons with NFL club officials they were stunned there were so few opportunities to improve AFL lists in-season.
“I believe it’s time. Realistically, I can only see probably two to four trades being done each year,” Young told the Herald Sun.
“There are so many reasons for it. Building a better list, list management and more opportunities for players. Meeting with list managers in Melbourne over the last few weeks, I found that some recruiters are already starting to believe that the introduction of Tasmania into the AFL is inevitable, so let’s start to look at if we can introduce a mid-season trade period, which could allow the list managers to start working on their list for the next three to five years.
“Those conversations in Melbourne were already about the 2022 trade, so why not get started with the mid-season trade talk?
“It also may be time to give clubs more flexibility or a licence on how they utilise their salary cap, with the possibility of allowing them to move money around over a three-year period to ensure they can strategize their list to win that elusive premiership cup faster for their supporters.”
A mid-season trade period would allow premiership contenders to top up areas of need while helping bottom-eight clubs rebuild quicker by receiving excellent draft compensation for established players.
If it was in place this season, Gold Coast could go to the market for a key-position forward to replace Ben King like Melbourne’s VFL-bound Sam Weideman or even Fremantle’s Rory Lobb.
The Suns lost Jarrod Witts in Round 3 last year and had to go with undersized options for the rest of the year rather than trade for a quality replacement.
Clubs can select players in the mid-season draft but those players must be state-league players or have already nominated for a national draft.
A recent AFL Coaches Association survey found exactly two-thirds of the AFL coaches surveyed supported a mid-season trade period.
AFL football boss Brad Scott told the Herald Sun earlier this month the league was open to any player movement mechanisms that made sense.
“We are always looking at those things. There are a lot of smart people who are looking for additional flexibility in terms of how they build their list or how they maintain flexibility in certain circumstances,” he said.
“So there are a lot of stakeholders and one of the key stakeholders are the players themselves. We are always looking at things like that, and the mid-season draft has generated significant interest.”
Stengle redemption complete with stunning Cats debut
– Glenn McFarlane
Exciting small forward Tyson Stengle says he will always remain grateful to Geelong for giving him one last shot at redemption after a dream resumption of his stop-start AFL career.
Stengle, 23, kicked four goals in his first game for the Cats — and his first AFL match overall since round 18, 2020 — providing Chris Scott with some x-factor qualities in attack.
The 23-year-old was sacked by the Crows in early 2021 after a series of off-field indiscretions. He feared he may never play AFL football again, but a strong SANFL season last year and a lifeline from the Cats has helped to turn his football career around.
“It was pretty important to me (to get another chance at AFL football),” Stengle said. “I’ve done it, but now I want to build on it.”
“It’s a good feeling to come out and play well and for the team to play well.
“Geelong has welcomed me with open arms which is great. They have given me a lot of support and I am loving it here.
“I’m fitter than I have been in either years, I am moving around the ground pretty good.”
He admitted he was still learning the words to the Cats’ theme song after watching his teammates belt out the tune after the 66-point victory over Essendon.
Geelong coach Chris Scott said Stengle had fitted in seamlessly to the club, but hadn’t come “with a golden ticket”.
“It’s what we brought him in for. But he didn’t come in with a golden ticket,” Scott said.
“He needed to earn his spot in the team and he did that quite quickly through his preparation through the pre-season.
“But I’m really proud of him, as 12 months ago he was a long way away from the position he’s in today. But he’s put his head down and I haven’t seen anything but good things from Tyson and I think the whole world understands that we’ve all got skeletons in our closet.
“We’ve all done things that we’re not proud of but it’s sort of how you fight your way back.”
A number of Stengle’s cousins and some good friends flew from Adelaide to see him kick his opening goal in the second term.
He admitted he wanted to get a goal early in the game to ease the nerves.
“I was happy to get that first goal out of the way and settled into the game from there,” he said.
“I live with (Quinton) Narkle and (Brandan) Parfitt down in Geelong and I am up in Melbourne most weekends with Eddie (Betts).”
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