Big Kahuna Boot wrote:
JohnM wrote:
olsandy wrote:
The prize pool should be be bigger.
couldn't agree less with that tbh.
it's a pre-season series of practice matches, given a cup and a name to help raise revenue for the AFL competition and return value to the major sponsor (NAB).
Start dishing out significant prizemoney and here's what happens: poor clubs start going hell for leather to win the thing, wealthier clubs obviously keep their focus on the real season, and you'll have a situation where meaningful practice matches will be taking a backseat to 6 or so clubs actually prioritising the NAB cup as an end unto itself.
A reminder:
The season hasn't started yet. This is not a real grand final. It's our last practice match.
..disagree.. ..or ratheri kinda agree but disagree.. ..yes i think the prize money should be more.. ..i also believe that the real GF prize money need to be raised.. ..this is not an individual sport, but a team sport.. ..over a club, the prize pools for preseason and H&A season GFs is pitiful..
..also, whats wrong with a struggling club trying to gun it for the preseason to get extra cash, real money that can help the club.. ..cos a struggling and/or poor club is most likely not doing too well during the H&A season anyway, so aren't a real chance for top4, possibly not even a finals chance.. ..when we won our preseason cups, i think the prize money was the same for us as it was for the real GF.. ..crazy stuff..
two completely different things IMO.
By all means, raise the prizemoney for the grand final winner (by that I mean the grand final, not the team that wins the last practice match of the preseason)
But I still fail to see the need to turn the pre-season into some kind of half-arsed mini season, with a Grand Final and a Premiership team and big prizemoney. And as we all know: money changes everything. Offer big money, and you further legitimise the very idea that the round robin of practice matches that precede the season is somehow bigger than that... a competition to be taken seriously. a trophy worth winning, bragging rights.
I would be extremely disappointed if Carlton did anything in preparation (or on gameday) for this so-called 'grand final' that jeopardised the season proper, and our preparation for Round 1 of the season. How is adding extra worth to a series of practice games meant to enhance the season? Giving struggling clubs a financial carrot to over-emphasise the NAB Cup isn't going to help them in the long run. In any event, clubs that bombed out the previous year usually have an advantage, as they are more advanced in their pre-season training than clubs which go deep into September.
Just my opinion. But I'll be in Sydney on Friday, and I won't even bother looking at getting an earlier flight back to see this game. I would for Round 1, or any other H&A game. Those games matter.