Nearly 12 months ago, the AFL made history with the first-ever AFL game for premiership points at Ballarat's Mars Stadium. Over 10,000 spectators made the journey to this game and fans were delivered an exciting contest in clear, but blustery conditions and they were treated to a spectacular contest. With the Bulldogs up by seven points at the final break, Port piled on six goals to two in the final term to win by 17 points in what I believe was a success for the AFL and Football in Ballarat.
12 months later, here is everyone who has a platform to voice their opinion and saying that placing two AFL clubs in Ballarat is a horrible idea, with even some going as far as to say that playing AFL games in Ballarat “should never ever happen.” Particularly when you think and realise that there were NO games played at either the MCG or at the first home of the Bulldogs – Etihad Stadium.
This comes following the second match at Mars Stadium between the Bulldogs and Port Adelaide, with the latter of the two sides winning by 44 points in conditions that can be described as freezing cold, extremely wet and as the game went on, the lack of lighting at the ground was evident as the sun went down. In short – the weather was appalling.
In addition to that, it was revealed that the big scoreboard in the background for those that watched the game on Channel Seven, had malfunctioned for the entirety of the match and failed to show vision of the match at all. Despite the fact that they got the scoreboard up on the big screen, it's disappointing that this sort of stuff can happen, but these things can occur in the smaller stadiums such as Mars Stadium.
Now before anyone gets the idea that this is a post hanging on the city of Ballarat – it isn't. I've been to Ballarat a number of times and it is a lovely place to be in. During the winter times, it can get extremely cold, but that won't stop the local footballers – both men and women – from playing the sport they love.
The temperature on Sunday showed that the teams were playing in temperatures of four degrees celsius and with the rain and the wind, it was made all the more colder. The number of players that wore long-sleeve guernseys was something of a rarity – but that's what happens when you play during the winter season in country Victoria.
In 2018, we have seen the best and worst of football in Ballarat. Back in round seven, it was the Western Bulldogs that got the job done against the Gold Coast Suns in much better conditions. The sun was out and it wasn't as cold as it was on Sunday. Furthermore, it was a game that was tight from beginning to end and proof that the game can work in Ballarat.
Just because one game was played in appalling conditions and things such as the scoreboard didn't go according to the script, doesn't mean that we should scrap the whole thing entirely. Should people consider this game as a big cock-up? Perhaps, but this is something that the Western Bulldogs as a franchise want, and this is something that requires 'trial and error.'
Both Luke Beveridge and Ken Hinkley – who coach the Bulldogs and the Power respectively – both complained that it was a struggle to see the entire ground in the last quarter due to the lighting. Trial and error. There were extra lights brought in because of course, the game would finish around 6PM. It turned out that there was insufficient lighting at the ground.
It's okay, these things can happen, even in a big-name league such as the AFL. Hopefully the next time they put a game in Ballarat in this timeslot, they can get more lighting in. Because even from the standpoint of watching it on the television, it did look a bit too dark to see the game.
Luke Beveridge also said post-game that his side should play the two games that the Bulldogs are scheduled to play each season until 2021, in the 1:10/1:45 timeslots and preferably earlier in the year, when it isn't so cold and susceptible to gloomy conditions.
However as he also states in his post-game press conference, Victoria's weather can be described as “pretty fickle,” and those of you who do live in Victoria, you will know exactly what he means. Remember, last year's game against Port Adelaide wasn't a very gloomy day at all. Weather just comes down as a luck of the draw thing.
In terms of when the games should be scheduled during the season, I am not really fussed about what round it is in, as it showed in round 22 last year, lighting won't be a serious issue unless it's a day as bad as it was on Sunday, but by then, there should be sufficient lighting – I'll back the AFL and Ballarat to get that done.
Games in Ballarat would be ideal for earlier in the season as we don't approach the winter season until June, which usually starts around the middle of the year. So perhaps two games in Ballarat between round one and round 11 sounds like a potentially good idea. If the AFL wants to avoid weather as bad as what we saw on the weekend, this is probably the way to go. Not only will it have a better chance of good weather, but it's got a better chance of bringing in the public.
According to the Western Bulldogs, over 8,500 tickets were bought for this weekend's game against Port Adelaide, yet just under 6,500 people attended the match. I can probably understand that they didn't want to brave the freezing cold and the torrential rain that was displayed all throughout the game. For those that did go to the game and endured the conditions – I salute you.
The Western Bulldogs began their relationship with the city of Ballarat with hopes to bring in more members from country Victoria. I'm not shocked that the Bulldogs will stick with their decision to invest in home games in Ballarat, but I want this to happen. It's easy to say that the club should stick to playing home games at Etihad Stadium where the club plays better under the roof, but Ballarat is a pretty big city that has a population of over 100,000 people.
There is a lot of potential in the Bulldogs' deal with the city of Ballarat and there is scope for members there to sign up, if they haven't already. To scrap it after one game of footy that didn't look good at all would've been just a waste of time, effort, money and we'd probably have to go back to selling a home game in Cairns to try and gain some sort of profit.
The Western Bulldogs need Ballarat more than you know - give it some time. It might just be what Tasmania's Blundstone Arena is to North Melbourne - a fortress.