2025 Australia Cup final rounds thread

[Hellenic_blue&white]

You are supposedly the sporting capital of the world.

Reading the AFL papers again?

 

[superpolska]

That is a terrible attendance for a cup quarter final.

The difference is it was actually that number. Certain other teams get that crowd and inflate it by a few extra thousand

 

[superpolska]

If heidelberg can plan it all correctly could easily get upwards of 5,000. Only 10 years ago there was 12,000 for a quarter final Bergers vs City midweek at OV...

 

[RIMB]

You watched Nix tonight vs bergers and can tell me A league clubs play a cleaner game and are disadvantaged bc there is no VAR? Its a miracle Lesiotis still has legs to stand on after that midfield... VAR probably wouldve rubbed out a couple Auckland players last round also if used correctly vs South..

I have not explained my point well enough - and I agree with you.

What I am saying is the aleagues clubs have been trained out of a lot of the marginal behaviours that can win tough football games. VAR would have pulled up plenty of stuff in all these games from all sides - but the aleauges players will have been trained within an inch of their lives not to do the stupid things that would get caught by VAR and might cost a game.

There is no doubt aleagues players can be as dirty as any other player - their coaching staff would have them benched or worse if they play 'stupid' football when under scrutiny and I think that has to have an effect on their gameplay without VAR. They can't react instantly a different way when the VAR cameras are off - muscle memory and training will win out most times.

That is all the disadvantage I meant.

 

[southmelb]

If heidelberg can plan it all correctly could easily get upwards of 5,000. Only 10 years ago there was 12,000 for a quarter final Bergers vs City midweek at OV...

No chance, that game had 9,000 neutrals because Heidelberg signed Greece legend Kostas Katsouranis for that game, i literally had relatives from country Victoria that rocked up to that. Will never happen again. Make the final though.....

Somewhere between 3 and 4k more realistic.

 

[Sutherlandbear]

Reading the AFL papers again?

Both the rugby league and Australian rules draw big crowds on a Thursday night in Melbourne, so why can’t the football at least get half decent ones ?

 

[Hellenic_blue&white]

Both the rugby league and Australian rules draw big crowds on a Thursday night in Melbourne, so why can’t the football at least get half decent ones ?

You cant be that far gone to use that as your argument!! You are compairng NPL to the AFL in victoria? Tell me the VFL crowds on a tuesday night... thats right they dont play bc no one goes! VFL port melb had 1000 ppl last saturday and box hill had 1200 SATURDAY! Thats the real comparison!

Now lets put A league up against AFL and give me the excuses as to why you dont have crowds to compare? Go on!

 

[Sutherlandbear]

You cant be that far gone to use that as your argument!! You are compairng NPL to the AFL in victoria? Tell me the VFL crowds on a tuesday night... thats right they dont play bc no one goes! VFL port melb had 1000 ppl last saturday and box hill had 1200 SATURDAY! Thats the real comparison!

Now lets put A league up against AFL and give me the excuses as to why you dont have crowds to compare? Go on!

It was more the Rugby league, but you conveniently dodged that.

The point is, you and your fellow Greeks of origin like to tell anyone who cares to listen that SMFC, or most teams in Victoria are the biggest football supporters in Australia but can't back it up with supporters who actually attend football matches.

The same thing goes on in Sydney as well with the rugby league mob.

 

[RIMB]

I have not explained my point well enough - and I agree with you.

What I am saying is the aleagues clubs have been trained out of a lot of the marginal behaviours that can win tough football games. VAR would have pulled up plenty of stuff in all these games from all sides - but the aleauges players will have been trained within an inch of their lives not to do the stupid things that would get caught by VAR and might cost a game.

There is no doubt aleagues players can be as dirty as any other player - their coaching staff would have them benched or worse if they play 'stupid' football when under scrutiny and I think that has to have an effect on their gameplay without VAR. They can't react instantly a different way when the VAR cameras are off - muscle memory and training will win out most times.

That is all the disadvantage I meant.

I see you took my clarification on board.

Just for the sake of general discussion, look at how two teams defend in the penalty area.

Aleagues teams know that on corners or set pieces particularly, every moment in the 18 yard box has a chance to be scrutinised by VAR and a penalty awarded - even if the guilty party draws on all their powers of the dark arts and positions themselves to block the sideline ref and have the victim cunningly corralled to block the ref.

So they are trained never to do it or the coach drops them - and the attacker has the advantage.

On the flipside, the aleagues tall forward prepares to launch himself for a header and finds his privates in a vice like grip of the non-VAR attuned NPL defender, or his foot nailed to the ground by means of as fine a pair of studs as a lesser salary can buy. Unsighted, nothing gets called - as it should be for any decent ref.

The advantage of play unfettered by Big Brother is no small thing to a semi-professional who earns his pay and plies his craft on the back of what he can get away with.

An as someone who is not 'with' current trends - if the use of the thumbs up emoji is offensive it was not intended and I apologise.

 

[RIMB]

You cant be that far gone to use that as your argument!! You are compairng NPL to the AFL in victoria? Tell me the VFL crowds on a tuesday night... thats right they dont play bc no one goes! VFL port melb had 1000 ppl last saturday and box hill had 1200 SATURDAY! Thats the real comparison!

Now lets put A league up against AFL and give me the excuses as to why you dont have crowds to compare? Go on!

Aleague attracts quality .

 

[southmelb]

Tuesdays are also training nights for local clubs which doesnt help attendances.

 

[Hellenic_blue&white]

It was more the Rugby league, but you conveniently dodged that.

What did i dodge exactly that you are comparing a one team code in this city again to the NPL and not to your aleague? That embarrasment is fully yours not ours to own! Unless you want to tell me the crowds rugby got against us when we were top tier.. then ill listen.. good try though!

The point is, you and your fellow Greeks of origin like to tell anyone who cares to listen that SMFC, or most teams in Victoria are the biggest football supporters in Australia but can't back it up with supporters who actually attend football matches.

That what WE are hurts you.is enough for me!

 

[Sutherlandbear]

What did i dodge exactly that you are comparing a one team code in this city again to the NPL and not to your aleague? That embarrasment is fully yours not ours to own! Unless you want to tell me the crowds rugby got against us when we were top tier.. then ill listen.. good try though!

That what WE are hurts you.is enough for me!

Ok then, the storm started up in 1998,

1998-13379
1999-12880
2000-14704
2001-11810
2002-9048
2003-10628
2004-10157
2005-11967- end of NSL.
2024-22155
2025-24066
Now post your top tier crowds in the same period, no cheating now.

 

[Hellenic_blue&white]

I see you took my clarification on board.

Ofcourse it was valid when explained..

Just for the sake of general discussion, look at how two teams defend in the penalty area.

Aleagues teams know that on corners or set pieces particularly, every moment in the 18 yard box has a chance to be scrutinised by VAR and a penalty awarded - even if the guilty party draws on all their powers of the dark arts and positions themselves to block the sideline ref and have the victim cunningly corralled to block the ref.

So they are trained never to do it or the coach drops them - and the attacker has the advantage.

On the flipside, the aleagues tall forward prepares to launch himself for a header and finds his privates in a vice like grip of the non-VAR attuned NPL defender, or his foot nailed to the ground by means of as fine a pair of studs as a lesser salary can buy. Unsighted, nothing gets called - as it should be for any decent ref.

The advantage of play unfettered by Big Brother is no small thing to a semi-professional who earns his pay and plies his craft on the back of what he can get away with.

Again i do agree overall that it has adjusted the game.. but in many cases VAR only serves to make all the above a bit more underhanded rather than remove it as we can see from these tactics still continuing to be punished when caught. A prime example is a player like Galegos from Auckland, just as unhinged and dirty in every way as any NPL defender, VAR hasnt served to take that out of his game at all.

If anything, what we see in these clashes between the 2 worlds is that refs tend to safeguard the aleague players more or are softer with them! L8ved it against macarthur with a soft oenalty last year and against auckland this year!

An as someone who is not 'with' current trends - if the use of the thumbs up emoji is offensive it was not intended and I apologise.

not offensive at all mate...

 

[Hellenic_blue&white]

Ok then, the storm started up in 1998,

1998-13379
1999-12880
2000-14704
2001-11810
2002-9048
2003-10628
2004-10157
2005-11967- end of NSL.
2024-22155
2025-24066
Now post your top tier crowds in the same period, no cheating now.

Rank Amount When
1. 2,523 12/08/2021 - Melbourne 26 - Canberra 16
2. 2,910 30/08/2020 - Melbourne 30 - Manly 6
3. 3,432 08/08/2020 - Melbourne 41 - Canterbury 10
4. 4,056 13/09/2020 - Melbourne 36 - North Qld 20
5. 4,121 19/09/2020 - Melbourne 50 - Wests Tigers 22
6. 5,328 19/06/2021 - Melbourne 66 - Wests Tigers 16
7. 5,437 17/07/2020 - Melbourne 42 - Gold Coast 6
8. 5,837 02/08/2020 - Melbourne 26 - Newcastle 16
9. 6,063 09/07/2005 - Melbourne 20 - Canberra 0
10. 6,182 23/02/2025 - Melbourne 24 - North Qld 36

Yeah alright champ except you also have the above to explain .... and from the nrl itself... but hey lets do this since your so fond of figures.....

1998 16k
1999 15194
2000 not sure!
2001 8121 i believe
2002 about 4k
2003 7250
2004 11641

Ill leave the cheating and the bullshit to you!

 

[Sutherlandbear]

Rank Amount When
1. 2,523 12/08/2021 - Melbourne 26 - Canberra 16
2. 2,910 30/08/2020 - Melbourne 30 - Manly 6
3. 3,432 08/08/2020 - Melbourne 41 - Canterbury 10
4. 4,056 13/09/2020 - Melbourne 36 - North Qld 20
5. 4,121 19/09/2020 - Melbourne 50 - Wests Tigers 22
6. 5,328 19/06/2021 - Melbourne 66 - Wests Tigers 16
7. 5,437 17/07/2020 - Melbourne 42 - Gold Coast 6
8. 5,837 02/08/2020 - Melbourne 26 - Newcastle 16
9. 6,063 09/07/2005 - Melbourne 20 - Canberra 0
10. 6,182 23/02/2025 - Melbourne 24 - North Qld 36

Yeah alright champ except you also have the above to explain .... and from the nrl itself... but hey lets do this since your so fond of figures.....

1998 16k
1999 15194
2000 not sure!
2001 8121 i believe
2002 about 4k
2003 7250
2004 11641

Ill leave the cheating and the bullshit to you!

You quote the Covid crowds, you fuckin half wit ? And you did say when you where in the top flight.

Do you know what average crowds mean ?


Never did SMFC average 16,000 per season

 

[Hellenic_blue&white]

You quote the Covid crowds, you fuckin half wit ? And you did say when you where in the top flight.

So the 6k which is practically on par with most of their home games in 2005 and similar ones in 2025 are not the norm but are due to what exactly champ? Covid?

Do you know what average crowds mean ?

Funny thing is that I actually do and it doesnt mean top tier as you requested above though does it you ginger tosser? Perhaps your pom masters didnt fuck the english language into you as properly as they should've!

Never did SMFC average 16,000 per! season

I never said they averaged it moron!

Now you can "royally fuck off!"

 

[patjennings]

NPL crowds should be compared to VFL or NSWRL Knock-On Cup crowds. I would say they would be much larger than VFL crowds and on a par in NSW with the NSWRL games - from a few hundred to a 3000 or 4000 unless played as a double header with a NRL game.

 

[Oakleigh]

Both the rugby league and Australian rules draw big crowds on a Thursday night in Melbourne, so why can’t the football at least get half decent ones ?

Do you actually know how massive the afl is? You understand it is the biggest sport in Australia right? It's like a religion here in Melbourne, don't know why you're comparing an Australia cup game against a team in the second division, and a international foreign team and expecting them to get afl crowd numbers, on a Tuesday, are you mad?

You could have Melbourne Victory vs Sydney fc in the grand final and you still won't even come close to pulling a crowd size the afl pulls on a weekly basis.

 

[Beretta]

The gap between NPL & AL clubs is closing because AL sides are now more youthful and looking to sell there assets to Europe earlier. Long gone are the marquee signings.

Yes its pre-season, they've been back for 5-6 weeks now, they are full time professionals, yes we've seen upsets before but this year its been absolute batterings. No excuses, AL have been poor.

The old sour grapes in this thread will bring up the crowds lol