1984 Ad for VFL Park (Waverly) "The Home of Football" (AFL)

[boredoflife227]

Stuff Etihad stadium and their bloody roof worst stadium i ever been to. Waverley park was always closer to where i live

[bigal4919]

Dear AFL

Get stuffed

Yours sincerely

Al

[AdrianHoliday]

would have still been around today if ony the vic govement had let it become a 150k venue... south east melb is the population center of the city

[jimsms]

It was still a really difficult ground to get too compared with the MCG and Docklands. Even with a train line it would have been difficult because passengers from all the other lines would have been cramming onto trains on the one line causing over crowding. Apart from the playing surface, Docklands is far better than Waverly in that it is right next to Southern Cross station making it easy for people to get to the ground by train from ALL parts of the city.

[FlyingWarrior08]

@jimsms The faclities for players was second to none,the whole sir kenneth kuke stand which was 16 bays was fitted in under the stadium with tremendous changerooms,theatres bars etc,the national draft camp was held at waverley every yea,r now they hold it in Canberra.Got nothing against docklands except for the fact they crucified waverley for the interests of docklands.No one liked it at first but what choice do you have when your only option is games are being played there

[jimsms]

waverly park was a shit ground. glad they got rid of it...

[FlyingWarrior08]

@jimsms So whats your style of ground dickhead

[jimsms]

@FlyingWarrior08 My style of ground is one that isnt in the middle of no where. My style of ground is one that is in the heart of the city and easy to get too from all parts of melbourne. My style of ground is one with good facilities and stands, not the crappy run down ones they had at waverly with those uncomfortable seats.

[FlyingWarrior08]

@jimsms Middle of nowhere haha you brainwashed parrot.22 km from the city isnt the middle of nowhere,not to mention the 2 million people that live in the south east,that location has actually become cental if you look at the demographics of how much Melbourne has grown the last 20 years,Yeah sure the stadium needed updated stands and more corporate boxes,the playing surface and area shits on most smally shit grounds that are played on these days,no railways was its demise, thats all

[thegreig]

its good to see Hawthorn have turned waverly into a 1st class training facility so its not a run down piece of junk like it was for about the 5 years no one was using it but dam i miss AFL games being played on it. it was so handy for all us people living in the east, i used to go to the AFL so much more when waverly was in use

[FlyingWarrior08]

@thegreig Its good Hawthorn hold a presence at Waverley,but by golly you cant beat the days when they use to battle out for 4 premiership points out on the park

[jamabar]

sometimes the things that change are shitter. the 70's were the fun days where no one worried about corporate wankers and the afl was about the people

[mgo26]

A VFL (AFL) commercial actually directed at the ordinary fan and not some corporate spiv. (As Sam Kekovich put it) Truly a bygone era!

[treeintervention]

i would take waverley...vlf palk back over the docklands anyday!

[Luigi356]

Except for the "Minor Issue" of public transport.

Docklands has train and tram routes that lead directly there, is more versatile, and has a roof. Everything you'd need in a football stadium. I've proudly sat in the North Melbourne members stand and I know it's a great stadium to watch football.

[treeintervention]

vfl park had a real atmosphere about the place,i remember some big collingwood games in the early 90s when it was a full house,great stadium,you right about the public transport being better at the docklands,waverley was a bit of a pain to get to,and waiting for the bus after the game to take you to the train station if you could get on it,or stuck in the car park for an hour trying to get out if you drove,not to mention the rain cloud that seemed to hover over the place,miss vfl park!

[guodade]

@Luigi356, you really don not need a roof in a football stadium!

Even though global warming has destroyed southern Australias old winter rainfall, it would still be better for players (less likelihood of injury) without a roof!

[FlyingWarrior08]

@Luigi356 turn it up buddy if the railways got put through Wwaverley would still be around and would have been revamped you cant compare a real footy ground to indoor Ethihad,look how many people go to North games over there

[FlyingWarrior08]

@treeintervention Cheers to that

[georgef76]

They managed to extend the tram line down Burwood Hwy so they could have made something down to the ground.

This was real footy , played out in the elements, not this indoor crap at Eithad Stadium. All the player's said it had the best playing surface in the league.

Was great for concerts as well not just footy. It served the people in the East & Sth East well , lot's of houses are going up near Pakenham . I really do miss not going to the footy there, you didn't have to book etc .

[zfonz]

it was too cold and the seats were so uncomfortable

[DGNMAM2006]

all they had to do was build a railway line there,and it would never have been done away with,sad.

[tter85]

yep - it's ridiculous that there's no train line out that way!! and now with eastlink just down the road, it would have been even more accessible to everyone... it's a damn crying shame that it's gone now... I drive past that sad little bit of stand that they kept every day and think about what could have been..... :(

[sliat1981]

Football (AFL)? Is Aussie rules, not AFL, you wanker

[AustralianTVChannel]

ACTULLY AFL is aussie rules lern b4 u talk

[zfonz]

in nsw it is called afl and soccer is called football

[morfrey]

all real footy fans loved waverly, i refuse to go to that shit at the docklands. it has no soul and is more like a movie theatre than a footy ground.

[Victorian105]

A great stadiam, But the reason they got rid of it is because it was hard for supporters to get to (a 2 hour drive for us Geelong fans) while Docklands only takes 45 mins.

They should have kept it for Hawthorn's home games tho cos its near there.

[kelfalcons]

Waverley Park was great, just a 10 minute walk from home and a fantastic venue, I was heartbroken when they shut it down and now since the other gym closed I have to go to the gym there, stupid irony.

[MHJanson]

As for the game, it was a low scoring affair.

NM 5.14 (Smith 2, Steele 2, McCann) def ST.K 5.12 (Lockett 2, Favier, Foschini, Smith)

[barbs19788]

i still have fond memories of freezing my tits off as a kid at waverley. Ah the memories.

[demsone74]

One of the biggest errors the AFL has done, together with appointing Andrew Demetrou and Adrian Anderson.

Docklands is only good if you are a high paying corporate as thats all its catered for. Souless concrete piece of crap.

[mcgrobbles85]

FUCK YOU ARSE HOLES OUT THERE THAT SUPPORTED THE AFL FOR DESTORYING A VITAL PART OF THE GAME AND ITS HISTORY, use to love Aussie Rules Couldn't give a shit about it anymore, at least I have my memories RIP Sir Ken Luke

[mcgrobbles85]

I loved Waverley (VFL) Park, I remember back in the late 90's and early 00's I had a website about the place, I tried everything I could to save the place, but living in Gippsland made it difficult for me to travel up there,Could of been the greatest stadium in the world if it was built to the orginal design, but thanks to corrupt goverments and the MCC board Sir Kennith Luke's Vision never really came true,

[torpedodropkick]

They killed a great game.

[homersimpson10294]

yep was a great park....i remember when it was abandoned and stupidity turned it into a vandalized and graffitied hellhole. i remember pictures of that postcard-perfect turf being a big pile of weeds, windows smashed....horrible. should build it again....with more shade from the rain and cold though.

[Barsopen1970]

^ is ...is that you Wayne Jackson !!! :(

VFL Park was my favourite ground, close to home & so much more convenient for the outer e, s/e suburbs ..the gate way to Melb's growing population !

who wants to travel to that crappy parking,freak filled city !

it's a scam i tell ya !!

[dcommando]

docklands is the best thing to happen to footy, and only 20 mins from home. long live the west

*vfl park was tripe*

[hhfcforever]

the west is gay

[damo3805]

Damn I miss Arctic park.

[jonno112]

Waverly was great and st kilda got wiped that day.

[uraniumdeath]

St Kilda got wiped nearly every week in the 1980s.

[talkingpointless]

BRING BACK WAVERLEY - Just Built it again!

[uraniumdeath]

Comfort...yeah...I love wooden seats.

But I miss "The Park". Short drive from home...stupid Wayne Jackson