Jenny - Can u let the authorities know....

[Triple B]

... they are pissing people off mightily with these eleventh hour changes to the ressies venue.

It's now how many, 2? 3? games that have been transferred to Lakeside at the very last minute. Sorry, not good enough. There are elderley people and very young people who cannot stand for 2.5 hours to watch the game at Lakeside, so have no option but to sit in a cold stand looking out at a vacant SCG for a few hours.

Not sure who makes the decision, SCG or AFL, but there needs to be some common sense used. I was flabbergasted when I drove in on Saturday and the game had been moved. I was even more perplexed when we stood and watched the whole game without so much as a drop of rainfall.

My solution is simple. Make the decision one way or the other on Friday and advertise it, so people know they don't need to arrive early if there is no ressies on the SCG.

If it's good to go on Friday, then it stays on the main ground and if it pours with rain overnight, stiff @@@@.

[liz]

A minor gripe, relative to Triple's point above, but I was also disappointed that clearer notice wasn't give of the change in time. My fixture card said the game started at 9.50am, but when I turned up at that time, I found the game had already been going for 10 minutes. Plenty of others were there, so maybe they did receive some notification that I missed. I know 10 minutes might not seem like much to miss, but the first part of a game often sets the tone for the whole game.

[Mel]

... they are pissing people off mightily with these eleventh hour changes to the ressies venue.

It's now how many, 2? 3? games that have been transferred to Lakeside at the very last minute. Sorry, not good enough. There are elderley people and very young people who cannot stand for 2.5 hours to watch the game at Lakeside, so have no option but to sit in a cold stand looking out at a vacant SCG for a few hours.

Not sure who makes the decision, SCG or AFL, but there needs to be some common sense used. I was flabbergasted when I drove in on Saturday and the game had been moved. I was even more perplexed when we stood and watched the whole game without so much as a drop of rainfall.

My solution is simple. Make the decision one way or the other on Friday and advertise it, so people know they don't need to arrive early if there is no ressies on the SCG.

If it's good to go on Friday, then it stays on the main ground and if it pours with rain overnight, stiff @@@@.

I second (or third) that. My folks turned up early and had to go in and stare at the SCG for a couple of hours. Mum's new knee isn't quite up to standing for hours on end just yet.

[Primmy]

Plus 1.

Then again, I was told the Swans weren't notified until 7am that morning. But I cannot stand for nearly 3 hours. End of story. And I love watching the ressies. Its untennable. The SCG trust is getting pretty precious about nothing at all. I mean covers over the cricket pitch!!! Are you kidding me!!! Its a football game for heavens sake; not cricket!!

[stellation]

Just to tack on- it would be a good idea to look into portable grandstand seating for when the reserves have to play at LSO- they're not as fancy as they may sound, from my experience they're pretty easy to set up quickly. I assume standing approval can be granted by council for it, I'd be suprised if there wasn't already some sitting around in the depths of the SCG/SFS somewhere already but otherwise it's actually not outrageously expensive. A couple of small ones would probably be more than enough to cater for folks that can't stand for the length of the game (but presumably can't exactly bring a folding chair along either).

[ugg]

A minor gripe, relative to Triple's point above, but I was also disappointed that clearer notice wasn't give of the change in time. My fixture card said the game started at 9.50am, but when I turned up at that time, I found the game had already been going for 10 minutes. Plenty of others were there, so maybe they did receive some notification that I missed. I know 10 minutes might not seem like much to miss, but the first part of a game often sets the tone for the whole game.
Not sure exactly when it changed or the reason for the change, but all the home reserves games that used to start at 10 to now start at 20 to.

[annew]

... they are pissing people off mightily with these eleventh hour changes to the ressies venue.

It's now how many, 2? 3? games that have been transferred to Lakeside at the very last minute. Sorry, not good enough. There are elderley people and very young people who cannot stand for 2.5 hours to watch the game at Lakeside, so have no option but to sit in a cold stand looking out at a vacant SCG for a few hours.

Not sure who makes the decision, SCG or AFL, but there needs to be some common sense used. I was flabbergasted when I drove in on Saturday and the game had been moved. I was even more perplexed when we stood and watched the whole game without so much as a drop of rainfall.

My solution is simple. Make the decision one way or the other on Friday and advertise it, so people know they don't need to arrive early if there is no ressies on the SCG.

If it's good to go on Friday, then it stays on the main ground and if it pours with rain overnight, stiff @@@@.

Yep I too am sick and tired of watching the grass grow at the SCG.

[Jenny]

Hi All,

Thanks for your feedback. I can definitely understand your frustration at games being moved at the last minute.

As Primmy mentioned, we received a phone call just after 7am on Sunday morning to advise that the game had been moved. We tried our best to get the word out through Facebook and Twitter, but as I'm sure you can all understand, it's impossible for us to reach everyone at that late stage. Part of the reason the call was made so late was because we were trying to keep the game on the SCG if we could. Unfortunately, the rain overnight on Saturday meant it was no longer an option.

Although it is ultimately a decision made by the SCG Trust and the AFL, the coaches agree that is it important to maintain the surface of the SCG as much as possible.
There is no doubt that it was slippery out there on Sunday. I imagine this would have been even worse if a full game had already been played on the ground.

Please keep in mind that we would like to have the game inside the SCG too. Unfortunately, Mother Nature hasn't been on our side too much this year.
Fingers are crossed for some sunny weather for our remaining rounds.

Jenny

[Mrs Shaw]

I understand where you are all coming from, but I do think it is a small concession to move the Ressies game and have the SCG in excellent form for the seniors game. If it wasnt the seniors could be susseptible to injuries and then you would all be here complaining again. Last week it was raining all week, with weather like that, it is a given that there is a good chance the game would have been moved

If you were planning on watching the Ressies, check all the social media sites before you attend. Don't blame the club, they are looking after the well being off the players.

[Big Al]

I understand where you are all coming from, but I do think it is a small concession to move the Ressies game and have the SCG in excellent form for the seniors game. If it wasnt the seniors could be susseptible to injuries and then you would all be here complaining again. Last week it was raining all week, with weather like that, it is a given that there is a good chance the game would have been moved

If you were planning on watching the Ressies, check all the social media sites before you attend. Don't blame the club, they are looking after the well being off the players.

No ones blaming the club Kyles but I don't think it's too much to ask that the AFL/SCG Trust to make a call the night before a game so people can make plans. We have played both in adverse weather in recent years without issue so not sure why the difference this year.

[liz]

I understand where you are all coming from, but I do think it is a small concession to move the Ressies game and have the SCG in excellent form for the seniors game. If it wasnt the seniors could be susseptible to injuries and then you would all be here complaining again. Last week it was raining all week, with weather like that, it is a given that there is a good chance the game would have been moved

If you were planning on watching the Ressies, check all the social media sites before you attend. Don't blame the club, they are looking after the well being off the players.

It wasn't really raining all week though. Not last week. In fact it was quite nice until we got a few short, drizzly showers on Thursday and Friday.

In terms of social media, this is about as advanced as I get. I also check the Swans own website. I don't think that one can rely on Facebook or Twitter to relay information to everyone post-adolescence.

[Triple B]

I understand where you are all coming from, but I do think it is a small concession to move the Ressies game and have the SCG in excellent form for the seniors game. If it wasnt the seniors could be susseptible to injuries and then you would all be here complaining again. Last week it was raining all week, with weather like that, it is a given that there is a good chance the game would have been moved

If you were planning on watching the Ressies, check all the social media sites before you attend. Don't blame the club, they are looking after the well being off the players.

The 'social media' outlet was not used at all the previous time it happened and when I looked on Sunday when I arrived it was posted '1 hr ago' on Facebook. I'd left home about 90mins beforehand, so was no use to me and my family.

I believe you are WAY overstating the risk we are putting our players by playing a game beforehand. In fact, if we played an early game on Sunday on the SCG, it might have meant our two dumbass captains wouldn't have needed to sit on their backsides at quarter time and change their @@@@ing footwear. The ground was slippery, what a shock!!

"Don't blame the club, they are looking after the well being off the players" Nobody is 'blaming' the club, but some of us are left wondering if they even give a rats about looking after the well being of their paying members.

I'll give you one very small example of what really pisses some members off...

For 2 years I and others have pleaded with the club to get the gates opened a mere 5 minutes earlier so we can get to our seats in the stands for the opening bounce. Apparently these things get set in stone and it's all too hard to change.

Mid season it appears that things can change thru necessity and they have changed the start times of all the ressie games from xx:50 to xx:40 for the remainder of the year. So the gate opening times also had to change. Do you think they would say, 'Hey let's open at half past and give the regulars the extra 5 minutes they have asked for'. No, the gate opening times get moved to xx:35. I mean, wtf?

And I was having such a mellow morning....

[Triple B]

...and just something else whilst I'm fired up :)

Spare me the 'looking after the players' line by not playing a curtain raiser when they gladly choose to play 3 games a year on a paddock where they lay strips of turf down in the afternoon after they roll the stands back out of the way....

[Jewels]

The 'social media' outlet was not used at all the previous time it happened and when I looked on Sunday when I arrived it was posted '1 hr ago' on Facebook. I'd left home about 90mins beforehand, so was no use to me and my family.

I believe you are WAY overstating the risk we are putting our players by playing a game beforehand. In fact, if we played an early game on Sunday on the SCG, it might have meant our two dumbass captains wouldn't have needed to sit on their backsides at quarter time and change their @@@@ing footwear. The ground was slippery, what a shock!!

"Don't blame the club, they are looking after the well being off the players" Nobody is 'blaming' the club, but some of us are left wondering if they even give a rats about looking after the well being of their paying members.

I'll give you one very small example of what really pisses some members off...

For 2 years I and others have pleaded with the club to get the gates opened a mere 5 minutes earlier so we can get to our seats in the stands for the opening bounce. Apparently these things get set in stone and it's all too hard to change.

Mid season it appears that things can change thru necessity and they have changed the start times of all the ressie games from xx:50 to xx:40 for the remainder of the year. So the gate opening times also had to change. Do you think they would say, 'Hey let's open at half past and give the regulars the extra 5 minutes they have asked for'. No, the gate opening times get moved to xx:35. I mean, wtf?

And I was having such a mellow morning....


...and just something else whilst I'm fired up :)

Spare me the 'looking after the players' line by not playing a curtain raiser when they gladly choose to play 3 games a year on a paddock where they lay strips of turf down in the afternoon after they roll the stands back out of the way....

Hear, hear Trips.
I'd be very interested to see the clubs response to your query on why the start times can change but the gate opening times are still only five mins.

But my favourite bit of all........


In fact, if we played an early game on Sunday on the SCG, it might have meant our two dumbass captains wouldn't have needed to sit on their backsides at quarter time and change their @@@@ing footwear. The ground was slippery, what a shock!!


Gold!!!! (clap)

[Primmy]

I am with you Trips 100%, even 110%.

And I have already had my say on watching the Captains of this club changing their footwear at 1/4 time. That was just so unprofessional not to have taken care of this in the rooms. :mad:

I have come to the SCG year in year out to watch the ressies, rain hail or shine, and its only THIS year that we are being denied access to reasonable seating to watch the game we come three hours early to attend.

Please note this Jenny, and send it to someone who cares. We leave home three hours earlier than many just to attend the Reserves Game, and we do it on purpose. Why? Because we actually sit and watch the Reserves play, because we like doing it. Its part of our Swans experience, which is starting to become somewhat offputting. Isn't it about time Someone at the Club take issue with the SCG and ask them why all of a sudden they are taking this attitude towards the Swans and their Members?

[Jenny]

Thanks again for the feedback everyone.
Please keep in mind that I wouldn't be on here if I didn't care about members and their point of view.

Unfortunately, some things, including the SCG deciding to move the Ressies match on the morning of the game, are out of our control. As I said previously, the reason the decision was made so late was because we were pushing for the game to go ahead as planned.

As I've said before, I am aware gate times are a concern for many of you. Please be assured that I will put this forward when planning begins for next year.

[Triple B]

Thx Jenny.

I'm sure everybody appreciates your input and I suspect you could change things immediately if you could.

I just can't understand why the club is not stronger in standing up to the SCG. They need us there to survive every bit as much as we want to play there. If anything, we hold the whip hand. Just stand up to the old farts in the trust and tell them that unless the ground is so affected it will become a bog, than we are playing there.

As for the gate issue, I won't hold my breath waiting for a good outcome. As I said, they had the opportunity to fix it a few weeks ago when they tweeked the start times, yet still couldn't see fit to give us the extra 5 minutes.

[Mike_B]

I think you can safely say from now the ressies will be at Lakeside on Saturday. Living across the road from Queens Park, seeing it virtually underwater this morning and knowing how much more rain has fallen through the day, plus comparing the amount of rain with that before last week's game, I can't see the SCG playing host to this game.

[Triple B]

I think you can safely say from now the ressies will be at Lakeside on Saturday.

Looks a certainty Mike.

Not ideal, but I'll be there and the fact that it is likely that we will get reasonable warning, the day can be planned accordingly.

[Jenny]

Hi All,

I know this won't be the news that you are all looking for, but due to the ongoing rain the Swans Reserves match against the GWS Giants has now been moved to Blacktown Olympic Park at 10am.

I realise this makes it impossible to watch both games, and I apologise sincerely that we were not able to find a more suitable arrangement for everyone.

Jenny

[Triple B]

Thx Jenny.

You're right, it's not great news, but at least it's timely and we don't need to make last minute arrangements on Sat. morning.

[ScottH]

This Wouldn't happend in Melb!!
Stupid Sydney weather!!

[desredandwhite]

Jenny, any reason it couldn't have been 9am or similar? That would give everyone enough time to get out to the SCG afterwards. I live only about 10 min from BOP so I'll probably go and watch the 1st half but will then have to head to the SCG. You would be annoyed if you were a GWS supporter who had bought tickets to the SCG game, for example.

[CJK]

You would be annoyed if you were a GWS supporter who had bought tickets to the SCG game, for example.

My heart goes out to GWS supporters.

/sarcasm

[unconfuseme]

What is the difference with the ground (or the managers?) at the SCG this year? ... it has the best drainage of any ground in Australia. Other than being a bit slippery, it was perfect last week, and there was no noticeable damage to it after the game ... another game on the day would have made no difference.

Why do the Sydney supporters have to put up with this sort of rubbish treatment ... on top of the umpiring fiasco!

Won't be any other AFL, junior or senior divisions play this weekend either! Talk about "Winning the hearts and minds ..." ... I might give it a miss and go and watch a few games of NRL or something else this Saturday ... grrrrr

[liz]

Jenny, any reason it couldn't have been 9am or similar? That would give everyone enough time to get out to the SCG afterwards. I live only about 10 min from BOP so I'll probably go and watch the 1st half but will then have to head to the SCG. You would be annoyed if you were a GWS supporter who had bought tickets to the SCG game, for example.

Or even played at Lakeside. Or played on Sunday, given GWS don't exactly have to travel very far. I know we all whinged on Monday about having to stand around at Lakeside, but it is definitely preferable to an hour an a half's drive each way to BOP and risking missing the start of the seniors game. I won't be making the trip, which is disappointing given I look forward to watching the reserves almost as much as the senior game.

Sorry Jenny - I know this is unreasonable whinging and we can't be pleased either way. I am just disappointed.

[stellation]

Or even played at Lakeside. Or played on Sunday, given GWS don't exactly have to travel very far. I know we all whinged on Monday about having to stand around at Lakeside, but it is definitely preferable to an hour an a half's drive each way to BOP and risking missing the start of the seniors game. I won't be making the trip, which is disappointing given I look forward to watching the reserves almost as much as the senior game.

Sorry Jenny - I know this is unreasonable whinging and we can't be pleased either way. I am just disappointed.

No, that's not unreasonable liz- my first thoughts as well were "why not move it to Sunday then?". They be much more likely to get a few folks along (I'd say from both sides) by not playing it on the same day as the seniors.

I imagine it's probably scheduled by NEAFL/Sydney AFL and not the Swans, but you'd think they'd have a bit of clout. ;)