That’s right, the traditional ‘curtain raiser’ that was for so many years taken for granted by footy fans as just ‘part of a day at the footy’ is back!
Simonds Stadium has not played host to an official curtain raiser since the 28th of July 2012, when the VFL Cats took on the Bendigo Bombers before the AFL side played the Adelaide Crows later in the day.
Curtain raisers between aligned clubs are seen as a rarity these days at the majority of AFL venues for a number of reasons. Issues such as the protection of the playing surface, inadequate facilities for multiple teams and the costs involved with opening large stadiums a number of hours earlier have brought about the demise of the once loved pre-match event.
Up until 2012, the Cats would look to schedule 3 or 4 curtain raisers a season but eventually some of these issues arising elsewhere were evident at the Cattery.
One of the big issues at Simonds was the fact that unaligned teams such as Bendigo and Adelaide would have to share a number of facilities such as meeting rooms, warm up areas, coaches & stats boxes and interchange benches. Headaches were caused for the teams involved when you consider the technical set up of some AFL coaches & stats boxes now takes more than 3 hours to complete.
With the Western Bulldogs now fielding their own stand alone side in the VFL competition – known as the Footscray Bulldogs – the opportunity to once again have a curtain raiser match and to do so without any negative impact on a third club is here.
With the AFL Cats hoping for 8 home matches at Simonds Stadium from 2015 and the possibility of more AFL clubs fielding stand alone VFL sides down the track, the subject of scheduling curtain raisers is once again back on the agenda.
Aside from the tradition and nostalgia, this week’s VFL match promises to be a terrific contest. The Footscray Bulldogs sit in 2nd position with 8 wins and 3 losses while the 9th placed VFL Cats (6 wins, 5 losses) have won 3 of their past 4 matches and are starting to show some of the form that has seen them play off in the last two VFL Grand Finals.
Both sides are expected to have 15 or more AFL listed players in their finally line ups and it will provide supporters with a rare opportunity to see the majority of their playing lists in action on the one day.
The support of this Sunday’s curtain raiser match will go a long way to determining whether or not we will see more curtain raisers at Simonds Stadium in years to come – so get in early and play your part in bringing back the curtain raiser!
The gates open at 12.50pm and the action kicks off at 1.00pm.
