Ballarat Bulldogs 

In recent decades it has been North Melbourne the team that the AFL want to relocate or merge. The whole reason we have the Gold Coast Suns is because North Melbourne voted no to relocating back in 2007. It was the Bulldogs back in the 80s and early 90s that the VFL/AFL wanted to merge or relocate. In 1989 they actually merged with Fitzroy to become the Fitzroy Bulldogs that relationship lasted a whole 20 days until the VFL decide not to go through with the merge. But what if we don’t merge the Bulldogs? What if we move them a bit further out of the large Melbourne pool where they are a little fish in a big pond what if they move to Ballarat?

 

The thought of moving a team would drive their supporters mad and they have all right to be but if you think about it could be a smart move. As of 2018 Ballarat population is 110,030 It is the third biggest city in Victoria and the fifth largest inland city in Australia. Ballarat is only 85,685 less than Victoria’s second biggest city Geelong and look how well a single city team has worked there something we just don’t get in Victoria. There were talk in 1954 to introduce a Ballarat and Bendigo side to the VFL with Ballarat actually applying in 1955 as we know that ended up going nowhere but the one thing the NRL dose better than AFL is having teams outside of their main city Sydney.

 

With Geelong being the best place for Vic Country players to want to move back to if they don’t want to stay interstate a move further west could create competition for these plays and fighting one team is better than fighting eight. And a move just an hour down the road wouldn’t hurt the fans as much since they no longer play at the Whitten Oval or are even named Footscray plus it’s only hour train ride. If you look at Geelong and their success at GMHBA stadium is something the Bulldogs can aim to do at their own home ground and just like GMHBA stadium they would be playing around 9 home games a year there and the rest at Marvel stadium.

 

Lastly an AFL team in Ballarat would also help the VFL competition that are without a Ballarat or Bendigo team and that is just a shame the third and fourth biggest cities in Victoria do not have a team.

 

If the Bulldogs did relocate too Ballarat they could still even train at the Whitten Oval just like how Fremantle now located in Cockburn always played in Perth.

 

Overall there is no bad side to this move all of the big game would still be played in Melbourne just like Geelong and it would bring more fans and hopefully big names to the Bulldogs and give it the breathing room Bulldogs, St Kilda and North Melbourne desperately   need        

 

Western Bulldogs 2019 Home Games if they moved to Ballarat

 

|Round| Team| Stadium|

|1| Sydney| Ballarat|

|3| Gold coast| Ballarat|

|5| Carlton| Marvel|

|7| Richmond| Marvel|

|8| Brisbane| Ballarat*|

|10| North Melbourne| Ballarat|

|14| Collingwood| Marvel|

|16| Geelong| Ballarat|

|17| Melbourne| Ballarat|

|19| Fremantle| Ballarat|

|23| Adelaide| Ballarat*|

*Are games already in Ballarat for the 2019 Premiership season