Taken today, go Qld!

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And some old Gabba pics

1936
http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/6892/brisbane1936gabba6wj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

1979
http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/2223/brisbane1979gabba2qe.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

90's
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/5849/brisbanegabbaearly90shill5dv.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/705/brisbanegabbasecondstagebuildi.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

2003
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/2994/brisbane2003gabbaaerial4hv.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

^^^^^^^^^

Great pictures and a fantastic cricket ground. Now the 2nd best in Oz after the MCG.

However shame the Vics couldn't knock over the Qld bats.

Interesting in the last photo above you can make out that bridge which is apparently the place where the most suicides occur in Australia.

Which bridge do you mean? I thought the Gateway might be the no1 for suicides and I can't see it in that picture.

Nice pics.

Love the last one taken in 2003. Looks Melbournish. The GABBA itself is now a fanstastic looking venue. See what AFL success can do. Never been there, but just by looking at the pics, the GABBA has that matchbox look about it, except that last pic, it looks as though the tiered stands don't go all the way around. In that last pic, the aerial view, the Gabba looks like a horse shoe. But it was from was 2003. Have they connected the stand all around since?

AFL success

^
Had nothing to do with it. The Brisbane Lions have benefited from the fact the Queensland Government upgraded their playing venue to host Olympic soccer matches. Merely coincidental that AFL is also played there.

This match is the greatest reason why NOT to bother with a Shield final any longer. Just have it first past the post.

And Dursboi: you wanted to hit a ball out of the MCG right? Well Brett Lee managed to spank one out of the Gabba last November v. the West Indies. Almost sconed a little girl walking past.

The stadium does go all the way around now. It was finished last year.

Qld's score today was something like 14th highest innings ever!

This match is the greatest reason why NOT to bother with a Shield final any longer. Just have it first past the post.


The match last year was the greatest reason to have one.

But Queensland probably knew that they only needed to draw, and so they probably asked to have a batsman-friendly pitch. The Gabba looks great though,

it teaches VIC a lesson for putting 700 runs on them two years ago, its not good for the spectator aspect of the game but i suppose karma is ok.

Unsporting Queenslanders comes to mind. They should have declared when they were 50 or 100 at most ahead.

Disgraceful.

Maybe Victoria needs to teach people how to bowl.

Unsporting Queenslanders comes to mind. They should have declared when they were 50 or 100 at most ahead.

Disgraceful.


You are kidding right?

A team should, in a final, give the other team a sporting chance? Can you imagine an AFL grand final where one team gets 20 points ahead and starts letting the other team score goals to catch up.

Qld played 100% right, especially after Victoria scored 700 of them in the final 2 years ago in the exact same circumstances. And anyway, Qld actually won the game outright but bowling the Vics out in their second innings.

I can't believe there are even people questioning this, must be a Vic thing as not a word was said up here.

If a team can bat on until it reaches such ridiculously high scores, good on them, they deserve credit. How often is it that many people in one innings score that many centuries?

They should make it a best of 3 final, 2 played in the venue of the top placed team and 1 played at the home of the second ranked team, and if after 3 matches it is tied, then award the trophy to the top placed team.

I'm not discrediting QLD, they are well within their rights to bat on and on and on and on. If they can do it, why not? They earnt the right by finishing top.

Normally in any final, everything is on the line and the trophy is decided in that one match. Take the AFL for instance, Lions v Collingwood, both teams give it there all as they both start on level terms. But in the Shield Final or Pura Milk Cup Final, clearly one team has an advantage over the other. It is obvious QLD's aim in batting on and on was not to win the game outright, it was to eliminate Victoria from the equation by putting the trophy beyond them, and then going in for the outright win. And if they don't get the outright win, they still win what they set out to win. So either way they can't lose, which makes having a final a bit pointless..

Like I said, not knocking QLD, they are playing to the system. What I am knocking is the system itself. If the final was best of 3, then maybe we would see teams being aggressive in seeking outright wins.

Maybe for a one-day final.. e.g. ING Cup, but for first-class it should be just one 5 day match. But you're right about the home ground advantage. Nevertheless, that's what you get for strong performances in the 10 matches you play.

Unsporting Queenslanders comes to mind. They should have declared when they were 50 or 100 at most ahead.

Disgraceful.

Speak for yourself

I didnt mean about home ground advantage. Someone has to play it at home and it might as well be the team who finishes top. It is a reward for finishing top. What I'm talking about is:

One team does not have to win
One team has to win

QLD, obviously not habving to win, is well within its right to bat for 5 days if it likes. But what happens is, say the team finishing top wins the toss, and bats for 5 days, makes 650, and continues to bat into day 4, the team bowling will be too dispirited to even care, which then makes it even easier for the batting team to pile on runs.

There must be some other method of deciding the winner. I am not a big fan of first past the post in cricket. Maybe they could place caps on the number of allotted overs you are allowed to bat, say like 180 overs or something, but that would just compromise the game. Gee I dunno, too damn hard to find the most ideal format. But that's cricket for you.

It's the game though. Not all tests/5-day matches are like that.

Perks of the game I guess. I don't think any team with the right mind will bat out their 1st innings into the 5th day knowing they only need a draw. It was probably just the quality of the pitch, or the lack-of in the Victorian bowling...?

If I remember last year Bracken ripped through the Queensland attack, got a bucket of wickets for not much runs.

how is the lions playing in at the MCG not a home game to Collindwood?

I think they have one melbourne home game per year for the old fitzroy supporters.

^^^^^^^^^^

You shouldn't worry yourself about Brisbane playing finals in Melbourne. I saw the Lions play in Geelong today and they won't be playing finals for a few years yet. They were pathetic.

P.S. Scrap the Shield final, just have whoever finishes on top win it. Like European soccer. 10 matches over a summer is plenty to prove who is the best team.

please, there the best team of the decade, they can return to the top. Every team has a bad day.

Also i understand the whole former fitzroy thing apparently gives them a home ground advantage in Melbourne, but i think its a load of crap. Sure the former Victorians might a bit more comfortable in Melbourne, but it still doesnt hide the fact that there not in their usual routine, they dont sleep in there own bed, not with there family and in a different enviroment.

The stadium does go all the way around now. It was finished last year.

Qld's score today was something like 14th highest innings ever!

Yep - its a perfect ring now. Probably one of Brisbane's more interesting landmarks from the air AND WITH NOT ONE SINGLE CAR PARK AVAILABLE!!!

http://www.abovephotography.com.au/stockphotos/large/QBR4102w-0508-04820.jpg

In terms of having a presence in Melbourne when the Lions play here, the old Fitzroy thing is tangible. I have been to a few Collingwood/Lion matches in Melbourne, and the support the Lions get at games is more than what the Crows or WCE get. You see all the old Fitzroy supporters at the game, with their old Fitzroy Lions gear on. Sure it wont blanket out the roar of the Collingwood crowd, I dont think anything can, but it is better than nothing.

AFL success

^
Had nothing to do with it. The Brisbane Lions have benefited from the fact the Queensland Government upgraded their playing venue to host Olympic soccer matches. Merely coincidental that AFL is also played there.
Nothing to do with AFL? Are you kidding me?

There's no doubt this stadium needed an upgrade but the QLD government would never have redeveloped the Gabba to it's current configuration if it wasn't for the 30,000+ fans the Lions attract 12 times a year. A 42k venue needs some serious cash flow and cricket just doesn't cut it I'm afraid.

Nothing to do with AFL? Are you kidding me?

There's no doubt this stadium needed an upgrade but the QLD government would never have redeveloped the Gabba to it's current configuration if it wasn't for the 30,000+ fans the Lions attract 12 times a year. A 42k venue needs some serious cash flow and cricket just doesn't cut it I'm afraid.

Actually you are both right and wrong. Its true that the olympic soccer was the impetus for the major part of the works but the long term viability of a major tenant (Lions) was also a factor. Interesting picture by Jayt above - if the Gabba is the perfect circle, Suncorp Stadium (top left of cbd), is the perfect rectangle - at 52500 its a perfect rugby/soccer stadium. If it had been redeveloped at the time of the olympics, then the olympic soccer would have been played there.