3 replies to this topic

[Lisbon]

Roos to be North Melbourne again


December 06, 2007

INCOMING Kangaroos chairman James Brayshaw has pledged to change the AFL club's official name back to North Melbourne.

Brayshaw received a standing ovation from a crowd of around 2500 club members on Thursday night at an information meeting.

It was held a few hours after the AFL had told the club it could not have 12 months' grace on a proposal to relocate to the Gold Coast.

The club board then decided to stay a Melbourne-based club and appointed Brayshaw, co-host of The Footy Show, as the new chairman.

The meeting was expected to be a fiery debate over the club's future, but those who attended were overwhelmingly in favour of staying in Melbourne.

That meant the meeting was a rowdy, but good-natured rally, where Brayshaw said the club had to dramatically increase its revenue to survive.

In a lengthy question-and-answer session Brayshaw was twice asked about the club name.

He said "you have my undertaking'' about a return to the name North Melbourne.

The club officially became the Kangaroos in 1999 in an effort to broaden its national appeal.

Did any of you catch this story? I saw it on http://www.foxsports...3-23211,00.html

[Caveman]

Yes it appears that way.

I heard James Brayshaw being interviewed on morning radio just before 8am say how they would be reverting back to North Melbourne. That is fantastic news- it sort of made my day just to learn that, although the way he spoke didn't come across as '100% 'no doubt' He made a comment about it being a small issue and the trading name -which wasn't the path I really wanted him to follow, however they must be changing back- by staying in Melbourne the plain old 'Kangaroos' alone is now redundant as the GENUINE NAME although as a nickname it is fine.


This is where their different from us though with their name change. Hardly anyone stopped calling them North Melbourne or just North alone. Or looking at it this way - NO ONE in the Australian Media ever APOLOGISES for saying North Melbourne. You never hear 'North Melbourne oh sorry Kangaroos like some media here do with "Footscray oh sorry Western Bulldogs" as if they are a naughty child who has just sworn and by uttering the "Sorry- Western Bulldogs" this may prevent them from having their mouth washed out with soap and water. Footscray the swear word, the real F word.

Anyway good luck to them and I eagerly await to see when they revert back to North Melbourne. Hopefuly it is immediately not just in 2009.

[Amelia Jane]

Congratulations to North Melbourne on choosing to not only stay in Melbourne but also to go back to the name North Melbourne. I now really admire James Brayshaw and hope all North Melbourne supporters buy a membership. I now wish Footscray was our used name all the time because as far as I am concerned we should never have comtemplated changing our name. Not that we supporters had any say in it !

[Caveman]

A mate told me that they will still be just the Kangaroos in 2008, with the change back to North Melbourne set for 2009.

If so that is a bit disheartening if it is true


The story about changing their name can't be done until the 2009 season because of the marketing for season 2008 is a bit rich. They would make a quick quid on the back of the momentum of the 'Up Yours Gold Coast' success, by producing North Melbourne merchandise promptly

As for it being 2009, it still gives the new board a year to renege on changing the name back to North Melbourne should they decide to shiftily do that. Some of the new board could trot out the tried and trusted" Oh well we have had a look at the finances and decided that its best if we stay as Kangaroos", it isn't feasible etc etc etc"

Now that may not happen, but there was going to be a vote at the end of 1997 early 1998 about the Footscray name. The Club's constitution clearly mentioned what legally needed to be done to permit the Footscray Football Club changing its name yet over 10 years later, thousands of supporters are still waiting for this vote..

So lets hope there is no back flips and weaseling out of changing it back at Arden Street and they do ditch Kangaroos and become North Melbourne again.