Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - melbourne and the afl

so i haven't been to a footy match yet..terrible, i know! i'm planning to go to melbourne within the next few weeks - maybe even for finals season if i can get lucky through this expedia australia website competition! but i'm not relying on that...any hotels or places in the cbd that you recommend which are within walking distance to the ground? is richmond close to the city? are finals tickets a lot more expensive than normal season tickets?

which team should i barrack for? :D

for (http://comp.expedia.com.au) any other poor backpackers, if you're interested!

Surely you mean NRL...;) and the team you want to barrack for are the dragons!

Go the Dragons!!

AFL, NRL.....those are the ones where you're allowed to pick the ball up with your hands, aren't they?

AFL, NRL.....those are the ones where you're allowed to pick the ball up with your hands, aren't they?

As opposed to butting it with your head!! :p

And to the OP, the ground* is a 15 minute walk, or short tram/train ride to the city (and Richmond is a couple of minutes in the other direction). Finals tickets cost a fair amount more than regular season games, though for all bar the Grand Final you're a fair chance of getting a ticket.

Geelong is the raging favourite, having won the GF last year! (Go Cats!)

*That's the MCG. The Docklands Stadium is at the other end of the CBD. Finals are played at both.

The Hilton, Sofitel and Hyatt are my favourites, all within walking distance of th Mellbourne Ground and on a direct tram route home from the other location. Yes if you have friends in Richmond , very handy to the games and only a parkland away from the city. Weather's good, enjoy your stay bkkrop

cheers everyone for all the feedback! i know someone in richmond so i might just couch surf there..

i just noticed with that link that for every person you refer the comp to you get another entry - maybe i'll end up at the hyatt after all, with any luck!

Saw my first footy game at MCG recently. Stayed at the Westin and did the walk from there. As mentioned before, Flinders Street Station is within walking distance from MCG and not a bad walk. If you go via Flinders Street Station, check out a place called Lord of the Fries. Best burger I've had in my life...and it was vegetarian. Good stuff.

As for teams...Go Collingwood

St Kilda has to be a sentimental favorite. :) They won't win the premiership this year but will break our hearts trying.

Seriously regardless of who you see it is a spectacle that would be hard to match anywhere in the world.

A match at the MCG us not to be missed regardless of who is playing and a close match will leave you excited until the very last second.

Then watch how quickly they can get the people away with the trams and trains.

St Kilda has to be a sentimental favorite. :) They won't win the premiership this year but will break our hearts trying.

Seriously regardless of who you see it is a spectacle that would be hard to match anywhere in the world.

A match at the MCG us not to be missed regardless of who is playing and a close match will leave you excited until the very last second. I would agree with that, PROVIDED it is a match which draws a reasonable crowd. 36,000 for Richmond v Sydney Easter 2007 made the place feel really empty, not much of an atmosphere.

Then watch how quickly they can get the people away with the trams and trains. Pffft, that is nothing, check out ANZ Stadium in Sydney, we get rid of our crowds FAR more efficiently than either the MCG OR Telstra Dome (which is an absolute JOKE at dispersing crowds after the game - the bridge to Southern Cross is WAY too narrow).

Dave