THE WESTERN Bulldogs are keen to keep playing home games in Far North Queensland, coach Luke Beveridge says.
The Bulldogs' three-year contract with the Queensland State Government expired after the club's 48-point win over Gold Coast in Cairns on Saturday night, and Beveridge said he was keen to extend the relationship.
With the club expected to play at least one home game in Ballarat next season, and possibly two in the ensuing years, there's speculation a one-match deal might be struck for the club to build on its three-game unbeaten streak over the Suns in the tropics.
"I think (we'll play in Cairns again next year), that's the plan," Beveridge said.
'We'd love to keep coming back every year. I'd love to (and) the players really enjoy it.
'We take our brand, our club and our game to Queensland, and we'd like to grow our supporter base up here.
"There are plenty of advantages (because) we are really well received in the community.
"We get a lot out our trip and obviously the bonus is we won the game."
While Beveridge is happy from a playing perspective, president Peter Gordon said it was good for the club's bottom line too, with the club making more money from playing one game in Cairns than in 10 home fixtures at Etihad Stadium.
Gordon has long campaigned for his cash-strapped club to get a better deal at the indoor venue.
"In the last couple of years we've made more money out of just this one game in Cairns, played in front of less than 10,000 people, than all of our games at Etihad Stadium put together," Gordon told SEN.
"We do well out of it and increasingly these days clubs have to be demanding about the economic return they get from each of their home games. They're one of the fundamental things we get to sell."
With a crowd of just 8509 on a perfect night for football, Beveridge was surprised the first night game played between the two sides at Cazaly's Stadium hadn't gone close to equalling last year's mark of 9449.
Games in the preceding two years had been twilight fixtures.
"They might have all been out the back in the beer tent," Beveridge joked.
"All the spirit around town has been that our supporter base is growing up here.
"It looked to me like it was as big a crowd as there was last year, so that surprises me a little bit."