HFL Division 1 (Central)

[magpiemaster]

magpie masters mid season review.

Mt barker- form side of the comp. havent lost a game and dont appear to be close to falling down. many people say you just have to stop marston yet it has not been the case. young and quick side but at the same time old head keep them cool and hard. blackwood could challenge them when they get roach back but imo mt barker will take the flag.
blackwod- going along nicely. no fuss team. 21 contributors with no passengers. personaly I think blackwood have the most even list of any side. no frills team that just work hard and are very disciplined team. could be the closest grand final we have had in a few years when these 2 make it, only way I could see them not making it, would be if they were hit with injury to a few more key personel.
Uri- Still a tough side to beat on their day and if its a wet winter they will be even harder to beat with thier biger bodied mid fielders. I think uri will fall away in the 2nd half of the season and maybe finish 4th. lofty when I saw them beat us the other week were really impressive and I think will fly past uri in the 2nd half of the year. injuries may have just caught up with them.
lofty- a good side in the wet I would imagine even better in the dry. their side is quick and run for eachther. playing footy like they did a few years back when they won the flag. maybe the side isnt as good but on their day they will be hard to beat especially with some confidence and a run on. should finish 3rd and give blackwood a shake but just fall short.
maggies- The boys with some returing players should have a much improved 2nd half of the year. dropped a few games we didnt want to but the side should b better for the first half of the year. signs have been good from the youngsters who have come up and taken oppertunities, time will tell if those youngsters will keep making that step up to be a stronger team. should make finals and could be a surprise packet come september.
Onkas- dont know much about them. so many new names. very tough outfit to beat. have good players across the board and they will be hungry for finals action again this year. maybe just one or 2 more top quality players away from really giving it a shake.
Bankers- new recruits have seemed to gel the side back together after the loss of the cheif. some quality young blokes out their who give thier all week in week out. they lack a finishing class that a side like mt barker hav but if effort won sides games this team wouldnt lose many. only thing to complain about would be the condition of their oval and its size but we all have done that to death.
bridgy- just talk to vaughn he will tell you how awesome they are.
birdwood- between them and lobethal for that relegation spot and in the end the battle for the permiership will be as hotly contested as the battle to stay in div 1. could come down to which team plays the smartest off field game to decide if they stay up or not. I like the way they play their footy and i think they will survive the drop.
Lobey- Poor old lobey. once the power house now are easy beats. but dont want to see them go. Bridgy is who I would vote for but thats just me. Lobethal have won HFL flags and have produced some of the greatset HFL talents ever and yet after a couple quiet years we will have to say goodbye. I thought with a few new recruits they would survive but it hasnt seemed to pan out that way.

[Alaska]

magpie masters mid season review.

Mt barker- form side of the comp. havent lost a game and dont appear to be close to falling down. many people say you just have to stop marston yet it has not been the case. young and quick side but at the same time old head keep them cool and hard. blackwood could challenge them when they get roach back but imo mt barker will take the flag.
blackwod- going along nicely. no fuss team. 21 contributors with no passengers. personaly I think blackwood have the most even list of any side. no frills team that just work hard and are very disciplined team. could be the closest grand final we have had in a few years when these 2 make it, only way I could see them not making it, would be if they were hit with injury to a few more key personel.
Uri- Still a tough side to beat on their day and if its a wet winter they will be even harder to beat with thier biger bodied mid fielders. I think uri will fall away in the 2nd half of the season and maybe finish 4th. lofty when I saw them beat us the other week were really impressive and I think will fly past uri in the 2nd half of the year. injuries may have just caught up with them.
lofty- a good side in the wet I would imagine even better in the dry. their side is quick and run for eachther. playing footy like they did a few years back when they won the flag. maybe the side isnt as good but on their day they will be hard to beat especially with some confidence and a run on. should finish 3rd and give blackwood a shake but just fall short.
maggies- The boys with some returing players should have a much improved 2nd half of the year. dropped a few games we didnt want to but the side should b better for the first half of the year. signs have been good from the youngsters who have come up and taken oppertunities, time will tell if those youngsters will keep making that step up to be a stronger team. should make finals and could be a surprise packet come september.
Onkas- dont know much about them. so many new names. very tough outfit to beat. have good players across the board and they will be hungry for finals action again this year. maybe just one or 2 more top quality players away from really giving it a shake.
Bankers- new recruits have seemed to gel the side back together after the loss of the cheif. some quality young blokes out their who give thier all week in week out. they lack a finishing class that a side like mt barker hav but if effort won sides games this team wouldnt lose many. only thing to complain about would be the condition of their oval and its size but we all have done that to death.
bridgy- just talk to vaughn he will tell you how awesome they are.
birdwood- between them and lobethal for that relegation spot and in the end the battle for the permiership will be as hotly contested as the battle to stay in div 1. could come down to which team plays the smartest off field game to decide if they stay up or not. I like the way they play their footy and i think they will survive the drop.
Lobey- Poor old lobey. once the power house now are easy beats. but dont want to see them go. Bridgy is who I would vote for but thats just me. Lobethal have won HFL flags and have produced some of the greatset HFL talents ever and yet after a couple quiet years we will have to say goodbye. I thought with a few new recruits they would survive but it hasnt seemed to pan out that way.

Very impressive MM I concur, I just hope we have enogh 4 -5 year player's to win the tight games!

[Kickittometoo]

Whilst we are on the topic of Owen who we acknowledge does a gr8 job - what is this Junior advisory board that is looking at the future of junior football in the hills. Who is on it - I beleive Nwd and sturt have a rep but which HFL clubs are involved. Believe it to be Mt Ronnie, Hahndorf, Blackies and Lofty - wouldn't be any vested interest there would there be !!! Can just picture in 5 years all 20 junior delegates sitting around with only 4 clubs having strong junior programs due to what this so called experts board came up with. No one seems to know what this mob talk about as nothing is communicated to any of the other 16 "outside" clubs. who knows what Matthews and co are conjuring up. Believe one central clubs junior delegate is starting to ask questions as to what this group of clowns are up to and that many other clubs are about to break their silence and voice their concerns as well.

Excuse me, "WE" don't acknowldege Owen does a great job. Who is "WE"??? Read the last few pages here mate.

[has been]

Very sensative kickittome. I think if you took you head out of your ar..... you might see that supercoach is being sarcastic. I think you would find he has as much time as you do for the powers that be.

[Kickittometoo]

Very sensative kickittome. I think if you took you head out of your ar..... you might see that supercoach is being sarcastic. I think you would find he has as much time as you do for the powers that be.

Yeah cheers for that one mate. Had one too many on the boat today and I bit harder than the fish I didn't get. Will read between the lines a bit better next time.

[Draft Pick 72]

Do you guys have relegation and promotion between divs now??

[lebron]

magpie masters mid season review.

Mt barker- form side of the comp. havent lost a game and dont appear to be close to falling down. many people say you just have to stop marston yet it has not been the case. young and quick side but at the same time old head keep them cool and hard. blackwood could challenge them when they get roach back but imo mt barker will take the flag.
blackwod- going along nicely. no fuss team. 21 contributors with no passengers. personaly I think blackwood have the most even list of any side. no frills team that just work hard and are very disciplined team. could be the closest grand final we have had in a few years when these 2 make it, only way I could see them not making it, would be if they were hit with injury to a few more key personel.
Uri- Still a tough side to beat on their day and if its a wet winter they will be even harder to beat with thier biger bodied mid fielders. I think uri will fall away in the 2nd half of the season and maybe finish 4th. lofty when I saw them beat us the other week were really impressive and I think will fly past uri in the 2nd half of the year. injuries may have just caught up with them.
lofty- a good side in the wet I would imagine even better in the dry. their side is quick and run for eachther. playing footy like they did a few years back when they won the flag. maybe the side isnt as good but on their day they will be hard to beat especially with some confidence and a run on. should finish 3rd and give blackwood a shake but just fall short.
maggies- The boys with some returing players should have a much improved 2nd half of the year. dropped a few games we didnt want to but the side should b better for the first half of the year. signs have been good from the youngsters who have come up and taken oppertunities, time will tell if those youngsters will keep making that step up to be a stronger team. should make finals and could be a surprise packet come september.
Onkas- dont know much about them. so many new names. very tough outfit to beat. have good players across the board and they will be hungry for finals action again this year. maybe just one or 2 more top quality players away from really giving it a shake.
Bankers- new recruits have seemed to gel the side back together after the loss of the cheif. some quality young blokes out their who give thier all week in week out. they lack a finishing class that a side like mt barker hav but if effort won sides games this team wouldnt lose many. only thing to complain about would be the condition of their oval and its size but we all have done that to death.
bridgy- just talk to vaughn he will tell you how awesome they are.
birdwood- between them and lobethal for that relegation spot and in the end the battle for the permiership will be as hotly contested as the battle to stay in div 1. could come down to which team plays the smartest off field game to decide if they stay up or not. I like the way they play their footy and i think they will survive the drop.
Lobey- Poor old lobey. once the power house now are easy beats. but dont want to see them go. Bridgy is who I would vote for but thats just me. Lobethal have won HFL flags and have produced some of the greatset HFL talents ever and yet after a couple quiet years we will have to say goodbye. I thought with a few new recruits they would survive but it hasnt seemed to pan out that way.

Well I agree with most of what you say MM, however, I would have Barker and Uri's at the top, with Blackwood a good third, then Lofty and Ironbank, with Maggies, Onkas, Bridgies, Birdwood and Lobies.

As for relegation, Have to say Lobeys as I can't see them geting enough A's and B's wins.

I think Barker are at the top of everyones list at the moment, however it is only June. I fear for a couple of injuries, touching a big stained wooden table, that we don't have the depth, and Uraidla are a very, very solid outfit. Blackwood the same. Lofty are going well, just don't think they are as good as MM has stated. 5th Spot up for grabs, Ironbank by a game, just a gut feeling. Maggies and Onkas just miss out!

[Joe Blow]

In regards to the relegation process, my opinion is that the club sheild or whatever points system they are measuring it on should be averaged out over the past 3 years. This would show which club has been stuggling the most. To relegate a club on one years peformance could encourage clubs to spend big money for one year only to struggle the next year, rather than concentrate on building a club through the juniors. I believe birdwood is in the relegation talk when i think they won the U17 flag last year. I assume some of them colts could be playing in the As this year based on their peformances, so it would send the wrong message to them if they got relegated.

[aceman]

In regards to the relegation process, my opinion is that the club sheild or whatever points system they are measuring it on should be averaged out over the past 3 years. This would show which club has been stuggling the most. To relegate a club on one years peformance could encourage clubs to spend big money for one year only to struggle the next year, rather than concentrate on building a club through the juniors. I believe birdwood is in the relegation talk when i think they won the U17 flag last year. I assume some of them colts could be playing in the As this year based on their peformances, so it would send the wrong message to them if they got relegated.

Joe, your idea has merit and is worth some serious consideration, maybe you should bring it to the attention of club reps to put to the HFL board.
It can't hurt, they sometimes seem void of ideas.

[Gervais]

In regards to the relegation process, my opinion is that the club sheild or whatever points system they are measuring it on should be averaged out over the past 3 years. This would show which club has been stuggling the most. To relegate a club on one years peformance could encourage clubs to spend big money for one year only to struggle the next year, rather than concentrate on building a club through the juniors. I believe birdwood is in the relegation talk when i think they won the U17 flag last year. I assume some of them colts could be playing in the As this year based on their peformances, so it would send the wrong message to them if they got relegated.

Joe, your idea has merit and is worth some serious consideration, maybe you should bring it to the attention of club reps to put to the HFL board.
It can't hurt, they sometimes seem void of ideas.

I'm sorry - why do we need to make it so difficult?

It should be very simple - base relegation on the performance of the senior (A grade team) in the current year.

I get tired of hearing that Lobethal won flags a few years back, or that Birdwood Colts won a GF last year - who cares ? No club should consider themselves immune from relegation. You live or die by the performances of your senior team in the cuurent year.

There are numerous examples of very strong amateur league clubs drifting up and down divisions solely based on how their A grade team performs. Similarly, in other codes it's the performance of the a-grade that dictates everything.

However, the HFL have decided to use a combined points system, which keeps the pointless debate alive.

[false]

In regards to the relegation process, my opinion is that the club sheild or whatever points system they are measuring it on should be averaged out over the past 3 years. This would show which club has been stuggling the most. To relegate a club on one years peformance could encourage clubs to spend big money for one year only to struggle the next year, rather than concentrate on building a club through the juniors. I believe birdwood is in the relegation talk when i think they won the U17 flag last year. I assume some of them colts could be playing in the As this year based on their peformances, so it would send the wrong message to them if they got relegated.

Joe, your idea has merit and is worth some serious consideration, maybe you should bring it to the attention of club reps to put to the HFL board.
It can't hurt, they sometimes seem void of ideas.

I'm sorry - why do we need to make it so difficult?

It should be very simple - base relegation on the performance of the senior (A grade team) in the current year.

I get tired of hearing that Lobethal won flags a few years back, or that Birdwood Colts won a GF last year - who cares ? No club should consider themselves immune from relegation. You live or die by the performances of your senior team in the cuurent year.

There are numerous examples of very strong amateur league clubs drifting up and down divisions solely based on how their A grade team performs. Similarly, in other codes it's the performance of the a-grade that dictates everything.

However, the HFL have decided to use a combined points system, which keeps the pointless debate alive.

It cant be that simple because it doesnt happen every year. Its a once of situation (probably) so it needs to be a comprehensive process that factors in many aspects of the club.

[Jardarf]

I'm also a bit confused about the current system. From what I gather for a club to be 'promoted' to the Central division, the club has to apply to the league 18 months before they can actually play in it (hence why Torrens Valley couldn't play in Central Div this season because they were late with their submission), and have to finish in the top 2 of the other comp to qualify. On the flip side, the team in the Centrals Div that finishes bottom of the competition in terms of all-grade performances (A-grade down to Junior Colts and possibly 13's) then gets 'relegated' to the country division. If this is so, shouldn't all the clubs who are at risk of making the drop at the end of this season (Lobethal, Birdwood, Bridgewater) put in an application for Central division promotion in 2012 and then recruit like crazy to make sure they finish in the top 2 of the Country div next year so they don't have to 'make the drop' for longer than necessary. Is this a fair analysis of the situation or am I completely off track? I'm sure there's a few people on this forum just as confused about the situation despite how many times it's been brought up.

If all it takes is an application and positive results, why haven't more clubs in the country div tried this sooner? Surely Kersbrook has been at the top of their game in recent seasons and would welcome more competition. Would Echunga consider a move soon? I'd hate to see any of the current teams take a dive out of the central div, I love visiting Lobethal Oval and teams at Bridgewater and Birdwood have been providing good competition at junior level. Maybe if enough teams apply for central div more commonly, the HFL might have to change their constitution and create a more flexible 'promotion/relegation' system. Anyone else have any thoughts on the topic? Is that more constructive topic than 'Owen-bashing'?

[Gervais]

I'm also a bit confused about the current system. From what I gather for a club to be 'promoted' to the Central division, the club has to apply to the league 18 months before they can actually play in it (hence why Torrens Valley couldn't play in Central Div this season because they were late with their submission), and have to finish in the top 2 of the other comp to qualify. On the flip side, the team in the Centrals Div that finishes bottom of the competition in terms of all-grade performances (A-grade down to Junior Colts and possibly 13's) then gets 'relegated' to the country division. If this is so, shouldn't all the clubs who are at risk of making the drop at the end of this season (Lobethal, Birdwood, Bridgewater) put in an application for Central division promotion in 2012 and then recruit like crazy to make sure they finish in the top 2 of the Country div next year so they don't have to 'make the drop' for longer than necessary. Is this a fair analysis of the situation or am I completely off track? I'm sure there's a few people on this forum just as confused about the situation despite how many times it's been brought up.

If all it takes is an application and positive results, why haven't more clubs in the country div tried this sooner? Surely Kersbrook has been at the top of their game in recent seasons and would welcome more competition. Would Echunga consider a move soon? I'd hate to see any of the current teams take a dive out of the central div, I love visiting Lobethal Oval and teams at Bridgewater and Birdwood have been providing good competition at junior level. Maybe if enough teams apply for central div more commonly, the HFL might have to change their constitution and create a more flexible 'promotion/relegation' system. Anyone else have any thoughts on the topic? Is that more constructive topic than 'Owen-bashing'?

You've nearly got it.

It's only the top 2 teams in Country (i.e. the grand finalists) that can nominate to be promoted to Central. They then have until June 30 the following year to confirm/withdraw their nomination.

So, lets assume that Echunga and Kersbrook play off in the 2010 Country GF. Either of them (or both) could nominate to be promoted to Central Div, but it wouldn't take effect until 2012. This then gives 12 months notice to Central Div teams that one (or two) of them would be going down to Country Div.

The reason why TV are the only club to seek promotion recently is an interesting one. I reckon that Kersbrook/Echunga just might not be interested. Also, to be promoted you've got to be able to field all 5 sides, and the Brookers have always struggled to field colts or snr colts teams, so they'd probably be ineligible for promotion even if they wanted to go up.

What this all means is that Lobethal, Birdwood, Bridgewater or Ironbank (whoever goes down) wont get the chance to come back to Central until 2013 at the earliest. They would need to make the Country GF in 2011, nominate to go up, and then wait the addititonal year, coming back up in 2013. Of course, if they dont make the GF in 2011, they will stay down even longer.

This is why the weak HFL will manipoulate things to allow an 11 team Central comp in 2011.

[Jardarf]

You've nearly got it.

It's only the top 2 teams in Country (i.e. the grand finalists) that can nominate to be promoted to Central. They then have until June 30 the following year to confirm/withdraw their nomination.

So, lets assume that Echunga and Kersbrook play off in the 2010 Country GF. Either of them (or both) could nominate to be promoted to Central Div, but it wouldn't take effect until 2012. This then gives 12 months notice to Central Div teams that one (or two) of them would be going down to Country Div.

The reason why TV are the only club to seek promotion recently is an interesting one. I reckon that Kersbrook/Echunga just might not be interested. Also, to be promoted you've got to be able to field all 5 sides, and the Brookers have always struggled to field colts or snr colts teams, so they'd probably be ineligible for promotion even if they wanted to go up.

What this all means is that Lobethal, Birdwood, Bridgewater or Ironbank (whoever goes down) wont get the chance to come back to Central until 2013 at the earliest. They would need to make the Country GF in 2011, nominate to go up, and then wait the addititonal year, coming back up in 2013. Of course, if they dont make the GF in 2011, they will stay down even longer.

This is why the weak HFL will manipoulate things to allow an 11 team Central comp in 2011.

Nah, I can't see the comp doing that. The chiefs keep pointing to their little black book to make decisions. It would be couragous of the chiefs to do something that radical and either allow an 11 team comp or change the constitution to allow a promotion/regulation system to take place every year.

What the comp should be doing is putting more effort into promoting their brand, get out to schools more and take more presence in their community. Build the popularity of the league and you build the numbers to field teams in all grades. Now I can only speak for my own community but growing up my family never recieved one notice in our letterbox telling us anything about our local club which was literally 2 streets away and never saw anyone come to my primary or high school to sell the club to the students. I'm sure if clubs did try to do this more they'd be rolling in memberships and popularity. Hell, just a fridge magnet telling us when all the home games are on and who we are playing would've been tons and I'm sure if a simple letterbox drop like that went out to the communities the brand would sell itself.

The only thing that has even the slightest information available to the community is the Courier paper; a Mt Barker paper at that, so being so far from Barker it never even crossed my mind till I became involved in my club to track down and buy that paper to get more info about the competition. Personally, I think the Courier just analyses the matches and gives results, would love it if they actually approached clubs more consistently and actually investigate the latest issues in the league. Maybe then forums like this wouldn't keep jumping to brash conclusions and take aim at Owen so much.

I now live in the south but even down here I'm within walking distance of at least 2 clubs in the SFL and about a 5 min drive from another 5 or 6 clubs and still I recieve absolutely nothing in my letterbox advertising the club or telling me anything that the local clubs offer. The simplist of advertisements would go a long way!

[supercoach]

Very good points Jardarf re promotion of the game. FYI a business that I won't name in Mt Barker actually employs a young man on behalf of the Sturt footy club and his job is to go around to all the schools in the area and conduct coaching clinics which he does. Owen is well aware of this and nothing has been comunicated to the clubs at all - the young man is available for any club that wants to use him - free of charge. May be comunication is the problem. Part of the problem is also I think that the league has a good underage program and they think that is the be all and end all. What it does not address is the shortage of players at the 15 - 18s level that is a growing problem. I can assure you Jardarf that in 5 years if the problemis not addressed it will be a case of 20 clubs JFD's sitting around at a meeting saying what the f.... happened as there are only 4 clubs with teams in all grades. No disrespect but any town with the populations and numbers of the bigger 4 teams in juniors could run their programs. Lets see them run a junior program with minimal kids and see how good they are then. They actually don't give a rats toss about anything other than their own clubs. Just ask BM.

[the big fella]

re:promotion
a. most clubs have good websites
b. Mt barker have a great email newsletter each week.
c. Most clubs have promo signs ie Lobe,Nairne,echunga on their town boundaries
d. i know nairne letterdrop their town , they also have an sms service to mebers and anyone interested in club functions.

Perhaps interested people should contact their local club and access these types of communication.

[Jardarf]

Very good points Jardarf re promotion of the game. FYI a business that I won't name in Mt Barker actually employs a young man on behalf of the Sturt footy club and his job is to go around to all the schools in the area and conduct coaching clinics which he does. Owen is well aware of this and nothing has been comunicated to the clubs at all - the young man is available for any club that wants to use him - free of charge. May be comunication is the problem. Part of the problem is also I think that the league has a good underage program and they think that is the be all and end all. What it does not address is the shortage of players at the 15 - 18s level that is a growing problem. I can assure you Jardarf that in 5 years if the problemis not addressed it will be a case of 20 clubs JFD's sitting around at a meeting saying what the f.... happened as there are only 4 clubs with teams in all grades. No disrespect but any town with the populations and numbers of the bigger 4 teams in juniors could run their programs. Lets see them run a junior program with minimal kids and see how good they are then. They actually don't give a rats toss about anything other than their own clubs. Just ask BM.

Thanks for backing me up, Supercoach. The clubs that have the best junior numbers are Mt Barker, Hahndorf, and Mt Lofty, closely followed by Onka Valley and Blackwood. Even Lobethal, Birdwood and Narine are doing a good job in this area too (I'm speaking of the mini-league more than colts). Much of this can be attributed to vibrant and large communities or the growing populations in those areas. But I agree that if any club wishes to become bigger all they have to do is advertise themselves more and go out too the people. Any good business man will tell you that you don't wait for people to come to you to sell your product, you have to go out and sell it to them. It's all good having a top quality website or flashy clubrooms, but no point having that stuff if people don't know where to look in the first place or don't even know it exists. Not much point to a top quality e-mail/newsletter system either if it's only going out to your members; it's hardly going to attract new customers/players. I would love to see all clubs have healthy numbers from 17's all the way down to under 8's, I know it's a bit of a pipe-dream but the more clubs work towards becoming a part of their community and show the people that there's more to football than just AFL rubbish on tv, the more likely that dream could become reality. I have seen the sign at Nairne too and I commend them on a great effort. I agree they have got the right idea, just a big sign saying when the next game is and who it's against would advertise the club and league so much more and really take the game to the people.

[lebron]

I know that relegation is a big deal, but that is all I seem to read about on these pages. How about the footy??? I think this year's premiership is really up for grabs, with 6 teams capable of winning it IMO. With only 5 making the finals, surely need some talk on who's missing out!
Maybe some talk on the no-association game?
Maybe some talk on players you love to hate this year?
On mail medalists?
On anything other than this relegation......... please!!!!

Besides this whinge, long weekend off was brillant

[sound4]

Fair call lebron.

I would like someone to tell me how Matt Krieg is going in his first year as coach. Obviously the results are not going his way but what is he like as a coach and will he be sticking around.

Also, is Matt Brockhouse still at Lobethal. He used to be a gun down in town, killing off opposition teams but the games I've seen him at Lobethal he doesn't seem to have the same effect. Frontrunner maybe or just doesn't like been there?

[aceman]

I'm also a bit confused about the current system. From what I gather for a club to be 'promoted' to the Central division, the club has to apply to the league 18 months before they can actually play in it (hence why Torrens Valley couldn't play in Central Div this season because they were late with their submission), and have to finish in the top 2 of the other comp to qualify. On the flip side, the team in the Centrals Div that finishes bottom of the competition in terms of all-grade performances (A-grade down to Junior Colts and possibly 13's) then gets 'relegated' to the country division. If this is so, shouldn't all the clubs who are at risk of making the drop at the end of this season (Lobethal, Birdwood, Bridgewater) put in an application for Central division promotion in 2012 and then recruit like crazy to make sure they finish in the top 2 of the Country div next year so they don't have to 'make the drop' for longer than necessary. Is this a fair analysis of the situation or am I completely off track? I'm sure there's a few people on this forum just as confused about the situation despite how many times it's been brought up.

If all it takes is an application and positive results, why haven't more clubs in the country div tried this sooner? Surely Kersbrook has been at the top of their game in recent seasons and would welcome more competition. Would Echunga consider a move soon? I'd hate to see any of the current teams take a dive out of the central div, I love visiting Lobethal Oval and teams at Bridgewater and Birdwood have been providing good competition at junior level. Maybe if enough teams apply for central div more commonly, the HFL might have to change their constitution and create a more flexible 'promotion/relegation' system. Anyone else have any thoughts on the topic? Is that more constructive topic than 'Owen-bashing'?

You've nearly got it.

It's only the top 2 teams in Country (i.e. the grand finalists) that can nominate to be promoted to Central. They then have until June 30 the following year to confirm/withdraw their nomination.

So, lets assume that Echunga and Kersbrook play off in the 2010 Country GF. Either of them (or both) could nominate to be promoted to Central Div, but it wouldn't take effect until 2012. This then gives 12 months notice to Central Div teams that one (or two) of them would be going down to Country Div.

The reason why TV are the only club to seek promotion recently is an interesting one. I reckon that Kersbrook/Echunga just might not be interested. Also, to be promoted you've got to be able to field all 5 sides, and the Brookers have always struggled to field colts or snr colts teams, so they'd probably be ineligible for promotion even if they wanted to go up.

What this all means is that Lobethal, Birdwood, Bridgewater or Ironbank (whoever goes down) wont get the chance to come back to Central until 2013 at the earliest. They would need to make the Country GF in 2011, nominate to go up, and then wait the addititonal year, coming back up in 2013. Of course, if they dont make the GF in 2011, they will stay down even longer.

This is why the weak HFL will manipoulate things to allow an 11 team Central comp in 2011.

That is a p... weak way of running the competition. Have either promotion/relegation or nothing! Surely you can't give clubs a "grace period" to suss out what's going on, is it too hard to say "you will go up" to the Premier team & runner up or is it more about allowing the stronger Country Div clubs to keep on winning? BTW, part of Owen & the boards job is to come up with new or innovative ideas, so if he/the board can't think of any, he/they leaves himself/themselves open to criticsm