Mop Up wrote:sound4 wrote:What would the calculations be if the under 13's are included? You would be spewing if you were relegated but if the 13's were included you wouldn't. Surely the idea of the points system is to scope how good the club is as a whole, therefore shouldn't the 13's be included?
Where do you draw the line though?
Our C Grade is top or 2nd... That represents depth of a club.
We have heaps of Under 8, 10, 11 teams...
I think you would draw the line at premiership points. I wouldn't think the C grade should come into it as clubs don't have to have a C grade to come up into Central Div. It is not a stipulation.
I personally feel that if you're going to award a sheild/award for the "best" club and you include the U13's into the calculations for that, then you should include them in the calculations for being the "worst" club which could then get relegated.
IMHO, although I think the above issue needs to be sorted, I think the major issue is with the lack of clear understanding the clubs have with what is going on in regards to relegation.
The whole procedure is very "grey" (as it is not actually stated in the constitution or the by-laws). I think the board need to set it in stone for 2011 and give all clubs the opportunity to plan and prepare for relegation if they think they will be in the bottom half of the ladder the following season. I think it is too late in the season for the board to expect clubs to accept that they will be relegated.
As for Birdwood, we DO NOT want to go back to Country division. We have done too much hard work over the last 4-5 years at the club level to just wind all that back and go back to Country div. The football is a much better standard in Central div, especially for our kids.
If the HFL came out now and said, this is the procedure for 2011, the lowest club will get relegated to Country for 2012 and Birdwood ended up being the lowest club, then I personally could accept that because it is clear in front of us and we've had plenty of time to prepare.
For 2011, I agree with the option of having 11 teams in Central div and having the bye. Although the league is ideal at the moment at 10 and 10 in each division, it won't always be like that and they have to be willing to be flexible if clubs want to strive for the highest level they can.
Callington at the moment are not having the success they would like, but if they decided to say we want to drop out and just field a C grade, do you think the league should say "no, because that will leave us with 9 teams and a bye", I would hope not.
If clubs like Birdwood, Bridgewater, Ironbank and Lobethal have goals to play in the best league they can offer their players and members, then let them. A lack of recent senior success hasn't changed our goals and nor it should.
End of rant.
