HFL Division 1 (Central)

[the_grinch]

Thoughts for the grand finals this week?

[has been]

Really who cares who wins - How much did it cost in dollars for each team to win the flag - maybe we could run a book on it - Starting bids at $100k do I hear more ? Ruining football in the hills and good luck to the clubs that go down the reducing player payments path. None of these players are worth what they are paid.

[2old2slow]

My spy tells me it could be the mt lofty panthers

[flanker]

My spy tells me it could be the mt lofty panthers

Well your spy is way off! No amalgamation, just a possible venue to play a few games when Heathfield bogs up. It's as simple as that.

[Armytank]

Is there a GF on this weekend?

[Sniper]

Is there a GF on this weekend?

You bet there is .... and here are a few questions to ponder :
Will Uraidla target the Mail medalist Tom Hughes from Mt Barker (noted that he was knocked out in last years GF, will the Mc L's do it again ?).
Will this be Sutherlands last game as Uraidla Coach ?
Can Mt Barker break open the locked down gameplan Uraidla use in these big games ?
Then there is the B grade game between Onkas and Uraidla .... few fistycuff's in the Prelim which is a sign for good entertainment.
Posted a couple weeks ago that the game of the day will start at 11am between Bridgy and Blackwood with their past few games being decided only by a handful of points.

[Dutchy]

Mt Barker has Blue and White balloons everywhere!

[cracka]

Just read the Courier & saw a letter to the sports editor from Uraidla FC complaining about junior numbers again. Its hard to feel sorry for a club who have played in the last 7 A grade grand finals & are playing in this weeks A & B grade grand finals, yet struggle for junior numbers.
Couple of points need clarifying.
The "big 4" don't have 2 teams in each age group. There are 4 clubs with 2 x U13 teams & Hahndorf are the only club that have 2 x U15 teams. No clubs have 2 x U17 teams.
Quote from the letter "some children even miss out altogether", not if a club has 2 teams they don't, they would if capping was introduced.
Also from the letter was "of the 19 clubs within HFL central & country division, 4 cant field S/C, 3 cant field J/C & 3 are without U13's". It should be noted that these are all country division clubs that couldn't field some teams. All central division clubs fielded all teams with the exception Uraidla forfeited a couple of times in the U13's due to lack of numbers.
The capping issue has been heard, reheard & reheard again, there was a vote at the last HFL meeting & it was decided not to cap team numbers. The article also talks of a central club sending 9 excess U17 players to a club with a serious shortage (which in reality is capping), 2 players agreed to go while 7 gave football away & played another sport, that has been the argument from the start as to what would happen if capping was brought in. If anyone could tell me of another country football league in Australia that has capping, please do as I would like to contact them to see how it works.
If the A grade coach of the last 9 years has encouraged a junior development program, why are Uraidla struggling for numbers.
At the last HFL meeting half the clubs wanted a 3 year age gap for their junior teams & half wanted a 2 year age gap for their junior teams. Pretty simple really, have 2 divisions where 1 division has a 2 year age gap in juniors (central div) & the other has a 3 year age gap in juniors (country div). If that means Uraidla have to play in Country division, then so be it.

[Keyser Soze]

No football League whilst clubs have a vote and majority (usually 2/3) have to agreed will ever vote for capping as clubs such as Brighton FC in the SFL will charge huge fees and make $4500 a team for an under 8's/10's/12's team (of which they have 2 teams, 3 in 10's). It works in the SAAFL because the SAAFL board is strong and makes decisions not based on bias to clubs as there are too many clubs for this to happen.....not sure if this is the case in HFL central but for a even competitive comp I think it's a good idea.

[tedbullpit]

Just read the Courier & saw a letter to the sports editor from Uraidla FC complaining about junior numbers again. Its hard to feel sorry for a club who have played in the last 7 A grade grand finals & are playing in this weeks A & B grade grand finals, yet struggle for junior numbers.
Couple of points need clarifying.
The "big 4" don't have 2 teams in each age group. There are 4 clubs with 2 x U13 teams & Hahndorf are the only club that have 2 x U15 teams. No clubs have 2 x U17 teams.
Quote from the letter "some children even miss out altogether", not if a club has 2 teams they don't, they would if capping was introduced.
Also from the letter was "of the 19 clubs within HFL central & country division, 4 cant field S/C, 3 cant field J/C & 3 are without U13's". It should be noted that these are all country division clubs that couldn't field some teams. All central division clubs fielded all teams with the exception Uraidla forfeited a couple of times in the U13's due to lack of numbers.
The capping issue has been heard, reheard & reheard again, there was a vote at the last HFL meeting & it was decided not to cap team numbers. The article also talks of a central club sending 9 excess U17 players to a club with a serious shortage (which in reality is capping), 2 players agreed to go while 7 gave football away & played another sport, that has been the argument from the start as to what would happen if capping was brought in. If anyone could tell me of another country football league in Australia that has capping, please do as I would like to contact them to see how it works.
If the A grade coach of the last 9 years has encouraged a junior development program, why are Uraidla struggling for numbers.
At the last HFL meeting half the clubs wanted a 3 year age gap for their junior teams & half wanted a 2 year age gap for their junior teams. Pretty simple really, have 2 divisions where 1 division has a 2 year age gap in juniors (central div) & the other has a 3 year age gap in juniors (country div). If that means Uraidla have to play in Country division, then so be it.

Great post cracka you peanut. Lets throw a club whose A grade that has played in 13 consecutive finals series, finished top 3 12 times, played in 8 grand finals and won 4 premierships in the last 13 seasons into country division where they would win every game by more than 20 goals because they can't field an under 13s side. Lets let a senior competition be dictated by whether they can field an under 13 side. You truly are an imbecile. It's no wonder the HFL are the laughing stock of country football If they are considering throwing successful, established central division sides into country division because they can't field junior sides.

[cracka]

No football League whilst clubs have a vote and majority (usually 2/3) have to agreed will ever vote for capping as clubs such as Brighton FC in the SFL will charge huge fees and make $4500 a team for an under 8's/10's/12's team (of which they have 2 teams, 3 in 10's). It works in the SAAFL because the SAAFL board is strong and makes decisions not based on bias to clubs as there are too many clubs for this to happen.....not sure if this is the case in HFL central but for a even competitive comp I think it's a good idea.

The other reason capping works in metro leagues is that the next club along is only 5 minutes away. I have had trouble convincing kids to help out Uraidla & Gumeracha in the past, let alone trying to convince them to go to Echunga, Maccy, Kangarilla or Sedan.

[cracka]

Just read the Courier & saw a letter to the sports editor from Uraidla FC complaining about junior numbers again. Its hard to feel sorry for a club who have played in the last 7 A grade grand finals & are playing in this weeks A & B grade grand finals, yet struggle for junior numbers.
Couple of points need clarifying.
The "big 4" don't have 2 teams in each age group. There are 4 clubs with 2 x U13 teams & Hahndorf are the only club that have 2 x U15 teams. No clubs have 2 x U17 teams.
Quote from the letter "some children even miss out altogether", not if a club has 2 teams they don't, they would if capping was introduced.
Also from the letter was "of the 19 clubs within HFL central & country division, 4 cant field S/C, 3 cant field J/C & 3 are without U13's". It should be noted that these are all country division clubs that couldn't field some teams. All central division clubs fielded all teams with the exception Uraidla forfeited a couple of times in the U13's due to lack of numbers.
The capping issue has been heard, reheard & reheard again, there was a vote at the last HFL meeting & it was decided not to cap team numbers. The article also talks of a central club sending 9 excess U17 players to a club with a serious shortage (which in reality is capping), 2 players agreed to go while 7 gave football away & played another sport, that has been the argument from the start as to what would happen if capping was brought in. If anyone could tell me of another country football league in Australia that has capping, please do as I would like to contact them to see how it works.
If the A grade coach of the last 9 years has encouraged a junior development program, why are Uraidla struggling for numbers.
At the last HFL meeting half the clubs wanted a 3 year age gap for their junior teams & half wanted a 2 year age gap for their junior teams. Pretty simple really, have 2 divisions where 1 division has a 2 year age gap in juniors (central div) & the other has a 3 year age gap in juniors (country div). If that means Uraidla have to play in Country division, then so be it.

Great post cracka you peanut. Lets throw a club whose A grade that has played in 13 consecutive finals series, finished top 3 12 times, played in 8 grand finals and won 4 premierships in the last 13 seasons into country division where they would win every game by more than 20 goals because they can't field an under 13s side. Lets let a senior competition be dictated by whether they can field an under 13 side. You truly are an imbecile. It's no wonder the HFL are the laughing stock of country football If they are considering throwing successful, established central division sides into country division because they can't field junior sides.

Uraidla struggled to field teams in all junior grades, not just U13's. Didn't realise the HFL was the laughing stock of country footy. It's only my opinion, the HFL aren't considering sending Uraidla to country div as far as I know. Do you think it is wise to adjust the rules just to suit 1 club.
If you're going to call me names, at least have the decency to not hide behind an alias & show where your allegiance lies.

[shake'n'bake]

Well i think the rules are pretty black and white in terms of fielding all sides, if a team can't do so regardless of their stature they should be relegated.
Maybe when teams like Uraidla fall to Div 2, the HFL might stand up and make a decision re divisions and the make up of the competition going forward.
I would hate to see a club like Uraidla fall to Div 2 due to junior numbers, but if that is what it takes for someone to make a decision, it might not be a bad thing.

Cracka; How is it "pretty simple really" to have different junior age groups across the two divisions.
How then does a club get promoted to division 1 when they only have two junior sides and not three?
The club being relegated, could potentially lose junior players due to trying to squeeze three junior teams into two, and any chance of rebuilding would go out the window.
In the current format of two divisions, if we don't have a smooth promotion/relegation system, we will end up with teams languishing in both divisions,
and if no action is taken we will end up with a format similar to the SFL. Something nobody wants!

[always there]

Kids generally want to play football with their mates for their town and for their club. This is tradition and pride in a club many have been born into and grown up with. To tell a young lad he can not play for his club, with his mates or for his town is ridiculous and I can only imagine how this would make them feel. Most clubs do lots of ground work to keep their juniors like Auskick, visit schools with football clinics and generally get involved with the local schools to ensure their interest in footy. Uraidla has a number of schools in its local area I believe. How do they go with Netball juniors? Sure give the boys an option to play elsewhere but don't force them to travel out of town for training and playing. Clubs that work hard on their junior program should not have to help those who don't. How about some one ask the boys how they feel.

[Champ]

I think all clubs have to consider a strategy for whats best for the game in the Hills region and not simply whats best for their own club because you can have all the numbers in the world and bang on about capping, losing kids, club pride but if theres no competition to play in then what have you actually succeeded at.

Previously clubs were successful based on a cycle however now with dwindling townships, paid players and the points system the cycle of ups and downs can be levelled out by smartly managed clubs.

What do you all think of zoning under age players to where they live? If they want to play for a club outside of their zone they simply apply for a permit.

Let's all consider for a fact that we are losing kids from a lot of clubs regardless.

Or MAYBE just MAYBE the major junior sports committees in the hills like cricket, football, soccer, basketball etc etc could all get together and consider a genuine plan of attack that would keep ALL kids involved in sport. They could even have a yearly planner made up that shows the cross over and where trainings, games, carnival clashes could be 'avoided'.. Just a thought.

The SAAFL only goes down to under 18's and senior clubs do not require an 18's to stay in the SAAFL. The SFL probably shouldn't be a comparison because the state of their overall comp is lop sided.

[always there]

Zoning would be a great idea as long as boundaries are fairly worked out school zonings work so why not? There are many kids that change clubs purely based on the junior program so maybe more support to the clubs to give them a better junior program that works and keeps kids interested and passionate about football.

[cracka]

Well i think the rules are pretty black and white in terms of fielding all sides, if a team can't do so regardless of their stature they should be relegated.
Maybe when teams like Uraidla fall to Div 2, the HFL might stand up and make a decision re divisions and the make up of the competition going forward.
I would hate to see a club like Uraidla fall to Div 2 due to junior numbers, but if that is what it takes for someone to make a decision, it might not be a bad thing.

Cracka; How is it "pretty simple really" to have different junior age groups across the two divisions.
How then does a club get promoted to division 1 when they only have two junior sides and not three?
The club being relegated, could potentially lose junior players due to trying to squeeze three junior teams into two, and any chance of rebuilding would go out the window.
In the current format of two divisions, if we don't have a smooth promotion/relegation system, we will end up with teams languishing in both divisions,
and if no action is taken we will end up with a format similar to the SFL. Something nobody wants!

I'm using my phone so will try to explain how I think its simple & could work.
Central div is U17.5 & U15. Country div is U18 & U15. All clubs aims are to fill these age groups first & its not compulsory to field an U13 team for either div.
There are then 2 options for ages U13.
1. Clubs nominate either an U13 or U12 team or both. The teams would not necessarily follow the A grade but programming could be done to follow them sometimes.
2. Clubs nominate 1 or 2 teams in a mini colts comp which could be divided into 3 divisions. Clubs would nominate which div depending on how strong they think the team will be. After 4 rounds the teams could be regraded (same as they do with the netball at Woodside).
Clubs then have to nominate which div their A grade plays in based on their junior numbers. If all clubs want to keep the format of having all teams playing at the same ground each Saturday then the divisions have to be worked out based on all teams, not just the A grade. Otherwise we will end up like the metro comps where juniors play on Sundays & Mt Barker are the only club that wants that.

[Banker]

All this because of Primary School kids....

Jeez just go back to the old days of Senior Primary on a unique fixture. Seemed to work fine before they went to u13's.

[cracka]

All this because of Primary School kids....

Jeez just go back to the old days of Senior Primary on a unique fixture. Seemed to work fine before they went to u13's.

Agree. That's sort of what my idea suggests, but can we call it mini colts (like it was in the 70's & 80's.

[shake'n'bake]

Fair points Cracka. I don't mind what you have suggested at all.
I don't understand why you would have U/17.5's in Central and U/18's in country though.
Think you will find players will defect to country clubs from central clubs just to get an extra year of juniors.
Could think of 3 players from our club this year who would strongly consider doing this if it opened up.

I like the idea re U/13's not being compulsory, however if a team like Uraidla is struggling to fill U/15's in two years time for arguments sake,
are they not then inclined to play kids as young as 11 and 12 in U/15's just to avoid being relegated?

Not trying to pick holes in what you are suggesting, obviously a fair bit of thought has gone in to it.
However, i think the two points i have raised may be slightly concerning.