HFL Division 1 (Central)

[Goldberg]

JQ stupid argument those players you mentioned all left over a 4 year period not at the same time, torrens valley have lost gunning, Mc dowell the Byrne brothers, Mark Clayton, James sitters, rod smitheran and deke smith. That's 8 out of there best 21 (their best 8 with Josh hill yet to play aswell) gone all over the one summer! TV's team from last year would of been a certainty to make the 5 in central. But having said that, it is enjoyable to see hughesys mob cop a belting after copping one in last yrs GF

DKL only mentioned losing 2 blokes that had left, so I see your point. But I also think you'll find that Lofty won that third flag in 2008 with most of the exodus happening soon after that, since then we've had 2 seasons. A bookie that's rubbish with numbers, see the irony?

why no mention of the players TV have picked up?

Very astute point, If they kept all the players they had, they probably wouldn't have all the recruits they have picked up this year. Some of which are or will be of the highest quality

[Justquietly]

Ballmagnet - agreed, in fact (other than the Raiders) NO side should be underestimated including your Tigers. From the teams sitting outside the 5, 4 have been competitive in all contests by the looks. IB will win at home a fair bit, Lobey are well improved and look like adding to those 3(?) wins in what must be 60 games by now, Hahndorf are a bee's d!ck away from a win and Onkas seem ultra-competitive. IMHO - Mt Barker, Uraidla & Blackwood are certs, outside of these, whoever can pinch a win off the top 3 will get that fourth spot but there'll be nothing between 4th-7th i reckon. Sides that minimise injuries will be there at the end.
Lebron - interested in your feedback re the Bays boys and their involvement at your club. I know they tried Lofty first but were told they were too expensive. Do they contribute off the field?

[Afterthesiren]

JQ, Lofty weren't the only club they tried. They went to several clubs and demanded a substantial amount. Went about it pretty arrogantly, now they hold Mt Barker to the sword. Spoke with a couple of Barker boys last week who advised they basically take the money and run. Good club men hey!

[cricketlad]

hi gang
just letting you all know i had the night of my life at last weekends BRFC wine and fine dining spritzer. the evening showcased the great chef barry kay and wonderful wicks estate wines range... and let me tell you after 3 bottles of plonk and 5 servings of oysters el natural i was a touch "randy" for want of a better word. i took my wife home and gave her an absolute seeing too!!! a seriously great night by the club i take my everlasting cap off to them. one of the better spritzer functions i have attend even in my capacity as a businessman.
it was a wonderful end to a forgettable day because for the second time in 2 years my trip down swamp road to the cabbage patch was a day from hell. firstly i will say im proud of the young RAIDERS who are learning at a RAPID rate under the mentoring of optimus. was particularly proud of young peter smith who did a heroic and brave run with role on the uraidla districts coach. must saying the kid did not give in despite some real rough house and bully boy tactics from the uraidla mentor. but the most dissapointing part of the day was the behaviour of the uraidla districts locals in the grand stand. carrying on like a bunch of god damn drunken sailors... was a real kick in the guts the way they carried on.... understand you have had some success in recent years but show some damn humility. perhaps mr.parker (who i have great respect for) and the old heads down uraidla way should think about put a damn cage on the front of that stand. had to put the wipers on in the hilux because the filth they were serving up was soiling the farside wing!!!
RAIDERS till I DIE!!!
V.

Vaughn without those blokes in the grandstand creating some kind of atmosphere, you could have heard a pin drop. There could not have been more then 20 bridgewater people at the game, maybe your B grade should stick around and show support and help your club, because atm your the laughing stock of the hills. You wont even get close to a win this year. not even close. unless perhaps you and ur son pull on the boots and create a lethal combination up forward??

[Vaughan]

Vaughn without those blokes in the grandstand creating some kind of atmosphere, you could have heard a pin drop. There could not have been more then 20 bridgewater people at the game, maybe your B grade should stick around and show support and help your club, because atm your the laughing stock of the hills. You wont even get close to a win this year. not even close. unless perhaps you and ur son pull on the boots and create a lethal combination up forward??

oo
hi cricketlad
thanks for the advice but despite the budget naming me on a forward flank a few weeks back i was more of a back playing ruckman in my playing days.
agree with you re the atmosphere it was absolutely non existant. perhaps we can get your little choir to come down to the green shed in the return fixture and sing french nursery rhymes and lullabyes all day long!!!
RAIDERS till I DIE!!!
V.

[The Gimp]

lebron, how can your club justify the amount of money Block and Fisher are on? TV keep getting razzed up about the amount they spend on players but Mt Barker never get talked about. $1500 a game each is just stupidity for local footy where you train twice a week and play for a couple of hours on Saturday. I hope they were holding a gun to the head of those involved cause that's the only excuse you could give your locals when their money enters the pockets of those two. And how does Nunan feel? He's better than both those guys and would be lucky to be on a third of what they are on. In a word... Ridiculous.

ATS, how much did you guys at Ironbank pay for the big Chief??? Even if he did know, surely you don't expect lebron to come on here and talk about the match payments of their players??

[Afterthesiren]

Your a clown Gimp, I know how much their on I just want to why they pay those players so much. Cheif was lucky to be on half of what they get. Im not oblivious to the fact clubs have to pay players these days but some match payments are bordering on insanity. The fact those two in particular have been openly talking about how much their on shows they don't really respect the club they play for. As I also know some bays boys it doesn't surprise me the way they are talked about. The bays were happy to see them walk out the door.

[dangermouse]

The fact any Amatuer club can justify paying $54000 a year for two players when their oval is contaminated and their opposition change rooms are a broom closet with cold showers is short sighted and disrespectful to the league they play in. At the very least in return the club should expect these guys to take coaching clinics, help mentor junior players and advise coaching staff across the club re game-plan, training structure, conditioning etc. If the club is receiving all of this, and the 'investment' is building a stronger, more professional club for local talent to be nurtured in then I guess it could be money well spent (that is drawing a very long bow though). If it is just part of an egotistical 'arms race' to try and win a flag then I say good luck to you and your club when the sponsors get sick of you financing two overrated primadonnas with their generosity.

[Bat Pad]

Stand to be corrected but as I understand it the oval is owned by the council and therefore Mt Barker can do nothing about it. Not sure about the change rooms.

[ftandsq]

The fact any Amatuer club can justify paying $54000 a year for two players when their oval is contaminated and their opposition change rooms are a broom closet with cold showers is short sighted and disrespectful to the league they play in. At the very least in return the club should expect these guys to take coaching clinics, help mentor junior players and advise coaching staff across the club re game-plan, training structure, conditioning etc. If the club is receiving all of this, and the 'investment' is building a stronger, more professional club for local talent to be nurtured in then I guess it could be money well spent (that is drawing a very long bow though). If it is just part of an egotistical 'arms race' to try and win a flag then I say good luck to you and your club when the sponsors get sick of you financing two overrated primadonnas with their generosity.

Are you kidding me, the investment they have made is they have got 2 league players in there low to mid 20's, who have taken them from out of the 5 to losing 1 game in a year and half. How can this possibly mean people should be bagging them! Its Not as if the whole team is imports and not as if they are losing. This is no Bridgewater story, they have paid this amount of money for 10 years and NEVER even made it in to the finals.

[dangermouse]

Ok then, how much is a flag worth to an Amatuer club? How much $ return on $ investment would one see generally? When AFL clubs win flags they experience massive windfalls from sponsors who want to brand themselves with successful clubs, increased membership revenue, merchandise sales and so forth. This justifies massive spending on coaching staffs, management and recruiting staff and infrastructure.

Amatuer clubs get a big night at the club in bar takings and some great memories. Premierships are great, but if pursuing them means you alienate locals, piss of sponsors and negelct your infrastructure then you are running a club with your ego, not your intellect.

This approach does not build a solid club culture, and when the money dries up as it innevitably does, what are you left with?


P.s. When did I mention Mt Barker?

[Afterthesiren]

Couldn't agree with you more dangermouse. And no you didn't mention Mt Barker I did. It's interesting to see how people get defensive when the truth and reality are put on a plate before them. Mt Barker might be doing ok now but at what cost down the track. Time will tell.

[Bazza J]

if 1500$ is correct, they would have to be the highest paid country footballers within 40mins of a CBD in Australia. Try and justify that anyway you want. Block was in and out of ressies his entire career and now he receives this kind of money?? absolutely crazy.

[lebron]

I can not believe the outlash directed at these 2 lads. They are paid well, no doubt, but they earn there money. Each week being targeted by opposition clubs, expectations from within and what have they achieved, 1 loss in all their time at Mount Barker. They do not spend all their money back at the bar, but then again is that what you want? Your star players getting written off at club functions, embarrassing themselves and the club? They can't win! They are being played in different positions this year to win us the flag we so desire, so they are doing what the coach wants, like it or not! ATS what do your recruits do with their money on Saturday nights?

[Afterthesiren]

Our recruits are required to attend all club functions and yes some of their money goes back over the bar. There is such a thing as responsible drinking and we are obliged to provide responsible service, so contracted players in particular do not get written off. These two are getting targeted because they can't keep their mouths shut. One in particular openly told someone in front of me what he was getting paid and even laughed about being a mercenary. Good culture developing there I'd suggest. I hope you get your flag and you get it soon.

[Bazza J]

1 loss in all their time at Mount Barker.

pity that 1 loss is the only one that counts hey bud

[lebron]

Definitely not saying it doesn't count! I have never heard either of them talk about money let alone what they earn or being mercanaries! Get off their backs! Worry about your own clubs, winning and your own recruits!

[Afterthesiren]

Definitely not saying it doesn't count! I have never heard either of them talk about money let alone what they earn or being mercanaries! Get off their backs! Worry about your own clubs, winning and your own recruits!

I guess if you never heard it it never happened, hey lebron. If that's the type of players you want at your club then go for it, shouldn't do too much damage in the long term.

[dangermouse]

Spending money back over the bar is not the point- contributing to the club's future is what clubs should aim to get out of their recruits. Example: From Lofty's Premierships years- Flash Gordon coached the under 8s; Racer Mehta's dad volunteered to become the club doctor; Woody now is basically an assistant coach now and working mainly with the yonger blokes; Rossco Wait has come back for peanuts (relative) and is helping out BC with his experience from coaching in the amatuers and at Norwood. Also we won three flags during their time. I have no idea what contributions other club's recruits make off the field- as I said in an earlier post, if they are using their knowledge and experience to better the other players, particularly the younger guys then I personally could almost justify the $$$$. If their contribution finishes when the siren is blown then Buddy Franklin wouldn't be worth $1500 a game IMO. My belief is, if you accept money from a footy club, you are not an amatuer anymore, you are a professional and are an empoyee of the club so should contribute as much as you can to the betterment of the club. Mt Lofty makes this very clear to new recruits.

In ten years time those four blokes, and the other recruits who also immersed themselves into the club's culture, will be having a beer at the club watching the new generation run around, which they contributed in a small way to developing.

[MR JUICY]

Geez the ole money thing is an old topic that keeps getting flogged, everyone does it, everyoe has different opinions on it, every club has different criterias for what they expect from it. If you have the money spend it. Mt Barker have recruited 2 blokes that were heavily hunted by many clubs and obviously thought these two players was what they needed for success. So be it, can't have a shot at the players, if it was offered to any player I think they would take it and jump onboard, u always take a risk paying players big cash, as a club u just hope you get what you are after from them. I would say every club in the Hills Central would be paying aroun $60K-$70K so don't think your club is innocent and have pot shots at others. But yes if a player is paid you would expect them to be putting in around the place and helping out where possible.