HFL Division 1 (Central)

[devilsadvocate]

ive said it before, and ill say it again the top few div 2's would open a serious can on the bottom few div 1's.

Please stop now. You're getting boring and everyone disagrees with you.

[petoe]

Speaking of ruckmen, have Lofty got a decent one after Pahl leaving?
One of the Temme's is still there, yeah?

I was reading an article somewhere of an interview with the lofty A Grade coach, and he mentioned lofty had signed a ruckman called Will Grosser from Goody Saints and West Adel.

[Silky skills]

There is no way in hell this cats serious, div 2 is second ranked football, and to say that the top two division teams would woop the bottom two teams is a laugh, anyone with any idea wouldnt make a STUPID comment like that. Im embarrassed for that comment

[johnnycash]

quick couple of questions out of shear ignorance.. is HFL Central stronger than Southern league? Is HFL Central the strongest country league in SA? How does HFL Central rate compared to Amateur leagues? Is it on par with say div2? thoughts?

[johnnycash]

There is no way in hell this cats serious, div 2 is second ranked football, and to say that the top two division teams would woop the bottom two teams is a laugh, anyone with any idea wouldnt make a STUPID comment like that. Im embarrassed for that comment

you know i'm serious. and im not the only person that's posted something similar on this forum, in 06 Kangarilla, Meadows and TV would've gone close to making the finals in central div, and blasted Ironbank and Bridgewater.

[devilsadvocate]

I'd say Hills Central is on par with Div 2. Having played a trials against Div 2 sides last year (Modbury, SHOC and Sctoch) and beating them all convincingly I'd call Div 2.

Unsure about Southern have heard it would be neck and neck. Apparently Kangarilla used to struggle down there finishing low-mid table (anyone with more acurate positions?).

The Indian would be a good judge having played in both leagues recently.

[magpie in the 80's]

There is no way in hell this cats serious, div 2 is second ranked football, and to say that the top two division teams would woop the bottom two teams is a laugh, anyone with any idea wouldnt make a STUPID comment like that. Im embarrassed for that comment

you know i'm serious. and im not the only person that's posted something similar on this forum, in 06 Kangarilla, Meadows and TV would've gone close to making the finals in central div, and blasted Ironbank and Bridgewater.

beating ironbank and bridgewater doesnt get you close to playing finals. you still had to contend with mt.barker and lobethal before the final 5.

[Goldtooth]

you know i'm serious. and im not the only person that's posted something similar on this forum, in 06 Kangarilla, Meadows and TV would've gone close to making the finals in central div, and blasted Ironbank and Bridgewater.[/quote]

You are dreaming mate. There are blokes playing a grade for the above div 2 clubs who were just average players in div 1 b grade. IB & Shanty would have beaten these teams easily.

[magpie in the 80's]

story from countryfooty .com.au

MOUNT LOFTY CONFIDENT OF SUCCESS IN 2007

From Julia Prosperi-Porta

The Mount Lofty Devils remain confident of another triumphant season but are anticipating tough competition this year and will need to improve to stay at the top.

After claiming the flag in the A grade, B grade and Senior Colts, the club have managed to retain most players, with confidence among them still high after last year’s victory. A grade coach Nathan Grainger said their one loss last season “was the only thing that went wrong” but believes with the League looking stronger this year, they’ll need to raise their standards.

The players have been in training since November and the club have recruited Nathan Peterson-Grey from Sturt and Will Grosser from West Adelaide. Paul Sarno and Heath Pahl have moved on, while Leith Dawes, who played in the Devil’s last premiership in 1990, has retired, along with Richard Bennett, Nathan Brook and Adam Becis from the B grade. The B Grade have assigned Scott Madsen as their new coach. They are looking strong and will be chasing their third premiership in a row.

Before last year’s victory, Grainger said the Devil’s were labelled “Easybeats”, after continuously being thrashed in previous years. This resulted in the players losing enthusiasm and set the greatest challenge for the club - regaining confidence and “camaraderie” among the players. However, the Devil’s experienced “an onslaught of locals that returned to the club all in one hit”, said Grainger. Many that returned were part of a Senior Colts Premiership team a couple of years ago and others came back after stints in the SANFL. This rejuvenated side instantly saw victory after winning all of their trial games, which boosted morale within the squad for the rest of the season.

This year, Grainger expects progress and believes it is “certainly worth it, aiming to be a top three side.”

“There have been quite a few players recruited to the competition from the amateur league”, he said.

Onkaparinga, Hahndorf and Birdwood have appointed new coaches.

“With the competition getting stronger we’ll need to improve again”, Grainger said . He believes there a few areas they can improve on, particularly goal-kicking, after scoring many points last year. He also wants to build on the performances of some of the younger players.

After breaking the Devils 16 year premiership drought last season, Grainger said he is looking forward to a challenging year.

February 28, 2007

[keep your feet]

I think that you will find that it is a huge call to say any leage is the best in sa. each leauge might have a stand out team but they might not have the depth of other leagues. in saying that the devils did play three div two ameture sides last year and beat them all convincingly. i think the main thing that could find the difference is the inter-league games. but i would rate the top half of the hfl "div1" as good as div 2 in the city.

[devilsadvocate]

Good get there with that article M80.

Very disappointing not to get a mention as a retiree!!!! I guess they don't care about hacks!

A couple of ordinary comments in the article though. The most irritating is the complete lack of mention of our success in 05. It sounds like we went from getting flogged every week to being unbeatable and winning the falg in 1 year.

KB's efforts in 05 should have rated a mention I think. The man did great things with what he had and to make the finals in 05 was an outstanding achievement.
If they wont say it I will - good work KB. KB built on the camaraderie that has been there forever and built a platform for 06. Captain Cuttso had plenty to do with getting the locals involved too. Good work Captain Cuttso!

[augg]

good call devils advocate!!!
i like your style!

[The Gimp]

You are dreaming mate. There are blokes playing a grade for the above div 2 clubs who were just average players in div 1 b grade. IB & Shanty would have beaten these teams easily.

Name the Players.

If you think IB & Bridgies would've beaten Kangarilla, Meadows or TV you are living in a dream land!! I watched games in both comps and there is no doubt that Kangarilla would've made the finals. They wouldn't have beaten the top three but would've been around the Hahndorf/Blackwood/Mt Barker/Loby mark.

[johnnycash]

you know i'm serious. and im not the only person that's posted something similar on this forum, in 06 Kangarilla, Meadows and TV would've gone close to making the finals in central div, and blasted Ironbank and Bridgewater.

You are dreaming mate. There are blokes playing a grade for the above div 2 clubs who were just average players in div 1 b grade. IB & Shanty would have beaten these teams easily.[/quote]

..there are good players playing in central a grade who were only good players when they played in country a grade... the competition gap is no where near as huge as u like to think it is...

[devilsadvocate]

It's like groundhog day on this thread.

The only positive would be if it ends with shagging andie macdowell and even that wouldn't be so great.

[2words]

you know i'm serious. and im not the only person that's posted something similar on this forum, in 06 Kangarilla, Meadows and TV would've gone close to making the finals in central div, and blasted Ironbank and Bridgewater.

You are dreaming mate. There are blokes playing a grade for the above div 2 clubs who were just average players in div 1 b grade. IB & Shanty would have beaten these teams easily.

..there are good players playing in central a grade who were only good players when they played in country a grade... the competition gap is no where near as huge as u like to think it is...[/quote]

As stated before, the overall standard of all 18 players on the field in a central side is alot better than the 18 in a country side. Hence the difference in standard. It comes down to depth and obviously the central sides have bigger populations to pull players from. Your only as strong as your weakest player.

Interesting to note that when ironbank were in country they were a very dominant force. They then entered central and even with there influx of good players were still unable to make the finals. For the record, at least 5-7 of these players have played association for the hills.

[johnnycash]

you know i'm serious. and im not the only person that's posted something similar on this forum, in 06 Kangarilla, Meadows and TV would've gone close to making the finals in central div, and blasted Ironbank and Bridgewater.

You are dreaming mate. There are blokes playing a grade for the above div 2 clubs who were just average players in div 1 b grade. IB & Shanty would have beaten these teams easily.

..there are good players playing in central a grade who were only good players when they played in country a grade... the competition gap is no where near as huge as u like to think it is...

As stated before, the overall standard of all 18 players on the field in a central side is alot better than the 18 in a country side. Hence the difference in standard. It comes down to depth and obviously the central sides have bigger populations to pull players from. Your only as strong as your weakest player.

Interesting to note that when ironbank were in country they were a very dominant force. They then entered central and even with there influx of good players were still unable to make the finals. For the record, at least 5-7 of these players have played association for the hills.[/quote]

didn't they make the finals in their 2nd year back in central?

[GetTheSherrin]

meadows wouldnt have got close to centrals finals last year, TV and Kang?? never seen them play, so its possible.

JC, i think youll find LTSO means that not every team out there is as determined to win, they all want to win but some wont go to the lengths that say TV has gone to with money. when he says 18 on the field it just means that they get a side out there to play and have a kick of footy. stop wasting our time by taking everything so literally JC, maybe have a few deep breaths b4 u post obvious shite.

good comments M80s, i dont think alot of people realise how close lofty and shanty have been to merging b4. when coco took over the presidency the bridgy commitee came to him and asked to merge but he knew where he wanted to take us and had already got KB on board and knew we wouldnt need it, and therefore said a big "NO". dont think IB and devs would ever merge no matter what the situations. since they are originally derived from our C grade that didnt want to play in the SAFA when we went.

think it would be too hard to say best leagues, as some have posted its the depth that has a real gauge on a leagues strength. no doubt the top 3 central sides could play div2 amatures. not sure about the rest. even though we beat a few div2 sides in trials both teams wouldnt have been full strength. trials are good for tactics and fitness not for gauging whos actually stronger.

[devilsadvocate]

since they are originally derived from our C grade

Forgot that IB was our C grade.

Man that would have been usefull in recent arguments!!!!!!!

[GetTheSherrin]

DA, just wait for the fireworks about it. Blah blah blah.