Ron Fuller on club zones

[Bunton]

I think they just want a fair go. Most people think South have all the Southern Football League when in fact they only have 7 of the 15 clubs i their zone and similar to the above example, the boundary line is very close to where both Morphet Vale and Reynella FC is located so their are kids at those clubs that below to rival zones - Hackham, Aldinga, Christies Beach make up 3 of the other 5 clubs in their zone, and those clubs rarely produce goals, let alone kids that go on and play meanigful SANFL League footy.

My read of the issue is they are not asking for anything that any other club does not have

[heater31]

Think it was reported in the SFL board that Reynella have 50 plus kids in several age groups this season. Now how many of those kids actually live in the south zone?

My bet is not many

[am Bays]

Hackham, Aldinga, Christies Beach make up 3 of the other 5 clubs in their zone, and those clubs rarely produce goals, let alone kids that go on and play meanigful SANFL League footy.

At A and b grade level, yes. However when I umpired Hackham and Edwardstown 17s last year there were a couple of kids playing for Hackham who could play footy - ahve you approached them. Pretty sure I gave one of those kids votes. This compared to Marion in our zone who didn't have a 17s team.

. Most people think South have all the Southern Football League when in fact they only have 7 of the 15 clubs i their zone and similar to the above example, the boundary line is very close to where both Morphet Vale and Reynella FC is located so their are kids at those clubs that below to rival zones

I don't dispute that and it is the point I'm making with the clubs in our zone that I mentioned - not all participants in those zones are able to play for the league that that club/school is located.

It is just plain wrong to assume all those partipants who part of those clubs in our zone are able to play for us.

The other issue is that by the SANFLs own admission they do not know the exact participation numbers in the State. They freely admit to double and triple ups for a persons registration especialy when they transfer clubs. They also know that particularly at the junior level kids are playing for more than one team/school. SO the actual partipation numbers in some zones are inflated.

I come back to my original assumption the most accurate and valid means of ensuring all clubs have the equal resources in which to develop their future league players and draftees is to have it based on the Census and the number of kids in a certain age bracket. With a bit of luck you gets kids who while they play in another clubs zone are actually your clubs to feed through the 16, 18s, ressies and league team.

[am Bays]

Regardless of the pathetic attacks on Ron Fuller and South by the uneducated above , the current zones are clearly unfair. When you have two clubs with over 100 clubs & schools and two clubs with 62 & 60 clubs and schools there is an obvious misappropriation of resources, regardless of who the clubs are at the bottom of the zone food chain.

What is pathetic is miss-information being peddled to South supporters by their coach when teams participants can come from all over Adelaide due to family connections and as I've said previously one kid can can play for multiple teams on a weekend.

I'll say it again very slowly, just-because-a-club/school-and-its-associated-teams-are located-in-an-SANFL-clubs-zone-it-doesn't-mean-all-those-13-to-18-year-olds-can-play-for-that-club.

Go to Westminster 1st and 2nd XVIIIs training and you see a mixture of Westies and Glenelg guernseys. Go to Sacred Heart 1st and 2nd XVIIIs and you see Souths, Glenelg and West guernseys.

Now if he said actual active partipants in the zone I could empathise with him because that gives an idea of how many kids are potentially available to play for a league club in time. However given the SANFL own admission that it's participation data is flawed and erroneous it would dangerous to draw up metro boundaries on dodgy numbers. Hopefully with teh intoduction of the myfootballwebsite for registration purposes that information/data will improve.

[am Bays]

Think it was reported in the SFL board that Reynella have 50 plus kids in several age groups this season. Now how many of those kids actually live in the south zone?

My bet is not many

It'd be more than live in the Glenelg zone - given that the majority of kids in the Sheidow Park/Trott Park area (neighbouring part of the Glenelg zone next to where Reynella is based) play for The Cove. Some also play for Flaggies

[smac]

Regardless, for you to try and assert that the anomalies even up a 52 team difference is taking the piss, surely?

[am Bays]

Regardless, for you to try and assert that the anomalies even up a 52 team difference is taking the piss, surely?

GEESUS do I need to say it again??

Think of how many more it could be given OSB and Lonsdale Footy clubs used to be in our zone. Get given to South and they fall over/merge. Facts are South have actually gained metropolitan teams/area of us in the last 2-3 redistributions. And they want more?

Flip side however is, think of the kids that get to go back from clubs and schools in our area that we visit each year to help in that clubs underage program that we will see no benefit from because residentially they are zoned to another club.

Mind you I did appreciate the irony last year when I umpired at Noarlunga Footy club and I saw the picture of James Boyd hanging proudly in the club rooms in his South gear....

Lots of good kids in the South area, South need to work out how to keep them.

[HOORAY PUNT]

Regardless, for you to try and assert that the anomalies even up a 52 team difference is taking the piss, surely?

GEESUS do I need to say it again??

Think of how many more it could be given OSB and Lonsdale Footy clubs used to be in our zone. Get given to South and they fall over/merge. Facts are South have actually gained metropolitan teams/area of us in the last 2-3 redistributions. And they want more?

Flip side however is, think of the kids that get to go back from clubs and schools in our area that we visit each year to help in that clubs underage program that we will see no benefit from because residentially they are zoned to another club.

Mind you I did appreciate the irony last year when I umpired at Noarlunga Footy club and I saw the picture of James Boyd hanging proudly in the club rooms in his South gear....

Lots of good kids in the South area, South need to work out how to keep them.

That's the issue ,nothing else. Some would argue South have had an easy ride to be where they are now and now they want another one.

Work your zone South and make kids want to play for you . As it is currently your club is not attractive to youngsters . This may improve after consistent results.

I always though the zones were based on males in the area throiugh the census data not solely local clubs ? Must be wrong on that.

[DOC]

To answer a few:

What is South doing regarding participation etc:

To start, every kid that participates in Auskick in the zone receives a junior membership (courtesy of a very generous sponsorship arrangement with Heyne's Nursery). This includes further coaching. This is firstly related to keeping interest in and/or making South the club that these kids would like to follow.

It is correct to say that zones are based on males aged 15 (I think) from the census data. A lack of clubs/schools to play for therefore lowers the participation rate. Centrals in the same boat here. I think this makes Centrals success over the last 15 or so years even more impressive.

I am in the school of thought that having the country zone on the doorstep is a double edged sword. We loose many players (in many cases back to) these clubs. Financial reward from the bigger GSFL clubs is substantial and makes them an attractive proposition when desire starts to wane.

If South were more successful then they would be a more attractive proposition. No argument there. Having a zone that is more equitable will assist with being more successful.

[Bunton]

Regardless, for you to try and assert that the anomalies even up a 52 team difference is taking the piss, surely?

GEESUS do I need to say it again??

Think of how many more it could be given OSB and Lonsdale Footy clubs used to be in our zone. Get given to South and they fall over/merge. Facts are South have actually gained metropolitan teams/area of us in the last 2-3 redistributions. And they want more?

Flip side however is, think of the kids that get to go back from clubs and schools in our area that we visit each year to help in that clubs underage program that we will see no benefit from because residentially they are zoned to another club.

Mind you I did appreciate the irony last year when I umpired at Noarlunga Footy club and I saw the picture of James Boyd hanging proudly in the club rooms in his South gear....

Lots of good kids in the South area, South need to work out how to keep them.

This is the best one I've read yet - OSB/Lonsdale are actually in Glenelg's zone and have been for some time - check the map on the SANFL web-site.

... and a Glenelg person telling people from other clubs that they need to work out how to keep their players!!!! Just about the only person that remains at your club from a couple years back is the President!! One of you good young prospects in Tom Redden has opted to return to SANFL at South rather then Glenelg. Now I hear that Scott-Collins, a state under 18 player who hated his time at Glenelg is suiting up for South.

Let's get back to the real debate - zones need evening up - you can't have one club with double the amount of teams to another. Let's see what the result is when the league finish looking at it.

[Wedgie]

Think it was reported in the SFL board that Reynella have 50 plus kids in several age groups this season. Now how many of those kids actually live in the south zone?

My bet is not many

Most of the kids I know (including my son) live in South's area that play for Reynella.
"Not many" would be incorrect. I'd say most.

And trust me, if my kid lived in Glenelg's area I'd move!

[PhilH]

To start, every kid that participates in Auskick in the zone receives a junior membership (courtesy of a very generous sponsorship arrangement with Heyne's Nursery). This includes further coaching. This is firstly related to keeping interest in and/or making South the club that these kids would like to follow.

Great Idea I wonder where it came from ....

[Aerie]

South with the least and Glenelg with the most. Doesn't seem to end up making any difference anyway does it?

[am Bays]

This is the best one I've read yet - OSB/Lonsdale are actually in Glenelg's zone and have been for some time - check the map on the SANFL web-site.
... and a Glenelg person telling people from other clubs that they need to work out how to keep their players!!!! Just about the only person that remains at your club from a couple years back is the President!! One of you good young prospects in Tom Redden has opted to return to SANFL at South rather then Glenelg. Now I hear that Scott-Collins, a state under 18 player who hated his time at Glenelg is suiting up for South.

Let's get back to the real debate - zones need evening up - you can't have one club with double the amount of teams to another. Let's see what the result is when the league finish looking at it.

Yep my bad, I stuffed that up before on here, the Lonsdale FC is and was in our zone but where the OSB footy club was before they merged is defiantely in Souths zone now though. We're lucky to have the Desal plant/old oil refinery as our southern border. Think of all those kids playing for OSB/lonsdale who currently are your kids and not ours because they live west of Lonsdale Highway. Just proves our point just because the club is in our zone doesn't mean all the kids are available to us. Guess which club ahs the responsibility of trying to help that club develop its youth base. Not South.

Yep looking forward to the league looking at this question and asking South well why haven't you had increases in participation rates like Glenelg have had in the last five years particularly in your country zone. In other words what the F*** are you doing with the money we give you (from the AFL) to grow and develop our game in your zones!!!

Lots of intersting questions to be asked and answered.

[Wedgie]

This is the best one I've read yet - OSB/Lonsdale are actually in Glenelg's zone and have been for some time - check the map on the SANFL web-site.
... and a Glenelg person telling people from other clubs that they need to work out how to keep their players!!!! Just about the only person that remains at your club from a couple years back is the President!! One of you good young prospects in Tom Redden has opted to return to SANFL at South rather then Glenelg. Now I hear that Scott-Collins, a state under 18 player who hated his time at Glenelg is suiting up for South.

Let's get back to the real debate - zones need evening up - you can't have one club with double the amount of teams to another. Let's see what the result is when the league finish looking at it.

Yep my bad, I stuffed that up before on here, the Lonsdale FC is and was in our zone but where the OSB footy club was before they merged is defiantely in Souths zone now though. We're lucky to have the Desal plant/old oil refinery as our southern border. Think of all those kids playing for OSB/lonsdale who currently are your kids and not ours because they live west of Lonsdale Highway. Just proves our point just because the club is in our zone doesn't mean all the kids are available to us. Guess which club ahs the responsibility of trying to help that club develop its youth base. Not South.

Yep looking forward to the league looking at this question and asking South well why haven't you had increases in participation rates like Glenelg have had in the last five years particularly in your country zone. In other words what the F*** are you doing with the money we give you (from the AFL) to grow and develop our game in your zones!!!

Lots of intersting questions to be asked and answered.

Didn't a crows/glenelg player come from OSB?

[am Bays]

Didn't a crows/glenelg player come from OSB?

Yep Mark Viska. And I think a three time premiership player for Brisbane came from their originally too, Craig McRae but he did play a year at Mitchell Park in '91 then came back to the Bays.

[cennals05]

South have the least amount and they're sh*t. Glenelg have the most and they're sh*t. What is everyone arguing about?

[Bunton]

Centrals Supporters - what your club has done in the last decade is truly staggering - even more so when you look at the raw deal you get with zone - do any of you think it is unfair that you are allocated such a disproportaionate number of teams?

It's not your fault that you have similar socio-economic challenges as South do and the kids in your area are also choosing not to play the game in the numbers they do in the more affluent suburbs.

[Spargo]

South with the least and Glenelg with the most. Doesn't seem to end up making any difference anyway does it?

What if they merged if it got all too hard?

[Dutchy]

Centrals Supporters - what your club has done in the last decade is truly staggering - even more so when you look at the raw deal you get with zone - do any of you think it is unfair that you are allocated such a disproportaionate number of teams?

It's not your fault that you have similar socio-economic challenges as South do and the kids in your area are also choosing not to play the game in the numbers they do in the more affluent suburbs.

Maybe Central have proven that it doesnt really matter that much if you have a good administration, coaching, development adn structures?

Something South should be trying to get good at rather than blaming something else...