Gaelic Football in South Australia

[Cash 123]

Yep good point....

Perhaps we should be using the refs from the Gaelic academy or I will place a call to our umpiring department and get the 15-20 refs we have been keeping a secret and start kitting them up.

Unfortunately the passionate people who stick their hand up to Ref are always going to be those involved in other teams. In a perfect world it wouldn't happen but through necessity it has too happen. As a former referees director I assure you the refs roster is a nightmare and there next to no chance in facilitating your ideal scenario.

Perhaps Port Districts could supply a ref, I assume your nominating yourself Cash I think you would be awesome and humorous to watch ref.

Yes I fully understand the lack of refs and especially quality ones since your departure from the ranks

As far as I know Port Districts have supplied a ref

My exquisite understanding of the rules and short temper means I should probably stick to playing

[HH3]

I see the Irish gaelic has started. I've grown quite fond of this game.

Does anyone know if theres a way to watch it without having Foxtel/Setanta?

Any online streaming sites?

[heater31]

I see the Irish gaelic has started. I've grown quite fond of this game.

Does anyone know if theres a way to watch it without having Foxtel/Setanta?

Any online streaming sites?

I've stumbled across this a some ungodly hour on a Sunday morning on 7 two I think....

[mighty_tiger_79]

yep I reckon it was on either 72 or 73 at around midnight on a sunday night also

not sure if they showed all of last season

[wristwatcher]

We'll done to St.Brendans who won yet another 7 a side title tonight.

[Flinders O'Neills]

Well done to Port on making it into the finals for the first time...good effort

Spewing this week is a dead rubber now, yesterdays game between Irish Aussies and Na Fianna was a close contest, without getting into it, I think Na Fianna losing a man for the last 10 minutes was the difference, in saying that, reckon they hit the post twice with a few minutes to go!

Not sure where that Irish team has been hiding all year, competitive and fought hard for the win.....

[HH3]

We still haven't made it. If Na Fianna knock off Western Ireland in an upset by enough, and we lose to Flinders by enough, we're out.

[the milky bar kid]

Well done to Port on making it into the finals for the first time...good effort

Spewing this week is a dead rubber now, yesterdays game between Irish Aussies and Na Fianna was a close contest, without getting into it, I think Na Fianna losing a man for the last 10 minutes was the difference, in saying that, reckon they hit the post twice with a few minutes to go!

Not sure where that Irish team has been hiding all year, competitive and fought hard for the win.....

Well done to Port, they've shown great development this year.

Our match yesterday was played in good spirits between the teams, just a pity that the match had no flow & stopped every 30 seconds.

The loss of the man, was um, disappointing. It seemed a very opportunistic chance for the referee to give us a red card when he knew we only had 15.
As for the decision to actually give a black card for the incident. Well, I don't air referee grievances often/at all on here, but in this case it's completely justified because the decision was just plain wrong. It was a clear accidental stumble, with no malice, no deliberate intention & he wasn't the last man.
I personally like the referee & his passion for the game, but unfortunately his passion doesn't always lead to him making the best decisions in the heat of battle.

[the milky bar kid]

On a positive note, the resurgence of Irish Australians is a great thing for the competition.
It's just reward for Doeckes & the hard work he put in & I hope they continue to improve. Good guys, that played with respect for the opposition & looked to really enjoy the sport! I hope a majority of them stick around as they also had a solid balance of Irish/Australian players.

[wristwatcher]

Well done to Port on making it into the finals for the first time...good effort

Spewing this week is a dead rubber now, yesterdays game between Irish Aussies and Na Fianna was a close contest, without getting into it, I think Na Fianna losing a man for the last 10 minutes was the difference, in saying that, reckon they hit the post twice with a few minutes to go!

Not sure where that Irish team has been hiding all year, competitive and fought hard for the win.....

Well done to Port, they've shown great development this year.

Our match yesterday was played in good spirits between the teams, just a pity that the match had no flow & stopped every 30 seconds.

The loss of the man, was um, disappointing. It seemed a very opportunistic chance for the referee to give us a red card when he knew we only had 15.
As for the decision to actually give a black card for the incident. Well, I don't air referee grievances often/at all on here, but in this case it's completely justified because the decision was just plain wrong. It was a clear accidental stumble, with no malice, no deliberate intention & he wasn't the last man.
I personally like the referee & his passion for the game, but unfortunately his passion doesn't always lead to him making the best decisions in the heat of battle.

Surely you cant be surprised by any of that

[Cash 123]

Thanks to Flinders for handing us our first top 4 finish.

Look forward to our first real final this week and it should be very close with both games against Onkas being decided by 1 point during the season.

[wristwatcher]

Thanks to Flinders for handing us our first top 4 finish.

Look forward to our first real final this week and it should be very close with both games against Onkas being decided by 1 point during the season.

Your about to play in your First Ever Final, Finders have missed the finals again and that's all you have got Cash you've changed. Must be too many romantic dinners have made you gone soft. Lift Cash, lift son.

This thread has been very flat but I know many still read it. How about we have a discussion about some of the issues facing our Association and throw around some ideas to extract us from the shit heap we are sliding into. I will put forward some of the topics I think could use some healthy debate....

We are about to have a new President, who might it be???
With a 6 figure bank balance what could we spend money on to improve our competition?
Will we ever spend money on some of the things that make our association look like inept and unprofessional ?
At what point do some people put winning and personal club agendas on the back burner and start thinking again about game development?
When are we going to get a backbone and take a stand against the Australasian body and their archaic rulings?
Have we in the last ten years at any point put together a strategic plan? Will we have the courage to do one?
Is it possible to change the dynamic of a competition that is all based on one day?

[Cash 123]

Thanks to Flinders for handing us our first top 4 finish.

Look forward to our first real final this week and it should be very close with both games against Onkas being decided by 1 point during the season.

Your about to play in your First Ever Final, Finders have missed the finals again and that's all you have got Cash you've changed. Must be too many romantic dinners have made you gone soft. Lift Cash, lift son.

This thread has been very flat but I know many still read it. How about we have a discussion about some of the issues facing our Association and throw around some ideas to extract us from the shit heap we are sliding into. I will put forward some of the topics I think could use some healthy debate....

We are about to have a new President, who might it be???
With a 6 figure bank balance what could we spend money on to improve our competition?
Will we ever spend money on some of the things that make our association look like inept and unprofessional ?
At what point do some people put winning and personal club agendas on the back burner and start thinking again about game development?
When are we going to get a backbone and take a stand against the Australasian body and their archaic rulings?
Have we in the last ten years at any point put together a strategic plan? Will we have the courage to do one?
Is it possible to change the dynamic of a competition that is all based on one day?

hahaha I know let them off light but just excited to be playing proper finals this week.

hopefully your mob make sure they don't win the key rings either.

in regards to everything else you wrote, I have no idea but am looking forward to the responses from others

[wristwatcher]

I ill be rooting for you lads in your first final. Best of luck.

As for the bottom 3. Firstly I refuse to call it a div 2 finals series as we don't have two divisions. We have one 7 team State league. If you are not good enough to make the top 4 you are not playing finals. You can put a hat and sunglasses on my dog and call him poppy chulo but he is still a dog and not a Mexican pimp daddy no matter how much you dress it up.

I cannot speak for my club as I hold no official capacity any more and I cant speak for Flinders but I am tipping that Irish Australians will win their first piece of silverware or key ring by forfeit. I'm not sure of either of those two clubs are going to be competing in what is nothing more than exhibition matches. I feel for Flinders as for years they have come up with ideas to try and make their existence and our competition more viable. The idea of a home ground round at Kilburn among one of the better ideas that got shut down due to lack of vision.

So we now move into a 3 week finals series after playing a 12 game season. There in lies a structural problem. I believe the season needs to be changed to its original format. For Mens something like...
Oct-December - every team plays there 6 opponents and a Pre Xmas 1 v 2 GF for the Farnham Cup
Janurary - March - same structure with a two week final series for the Hannigan Cup. Hannigan Cup Final to be as close to possible to St. Pats day and not 9 days before.

Other ideas just to throw some out there ;
Eliminate the byes. Once a season your club will need to play a Friday and Sunday game.
Get a trainer at the ground. We cant keep running a competition and praying for divine intervention.
Recruit some umpires from the SANFL and SAAFL and have the ump co-ordinator train them.
Remove the ground duties
Make the venue more family friendly
Bring back the Friday night St. Brendan's disco
Take some of the $130,000 in the bank and spend it on the game and the competition
Chase some sponsors
Change some of the farcical rulings we adhere to from above and grow a set of nuts and make some State based decisions that will facilitate growth and stabilize development in our game

A lot of this is easier said than done but our competition often resembles a ghost town and some positive change needs to occur.

[G_Leonard]

Thanks to Flinders for handing us our first top 4 finish.

Look forward to our first real final this week and it should be very close with both games against Onkas being decided by 1 point during the season.

Your about to play in your First Ever Final, Finders have missed the finals again and that's all you have got Cash you've changed. Must be too many romantic dinners have made you gone soft. Lift Cash, lift son.

This thread has been very flat but I know many still read it. How about we have a discussion about some of the issues facing our Association and throw around some ideas to extract us from the shit heap we are sliding into. I will put forward some of the topics I think could use some healthy debate....

We are about to have a new President, who might it be???
With a 6 figure bank balance what could we spend money on to improve our competition?
Will we ever spend money on some of the things that make our association look like inept and unprofessional ?
At what point do some people put winning and personal club agendas on the back burner and start thinking again about game development?
When are we going to get a backbone and take a stand against the Australasian body and their archaic rulings?
Have we in the last ten years at any point put together a strategic plan? Will we have the courage to do one?
Is it possible to change the dynamic of a competition that is all based on one day?

Perhaps the man who was able to get AFL9's off the ground, and to eventually flourish in SA?

Which archaic rulings of the Australasian body are you referring to?

A strategic plan is a must I would suggest... Im not sure that I view the comp in the dire straights that you do, but some improvements could definitely be made, I'm not sure what those are though haha. Would be great to see another side (or even three to make ten) in the near future, but seven teams seems to be hard enough to sustain unfortunately.

[G_Leonard]

I ill be rooting for you lads in your first final. Best of luck.

As for the bottom 3. Firstly I refuse to call it a div 2 finals series as we don't have two divisions. We have one 7 team State league. If you are not good enough to make the top 4 you are not playing finals. You can put a hat and sunglasses on my dog and call him poppy chulo but he is still a dog and not a Mexican pimp daddy no matter how much you dress it up.

I cannot speak for my club as I hold no official capacity any more and I cant speak for Flinders but I am tipping that Irish Australians will win their first piece of silverware or key ring by forfeit. I'm not sure of either of those two clubs are going to be competing in what is nothing more than exhibition matches. I feel for Flinders as for years they have come up with ideas to try and make their existence and our competition more viable. The idea of a home ground round at Kilburn among one of the better ideas that got shut down due to lack of vision.

So we now move into a 3 week finals series after playing a 12 game season. There in lies a structural problem. I believe the season needs to be changed to its original format. For Mens something like...
Oct-December - every team plays there 6 opponents and a Pre Xmas 1 v 2 GF for the Farnham Cup
Janurary - March - same structure with a two week final series for the Hannigan Cup. Hannigan Cup Final to be as close to possible to St. Pats day and not 9 days before.

Other ideas just to throw some out there ;
Eliminate the byes. Once a season your club will need to play a Friday and Sunday game.
Get a trainer at the ground. We cant keep running a competition and praying for divine intervention.
Recruit some umpires from the SANFL and SAAFL and have the ump co-ordinator train them.
Remove the ground duties
Make the venue more family friendly
Bring back the Friday night St. Brendan's disco
Take some of the $130,000 in the bank and spend it on the game and the competition
Chase some sponsors
Change some of the farcical rulings we adhere to from above and grow a set of nuts and make some State based decisions that will facilitate growth and stabilize development in our game

A lot of this is easier said than done but our competition often resembles a ghost town and some positive change needs to occur.

Some great ideas here WW, some seem a bit farfetched, but better ideas than I could come up with nonetheless.
The idea of playing two games in one weekend from time to time is a good one imo.
Finding a more central location may increase participation, but St Mary's does have a lot of upside, and a central and suitable oval isn't necessarily available.

[Cheese Twisties]

My two cents (havent had a coffee yet so bare with me):

- in 2015/2016 instead of slugging clubs the $3500ish let them play for free - but require that clubs spend this cash on themselves ie new uniforms, new equipment, new footys, marquee recruits etc.

- kick the state league teams out of the gaelic7s, and try to create a "battle of the codes/leagues" type scenario, where we have teams based on clubs from the SAAFL, SFL, soccer leagues, rugby etc. IE instead of St Brendans, a lot of our core players are from Morphett Vale Football club, Plympton Footy Club, and from Jordy's soccer club. One of the only good things about footy trial matches is you get to play against clubs from other leagues, maybe the Gaelic7s could tap in on this. All this with the hope that one such team ends up becoming a state league club.

- agree that a lot of the Australasian rules and regs often dont help us here in SA. Things like having to fly the prez in to host the awful referees course, having to register players for gaelic7s (gaelic7s is little more than a kick and a catch - this should be near free to play and administer), and the rediculopus hoops you have to jump thru to host Australiasian championships

- organisation, getting basic numbers to help out on committee and run the league seems to be the hardest part to solve, as well as umpire numbers. Not sure what the answers are here. Whilst the model of "one person from each club must be on the committee" makes sense, it seems a few (like St Brendans) arent contributing much at the moment. If this is the case maybe move to a more "dictatorship" like model where those who want to make changes can be comes prez/treasurer/secreatary etc and let them makes the changes? As for clubs like S

- grounds: yep needing a trainer is a no-brainer, and i actually like the grounds duties setup (except when its my teams turn) as i hated getting stuck having to do the goals after our game each week. A ground with more natural exposure (on a main road etc) would likely be an improvment however.

- byes and season structure: yep get rid of the byes anyway you can! Due to the byes, and mystifying week off coz of Australia day (that was on a Monday) we have played like 2 games in a month leading into tonights semi. For the GF date, i dont mind it being based on the long weekend, rather than having to line up with St Paddys day. Re: the finals structure, pretty sure they changed it after we went back2back coming from distant 4th! Think the logic was that you could coast into finals by about 1/2 way thru the season, then the rest of the games would be near dead rubbers, as you were always going into an eliminations final no matter where you finished. With the curent structure, you actually getr rewarded for finishing 1st or 2nd.

- St Brendans disco: if point one gets up (no fees) then i will purchase a suitable dock to bring back the disco! Sadly my old one died

[Neville Bartoss]

The rugby oval at the old victoria park racecourse would be an ideal venue

[the milky bar kid]

My thoughts on making improvements.

1. We loosen the purse strings, bring in a paid, independent & impartial president. A part time job, where we employ one person to manage all government grants, oversee the upholding of bylaws, implementation of sponsorship to the league, working with the St Mary's board & managing bringing in roles such as cleaners, line markers, etc.
So for example, for the year, you averaged say, 10 working hours a week, over 52 weeks, at say $30 per hour, we are only looking at $15k-$16k. Bring in maybe some incentives for achieving sponsorship goals & make sure that the constitution is written in such way that the clubs payments are capped at a reasonable rate.
Hopefully this would reduce the load on volunteers, stop personal/team agenda's being pushed with decision making & keep those helping out with committee roles from staying in meetings for four hours circling around issues where the final decision is a letter saying please don't be bad again.

2. Higher payments for referees. I know it's been tough for Steve to coordinate this year with himself suffering from a knee injury, but we need to make sure we are able to compile referees from outside our club base without bias (although, all referees apart from one (whose name rhymes with Tony), have shown that they are more than capable to referee impartially). Unfortunately we are asking far too often for referees to take place in matches that ultimately can affect their teams position on the ladder.

3. I don't mind the idea of returning to the pre/post Christmas cups. We experimented with the extended season one finals system, has it brought extra to the competition? Unsure.
CT, this is what WW was referring to when changing the system. This was changed as it was seen that the second grand final (the Hannigan cup) was often referred to as the grand final proper. I do like the double chance on offer for 1st & 2nd.
ALTERNITIVELY, we run the season as is (with finals) for the Hannigan cup & add a FA cup knock out style cup for the Farnham Cup?
I still like the Hannigan cup being based on a public holiday weekend.

[wristwatcher]

Lots of really good ideas there in all posts.

G_Len - AFL 9s exploded from 30 odd teams to over 100 because of more than just one cunning, brilliant and handsome individual but its simple principles of cheaper costs, lest onus on clubs to run itself and supply of equipment and resources has allowed it to thrive. Admittedly not with a 6 figure bank balance but in game development it is now nation wide a school program because sometimes you need to speculate to accumulate. With Soccer being a genuine threat to AFL at the moment AFL 9s has ticked many boxes in the way of both participation and development. Some might say its apples and oranges. But growth and exposure don't lie.
You cant do anything without a clear plan though I agree. Even a coach has a philosophy to stop the waters from getting muddied in difficult times. strategic plan is now a must IMO

Nev - excellent idea. Such a good idea that about 18 months ago AFL 9s 'The game for everyone" had their then now ex State manager scout the location and set up a comp. Unfortunately it is not viable for a few reasons and wouldn't work for a 9 week comp so would not work for Gaelic.

CT - lots of excellent points. Love the first one but it will never happen. The game has a great bank balance and someone is getting paid 6 figures in the hierarchy. Growth and game development are great but I cant see it happening if it might effect in some way those in power. I cant go past the no trainer thing. Even the Ingle farm C grade has a trainer and some of the boys there don't even know what she does.

MBK - Also good thought provoking post however you hit the nail on the head in the first 4 words.

SUMMARY
For any sports competition to remain viable and relevant it requires a "CRITICAL MASS". The game I love has a State League that is at the imaginary line for sustainability and integrity. Imagine that God forbid say Na Fianna and Flinders pull the pin at the end of this year and it will only take 2-3 key stakeholders from each club for this too happen. You lose your critical mass and you lose your competition.
STOP making money, you already got about 12 years free labour and 3 years slave labour out of me and start investing in your game and your clubs or pretty soon you wont have the clubs.