Esteban Vihaio wrote:Easy answers, difficult solutions. Porties, Shoes, Aldinga have not filled a full U/18 side at least once in recent years. Morphies, Marion, Lonsdale and Edwardstown struggle 1-2 Saturday sides on average. That's seven sides given the boot if you need to fill three junior sides on the Saturday. I have seen posts from Brighton suggesting that some weeks they struggle to fill a Saturday side, but have filled one or two sides on a Sunday.
I never understood what the rationale for changing from U/17's to U/18's in 1996. Neither how letting a side fill two or even three sides when a neighbour struggles to fill one.
The rationale was that was what the clubs wanted, as all changes in League structure are. Ultimately, the clubs (or at least a majority of them !) decide what the League structure will be.
The SFL had had Under 18s (along with U14s and U16s ) for a long time until that experiment in 1991-1995 and it had worked. The Under 17s "experiment " was a disaster for many clubs, with record low numbers moving from Juniors (U17) into Seniors. Remarkably, the SFL tried Under17s again in 2002, and again it was a distaster and they went back to Under 18s again the next year in 2003.
And they say history never repeats .... I hope tonight's vote doesn't mean it is repeating again in SFL !