batmanbegins wrote:jackpot jim wrote:caleb777 wrote:
If I was a Maccy person id be a little bit peeved. They copped it for years when they didnt go up to A grade and the second they do 2 clubs come down instead of staying up. Hahndorf have lost a few from last season but wouldnt dream of going down now.
I see where you're coming from with Maccy being a bit peeved but at the end of the day they need to worry about themselves and not what others are doing. Surely the aim of every club is to have an A Grade and if Maccy wern't ready to come back in after finishing minor premiers 3 seasons in a row in A2s then when would they be?
Hard to be critical of Wistow coming down to A2s as they've finished bottom 3 for the last 8 seasons in A Grade with 4 wooden spoons and have now lost the nucleus of their A Grade
Mt Barker in their 3 years back in A Grade have finished bottom, 2nd bottom and bottom and for whatever reason havent been able to develop or attract players of the standard to be more competitive.
As much as i dont want to see clubs dropping teams down grades , there are simply situations that not all are aware of that dictate they need to drop down a grade.
I believe 3 of the bottom 4 teams from A2 Grade last season are dropping down to B Grade including Hahndorf and Lobethal that finished 5th and 6th in the 8 team comp.
Do you reckon there is a chance the HCA and AEHCA merge at some point JJ? The HCA has now lost flagstaff and also only has 7 teams currently wanting to play A grade. I get there are difficulties to the merger but would make a ripper comp if it merged.
There were talks of merging the Juniors together this year but they couldn't strike common ground on a few things so abandoned plans for this year at least. I believe there was also some casual conversation among the hierarchy of both Associations to combining the Seniors as well down the track so i guess there certainly is a chance of some sort. I think the A&EHCA are fairly comfortable with the way things are atm with getting close to 40 Senior teams across 13 Clubs with a strong competitive A Grade comp. To have teams the quality of Strath and Woodside not being able to make finals is a testament to the strength of the A grade not withstanding acknowledgment that the bottom few teams struggle but thats the same with any comp.
With the booming population growth of Mt Barker and the addition of the 1st class facility at the Summit (Tho it may take a year or 2 to sort out teething problems and find the best way to maximise the benefit of it) it's hard to see there wont be changes in the way cricket is structured in the Hills involving multiple Associations. Time will tell i guess?