HFL Division 1 (Central)

[R. White]

Looking into it, only two players played in echungas grand final team that had not played for them in a previous season. Miller and Lindsay. Hardly buying the flag. Good recruiting ontop of a solid base is how I would put it.

[Panther32]

[quote="R. White"]Looking into it, only two players played in echungas grand final team that had not played for them in a previous season. Miller and Lindsay. Hardly buying the flag. Good recruiting ontop of a solid base is how I would put it.[/quote]
I guess they are looking at guys like Dave Liston, Brock Rothe, Jack Snell who all played at Echunga and left for one season, Josh Newnham who was injured for the 2013 GF but played all season, Harland who played there in 2012 but not 2013, I guess they are scraping the bottom of the barrel to say they bought these blokes in!

[Champ]

The HFL need to really look hard over this promotion/relegation thing because it has that many holes in it's ridiculous.

They promote the winner of the Country League so as they don't have a lopsided Central League (the whole reason for two leagues), but in theory if your junior teams are successful your A grade side could get spanked by 20 goals and no one cares, you still stay in the Central Division!

Criticise Echunga for "buying" a Premiership, when in fact the majority of players are locals or have been there for years, most played in the Country GF. Yet criticise them for their poor Junior performance but no one has mentioned how bad Uraidla's juniors are! Across the three junior sides Uraidla have won 6 games for the season, Echunga 11.

When it comes down to it, the B grade are the only reason they are going down yet all the talk is ever about is either A grade or Juniors!!!

You look at the Amateur league who use the promotion/relegation system and there are always floggings in the B grade games! They are promoted or relegated on their A grade success or failures not the B grades!

If the goal is to have an even competition then isn't that what Echunga coming up have achieved?

Like someone said, the rules need to be adjusted to get with the times.

Finally a decent piece of sense written.
Gimp if I were you I'd be voting very carefully because the latest news is that 100% of players have resigned to play in 2015 there if they hit the country div your clubs season is already shot to pieces unless your mob can errr serve something up a little better than Central div top 5?

[Champ]

Further to that Panther32, if there is promotion/relegation why are some clubs allocated more points? This creates an unfair playing field and not every club has the same opportunity to remain in Central. Shouldnt everyone have the same points where relegation is going to be enforced?

Torrens Valley were single-handedly gifted enough additional points to survive; given this opportunity other clubs too would've improved their depth which could be seen in Echunga obviously playing their B'Grade Captain and two senior colts in the finals series.

Now all this other stuff aside I just wonder if there's a legal ramification there seeing as though the league point blank and in writing let all clubs know there would be no additional points gifted in 2014?

As for the APPS and promo/relegation what I am reading into it is...
If you're in country your best form of attack is to win enough games to play finals in order to get the max points you can going up because surely the points allocation is based on wins per season...? Whats a season? 18 rounds or the full premiership season?

[The Gimp]

Finally a decent piece of sense written.
Gimp if I were you I'd be voting very carefully because the latest news is that 100% of players have resigned to play in 2015 there if they hit the country div your clubs season is already shot to pieces unless your mob can errr serve something up a little better than Central div top 5?

What cr@p are you dribbling now chump??
Echunga agreed to the rules at the start of the season and your club wasn't good enough to dodge relegation.
Might only be the A grade that have a tough game - at least we know the rest of our teams will have an easier game against Echunga compared to Lofty.

You keep slagging off the other clubs and your votes to stay in div 1 are slowly slipping away.....

[Legs Man]

TV was the club that avoided relegation - due to the HFL allocating them an extra 5 points after stating the points allocated at season start were it - no changes.
What happened to the "rules are rules" statement that is the current mantra of the league?
This didn't apply then so why should it now?
Echunga came up from Country and effectively played with 13 as opposed to TV 18 - WTF - they are already in the higher comp.
Take into account matches TV won with the extra points and the effect this had across the season.
THEN - the league allowed TV to use the dung heap for a crucial relegation match after telling Echunga it would not be used unless it was rolled and harrowed due to its disgraceful state.
TV couldn't even get on the oval as it was so bad - hence nothing was done to remedy the ground - and the league allowed it.
The excuse was they had already bought their pies and pasties!
Granted - TV won and showed more desire on a ground that they had become accustomed to - and Echunga could not adapt to playing "bog hole" football.
It was however another example of the uneven conditions that were presented to Echunga.
I cannot believe or fathom that Echunga is in line for relegation before TV given all the factors that should determine the outcome e.g. number of junior sides, being premiers and facilities.
Given an even playing field I can accept relegation - but it wasn't anywhere remotely close to being even.

[Look Good In Leather]

Finally a decent piece of sense written.
Gimp if I were you I'd be voting very carefully because the latest news is that 100% of players have resigned to play in 2015 there if they hit the country div your clubs season is already shot to pieces unless your mob can errr serve something up a little better than Central div top 5?

What cr@p are you dribbling now chump??
Echunga agreed to the rules at the start of the season and your club wasn't good enough to dodge relegation.
Might only be the A grade that have a tough game - at least we know the rest of our teams will have an easier game against Echunga compared to Lofty.

You keep slagging off the other clubs and your votes to stay in div 1 are slowly slipping away.....

They won the bloody premiership, they were the best club in the comp!

[sideview]

Perhaps Legsman you would not be in this position if you were not given extra points the year before after winning a grand final and playing in the previous 2.

So why is it you were happy for the board to give you extra points after playing in a grand final.

Country Clubs were not happy with this scenario Legsman. And I'm pretty sure you did not post any negative comments back then.

[Legs Man]

Perhaps Legsman you would not be in this position if you were not given extra points the year before after winning a grand final and playing in the previous 2.

So why is it you were happy for the board to give you extra points after playing in a grand final.

Country Clubs were not happy with this scenario Legsman. And I'm pretty sure you did not post any negative comments back then.

Fully understand - it was this season though that points were not to be changed once allocated due to previous years anomalies.

As sides were unhappy the change was made - but not enforced.

[R. White]

Seems to me that TV have had all the support in the world from the HFL since entering the central division, and the HFL has done nothing but hinder Echunga's promotion.
I understand that the decision to have a 11 team comp is now up to the other clubs which i would say is unlikely due to the sedan move.
Then the issue should be who gets relegated. this is a whole different issue for which each club has a case for and against:

Echunga - should stay- (as legsman has pointed out on many occasions) less points than TV
- Won the A Grade flag
- Strong junior numbers
- loosely worded rules around relegation points

- Should go - finished bottom of club shield (which is believed to be the measuring stick)
- B grade didnt win a game suggesting lack of depth (which i would assume will get better the longer they stay up)

TV - Should stay - Earned the right to stay by staying off bottom of club shield

- Should go - very poor junior numbers
- had extra points which ultimately helped them stay off bottom of club shield
- poor facilities

Bridgy - Should stay - Strong junior program
- Seniors improving regularly on the back of junior program
- recently merged with Callington (needs time to prove benefit)

Should go - poor facilities
- may have finished bottom on points (based on loosely worded rules)

I am sure i have missed some things here but in my eyes there is only one sensible solution. Keep the 10 team comp and relegate the weakest club as a whole. TV. when i say whole i mean everything including facilities, juniors (both numbers and success) seniors (including finals).
Some may deem this unfair but life is unfair and in my opinion it is by far the best thing for the comp.

[no1rangler]

Finally a decent piece of sense written.
Gimp if I were you I'd be voting very carefully because the latest news is that 100% of players have resigned to play in 2015 there if they hit the country div your clubs season is already shot to pieces unless your mob can errr serve something up a little better than Central div top 5?

What cr@p are you dribbling now chump??
Echunga agreed to the rules at the start of the season and your club wasn't good enough to dodge relegation.
Might only be the A grade that have a tough game - at least we know the rest of our teams will have an easier game against Echunga compared to Lofty.

You keep slagging off the other clubs and your votes to stay in div 1 are slowly slipping away.....

They won the bloody premiership, they were the best club in the comp!

certainly not the best CLUB - successful in A grade. If they were the best CLUB - you wouldn't be going through the legalities of the by laws every 10mins mate

[The Gimp]

Seems to me that TV have had all the support in the world from the HFL since entering the central division, and the HFL has done nothing but hinder Echunga's promotion.
I understand that the decision to have a 11 team comp is now up to the other clubs which i would say is unlikely due to the sedan move.
Then the issue should be who gets relegated. this is a whole different issue for which each club has a case for and against:

Echunga - should stay- (as legsman has pointed out on many occasions) less points than TV
- Won the A Grade flag
- Strong junior numbers - loosely worded rules around relegation points

- Should go - finished bottom of club shield (which is believed to be the measuring stick)
- B grade didnt win a game suggesting lack of depth (which i would assume will get better the longer they stay up)

TV - Should stay - Earned the right to stay by staying off bottom of club shield

- Should go - very poor junior numbers - had extra points which ultimately helped them stay off bottom of club shield
- poor facilities

Bridgy - Should stay - Strong junior program
- Seniors improving regularly on the back of junior program
- recently merged with Callington (needs time to prove benefit)

Should go - poor facilities
- may have finished bottom on points (based on loosely worded rules)

I am sure i have missed some things here but in my eyes there is only one sensible solution. Keep the 10 team comp and relegate the weakest club as a whole. TV. when i say whole i mean everything including facilities, juniors (both numbers and success) seniors (including finals).
Some may deem this unfair but life is unfair and in my opinion it is by far the best thing for the comp.

i understand where you're coming from but how about a bit more accuracy?
- If Echunga had "strong junior numbers", I doubt they would've only won 11 out of 54 games. They filled all sides but I wouldn't call them strong.
- TV seniors had a pretty good year (albeit unfairly with extra points) with A's missing finals by 2 games and had 5th highest % and their B's finishing 4th.
- Comparing TV juniors to Echunga I hardly think their junior numbers were "very poor" considering they won 9 out of 54 games (2 less than Echunga).

I agree TV would be more suited to div 2 at the moment, but at least make your argument clear and unbiased.

I still think the main problem is with div 2 and if there weren't so many one-sided senior games and so many holes in the juniors, it would be a good place for some of the "div 1" clubs to come back, rebuild and head back up again to give it another crack. Long term, will the smaller towns like Echunga, Uraidla, Ironbank etc be able to sustain the spending it requires to have a crack at the div 1 premiership?
I think the big clubs like Barker, Hahndorf, Onkas etc will always be div 1 clubs but if they can fix div 2, reduce the step between the two div's, remove the stigma of relegation and have div 2 there for rebuilding smaller clubs to have a crack at success against the smaller clubs that will probably never be able to play in div 1.

[R. White]

Apologies, I was only making my comment regarding junior numbers according to what i have read on this forum, probably a silly thing to do in hindsight.
TV have been up for 4 years now and have not shown much improvement. Echunga's juniors have strengthened enormously as a result of being promoted. It seems a little unfair to demote a club that has done what they have done this year across all grade (except the bgrade of course). I understand the competition is run by the clubs but at some point, somewhere along the line changes need to be made for the better.
TV were stronger than Echunga in 1 grade, have inferior facilities and are in the middle of nowhere.
Just for arguments sake here are the results for TV in 2011 compared to 2014

Agrade- 2011 9th position with 5 wins 2014 7th position with 7 wins
bgrade- 2011 9th position with 2 wins 2014 4th position with 11 wins
s/c- 2011 10th position with 1 win 2014 9th position with 4 wins
j/c 2011 9th position with 2 wins 2014 10th position with 2 wins

Biggest improvement in the B grade.
Anyone saying the old "rules are rules" line are stuck in the stone age. Rules are meant to be changed with the times as required.

[Legs Man]

Seems to me that TV have had all the support in the world from the HFL since entering the central division, and the HFL has done nothing but hinder Echunga's promotion.
I understand that the decision to have a 11 team comp is now up to the other clubs which i would say is unlikely due to the sedan move.
Then the issue should be who gets relegated. this is a whole different issue for which each club has a case for and against:

Echunga - should stay- (as legsman has pointed out on many occasions) less points than TV
- Won the A Grade flag
- Strong junior numbers - loosely worded rules around relegation points

- Should go - finished bottom of club shield (which is believed to be the measuring stick)
- B grade didnt win a game suggesting lack of depth (which i would assume will get better the longer they stay up)

TV - Should stay - Earned the right to stay by staying off bottom of club shield

- Should go - very poor junior numbers - had extra points which ultimately helped them stay off bottom of club shield
- poor facilities

Bridgy - Should stay - Strong junior program
- Seniors improving regularly on the back of junior program
- recently merged with Callington (needs time to prove benefit)

Should go - poor facilities
- may have finished bottom on points (based on loosely worded rules)

I am sure i have missed some things here but in my eyes there is only one sensible solution. Keep the 10 team comp and relegate the weakest club as a whole. TV. when i say whole i mean everything including facilities, juniors (both numbers and success) seniors (including finals).
Some may deem this unfair but life is unfair and in my opinion it is by far the best thing for the comp.

i understand where you're coming from but how about a bit more accuracy?
- If Echunga had "strong junior numbers", I doubt they would've only won 11 out of 54 games. They filled all sides but I wouldn't call them strong.
- TV seniors had a pretty good year (albeit unfairly with extra points) with A's missing finals by 2 games and had 5th highest % and their B's finishing 4th.
- Comparing TV juniors to Echunga I hardly think their junior numbers were "very poor" considering they won 9 out of 54 games (2 less than Echunga).

I agree TV would be more suited to div 2 at the moment, but at least make your argument clear and unbiased.

I still think the main problem is with div 2 and if there weren't so many one-sided senior games and so many holes in the juniors, it would be a good place for some of the "div 1" clubs to come back, rebuild and head back up again to give it another crack. Long term, will the smaller towns like Echunga, Uraidla, Ironbank etc be able to sustain the spending it requires to have a crack at the div 1 premiership?
I think the big clubs like Barker, Hahndorf, Onkas etc will always be div 1 clubs but if they can fix div 2, reduce the step between the two div's, remove the stigma of relegation and have div 2 there for rebuilding smaller clubs to have a crack at success against the smaller clubs that will probably never be able to play in div 1.

Echunga fields:
S/C
J/C
U/13
U/11
U/9
Auskick.

5 sides in juniors plus auskick - more than some others.
Lets look at the big picture here and the best way to get participants in our beloved sport.
Echunga's location is best suited to Central - as is Nairne's - as they are both closer to Mt Barker, other central clubs and Adelaide.
Facilities must also be factored into the division split / makeup with a minimum requirement met to play in the top tier.
As stated previously - it was blatantly obvious which clubs spent on their club overall taking all elements into account when travelling this year.
It was also obvious those who only spent on players.
This is one of the major problems facing the HFL and one that needs to be addressed if we are really concerned about the future.

[Yellow & Black]

How are teams shaping up for next season? Ins/Outs? We all know Echunga have kept their entire squad apparently...

I'm hearing whispers my Tigers have lost a few key players, I'm hearing the likes of Tom Johnson & Scott Aufderheide (both to play cricket in England), Jack Bampton (moving to Melb with his brother - if he gets drafted), Joe Zadow (travelling) and Trevor Baust. Hard players to replace considering they all play for the right reasons. Have my boys missed their window as I'd expect other teams will only improve?

[Legs Man]

Wow - sorry to hear that Y & B we were looking forward to playing you guys at full strength again.
The finals match we just played was an absolute ripper.
Lobey and Echunga were really well matched this season and both grounds were fantastic..

[chopper7]

How are teams shaping up for next season? Ins/Outs? We all know Echunga have kept their entire squad apparently...

I'm hearing whispers my Tigers have lost a few key players, I'm hearing the likes of Tom Johnson & Scott Aufderheide (both to play cricket in England), Jack Bampton (moving to Melb with his brother - if he gets drafted), Joe Zadow (travelling) and Trevor Baust. Hard players to replace considering they all play for the right reasons. Have my boys missed their window as I'd expect other teams will only improve?

Baust will play, no questions asked.
Aufderheide has been talking about playing cricket in England for 4 years and never happened (long shot)
Let's hope either the crows or power take young Peter Bampton (Jack Bampton Stays)
I think the biggest issue for the Tigers next year is trying to recruit decent players but not having many points to play with.

[Panther32]

I think Legs Man has made another very good point about the inconsistency in this league.
How do you have a promotion/relegation system when you have a varied points allocation??? **** me this league really is a joke.
For TV to be allocated an extra 5 points than a club coming up from the Country Division is ridiculous especially when the potential is that Echunga will be forced back down to Country, which is what happened!
If Echunga had been allocated extra points they could have recruited another couple of players therefore forcing two or three A graders down to B grade making them better.
We also have seen that when recruiting a couple of guys that it sometimes brings mates to a new club again bolstering player stocks in the B grade.
It's almost a restriction of trade!
Where is the level playing field?
Mate, Echunga have so many reasons to object to being relegated it's not funny.
Loss of income is a huge one!!!

[MONTE CRISTO]

For God's sake give me a break! This is the HFL and not the ECHUNGA FOOTBALL LEAGUE!

Can anyone confirm theses Coaches for 2015:-

URAIDLA DISTRICTS - Scott Sutherland
MOUNT BARKER - ???????
LOBETHAL - Jeremy Aufderheide
BLACKWOOD - Damien Salievic
TORRENS VALLEY - Dale Eichner
BRIDGEWATER - Rob Prime
IRONBANK - Andrew Jarman
ONKAPARINGA VALLEY - Ryan McGahey
HAHNDORF - Craig Smith
MOUNT LOFTY - Bruce Dawes

Echunga - who cares, they are in Country Division!

[Legs Man]

For God's sake give me a break! This is the HFL and not the ECHUNGA FOOTBALL LEAGUE!

Can anyone confirm theses Coaches for 2015:-

URAIDLA DISTRICTS - Scott Sutherland
MOUNT BARKER - ???????
LOBETHAL - Jeremy Aufderheide
BLACKWOOD - Damien Salievic
TORRENS VALLEY - Dale Eichner
BRIDGEWATER - Rob Prime
IRONBANK - Andrew Jarman
ONKAPARINGA VALLEY - Ryan McGahey
HAHNDORF - Craig Smith
MOUNT LOFTY - Bruce Dawes

Echunga - who cares, they are in Country Division!

This shows the mentality of some!

Meaning that only their own backyard is of interest - not the league as a whole.