HFL Division 2 (Country)

[JS SPORTS]

Cock Eye you talk with forked tongue. The exact reason there are constitutions is to ensure things are done by a process not by emotionally charged morons who think they know it all. The football crystal ball will show in 5 years time many different pictures. Not so long ago Mt. Lofty was a whipping boy, be careful getting carried away with the TV roller coaster. They will lose players and if you take out there 15 recruits who are not life long TV people they would be an ordinary side.
Times change and money runs out...a p/ship this year will mean squat if the clubs dives for the next ten.

Well 'fork me dead!'
Promotion/relegation has been in the SAAFL for many seasons and clubs within that league have the same problems with recruits and finance. They also have a constitution that clubs abide by so not sure what the difference is, whether emotionally charged or otherwise. Maybe a few up this way need to take the "blinkers off" and try another option. As for morons, well you'd be very knowledgeable about their thinking I'd reckon.

[bobster]

such a great reply... y would loby deserve to stay in central div when its quite obvious that loby are far worse and havnt won a game in years

its because lobethal's club as a whole is stronger. bridgy when was the last time ur a grade made finals?? lobys was only a few years ago. the conditions of clubrooms and changerooms are a majour factor , if ur club bridgwater isnt up to scratch in terms of playing ability for years and ur oval and changrooms are the joke of the competiton then why should you stay in a strong league?? actually keep bridgy for all i care watching teams smash there a grade b grade 17's and 14's yr after yr makes me laugh. how bout just fixing ur oval and changrooms and that will b a start.

haha when was the last time loby won a game? that is a serious question... does any one know? been a while...if every one made crap excuses such as 'we were a strong team once' and therefore didnt get relegated, then know one would and the whole exercise would be a waste anyway... big deal, loby were a force once, but if it happends (promo/rele that is) and it happends to be them at the bottom of the ladder then they should be relegated...

[cricketlad]

my point is that bridgwater have been shithouse for over 10 yrs and havent improved in time while loby have been horrible for 2 and might deserve the time that has been given to bridgys and loftys, big difference, but i do hear what u r saying.

[magpie in the 80's]

Lobethal's last win was in 2007 Round 14 july 28th

Lobethal 12.16 (88) def Birdwood 10.13 (73)

Best
Lobethal: D King, M Schroeder, B Dray, M Palmer, T Nitschke.
Birdwood: S Friend, S Bayliss, T Bromwich, R Harison, A Rowett.

Goals
Lobethal: D Hibberd 6, M Coad 2, D King, M Schroeder, J Sziller, S Jaensch.
Birdwood: S Friend 3, J Curtis 2, S Bayliss, A Rowett, R Sherrift, S Meerman, P Schutz.

[aceman]

Cock Eye you talk with forked tongue. The exact reason there are constitutions is to ensure things are done by a process not by emotionally charged morons who think they know it all. The football crystal ball will show in 5 years time many different pictures. Not so long ago Mt. Lofty was a whipping boy, be careful getting carried away with the TV roller coaster. They will lose players and if you take out there 15 recruits who are not life long TV people they would be an ordinary side.
Times change and money runs out...a p/ship this year will mean squat if the clubs dives for the next ten.

So what process are we undergoing here? The winning of premierships by clubs who are "bankrolled" by someone just for that purpose and the destruction of others because the League won't/can't make tough decisions.
Whilst they remain thinking in the 70's, the comp will be remain lopsided and some clubs will get stronger and others will fall by the wayside. You don't need to be an 'emotionally charged moron' to see that coming!
I'm with the SAAFL way of doing it, promotion & relegation will sort the wheat from the chaff! A bit like water, always finds its own level.

[Gervais]

so...what happended at the TV meeting...did they decide on what they're doing in 2010 or 2011. is it BLG, Country or Central ?

[skimmer box]

Now there's a great idea lets compare ourselves with the amateur league, a place where no juniors play before the A's and B's, a place where they have had 5 assault charges on players this year, 3 threatening umpires with death charges, no umpires in any grade below A6 and all B grade covered by clubs, a place where you can travel to Salisbury Nth from the south of the city.
Oh yes but they do have the relegation system which means we should be just like them.
Of course none of the higher grades pay players and it is so even Goody Saints are going for their 5th flag in a row.
Yipeee!

[Pag]

Now there's a great idea lets compare ourselves with the amateur league, a place where no juniors play before the A's and B's, a place where they have had 5 assault charges on players this year, 3 threatening umpires with death charges, no umpires in any grade below A6 and all B grade covered by clubs, a place where you can travel to Salisbury Nth from the south of the city.
Oh yes but they do have the relegation system which means we should be just like them.
Of course none of the higher grades pay players and it is so even Goody Saints are going for their 5th flag in a row.
Yipeee!

I think the point Ace was trying to make, is that if you're going to promote/relegate, it should be done the same way the SAAFL do it, not necessarily become the complete SAAFL version 2.0. Bottom goes down, regardless of how good they 'once were'. If that was the case, clubs like Rosewater, Glenunga and others, who were once in SAAFL Div 1 and now sit Div 5 or lower, would have a case to still be in the top grade, even though they'd lose by Callington-esque scores.

And the trip from Salisbury North to Goodwood is comparable to Kersbrook-Kangarilla anyway, so I'm not sure what you're on about there.

You guys, like the Southern League, are a league with enough teams to sustain two competitions. From an outsider's point of view, if you want the most even comps you can get, one up one down each year should be the way to go. I know a lot of SAAFL people can't fathom sonme of the results that Callington and Hackham have, and if you want clubs like these to survive, and even thrive, let the best 10 teams fight their own battles, and the rest do the same. If people on here agree that Torrens Valley and Kersbrook wouldn't finish bottom of Central, then they really shouldn't be in Country.

If Torrens Valley go up to Central and then GH leaves, they finish bottom, head back to Country and start re-building again. Same for Kersbrook and the James'.

Just my $0.02

[Dr. Pink]

wats going on with the termite, hope he hasnt harmed himself after last weeks loss to fellow cellardwellers meadows. did hear he has just come out of his suicidal state and theyve removed his straight jacket. now with his typing finger free im sure he will grace the footy forum pages once again with his outstanding use of the english language!!

[daysofourlives]

wats going on with the termite, hope he hasnt harmed himself after last weeks loss to fellow cellardwellers meadows. did hear he has just come out of his suicidal state and theyve removed his straight jacket. now with his typing finger free im sure he will grace the footy forum pages once again with his outstanding use of the english language!!

not so sure he will grace these pages again, believe he is currently suspended and has been twice in the last month. bout as sharp as a bowling ball that guy

[The Gimp]

Pag and Aceman, i'm not sure if either of you have been involved with country footy and no disrespect but there are plenty of reasons why the HFL shouldn't take the lead in the SAAFL promotion/relegation structure.

- The club's position isn't just determined by the results of the A grade. Junior teams, finances, facilities, club culture etc. all play a part in how "successfull" the club is at the present. Correct me if i'm wrong, but doesn't the position of the A grade determine whether a SAAFL team goes up or down? It doesn't matter if the club has juniors etc.

- The gap between each div in SAAFL isn't that big which means if an A grade team has a stand out year or exceeds expectations and gets promoted, the chances are that when they go up they won't get flogged and will actually hold their own. Now I'm not saying TV and Kers won't hold their own in HFL div 1 (because I think their A grade actually would), but can it be sustained and can their B grade, snr colts, jnr colts and u13's all hold thier own?

- Many clubs in HFL div 2 don't think they have the capacity to compete in div 1. They will plan and work hard to try and assemble a team that is good enough to win a div 2 premiership but they know they they may not be able to do that year in, year out. If they stayed in div 2 then they may have swome success for 2-3 years but then they may come back to the pack and start again for another tilt in 5 or so years. If the same team/club was to get promoted after winning a premiership, they would go up and find it difficult to have the same success in div 1 which in turn, could lose them players or more money than what they had planned for and would put them further back than would they should be in div 2 if they got relegated.

- With the gap in between div's being bigger than the SAAFL, more planning/recruiting has to be done and there wouldn't be enough time between a GF and the following pre-season to complete this.

At the moment, the HFL have a good system in place for teams like TV that if they are having sustained success, then they can nominate to go up into div 1 the follwing season and that gives them a whole year to plan for the step up.

The Callington situation is more of a one-off and my opinion is they they have got themselves into this terrible position through poor club management and they need to pull out of the A & B grade until they sort it out.

I also think the points system, (once it is implemented properly by reducing the allocation of the top teams) will reduce the gap between the top and bottom teams and create a more even competition.


That was waaaay too much writing!!

[aceman]

Gimp, spent a bit of time up there in the early nineties and understand 100% what you are saying. You are probably giving the most balanced story on this so far, your mate Skimmer and his mentality may well be a reason why the HFL doesn't appear to be progressing IMHO.
Country footy cannot afford results as are currently happening in a few leagues, HFL, SFL, GSFL, MFL, YPFL, etc because people that play and support the clubs that get continued beltings get sick of it, leave and take their kids, money and ideas with them, the strong get stronger and you know the rest, so you can have the best intentions in the world but continued good support is a byproduct of success.
A reference is made by Skimmer about juniors at SAAFL level, he hasn't obviously done much homework because the strong clubs in the majority have strong junior setups, they play on Sundays due to the number of teams so that argument lapses due to insufficient reason.Yes, the A grade results determine the promotion but you can have the strongest senior & junior colts in the comp, but if your A & B grade get the sh*t kicked out of them every week, what happens? People thrive on success, they love to be part of a successful organisation. It's so easy to drive 20 kms down the road to be part of a winning club. Club culture is something that is created over time and should not be considered as a reason for any club to be accepted into, or remain in Div City or Country, that idea went out with 'button up' boots.
The HFL as a league would benefit immensely with the promotion /relegation system. At the moment, why would a club i.e., TV,want to nominate to play City Div when it can win premierships in Country division? I urge you to look at what is happening with a current ex powerhouse A1 club, Kilburn. Haven't won a game in Div 2 this season but a few years ago, they were the Torrens Valley equivalent in the SAAFL, except they have fallen victim to their own inadequacies and the SAAFL system has squared the ledger.
Can someone give me any better reasons than have come up thus far why the HFL wouldn't be better off?

[aceman]

Now there's a great idea lets compare ourselves with the amateur league, a place where no juniors play before the A's and B's, a place where they have had 5 assault charges on players this year, 3 threatening umpires with death charges, no umpires in any grade below A6 and all B grade covered by clubs, a place where you can travel to Salisbury Nth from the south of the city.
Oh yes but they do have the relegation system which means we should be just like them.
Of course none of the higher grades pay players and it is so even Goody Saints are going for their 5th flag in a row.
Yipeee!

A very clever and well thought out response! Stay in the pool pal, your logic makes Osama Bin Laden look like a Rhodes Scholar

[On The Pine]

Let me first say I am no expert on the finer workings of the Hills Leagues, but have taken an interest in the country thread because as a member of a MMFL club, this league would have a say in our future given the Morgan/Cadell FC will likely fold, bringing an end to our league. It was proposed that a merged competition be created, which would benefit the remaining 3 MMFL clubs and also be of benefit to Hills Country clubs that have been struggling. Our comp consists of junior and senior colts, A & B footy, and junior and senior netball, in a traditional country format. We believe it's an appealing format, promotes clubs as a whole and having footy/netty at the same place, makes it easier to run a positive club. We believed this format would appeal to the Callingtons of the world, and any other club that needed to consolidate to ensure their future. How wrong we could be. Callington not interested, preferring to suffer a slow death. No other club interested either. What has become evident is self interest, even among some comments on this thread. You fold/we benefit one club was told. Pretty disappointing.

I for one would have been keen to participate in an expanded joint league. It's not going to happen. A missed opportunity. The only option we have of being involved in Hills Country in under the current format. And I'm not sure if we have the resources though to compete against TV and Kersbrook.

We'll survive somewhere. We'll have to make compromises no matter what we do. Just a pity it probably won't be with the Hills League because not enough people could see the bigger picture.

[aceman]

Let me first say I am no expert on the finer workings of the Hills Leagues, but have taken an interest in the country thread because as a member of a MMFL club, this league would have a say in our future given the Morgan/Cadell FC will likely fold, bringing an end to our league. It was proposed that a merged competition be created, which would benefit the remaining 3 MMFL clubs and also be of benefit to Hills Country clubs that have been struggling. Our comp consists of junior and senior colts, A & B footy, and junior and senior netball, in a traditional country format. We believe it's an appealing format, promotes clubs as a whole and having footy/netty at the same place, makes it easier to run a positive club. We believed this format would appeal to the Callingtons of the world, and any other club that needed to consolidate to ensure their future. How wrong we could be. Callington not interested, preferring to suffer a slow death. No other club interested either. What has become evident is self interest, even among some comments on this thread. You fold/we benefit one club was told. Pretty disappointing.

I for one would have been keen to participate in an expanded joint league. It's not going to happen. A missed opportunity. The only option we have of being involved in Hills Country in under the current format. And I'm not sure if we have the resources though to compete against TV and Kersbrook.

We'll survive somewhere. We'll have to make compromises no matter what we do. Just a pity it probably won't be with the Hills League because not enough people could see the bigger picture.

OTP, the exact point that i have been putting forward, albeit from a different angle. The second biggest League in the state after the SAAFL but only interested in staying in their own archaic format. I have heard that both Sedan Cambrai & BSR have approached the HFL, and that response does not surprise me.

[the dentist]

biggest turn off with any teams entering the HFL from MMFL is the travel. about 150 odd km from kangarilla/meadows (furthest teams) to sedan or robertstown. long way for a game of footy in particular junior colts whose games start before 10 and sub juniors who start earlier again.

to restructure the league to accomodate these teams would require alot of work which would be dificult to achieve before the next season starts... particularly for the current administrators of this league!

[magpie in the 80's]

Gumeracha 20.9 (129) d Nairne Bremer 9.4 (58).
Echunga 18.13 (121) d Macclesfield 7.8 (50).
Kersbrook 30.12 (192) d Kangarilla 3.3 (21). R.James 17
Torrens Valley 24.34 (178) d Meadows 4.4 (28). J.Hill 11

[Choccies]

wats going on with the termite, hope he hasnt harmed himself after last weeks loss to fellow cellardwellers meadows. did hear he has just come out of his suicidal state and theyve removed his straight jacket. now with his typing finger free im sure he will grace the footy forum pages once again with his outstanding use of the english language!!

not so sure he will grace these pages again, believe he is currently suspended and has been twice in the last month. bout as sharp as a bowling ball that guy

Ease up.... bowling balls have feelings....
I would like to hear from the Termite to gauge what he has thought of his year at the helm at Maccy and how the boys have taken to him this year. Interesting...

[On The Pine]

biggest turn off with any teams entering the HFL from MMFL is the travel. about 150 odd km from kangarilla/meadows (furthest teams) to sedan or robertstown. long way for a game of footy in particular junior colts whose games start before 10 and sub juniors who start earlier again.

to restructure the league to accomodate these teams would require alot of work which would be dificult to achieve before the next season starts... particularly for the current administrators of this league!

Just a couple points. Sedan and Robertstown are no where each other. And that travel seems pretty good compared to last years propasal, which was Mallee and MM combine!

[JS SPORTS]

biggest turn off with any teams entering the HFL from MMFL is the travel. about 150 odd km from kangarilla/meadows (furthest teams) to sedan or robertstown. long way for a game of footy in particular junior colts whose games start before 10 and sub juniors who start earlier again.

to restructure the league to accomodate these teams would require alot of work which would be dificult to achieve before the next season starts... particularly for the current administrators of this league!

Just a couple points. Sedan and Robertstown are no where each other. And that travel seems pretty good compared to last years propasal, which was Mallee and MM combine!

Maybe 'the dentist' should stick to "fillings, extractions & root canal!"

OTP, you are with either BSR or Sedan Cambrai, is it an option to join Riverland Independent league for you guys since the HFL don't want to know you?
Roberstown should join North Eastern league I reckon.