Mclean averaged 6 kicks, 2 handballs & 1.5 goals per match in 2022, not something to get too excited about & hopefully the person/people we recruit will perform better for us than that, time will tell,

Geez if your recruit does better than McLean he will win the Ken Farmer Medal ;)

If Billy plays forward all the time next year, he has a big chance of doing that.
Cheers

NW Premierships I have seen
1975 v GL
1978 V ST
1982 V GL
1984 V PA
1997 V PA
2012 V WA
2013 V NA
2014 V PA
2022 V NA

The 2022 , in my opinion, was the least skilled team of those flag teams
However, in my opinion , they are the most courageous team of the lot.
They gave up leads in all 4 finals this year and prevailed 3 times.

Gee, we managed in 11 years what you took a half-century to achieve ;)
Naw, well done to Norwood on showing a lot of character in winning this year's flag - coming pretty much from rank outsiders at the halfway mark of the year.

Nice!

Can’t wait to see a full season out of Nietschke.

Yep, he's pretty much a new recruit for 2023.

Yeah i would say he was the one 'big' positive from last year. Exceeded most peoples expectations last year you would think.

I would include Billy as a big positive from last year as well, particularly prior to his injury.

NW Premierships I have seen
1975 v GL
1978 V ST
1982 V GL
1984 V PA
1997 V PA
2012 V WA
2013 V NA
2014 V PA
2022 V NA

The 2022 , in my opinion, was the least skilled team of those flag teams
However, in my opinion , they are the most courageous team of the lot.
They gave up leads in all 4 finals this year and prevailed 3 times.

Gee, we managed in 11 years what you took a half-century to achieve ;)
Naw, well done to Norwood on showing a lot of character in winning this year's flag - coming pretty much from rank outsiders at the halfway mark of the year.

We won 9 flags in our first 11 years. What were you plonkers doing for 35 years. ;)

regards,

REB

REB, REB, REB, my friend, I thought that you of all people would have better knowledge of your own club. Norwood have NEVER won 9 premierships in 11 years.
You won in 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883 then missed out in 1884, 1885, 1886 before winning in 1877, 1888 and 1889. That makes 9 premierships in TWELVE years. ;)
However, yes, our first 35 years were spent mainly down in the doldrums... which made our first premiership all the much sweeter.
If premierships were a 'given' every year, they would not be as sweet or enjoyable ;)

An excellent letter from Meggsy to club members today.

Nope, some of the info is classified....will only release it at Mar a Lago
What I can say is the club is certainly being proactive in trying to solve a number of our key deficiencies.

Big trouble for Centrals if that letter is any indication.

Lets cut to the chase. You need to get rid of him now.

September is in spring not autumn!

Only in the southern hemisphere; Meggsy and Co are traversing the world finding the right players for us... expect a few Irish and American recruits ;) September is Autumn for over 80% of the world's population ;)

A lot of great work going on behind the scenes, plus key deficiencies have been identified and acted upon. Will be great if all those players named in the email do continue with us next year.
I also think the club are heading in the right direction engendering interest through the 'purchasing' of pickets (I know it is not a new idea, but a good idea for us to follow clubs in doing it) and holding the premiership reunions event; the Hall of Fame also sounds like a great idea IMHO, as does the work on the new website. Re the pickets, a wonderful idea to recognise all of our players through the way in which it is being done.
I applaud Meggsy and team on their efforts.

Central have signed Hugo Munn (key fwd) and Jayden Hall who is a half fwd/mid.
Munn previously played a bit of league at Sturt in 18/19 seasons as a teenager.
Hall who hails from Sydney, was at South in 2018.

Hugo appears to have equipped himself pretty well playing for SA in the Under 18s a few years back.

https://www.afl.com.au/video/190086/draft-prospect-hugo-munn?videoId=190086&modal=true&type=video&publishFrom=1538277555001

Central have signed Hugo Munn (key fwd) and Jayden Hall who is a half fwd/mid.
Munn previously played a bit of league at Sturt in 18/19 seasons as a teenager.
Hall who hails from Sydney, was at South in 2018.

https://fb.watch/fSid_eYtEI/

Hugo Munn checked this website and chose Central over South because of all of Doc's comments. ;)
Zac Sproule no certainty to sign at South.

Further good news: Hosko, Jarrod, Barreau and Rhett have all signed on again.
Marcus will be like a new recruit and I see him as a big part of our team next year.
Rhett playing depends on the draft, of course.
I can also lay the rumours of Hugo Munn walking out of Iggies to bed. Sadly his season was cut short due to injury. He would certainly have been welcomed at Iggies again next year if we hadn't signed him. Quiet in nature but a person of good character.
Cheers

An excellent letter from Meggsy to club members today.

was it excellent because:

1. Spelling and punctuation?
2. Formatting?
3. on gold leaf parchment?
4. Written with a thumbnail dipped in oil of VR Commodore from the wreckers on Womma Rd??

All four of the above. Meggsy must have gained some good tips on grammar whilst at Prospect ;)

Armchair expert wrote:I think playhq is the worst site on the internet, I'd love to know who is making bank from the change from mycricket sportingpulse etc.

absolute pile of dogcrap imo

'Play' needs to be replaced by 'far' and then the following 'h' is silent.

Watching the 2000 Grand Final on SANFL Now (and disappointed they only have the one match from that great decade despite promising a 2000's week) I am reminded that within 12 months of our captains going to England, we always win a premiership

Was speaking to a player who toured the club in recent weeks and was interested to hear his take on the clubrooms/facilities/ground at Centrals, he hadn't been to Elizabeth Oval in over ten years.

Mentioned it felt like it hadn't aged a day since then.....he said the ground/grandstand/fencing etc felt like a glorified country ground and was miles behind places like Norwood, Glenelg, Prospect. Mentioned the changerooms were pretty much the same as what he had seen ten years ago...gym and pool area looking very tired.

He didn't find it overly off putting for what his goals are but said the difference was fairly noticeable when compared to the other clubs and said he could see if you had driven the extra 30 minutes from the city out there you would have been a tad underwhelmed.

Do we know if the club has any planned investment in the facility coming up......i know they have the volunteer group doing a lot of great work but that's more finishing touches like painting, gardening etc. Hoping now that our financial position is a better it might be on the agenda.

It is a bit concerning to hear that our gym and pool area are not in the greatest of nick. If that is the case, these should certainly be put high on our priority list for maintenance work/improvement. I don't think the state of the grandstand or fencing will have any determination on whether a player chooses to come out to the Ponderosa though. The fact it feels like a country ground is probably a blessing rather than a curse in many ways. You mention Norwood and Glenelg as comparisons. I think the only differences between our ground and theirs is the size of the ground and the fact that ours looks out into 'rural' scenery rather than buildings. Those grounds are tiny postage-stamp ovals. As a player, I would hate to play at Norwood - the proximity of their grandstand to the actual playing surface puts a shudder down my spine every time i go there. As for the actual ground condition, I don't think there is a ground in the SANFL that comes up as well as the Ponderosa does. If you look at the condition of most other grounds mid-season, ours is in great nick. What will sway possible newcomers to a club is largely the quality of the key personnel at the club. Having spoken to a few potential recruits over the past week, we score pretty well on that count.

Cheers

Was speaking to a player who toured the club in recent weeks and was interested to hear his take on the clubrooms/facilities/ground at Centrals, he hadn't been to Elizabeth Oval in over ten years.

Mentioned it felt like it hadn't aged a day since then.....he said the ground/grandstand/fencing etc felt like a glorified country ground and was miles behind places like Norwood, Glenelg, Prospect. Mentioned the changerooms were pretty much the same as what he had seen ten years ago...gym and pool area looking very tired.

He didn't find it overly off putting for what his goals are but said the difference was fairly noticeable when compared to the other clubs and said he could see if you had driven the extra 30 minutes from the city out there you would have been a tad underwhelmed.

Do we know if the club has any planned investment in the facility coming up......i know they have the volunteer group doing a lot of great work but that's more finishing touches like painting, gardening etc. Hoping now that our financial position is a better it might be on the agenda.


Oh dear....
To put things right.
The pool and the gym are indeed 15 years old but are kept in very good condition. Very few Clubs (if any???) have a pool for rehab as part of their Changerooms. These facilities are often seen as a strength of the Club when compared with others.
There is no need for an upgrade of the home changeroom as it is roomy, clean and fit for purpose.
The away changerooms were demolished last season. In its place, behind the grandstand, there has been a facility built with THREE changerooms. This includes the BIGGEST away changeroom in the SANFL, and two other changerooms to cater for carnival days as well as the Womens teams. These have now been finished.
The fence around the playing surface is being replaced with a white picket fence all around the ground. This starts next week.
There are plans for a function centre overlooking the oval with glass frontage. These plans are with the Council at present awaiting approval.
There has been a display of memorabilia set up as a mini-museum inside the Clubrooms.

Maybe its time to renew your (obviously) lapsed membership so that you can keep up to speed with whats happening, and then you might sense the positivity that is around. Meggsy is a go-getter and does a brilliant job in keeping the members informed.

Over a dozen recruits, including several league players from other clubs have toured the facility and all clearly have a more positive viewpoint than the one you have shared, as they have/are inking deals at a rate we havent seen for many a year.

Great to hear all this positive news. It looks like we are very much heading in the right direction. No wonder the potential recruits I spoke to were very impressed with our leadership.
Cheers

We now have a number of the players that were key to the State Under 18s in 2021: Liddy, Whitelum, Linke, Dudley.
Hugo Munn could 'become' a useful player as a key forward, a role that Fraser quite often played. Our new recruit referred to but not named yet (possibly Jez?) could be used to cover either Ryan or Rhett (if we lose him to the draft).

Things are starting to take shape... but a few more to hopefully be named later this week.

Cheers

I have it on good authority that Jai Larkins will be joining Ethan in the journey to the Ponderosa; highly rated by key people at Norwood

Anzac,Mihail & Jacob Lochowiak join the Dogs .
Have always been impressed by these three.
5 recruits from Sturt, all impressive young men; shall we wear double blue, red and white next year? ;)
Not just pleased by the playing ability of our 10 announced recruits so far (more on their way) but also the fact they are all young men of quality. :)

The Lochowiak brothers have moved across to Centrals

https://cdfc.com.au/news/lochowiaks-land-at-the-kennel/?fbclid=IwAR076mwZunc_2EgEn9JN_-uOh8t88TaRM_KlGc3BQPWVno_VuCCraRPEFGo


A pretty extensive and promising list of recruits so far:

Jayden Hall
Hugo Munn
Jez McLennan
Louie McLennan
Mani Liddy
Ethan Schwerdt
Jai Larkins
Mihail Lochowiak
Anzac Lochowiak
Jacob Lochowiak

Apparently a few more to be named, including at least two who were on AFL lists.

The analyst wrote:Be an interesting Centrals v Sturt couple of matches next season. Will be a bit like Sturt League v Sturt Reserves

Sturt Ressies played darn well last year; Liddy and each of the Lochowiaks instrumental in their success. Mihail BOG in GF, Liddy BOG in Prelim.
Yes, interesting times ahead.

Wont be us .
Any other update on 202cm player we are chasing ?
He is locked in.

That's brilliant news!

Now, we just need the young lad from W to sign up.

Been racking my brains to work out where “W” might be..

Could it be………. Wigan Oval????

We have 5 from there already, need to leave them a few ;)

No, they will be training at Elizabeth, not Unley. I have never had a problem at Elizabeth. At Unley, on the other hand, I have had my car stolen once, windows smashed on another occasion and deliberate damage to my tyres on a third.

Is it cos the local Unley kids hadn't seen a Camira before?

No, probably because they don't believe in climate change and don't like Prius'.

southernbulldog wrote:Where are all our "official announcements"?

We have officially announced 8 new players and an assistant coach. That isn't a bad series of announcements.
It is possible some may need to be left until after the draft in case they are selected in it; common practice for most clubs.

Hazydog wrote:Scott McMahon heading out to the Ponderosa in an assistant coaching role.

Our sixth recruit from Sturt
A very welcome appointment.

In Meggsy and Mark we trust.
An amazingly extensive list of some of the best young talent to be going around in the SANFL next year.
We should, at the very least, challenge for finals next year.
With all recruits 25 or under, and most 22 or younger, I feel we have a premiership window open for the next 5-10 years.
Are the two Norwood boys still on their way too?
Cheers

Spargo wrote:

bulldogproud wrote:With all recruits 25 or under, and most 22 or younger, I feel we have a premiership window open for the next 5-10 years.
Cheers

Bloody hell

'Open' doesn't mean we will even snare one...just means we should be a lot higher on the table than in recent times

The upside is how young all the recruits are. Although I only see us as challenging for or just making the 5 next year, keep the side together and we have the the nucleus of a great side for a long time. The majority of the squad has played state junior football, three or four in a leadership role.
Cheers

Dogs have announced the signing of 202cm Ryan Pickering, who has spent time in the Gold Coast Academy.
Another good pick-up, just turned 20; former Academy team-mate of Bailey Reeves, should work well together.
Reeves finished the season in the Reserves, so if he is staying in 2023, Dogs fans would be hoping they won't be playing twos footy together.

I have confidence that Bailey will have a big year in 2023, Medium Phil.
Cheers

Centrals reserves are going to be very strong with all the reserves players they are recruiting !

They'll need to put out 2 reserves teams at the current rate.

With Mark Ross's judgement, we are very confident that most of these recruits will play significant time in the One's. We have selected quality individuals, all with a huge upside to them. 90% of the recruits are aged 22 or under and most have played State junior football. They should set us in good stead for the next 5-10 years; not looking just at instant success, but building another dynasty like the 2000's. ;)

They should just appoint Snout's Louts to do the job!

PatowalongaPirate wrote:

gazzamagoo wrote:

southernbulldog wrote:Our new website looks good

But we need a forum.

Yes, you do.

Yes, otherwise we get all these 'wannabe' Central supporters like Pirate posting on our pages

Not sure why Glenelg supporters are so keen to look at our own forum though... and to comment on it. You won't catch me commenting on a 'Glenelg 2022' forum or similar. Then again, I guess we have a few more 'wannabe' supporters in Tiger land

Only $60; must be a discount somewhere.
$275 with the digital pass; $215 without.

Surely you cant just go culling a bloke who has probably signed some form of length of contract...most likely one year.

Surely you would be required to then pay them out which would still count towards the salary cap.

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.....nevermind the reputation the club would get amongst players if they moved blokes over here from interstate than cut them before the season started after signing a contract.

It would probably be local players who would be subject to culling, as all clubs do between one season and the next. It is not only interstate recruits who the club has to pay for, all players are paid for.

Cheers

I think you will find that the majority of our recruits are better than 'reserve grade' standard, particularly given a new lease of life at a new club. Even the competition some will provide for spots should result in them 'upping' their standard. Will all recruits work out? No. However, if even a third of these go on to play regular league football, we will have benefitted. I agree with Gazza that we need to have faith in Meggsy, Mark and Thommo; they know what they are doing.

Interesting. You seem soooo confident that Glenelg will win the premiership this year. Yet when push came to shove, neither you, Spargo or Stampy were prepared to take up that wager that Glenelg would finish at least three spots higher than Central. I wonder why.

Mate, you’ve missed the point quite a few times now. Most Bays supporters on here are pretty self deprecating, if you can show me where we’ve been soooo confident on winning the flag, please do. I’m quite willing to have a wager that Glenelg finish at least 3 spots higher than Centrals at the end of the minor round with you, carton of beer on it?

Dear Spargo, maybe most are a bit self-deprecating; I can understand that given the limited success that you boys have experienced. You really should have won both of the last two premierships; your list is superior to that of every other club. I have a lot of empathy for Glenelg. Members of my family pour in over $10 000 per year to the club and I became a good friend of Darren Reeves during his time at the might West Torrens Cricket Club. Your historical lack of success is also very similar to that of my own club (save one incredible decade).

It was the comment by 'ambays' that resulted in my comment - stating that Central will finish third because I had tipped them to finish two spots below Glenelg. That obviously means he is confident of Glenelg winning the premiership.

As for the wager, it was either Stampy or yourself who wanted to make one along the lines of Glenelg finishing higher than Central. I had never said they wouldn't, just that Glenelg would finish seventh. I anticipate us being more competitive but still finishing eighth or ninth. As such, as I offered a few weeks ago but was never taken up on, I am happy to take a wager that Glenelg will finish no higher than two spots above Central. I don't drink alcohol but believe I have a better wager reward to offer: if Glenelg finish three or more spots above Central this year, I will purchase a Glenelg membership for 2024. Are you happy, if Glenelg don't finish at least three spots higher than Central, to purchase a 2024 Central membership? That way, at least one club will come out in front from the wager.
Cheers

Thought with all the recruits that Central would have been favourites
Well, they have at least promoted us one possie on last year ;)

now i am throwiing shit here but my mail is that at least 75% of the dogs recruits wont cut it, thats from an sanfl person

That means that up to 5 of them will make it; probably what we are looking for. Add that to the five key players who had injury-riddled seasons and that means we have 10 'new' players of high quality injected into the side this year.
Cheers

Not sure this post fits here, but as good a place as any....
The 2042 Magarey Medallist has just been born
King Matt and Viv Panos have had a baby son, Prince Oscar.

ChatGpt seems a bit more bullish about our chances this year than I am ;) :

As an AI language model, I cannot predict future events or outcomes with certainty. However, Central Districts Football Club has a history of success in the SANFL, having won the premiership six times in the past. Therefore, they certainly have the potential to win the 2023 SANFL Premiership with the right preparations, performance and team spirit in place. But ultimately, it would depend on various factors such as the form of their players, the strength of the opposition, injuries, and other unanticipated circumstances in the lead up to and during the season.

Not sure why it thinks we have only the 6 premierships though.

And with that - the last of the manual time clocks are gone I presume?
Sadly yes, massive OHS issue apparently. Would’ve collapsed if one more person leaned on it. I wanted to buy it (along with many others) but the club is restoring it I heard & working out where to display it in the club.

Display it somewhere in the ground with the record SANFL league match score permanently on it.

That scoreline still gives me nightmares ;)

Congratulations to Adelaide University and Kensington on making the Grand Final; good luck to both sides.

I am thinking that would be Centrals first win against Glenelg in a long time.

Good win by Centrals with basically our best team available.

Yes, very pleasing for us - bottom last year v last year's premiers. The team played really well after Glenelg kicked the first three goals of the match. Great to see one of my students, Noah McDonald, perform well on his debut.

I will certainly still be continuing with my SANFL Now subscription. Having arranged one through the club, Central receive every dollar that we pay for SANFL Now. I take an interest in our Ressies, Under 18s, Under 16s and Women (possibly because I hope at least one of these grades will make finals ;) ) so will certainly view these matches through the system.
I am disappointed though that it is taking SANFL Now a full day to make these matches available for delayed streaming; am sure this wasn't the case last year. I am confident I could be out at College football in the afternoon and view Central matches later that night.

As well as 8 brand new faces, we welcome Jez back from the Gold Coast and Marcus and Aaron from injury plagued seasons. Overall, a very very different Doggies side from last year. Whether it is a greatly improved version remains to be seen...but the potential looks there.

On a positive note, both the U18s and U16s won...can't remember that happening for a fair while.

Admittedly, many sides will struggle against South, particularly down there. I believe we can lift against North next Friday and resurrect our season. That would make it a Good Friday. Either that or we will suffer a painful crucifixion.

One other small positive: it has probably been a long time since we have been above Glenelg Norwood and Port on the table ;)

I thought we were at least competitive until 5 minutes into the third quarter. It all seemed to change at that point where we kicked the ball over Grace's head. He was 25 metres out on his own and could have put us within 5 points. Instead, South marked and rushed it down for a goal. Heads dropped, South kicked 4 goals in 5 minutes and that was that. 5 minutes of terribly uncompetitive football killed us. We can't afford to switch off like that. We did it many times last year as well. Had we played great football in the first half? No, but we had at least been in the game, showing good defensive effort.

Agree with pretty much all the above. Also impressed by our returning 'recruit' Nietschke...he will be very valuable this year as he was able to have a full preseason; the same could be said of Barreau...another we missed through injury a lot last year. One swallow doesn't make a summer (or a winter in this case), but there are plenty of reasons to look forward to matches to come.

The absence of the King really hurts Norwood...the most influential player at the club. Sturt...magnificent start to the year; new premiership favourite.