Lightning McQueen wrote:RooShootOhh wrote:I reckon a lot of people would be happy with this week off, especially families being first weekend of school holidays etc. Having a break can be a good thing.
The only issue for me is that it is so close to Landmark Cup bye, and team with a club bye either side of those two weekends play hardly any football over a 6 week period.
Virginia and Two Wells had a bye either side of landmark cup so Virginia 3 games in 6 weeks, Two Wells only 2 games in 5 weeks.
Then Hamley and Balak have a bye either side of Zone champs for Hamley 2 games in 5 weeks Balak 3 games in 6 weeks.
Too stop start for teams trying to get momentum in the iddle half of the season etc...
The quicker they get rid of zone footy and put more emphasis on Association footy the better!
I fail to see the relevance in any of it unless it was association of origin.
The relevance of it is to add another level for country footballers to aspire to.
Association and Zone footy provide a stepping stone towards a higher level of footy, somewhere between the country A grade and SANFL reserve grade level, possibly higher.
For some, it will be the pinnacle of their football careers, for others, it's a chance to either go on and represent the state or better yet, get noticed by SANFL clubs.
Angus Bruggemann is a prime example, a lumbering, overweight and aggressive goat at Meningie (not my words Angus), turned it around in one season by stepping up at each level presented, ends up playing a key role at Port Adelaide the following year.
It doesn't mean much to some but I relish the opportunity to play with the best of the association and region.
It's enjoyable to line up alongside Joel Montgomerie, Caleb Howell, Ned Seccafien, Heath Pym, Ryan Appleton etc.
Maybe that's a purely selfish outlook on my part but I'll look back in years to come, when I'm too old to play, and have absolutely no regrets that I took every opportunity I could to play at a higher level, with some of the best players I've played against.