Southern Football League

[Brock Landers]

Just thinking from different angles brocky

Fair enough, just disagreeing with you

[Teflon_Coated]

Last time I went to Aldinga the quality of housing being built down there was of upper market maybe the area has an influx of wealthy people who don't need to worry about fuel costs and enjoy country drives on weekends

I think your barking up the wrong tree Young Gun

Fair point YG36 however without getting to much into family make ups you'll find most of those parents work in the city or blue collar; last thing they'd want to do is travel all weekend aswell.

[The Big Shrek]

Maybe Aldinga can get rid of bosshogg and use the money he was being payed to help pay for fuel for juniors.

[Bag The Points]

Smells like a panic move to me. What's wrong with staying with the SFL ? The giant strides made this year will be accompanied by a sharp rise up the ladder once the Sharks take the next step of learning how to actually win.
The standard is where the progress has been made ----- constantly getting close to beating sides that are in or near the Eight. It happened again last Saturday against a side that is now looking a huge chance of playing finals. That would never have happened this time in 2007.
So Aldinga is still second-to-bottom ---- that's no reason to panic, when all you have to find is that last magic ingredient that actually gets Premiership Points.
The booming area is only more reason to stay in the SFL. Those incoming families will only look straight past you towards Willunga.

[Swooper16]

Not wanting to have a dig but perhaps Rodney Fox or Fisho could just bulletpoint exactly what these giant steps forward this year have been?

They have won 2 games so far (which is about what they have done for the past 2 seasons), poached a player or 2 from rival clubs and improved the scoreboard.

Granted they have been a bit more competitive but i would like to see them do what Morphy parks have done this season before commending them on these giant strides forward....

[the observer]

get off the Aldinga crap and get onto clubs that are consistently competitive They have there own site they have already lost alot of kids to Willunga thats the most important structure their club has to address. Any how at this stage Brighton best club we have played Morphies will be challenged

[Bag The Points]

Not wanting to have a dig but perhaps Rodney Fox or Fisho could just bulletpoint exactly what these giant steps forward this year have been?

They have won 2 games so far (which is about what they have done for the past 2 seasons), poached a player or 2 from rival clubs and improved the scoreboard.

Granted they have been a bit more competitive but i would like to see them do what Morphy parks have done this season before commending them on these giant strides forward....

Completely missed the point, Swooper. Who's commending anything ? The "giant strides" are in standard, not necessarily ladder position. Your own post has even backed that up that they are more competitive. I'm suggesting at least twenty goals more competitive, and that's progress. And that's why there's no need for them to move.
By the way, I don't think there is any need for Rodney or Fisho to back up my statements. I'm not even part of the club.

[Bag The Points]

get off the Aldinga crap and get onto clubs that are consistently competitive They have there own site they have already lost alot of kids to Willunga thats the most important structure their club has to address. Any how at this stage Brighton best club we have played Morphies will be challenged

And it will get far far worse if they nick off to Hills. Tough enough to stop Willunga bleeding them dry now ----- if they give them travelling as a weapon to throw in, it'll make the junior side of things nearly impossible.
(Sorry Observer, had to keep this one on SFL forum to make my reply)

[BJ Ernest]

get off the Aldinga crap and get onto clubs that are consistently competitive They have there own site they have already lost alot of kids to Willunga thats the most important structure their club has to address. Any how at this stage Brighton best club we have played Morphies will be challenged

And it will get far far worse if they nick off to Hills. Tough enough to stop Willunga bleeding them dry now ----- if they give them travelling as a weapon to throw in, it'll make the junior side of things nearly impossible.
(Sorry Observer, had to keep this one on SFL forum to make my reply)

BTP get it right mate! Willunga dont poach any kids from down that way! 7-8 years ago a group of us moved up there without any approach from Willunga. It was a choice we made due to our own reasons and it doesnt happen any more. Dont accuse clubs of 'bleeding' others dry before knowing whether it actually happens or not because it certainly doesnt!

[Bag The Points]

Point taken, BJ ---- maybe I should have chosen my words better so I apologise.
The point I was making still applies though. Aldinga have huge trouble keeping kids from floating away to Willunga, Sellicks or elsewhere, be it of their own making or whatever reason (the location of the only High School doesn't help). If they are playing their away games many miles away, adjacent clubs will have a field day just naturally picking them up.

[BJ Ernest]

Point taken, BJ ---- maybe I should have chosen my words better so I apologise.
The point I was making still applies though. Aldinga have huge trouble keeping kids from floating away to Willunga, Sellicks or elsewhere, be it of their own making or whatever reason (the location of the only High School doesn't help). If they are playing their away games many miles away, adjacent clubs will have a field day just naturally picking them up.

Agreed, at the moment there would be more player movement between Aldinga and Myponga/Sellicks and thats due to kids going to Aldinga Primary School from Sellicks dragging there mates up and over the hill to Pongy. The extra travel would certainly deter parents from sending them to the Sharks for footy but is it any better than Myponga (who have to go to Langhorne Creek, Strath, Goolwa etc) or another SFL Club (who have to go to Brighton, Marion, Morphy Parks etc)

Its only every 2nd week you travel so its not that bad. A sacrifice you have to make as a parent when your child wants to play sport! Much better them out there playing sport than in front of the PS3 all weekend!

[cyclops]

I dont give a sh$t what anyone says aldinga have improved heaps this season.Now they would be a bunch of w*nkers if they were to get up and leave the sfl now and move to div 2 in the hills league,and if they did decide to do this it would be the beginning of the end for the sharks.There is no way i would be driving my son to play juniors that far away and in a low division for that matter.
All i can say is all the aldinga people need to get rite behind there club work youre arses off and trust me there will be good times ahead in the sfl for all of yas.

[rodney fox]

Well well well it seems I have missed an interesting debate then doesn't it......

Ok I think clarifying a few facts might be of need.

I have been at Aldinga a Very long time and was around when this all started about 5 or so years ago. was pretty much the same sort of rumours and what not as now.

I totally agree with Swooper and recognise that he was not having a go at us but commonsense shows that Aldinga has improved yes but is no better off than in the last few years. Willunga do not poach our juniors nor do we theirs. A major part of why we struggle to maintain players is one thing....WINNING!

I dont care what some people think they know about our club the fact is we are seriously exploring our options not as a means of softing out or giving up but to give our juniors a chance to stay. On Saturdays we only have an Under 14s side that plays and gets beaten alot also. There are some highly skilled players in this side and with looking at the future you can already see them shying away to stay at the club. Mark my words one of our Under 14s will get very close to the Mail Medal this year and absolutely loves the place but he to wants to see the club winning.

Cyclops for you to say we are giving up or what not is niaeve and arrogant as you have no idea at the dealings of our club. We have recruited well and still lack the way to win. We want to involve all our past and present players to support what ever decision we make as it is not a quick fix but the look for a long term plan and feel we can make a name for ourselves, yes in a weaker competition or whatever you may think, but until we can at least win more games than we lose then we will always lose players elsewhere. We are a family club who holds strong morales and it kills all of us not to be winning.

With the Sfl to ignorant to act on the thumpings that have occurred over the past 5 years we have decided to look at our options and see what solutions we can come up with. Bag the Points you have some very smart football all around knowledge and im sure I know who you are to Boot but surely even you can see that winning is everything and we want to be a part of that. We are still years away from being right up the top and feel we need to gain some confidence and much needed respect back from our locals not just people in the SFL who are to happy to sit back and watch us struggle.

I will be publishing this novel in a 3 part series. Thankyou for your time.

[rodney fox]

Also I have sat down with Google Earth and mapped a possibility of drive times and it shows the below;

Aldinga to Callington
72.7 km – about 1 hour 15 mins

Aldinga to Echunga
40.1 km – about 40 mins

Aldinga To Gumeracha
80.3 km – about 1 hour 35 mins

Aldinga To Kangarilla
22.4 km – about 25 mins

Aldinga to Kersbrook
76.9 km – about 1 hour 40 mins

Aldinga to Macclesfield
38.5 km – about 36 mins

Aldinga to Meadows
30.7 km – about 30 mins

Aldinga to Nairne Bremer
55.3 km – about 1 hour 10 mins

Aldinga to Torrens Valley
89.4 km – about 1 hour 40 mins

So when you look at that not as much travel as some of you may have thought?

[KEYDEFENDER]

Last time I went to Aldinga the quality of housing being built down there was of upper market maybe the area has an influx of wealthy people who don't need to worry about fuel costs and enjoy country drives on weekends

Divine houses are cheap mate.. and the expressway helps them get to work, but travel is bad for Aldinga if they are playing teams down the hill. (worse in the hills league)
Aldinga is growing with alot of land still to release which means new families arriving all the time (Mr brother just moved there with his 2 boys age 10-13) So their club is similar to what Hallet Cove was 10-12 years ago.. given some time and they will have a good bunch of juniors.

But IMO in an ideal situation, they should be in the GSFL not the hills league..or SFL.

Speaking of ideal world and I have not put heaps of thought on how it would work but I think Brighton/Marion/MVille should be in SAAFL and anything up the hill should be the GSFL with 2 divs.

[Swooper16]

Rodney i imagine you will be consulting with the parents of the u/14s on how they would feel about (on average) an hours drive to footy every second saturday?

Without knowing really any of the facts or reasons; in my ingnorant opinion i think it would be the wrong move for Aldinga and seems like a considerable gamble for a club that is so assured it is slowly heading in the right direction.

[Zelezny Chucks]

Also I have sat down with Google Earth and mapped a possibility of drive times and it shows the below;

Aldinga to Callington
72.7 km – about 1 hour 15 mins

Aldinga to Echunga
40.1 km – about 40 mins

Aldinga To Gumeracha
80.3 km – about 1 hour 35 mins

Aldinga To Kangarilla
22.4 km – about 25 mins

Aldinga to Kersbrook
76.9 km – about 1 hour 40 mins

Aldinga to Macclesfield
38.5 km – about 36 mins

Aldinga to Meadows
30.7 km – about 30 mins

Aldinga to Nairne Bremer
55.3 km – about 1 hour 10 mins

Aldinga to Torrens Valley
89.4 km – about 1 hour 40 mins

So when you look at that not as much travel as some of you may have thought?

Double that as you have to drive home after a game.

Currently approx. 40 mins to furthest club away.

Hills league is not the answer.

[cyclops]

Mr Rodney Fox,obviously youre a smart man and realise u14s start at 830,which means they should be at the ground no later than 730.Now why dont u yourself get up this saturday at 5a.m leave by 6,and make sure youre at say gumeracha by just before 730.Mate if u even could contemplate this as an option for aldinga then u do not have the best interests of youre club at heart only youre own.Yes i do agree the sfl needs to work on either 2 divisions again or something different to whats currently happening,but going to the hills is the wrong answer.

[Courtney Fish]

I am sure the Hills teams would be rapt to drive to Shark Park by 7:30 am too. Do they get a say in this great idea?

[Warrior Hawk]

First of all, I would just like to say to the Lonsdale boys "Look in your own backyard before accusing your neighbours!"

I was in the changerooms when the questions were asked.... Yes a senior player came in, and yes he questioned the Prez.... Said that some jewellery had gone missing and a player had his bag and jacket taken.... Don't you lock the changerooms was one of the questions.... To which Prez replied "Why would we lock the changerooms? How do the trainers etc. get in when they need to? Dont you guys have a valuables bag?" To turn around and say that his reply was "What are you gonna do about it?" is the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard!! The players reply was, and I quote, "It happens every f***ing time we come here, it is f***ing low from a club who is trying to get past players to come back!" To this I say "BULLSHIT!" Not once since I have been involved down at the club has an oppositions stuff been taken! Lonsdale are in the same boat as Hackham and a lot of the players are mates with the opposition players....

The president and myself actually went looking for the "Blue bag" that had been taken and we could not find it anywhere.... This sort of s**t really pisses me off! Immediately Hackham gets blamed for taking the bag! The player in question, whose bag was taken, is a top bloke and actually well respected amongst the senior group of Hackham players!

The player actually apoligised afterwards for the way he had handled the situation, and said it was in the heat of the moment!

Unless you have your facts 100% correct, then bugger off!

Hills actually plays in another league Hawk so i think you need to get your facts right before you start slinging s***t at us. To be honest i wasnt even going to bring it up but it is a fact that players gear was stolen and bags rummaged through in BOTH grades on saturday. First time it has happened this year.

Ummm.... Not once in my post did I sling s**t at Lonsdale.... The only possible piece of literature that I wrote that could give you that idea is the whole "look in your own backyard" comment.... When the president of our club is working his arse off to improve things and some fool comes into a public forum and without knowing his facts has a huge go, I have a go back! I am quite aware that Hills does not play for Lonsdale! I was clearly replying to his post!

In my post above, I actually make reference to Lonsdale being in the same boat as Hackham, having a lot of players who are mates between the two teams and also that TG is a well respected bloke.... So if this is classed in your mind as "slinging s**t" at your club, then maybe you should think again!

Hence the closing line "Unless you have your facts 100% correct, then bugger off!"

Maybe it should have read "Unless you (Hills) have your facts 100% correct, then bugger off!"

Hawk, i can only give you what i have been told. Im not going to make s***t up about a drop kick club who has a bunch of retards in it!

Someone stole from someone else! It was at your club and not lonsdales so therefore the finger is being pointed at you scum bags! I didnt say it was a player and i didnt say it was an official, i said it was someone affiliated with the club.

Was it??? So you have compiled some evidence to back this up? Obviously you have investigated the issue?

Our club cops s**t left, right and centre.... And a lot of the time we just take it with a grain of salt..... But I beg you to come down to the club, stand in the changerooms and let this "bunch of retards" know your feelings about them! Tell them they are scumbags! It would be piss funny!

And just so you know, last year I had personal belongings taken at an away game.... But did you see me jumping on a public forum and accusing anyone?? I refuse to even name the club, due to the fact that I have no proof and I actually get along quite well with some of their players.... Pull your head out of your ar$e champ!