X Runna wrote:scottroo wrote:disappointed to hear that para hills are struggling for numbers, always seemed to have big crowds at home and I think the even had 3 teams last season?
All very quiet from other clubs, feb 1 will be very interesting!
Sadly this has been the norm at Para Hills over a decade or two, the club has had nice success at the Div 5 and 4 levels, but after a year or so at Div 3, the slide started mainly due to 3 or 4 key players moving on. Unfortunately for the club it appears to have started a year earlier this time.
Don't get me wrong. they have
always been and
are a fantastic club, a club I was more than happy to help in small ways for many years from 1990, BUT, as much as they are a vital club in the Div 4/5 mix, they are not set up to cope with a Div 3/2 scenario. Nothing to do with the people, ever since the Beers came on board in the 70s or 80s there has been a fantastic support crew at The Paddocks (all except for 2 years where the Chairman clandestinely wanted to merge with another local northern club). However, going up those levels now would prove more than just financially beyond clubs the size of Para Hills.
What it does show is that Para Hills is one of many clubs who will go through the travels of being a division 3 or 4 or 5 competitor whilst still being honest and respectable about how they go about it, yet the dreams of going/staying/succeeding up higher are just that. As much as they may struggle this year, one can bet his balls
they will be back. They will lose groups of players from time to time, but as the cycle goes they will recruit players 'en masse' and have their two or three good years again, not far down the track.
The lads who have gone to or back to Ingle Farm, I am very proud of.......they have all done it for the right reasons. The Farm has a very special group of people who welcome & engross anyone who will bleed for the Bulldog, sadly, that feeling for the Big Red Roo diminished about 15 years ago. IFFC is also
way better set up for juniors, family and the transition from junior to senior football than Para Hills.
I love Para Hills FC, and feel they just need to hang tight for a year or two as they have done several times in the past, things will fall back into place.
