Balmain Dockers Under 18's Withdraw

[tara]

As I said uconfuse me you shouldnt offer you opinion when you dont know what your talking about.

Moorebank is not a new club, originally formed in the 1940s as southern districts it has been known under a variety of names and involved a number of clubs including Liverpool, Bankstown and Parramatta. In 1996 the Liverpool and Bankstown senior clubs merged again under the guise of South West Sydney, we changed our name three years ago to Moorebank Sports Club due to us beoming one of their official sporting codes and it goes along way in securing our financial viability long term. Over the past four years we have made working with the junior clubs in our area our primary goal as it ensures our long term viability, prior to that I cant comment as I as not involved on a coaching level. We are currently working with 6 junior clubs with who we expect that our relationship will be long term and the benfits will flow both ways. I will never stand in the way of any of our kids who want to play at a higher level but hopefully we are able to offer them an environment that they want to be a part of and help us move forward.

[48 Hour Detox]

The idea that we have too many Senior Clubs in Sydney is probably the most riduculous post I have heard on here and that includes 48 Hour Detox's musings....

The Unis on the whole don't poach juniors. They do provide good facilities, well supported administrations and welcoming environments. You'd be surprised how many first year Uni players are new to the game.

Ask Tara if merging Bankstown with Liverpool was a good ide and now you want Liverpool to merge with the Blues. Ludicrous in te extreme.

What we need is MORE senior clubs but the transition from U16 to the club network needs strengteneing and the senior clubs need more support.

Uni's don't poach juniors???? Sorry Mug Punter, that ain't true. Without gettign into specifics, I can tell you of two UNi clubs who poach juniors. I have many examples of it.

[Shotties]

Re: Balmain Dockers Under 18's Withdraw

Uni's don't poach juniors???? Sorry Mug Punter, that ain't true. Without gettign into specifics, I can tell you of two UNi clubs who poach juniors. I have many examples of it.

I'm sure you've got plenty of examples and nothing behind it.

[unconfuseme]

Moorebank is not a new club - of course you are right, but I never said you were a new club!? ... I was referring to "Campbelltown/Liverpool" in the context of the vast junior area that has disintegrated over the past 10 years.

The fact that the AFL alllowed Camden to form, along with the resurrection of Moorebank, has spread the volunteers, admin, coaches, etc. over 3 clubs in that region, so something had to give!

The supposed "Premier Club" in the area seems to have been "fiddling while Rome burnt", caught up in collecting enough gate receipts to maintain a "Premier" Div team, rather than nurturing those junior clubs - your efforts of late may just save those clubs and if so, you should benefit.

The irony of course is that whilst they are now struggling to get an 18's team on the field, they are blessed with some of the best youngsters around playing in their senior team - go figure!?

The other problem is the way in which the AFL dealt with the diminishing junior team numbers, sending them to play all over western Sydney - that works to keep young families interested in the sport - NOT!

The idea that more senior clubs are needed is ridiculous - The resources to properly run the existing clubs is not there!

Merging clubs and consolidating the management resources will ensure long term success.

Imagine a Moorebank/'town/Camden "Super Club" with merged resources and common goals ... building strong loyal junior links, sponsorship arrangements, focused coaching philosophies, and then duplicating those structures with similar clubs in other regions!

But don't worry, unless the AFL takes the lead and gives some direction (?), it will never happen ... too many egos couldn't handle it!

So, the cycle will continue, and no club is insulated from it happening, as it has to those clubs you mention, and so many others - that is just the nature of amateur sport, run by amateurs.

How to grow the code? LESS SENIOR CLUBS!

[tara]

Moorebank is not a new club - of course you are right, but I never said you were a new club!? ... I was referring to "Campbelltown/Liverpool" in the context of the vast junior area that has disintegrated over the past 10 years.

The fact that the AFL alllowed Camden to form, along with the resurrection of Moorebank, has spread the volunteers, admin, coaches, etc. over 3 clubs in that region, so something had to give!

The supposed "Premier Club" in the area seems to have been "fiddling while Rome burnt", caught up in collecting enough gate receipts to maintain a "Premier" Div team, rather than nurturing those junior clubs - your efforts of late may just save those clubs and if so, you should benefit.

The irony of course is that whilst they are now struggling to get an 18's team on the field, they are blessed with some of the best youngsters around playing in their senior team - go figure!?

The other problem is the way in which the AFL dealt with the diminishing junior team numbers, sending them to play all over western Sydney - that works to keep young families interested in the sport - NOT!

The idea that more senior clubs are needed is ridiculous - The resources to properly run the existing clubs is not there!

Merging clubs and consolidating the management resources will ensure long term success.

Imagine a Moorebank/'town/Camden "Super Club" with merged resources and common goals ... building strong loyal junior links, sponsorship arrangements, focused coaching philosophies, and then duplicating those structures with similar clubs in other regions!

But don't worry, unless the AFL takes the lead and gives some direction (?), it will never happen ... too many egos couldn't handle it!

So, the cycle will continue, and no club is insulated from it happening, as it has to those clubs you mention, and so many others - that is just the nature of amateur sport, run by amateurs.

How to grow the code? LESS SENIOR CLUBS!

You refered to us when referring the the AFL beating its chest over new clubs mate so how should I/we take it.

By the way Town have have opportunites to speak with us and havnet, and the blokes at Camden that I know arnt inclined to what you are saying. No one is interested in a takeover, come and offer something that means Camden dont lose their identity then you might be onto something.

Overall as I said dont make comments if your making assumptions. Your ideas have merit but I think you should look deeper a there is more going on than you see.

[unconfuseme]

For a start, you shouldn't get so bloody touchy! ... I appreciate your club's history, and didn't intend to refer to you as a "new" club, which you are not. Sorry about that!

But the fact that there have been so many reincarnations of the club, I think, supports one of my points ... volunteers and sponsors come and go, cultures change, etc., and that happens at all clubs, which makes sustainability a problem.

Right now, the sponsor you have, people on board, energy, culture, etc., should have a lot of clubs green with envy. What you are doing with juniors is the right example, so don't think I am bagging Moorebank ... 3 or so years in, and you guys seem to be hitting your planned targets, much of that is because you are prepared to cooperate with other clubs. Engaging those junior clubs will also ensure that you have successors for your volunteers, who will then share your culture and future goals = sustainability.

If more clubs went about it that way, maybe my ideas would not be pie in the sky ... but you know how hard it is to get others to put egos in their pockets, and onto the same page!

These are just ideas, but if we keep doing the same things, nothing changes.

[tara]

If I wasnt touchy then something would be wrong, ask Pace, Junior/Oscar, Pekay,Gull,Hawknik,shotties,Shearer,Trust etc etc and you will find we all get touchy form time to time.

Also what you say is fair but , Blues-Roos-Blues/ Tigers-Demons /Jets-Saints/ Whales-Dogs/ Sharks-Power/Saints-crows-Saints/Blues-Power?-Cats/Falcons-Eagles/Kookas-Warriors/Cats-Rams/ etc etc.

Seems to be a bit of precedence in Sydney everywhere for reincarnations (or name changes). But thanks for what you have said, if you have nothing to do we are always looking for forward thinking people who are prepared to get their hands dirty.

[Mug Punter]

[Imagine a Moorebank/'town/Camden "Super Club" with merged resources and common goals ... building strong loyal junior links, sponsorship arrangements, focused coaching philosophies, and then duplicating those structures with similar clubs in other regions!

Imagine the entire South West area of Sydney, the fastest growing area of Sydney only having ONE club where kids can go and play footy...

I can imagine exactly what will happen. Initially it will be a stronger club, probably it will even win a few flags. But it will immediately it will lose many members of those clubs as their club's identity is lost into some merged "super club". People will have to travel further and basically "things will not be the same" and loyal members will drift off and find other things to do. Ask Tara how many of the Bankstown fellas went to SWS and how many just stopped playing or supporting the game?

A good eaxample is UNSW/Easts. A pea-brained idea if ever there was one. Look at them now, it's a fair bet they'll be the next Balmain with virtually all their grades struggling. Sell off over 100 years of history. How do the old blokes from Easts fancy trekking out to Kensington to watch a club that UNSW has taken over? Do they still feel part of it? - some probably some do but I reckon they lost heaps of loyal supporters when they did that. UTS have filled the breach to an extent but their success kind if shows what an idiotic idea that experiment was....

Mergers, unless one of the clubs is on its knees which means it is a takeover, very very rarely work.

The idea of rationalisation when we have a riduculously low base of brass-roots coverage is just insane.

[How to grow the code? LESS SENIOR CLUBS!

Very strong contender for dumbest post of the year. Growing a game by killing of it's member clubs. Totally ridiculous

[unconfuseme]

No, you are right ... Balmain and Town are just fine - their "tradition" will continue!

[Junior]

UNI/ECE paying kids $200/500 per week.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! One of your best!

[beameup]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! One of your best!

Bit like the young blokes from Central Coast going to ECE and Uni. Karafilius is about the only one with many many going to Penno going back to Scott Reed and several at the moment to my personal knowledge. Never mind the principle remains that why should teenage unpaid players be dictated to as to where they can play footy

[Junior]

Bit like the young blokes from Central Coast going to ECE and Uni. Karafilius is about the only one with many many going to Penno going back to Scott Reed and several at the moment to my personal knowledge. Never mind the principle remains that why should teenage unpaid players be dictated to as to where they can play footy

And Karafilis approached ECE because he just loves WCE and wanted to play in an Eagles jumper.

[DLH]

Cats-Rams

We've always been the Rams Colesy, just wore Cats jumpers for a long time

[Steamboat]

Before you all get on and whinge about possible forfeits this weekend, i will give you the heads up.

We started with 24 players due to not being able to get any kids from pathway list, do not blame anyone not wanting to travel from blue mountains,emu plains or Penrith to C Town, particularly when parents are the ones mostly relied upon for transport.Out of the 24, 3 are regular 1st graders, 6 are u16s who play for us in the morning and then back up for their own age group 2 hrs later, and 8 of them have never played the game before.

We have started 4 of our last 5 games with 16 players and completed them with 14 or less at the end of the game, during these games we have had 2 major knee injuries, 2 bad concussions that required the players to have no contact sport for 6 weeks and on the weekend had another player break his collarbone in 3 places, all this to do the right thing and provide kids with a game of football.

We now have only 11 fit & eligible players for this weeks game, as u16s no longer want to cop the losses and play 2 games back to back, in their wisdom the league have redrawn the remainder of the u18s season after Balmains demise and we have now lost our remaining few Sunday games that have been rescheduled for away games on Saturday which means that the u16s that would have played will now not be able to.

And whether you like Campbelltown or not, whether you sympathise or want to stick the knife in, their is such a thing as duty of care, it is very hard watching 16 players run around each week, getting walloped both on the scoreboard and physically drained by the 3rd qtr and end up injured all in the name of fielding a side.

The area has 2 junior clubs feeding into CTown, one of which is being propped up by u14s players, nothing is getting any better in fact it is going the other way, coaching staff & committee have done what they can to try and get players to register with absolutely no result.Start your pot shots boys.

[ShortHalfHead]

No pot shots here, but when you are starting out with a squad of 24, you are in immediate trouble. Especially that three of the team are expected to play seniors and another six were playing 16's. Think it was mentioned a few times last year what should have been done in these cases. I don't know if it was ego's involved to stay in PC, but there were plenty of opportunities up till round one to ask the league to drop to Challenge where you would have been a bit more competitive and kids may have stuck around. I suspect that the league will be looking strongly at the format for 2011 and wont be automatically aligning PC with PD clubs. Having two Under 16's teams does make it hard, but other clubs are in the same boat (Penrith draws from 3). Now is the ideal time to start working and building relationships with those clubs and should be looking at fielding a side in Challenge for next year.