Bankstown: Swans or GWS?

[felix]

More from the Bankstown Juniors website. There was also a meeting last night with the AFL. As a parent with a kid looking for a kick in the area, I would be pretty put off reading this.

2012 NSWAFL Third attempt to move Bankstown Sports AFL to the West was initiated

Our AFL Club?s new administrators were told at the commencement of the 2012 by the AFL it was now a GWS Club and the GWS would again take over the school development and Auskick programs. This was unanimously opposed by the club, the AFL proceeded regardless. The administrators of the Club advised the AFL they would closely monitor the impact of the involvement of the GWS on the participants of the club during season 2012.



Season 2012 is now referred to as the ?Snake Eyes Season?. Amongst many unlucky rolls of the dice for the Club items below are the most notable:



? Our AFL clubs Friday night community Auskick program was removed from the AFL?s 2012 draw.

? Our AFL clubs Friday night Youth Football, U16 fixtures all but stopped by the AFL in 2012.

? Our AFL clubs was allocated the Auskick Party Day for 2012, was later withdrawn by the AFL.

? Kelso not used for finals a second years in a row despite being the best facility in the region.

? Bankstown children allocated minimum opportunity to participate within the 2012 draw.

? By-law change notifications withheld by the AFL that would have increased opportunity for participation.

? Bankstown children allocated maximum number of byes and maximum travel within the 2012 draw.

? Bankstown Children within the umpiring fraternity receive minimum amount of game allocation.

? Bankstown talented players not advised of Sydney South Representative trials.



The overview of season 2012 under the care of the GWS was frustrating for all concerned as the roll of the dice seemed against the Club. All we wanted was a reasonable opportunity to maximise participation for the children and opportunities to fundraise, showcase our ground, sponsor and culture through end of year finals or Gala Days. We did not receive any support from the AFL or reasons as to why we were unsuccessful or how we could improve.

What happened at the meeting at Bankstown Sports Club last night?

[ShortHalfHead]

Playafl site interesting.

Key in Bankstown as the suburb and there are quite a few places you are directed to, but Bankstown not in the list.

https://reg.sportingpulse.com/v6/MapFinder/mapfinder.cgi?stt=pc&r=2&sr=0&type=1&search_value=bankstown

[BeeEmmAre]

Playafl site interesting.

Key in Bankstown as the suburb and there are quite a few places you are directed to, but Bankstown not in the list.

FootyWeb

Very interesting. Although a quick search of my area in country NSW shows an absence of almost 50% of clubs down there, so it's not a website that could be considered reliable.
A search for Richmond shows Hawkesbury Juniors, but no mention of Nor-West Jets. East Coast Eagles are also not mentioned, and your Ramettes are listed at No.2.

[tara]

As much as I like having a dig at the great job being done by those in charge this time its the clubs responsibility to do this. Pretty easy to get indentified there through sporting pulse.

[unconfuseme]

Censored!

Fair enough ... no need for me to state the bleeding obvious ... it's there for all to see!

[unconfuseme]

What happened at the meeting at Bankstown Sports Club last night?

A very healthy 50 - 60 attended the AFL's meeting in the salubrious surrounds of the Bankstown Sports Club, including interested current and former parents, club members, life members, representatives from The Bankstown Sports Club, and other senior and junior clubs from both sides of the Georges River.

The various AFL representatives delivered the "fantastic" news, and some "great" stories about the "wonderful" benefits that all of the investment in AFL was, and would bring to clubs in the west. That under their plans, and due to the "excitement" about the game thanks to the recent Premiership success of " ... our Great Team" (Hang on these guys are GWS aren't they), Bankstown would benefit from all of this as they transitioned into the west over the the next 2 seasons, and into the future.

Most attendees seemed bored by lack of specific information and the rehashed propaganda of the past 3 years. In fact there was no more substance to the "information" than a "good news" story about the fact that Holroyd Parramatta had chosen to move into the Western comp ahead of the transition period (which makes perfect sense, since they ARE located in Western Sydney, and playing there would be far more convenient for them!). Interestingly, there was no mention of how the transition was going with Baulkham Hills? ...hmmm, wonder if they are "happy campers"?

The next "good news" story was around the "Phoenix rising from the ashes", this time in the shape of an Eagle .... Liverpool Eagles! The crowd was told how under the AFL's direction, this former defunct club now had an Auskick centre + a competitive team that has never won a game (I think?). This was quickly brought into perspective by a mother who stated that she was "... part of the 30 families that had moved from Liverpool Eagles to Bankstown years ago because of the actions of the AFL in undermining the club volunteers and restricting their recruitment area" ... sounds familiar! ... perhaps not the best example in hindsight???

Still, there was little to enthuse the audience, until Life Member Richard Orton stood up and addressed the issues. He provided qualified, relevant and researched information about the Bankstown LGA, demographics, population and social habits. That the true centre of Sydney is now somewhere around Westmead, and that rather than taking "Inner Western Sydney" clubs to prop up the area, they should be working from grass roots level in those growth areas. He also referenced the history of the failed attempts by the AFL to move Bankstown into a western competition over the past 25 years, and the reasons that have made any such move unworkable, then and now.

His short succinct monologue was met by a huge round of applause.

The balance of the meeting was dealing with questions from the interested parties (that could easily have been addressed in August by the AFL), surrounding what clubs and locations would be involved in a western competition, which was hugely unclear, and the answer was " it's on the website".

The huge benefits of Sunday Football were touched on, which we were told has been a great success, in spite of the Quote " ... resistance of the Hills District Bible Belt" to it's implementation (I swear, that's what he said!) ... Sunday football (for the heathens in Bankstown) will of course be a great benefit in getting Rugby League players to play both codes ... of course, when asked, no one from the AFL actually knew what day Bankstown Rugby League comp plays (... it's Sunday!).

A key question that remains unanswered was why the AFL had not been transparent and willing to provide information in any detail (and still really hasn't) until weeks before the competition is due to start, and when most junior sporting clubs in the area have closed their registrations for Winter Sport???

Once the blah,blah,blah ended, anyone who was interested in the future of the club was asked to express the same and provide their details to the AFL reps.

Overall, the AFL guys did the best they could, considering the constraints that they have to work under.

In the end they failed to provide any rational reason for the AFL's original decision to move the club. They did not address why they had reneged on previous promises not to "force" the club to do anything they did not choose to do. They provided no "meat" on the bones of the proposal, other than the vague reference to "millions of dollars" for development, and a competition structure that is simply a mirror image of the Sydney Harbour Competition with a lot less teams and far flung clubs.

A Special General Meeting of the club followed, and I suppose that the outcome of that will be known in due course.

[justabaraker]

A very healthy 50 - 60 attended the AFL's meeting in the salubrious surrounds of the Bankstown Sports Club, including interested current and former parents, club members, life members, representatives from The Bankstown Sports Club, and other senior and junior clubs from both sides of the Georges River.

The various AFL representatives delivered the "fantastic" news, and some "great" stories about the "wonderful" benefits that all of the investment in AFL was, and would bring to clubs in the west. That under their plans, and due to the "excitement" about the game thanks to the recent Premiership success of " ... our Great Team" (Hang on these guys are GWS aren't they), Bankstown would benefit from all of this as they transitioned into the west over the the next 2 seasons, and into the future.

Most attendees seemed bored by lack of specific information and the rehashed propaganda of the past 3 years. In fact there was no more substance to the "information" than a "good news" story about the fact that Holroyd Parramatta had chosen to move into the Western comp ahead of the transition period (which makes perfect sense, since they ARE located in Western Sydney, and playing there would be far more convenient for them!). Interestingly, there was no mention of how the transition was going with Baulkham Hills? ...hmmm, wonder if they are "happy campers"?

The next "good news" story was around the "Phoenix rising from the ashes", this time in the shape of an Eagle .... Liverpool Eagles! The crowd was told how under the AFL's direction, this former defunct club now had an Auskick centre + a competitive team that has never won a game (I think?). This was quickly brought into perspective by a mother who stated that she was "... part of the 30 families that had moved from Liverpool Eagles to Bankstown years ago because of the actions of the AFL in undermining the club volunteers and restricting their recruitment area" ... sounds familiar! ... perhaps not the best example in hindsight???

Still, there was little to enthuse the audience, until Life Member Richard Orton stood up and addressed the issues. He provided qualified, relevant and researched information about the Bankstown LGA, demographics, population and social habits. That the true centre of Sydney is now somewhere around Westmead, and that rather than taking "Inner Western Sydney" clubs to prop up the area, they should be working from grass roots level in those growth areas. He also referenced the history of the failed attempts by the AFL to move Bankstown into a western competition over the past 25 years, and the reasons that have made any such move unworkable, then and now.

His short succinct monologue was met by a huge round of applause.

The balance of the meeting was dealing with questions from the interested parties (that could easily have been addressed in August by the AFL), surrounding what clubs and locations would be involved in a western competition, which was hugely unclear, and the answer was " it's on the website".

The huge benefits of Sunday Football were touched on, which we were told has been a great success, in spite of the Quote " ... resistance of the Hills District Bible Belt" to it's implementation (I swear, that's what he said!) ... Sunday football (for the heathens in Bankstown) will of course be a great benefit in getting Rugby League players to play both codes ... of course, when asked, no one from the AFL actually knew what day Bankstown Rugby League comp plays (... it's Sunday!).

A key question that remains unanswered was why the AFL had not been transparent and willing to provide information in any detail (and still really hasn't) until weeks before the competition is due to start, and when most junior sporting clubs in the area have closed their registrations for Winter Sport???

Once the blah,blah,blah ended, anyone who was interested in the future of the club was asked to express the same and provide their details to the AFL reps.

Overall, the AFL guys did the best they could, considering the constraints that they have to work under.

In the end they failed to provide any rational reason for the AFL's original decision to move the club. They did not address why they had reneged on previous promises not to "force" the club to do anything they did not choose to do. They provided no "meat" on the bones of the proposal, other than the vague reference to "millions of dollars" for development, and a competition structure that is simply a mirror image of the Sydney Harbour Competition with a lot less teams and far flung clubs.

A Special General Meeting of the club followed, and I suppose that the outcome of that will be known in due course.

UCM, that's a fantastic piece of reporting by you which must have taken you a lot of preparation - thanks for your effort.
No resistance from THIS little buckle in the "Hills District Bible Belt" !

[Jupiter]

What a terrible indictment on Sydney AFL. That such things can even be occurring is astounding and again reflects the pathetically inadequate leadeship structure that exists for the game in Sydney. It's a big business for the AFL but its also a game people..... and this is no way to treat your grass roots. Forcing kids or clubs to go where they don't want to, whether by stuffing the club around like this, carrot and stick fixturing/resourcing, zoning, pathway policy, whatever is plain wrong and I can't agree more with all the posts here about this rubbish. Shameful.

[Xie Shan]

Very interesting reading. The AFL will need to get the grass roots right if they want their investment in GWS to pay dividends. The reports coming out of Bankstown don't fill me with a lot of confidence. Thanks for the detailed reporting unconfuseme.

[DLH]

I find the whole idea of Sunday junior football to be ridiculous. How many families are going to have the time to run their kids to training for two different sports, as well as be able to afford two lots of rego fees and associated gear, given the AFL's assumption that the move will attract kids from other sport?

On the flip side, how many kids and families will be lost to the game because they consider Sunday to be a day for the family, without any other distractions? And that's not to mention those who attend church, which the AFL appear to have noted rather clumsily going by UCM's post.

I can't see that there's any grassroots support for it, but I don't suppose that makes any difference.

[Mug Punter]

I find the whole idea of Sunday junior football to be ridiculous. How many families are going to have the time to run their kids to training for two different sports, as well as be able to afford two lots of rego fees and associated gear, given the AFL's assumption that the move will attract kids from other sport?

On the flip side, how many kids and families will be lost to the game because they consider Sunday to be a day for the family, without any other distractions? And that's not to mention those who attend church, which the AFL appear to have noted rather clumsily going by UCM's post.

I can't see that there's any grassroots support for it, but I don't suppose that makes any difference.

Absolutely spot on and it just shows what a bunch of idiots we have running the game.

Most families will limit their kids to one weekend sport, preferably on a Saturday so the AFL, genuises that they are, have given the NRL and soccer a free kick here.

Use mid-week school sport as the vehicle to convert players and cater for multi-code players.

Mind boggling incompetence.....

[Hole In Bucket]

[QUOTE=DLH;604765]I find the whole idea of Sunday junior football to be ridiculous. How many families are going to have the time to run their kids to training for two different sports, as well as be able to afford two lots of rego fees and associated gear, given the AFL's assumption that the move will attract kids from other sport?
[QUOTE]

I lived in Brisbane 5 years ago and their junior and local senior footy was and still is 100 yards ahead of Sydney.

The reason is they play everything above Under 12 on a Sunday. It opens the game up to a lot of Soccer, League and Union kids who play with schools or clubs on a Saturday. It attracted heaps of talented kids who wanted to try a new game.

Given how bad local footy is down here it is well worth trying.

[unconfuseme]

Latest installment from the wacky world of AFL.

Having taken since August last year and up until a week ago to finally meet with the members of Bankstown Sports Junior AFL, and provide some minimal explanation about the proposed transition to the west, the administrators of the Sydney South Juniors have now been instructed by the AFL to advise Bankstown that they have a deadline of Friday 22nd Feb to nominate teams for the 2013 Competitions, or risk being excluded ....

This whole mess may not be on the same scale as "Tanking, when it's not tanking" or "Drugs and Criminals" in AFL, but I'm sure it will strike a much deeper vein with the sporting public in Sydney when it hits the media!!! ... but you know what they say, no such thing as bad press ...

[ShortHalfHead]

Administrators of the Sydney South Juniors have now been instructed by the AFL to advise Bankstown that they have a deadline of Friday 22nd Feb to nominate teams for the 2013 Competitions, or risk being excluded ....

Can you unconfuse me, unconfuseme.

Are you saying that they are staying in the South Sydney comp?

[unconfuseme]

Can you unconfuse me, unconfuseme.

Are you saying that they are staying in the South Sydney comp?

For 2013, Sydney South is to run as a stand alone comp with the same clubs as 2012, but under the administration of the Sydney Harbour Committee, (after the former administration ran a disastrous 2012 season, lost the confidence of all clubs and then conveniently resigned ).

The 2014 plan is that there will be NO Sydney South Comp. All Sydney South clubs (except Bankstown) will transition to be part of Sydney Harbour comp - Junior football will remain localised, Youth football will be divisionalised, all junior clubs will be East or West from 2014. The Western Sydney Comp will run on the same terms, but with far fewer teams, be less competitive and endure much more travel.

There are some positives, particularly divisionalised football, which will mean even competition, at least in the East. Downside includes the end of "Home and Away" football, with teams potentially all playing at different venues, Sunday football, which has only been popular with the dedicated AFL families whose kids are in private schools and must participate in Compulsory Saturday School Sport - the real reason it was originally brought in, if the AFL want to be honest about it.

Anecdotal evidence is, that to continue with the rest of the Sydney South clubs would be appealing to the majority at Bankstown parents, rather than to be used and abused by the AFL to fill in where they see fit.

The point is, due to the actions of the AFL, Bankstown have been given 10 days to inform their members about these things, and assuming they even want to continue under the AFL's association, they then need to arrange coaches, recruit committee, advertise and register players for 2013 ... alternatively, the club folds, and the AFL have offered to step in and "rescue" the club ...