Biggest Flogs in SydneyAFL

[saviour01]

ECE will win the gf by 10 goals.

[Coastal Boy]

I don't know any of the details being referenced here but I have thought all year that its a terrible look having ECE come back in on their own with a near NEAFL list and dominate the competition. Some transition arrangements might have been advisable so as to avoid accusations of competition wrecking (no disrespect to any other club intended and anything can happen in finals but..).

I think it was quite obvious that ECE would dominate this year. Many people predicted it in earlier threads. But at the end of the day its a free country and there are by-laws and there is not much that can be done. If footballers are told they cannot play for a club I think you'll find most of them don't play at all. You could cripple a club by getting involved in their running. But this is different. There was a real opportunity for the league to use a $100K worth of leverage to ensure ECE did not dominate the competition with their NEAFL players. Previously the league would have no power to prevent this from occurring. I would assume the money was used to pay debts from last year and has nothing to do with this year. But I think we all know without the money which was used to pay players (either directly or indirectly) they would not have hung around. Once again, hats off to Oscar and ECE for ensuring their club stays viable. Ultimately its only a loan(isn't it?) so they have to pay it back. But the league needs to not only be impartial but seen to be impartial. I agree with Saviour, they'll win by 10 goals and now probably next year too. IMO the league needs to hold their head in shame over this one.

[Jupiter]

I think it was quite obvious that ECE would dominate this year. Many people predicted it in earlier threads. But at the end of the day its a free country and there are by-laws and there is not much that can be done. If footballers are told they cannot play for a club I think you'll find most of them don't play at all. You could cripple a club by getting involved in their running. But this is different. There was a real opportunity for the league to use a $100K worth of leverage to ensure ECE did not dominate the competition with their NEAFL players. Previously the league would have no power to prevent this from occurring. I would assume the money was used to pay debts from last year and has nothing to do with this year. But I think we all know without the money which was used to pay players (either directly or indirectly) they would not have hung around. Once again, hats off to Oscar and ECE for ensuring their club stays viable. Ultimately its only a loan(isn't it?) so they have to pay it back. But the league needs to not only be impartial but seen to be impartial. I agree with Saviour, they'll win by 10 goals and now probably next year too. IMO the league needs to hold their head in shame over this one.

While I agree Coastal the league shouldn't have any "power" over what club a player chooses to play for they do of course and flex it in sometimes in amazingly creative ways whenever they feel like it, they just didn't feel like it in this instance - some examples that spring to mind of when they did are - Blacktown affirmative action, Bankstown juniors debacle, U/18 pathway policy and i could go on but others on here know much more than me.

[unconfuseme]

To be clear, I have no problem with the actions of the Eagles administration - it was in ill conceived model that they got involved with in the first place, and they have simply tried to do their best in extracting themselves from the poo, and achieved it.

Again, the flogs are the The AFL, who couldn't run a chook raffle, and to a lesser degree (as they will hopefully learn something from it) the players who could have either gone back and supported the clubs in their junior areas, or tried their luck with another NEAFL club (if it was about being "professional athletes"), ... or grabbed the money.

[saviour01]

You can't blame the players. I'd take the money to beat inferior opposition each week. Why not?

ECE should have had something written into their contracts though. What are going to be the long term ramifications of a 100k loan? Gotta hope they have a plan to pay it back.

Sydney AFL no way should have given them the money as they did. Fair enough if legal advice says they need to be paid for the duration of their contract, but surely they do a draft like they do with the Sydney Uni players.

At the end of they day they will win the comp and they will do it easy. Well done to them. But it's hardly a fair comp.

[Footy Barista]

100k ? I was under the impression it 400k 360k in player payments which was paid out by afl

[Coastal Boy]

100k ? I was under the impression it 400k 360k in player payments which was paid out by afl

Tell me you're joking.
The Sydney AFL has never assumed responsibility for a club's contract with a player. They have previously refused to acknowledge them....only AFL rego forms.
$360k sounds like at least 2 years player payments. I can't believe things could have got that far out of hand.

[Coastal Boy]

100k ? I was under the impression it 400k 360k in player payments which was paid out by afl

Tell me you're joking.
The Sydney AFL has never assumed responsibility for a club's contract with a player. They have previously refused to acknowledge them....only AFL rego forms.
$360k sounds like at least 2 years player payments. I can't believe things could have got that far out of hand.

[unconfuseme]

I think you will find that defaulting on a SAFL contract for a hundred a game is a little different to defaulting on a NEAFL contract.

The club was broke, so without the AFL money, they would have surely defaulted ... can you imagine the way that would look ... the wealthiest most successful AFL club in Sydney (outside of GWS and The Swans) defaulting on player payments? ... you would never see another ex-pat reserve grade mercenary pull the boots on in Sydney again!!!

The game would be a laughing stock in Sydney if that had happened .... oh, sorry, that's right!

... and I suspect that $100k wouldn't cover more than about 3 players' contracts, and not the top 3.

[Mug Punter]

Tell me you're joking.
The Sydney AFL has never assumed responsibility for a club's contract with a player. They have previously refused to acknowledge them....only AFL rego forms.
$360k sounds like at least 2 years player payments. I can't believe things could have got that far out of hand.

Are we serious that the EC Eagles had a player budget per year approaching $200K per season? With no crowds, minimal sponsors and a comp that means nothing to anyone outside of its direct participants. So, we're probably looking at anywhere from $250 per game right up to $800 - $1,000 for their more expensive mercenaries.

And now the other clubs have to indirectly fund this gross mismanagement and get flogged into next week for the privilege. Seriously, people should jus boycott this year's SFL Grand Final in protest.

One would have thought there would have been some due diligence process and corporate governance (e.g. submission of audited accounts) that would have alerted the members of Mensa at the NSWAFL that this club was unsustainable but no, as usual they just let things slide along until they get to crisis point and come up with a kneejerk reaction.

What a bunch of clowns, and I'd like to see their President explain their way out of this (respect he wasn't part of the NEAFL foray to be fair)

This goes pretty close to being the NSWAFL's finest hour, it's crowning achievement in incompetence.

Just out of interest, The Student, does Sydney Uni pay players outright or do you offer the scholarship system? To me that makes a lot more sense.....

[Coastal Boy]

I can only guess that ECE found themselves in a situation and not a good one. Oscar was forced to step back in and attempt to tidy things up.

Whether we like it or not ECE have proven to be the benchmark of footy in Sydney and their survival is justified.

[Coastal Boy]

I will try to be Sherlock here.

The league would only get involved here if their hands were tied. There's no way anyone would give someone a $100k+ unsecured loan without approval from AFL headquarters. Oscar knows people in high places.

The fact this hasn't leaked before now means the club presidents were kept in the dark. However the absence of PK and Tara commenting here means maybe they know more but have been gagged.

This story must have some serious legs....Daisy Duke style. We probably haven't heard half of it yet. I've never known Oscar not to jump to his clubs defence so he is either holidaying in Antarctica or is being sensible and not fuelling this fire.

So who are the victims here? All of the other clubs who have busted a boiler raising dollars to get their team on the paddock when they were never a chance to win anything this year. Helping a team survive is noble, indirectly gifting them a premiership is not.

[Pekay]

I'm not gagged, I've just stepped away from my footy club to start a family, so I'm far from privy to any of the details.

I know Pete is on a holiday with his lovely wife though, hence his lack of reply.

[Coastal Boy]

I'm not gagged, I've just stepped away from my footy club to start a family, so I'm far from privy to any of the details.

I know Pete is on a holiday with his lovely wife though, hence his lack of reply.

You're ruining my conspiracy theory
I hope your genetic testing chose a spouse fleet of foot who can deliver via either foot. You know....to balance things out.

[tara]

Its not my place to comment and Im sure Oscar will if he feels the need although I feel the blame on the Sydney AFL levelled here may be misplaced as they only pawns of the actual "AFL".