Xav Richards

[Tom Wills]

This weekend will be interesting with a Syd Uni bye this weekend and how many play down and get to other clubs, this round will be interesting.

There is something fundamentally unfair about the Bye in Prems (forgetting Sydney Uni for a moment).
Last week Southern Power lost to their nemesis, St George, by 15 goals in Div 1 with Addison and Mudge the best 2 - both clearly Premier Division players.
Actually every Premier Division team that has had a bye this season (4 rounds) has had there next team have a convincing win. This, at a glance, flows through to their lower Divisions.

Not sure what the answer is other than get to an even number of teams in Premier Division, either 8 or 10 next year.

[Mug Punter]

There is something fundamentally unfair about the Bye in Prems (forgetting Sydney Uni for a moment).
\

I'd say any comp where the potential for flooding your lower grades exists.

Clearly the easiest solution is a return to the two/three grade comps with an even number of teams in each comp.

And to re-open another old chesnut I'd like to see an 8 team comp with promotion and relegation for the top/bottom team

[bomber.]

There is something fundamentally unfair about the Bye in Prems (forgetting Sydney Uni for a moment).
Last week Southern Power lost to their nemesis, St George, by 15 goals in Div 1 with Addison and Mudge the best 2 - both clearly Premier Division players.
Actually every Premier Division team that has had a bye this season (4 rounds) has had there next team have a convincing win. This, at a glance, flows through to their lower Divisions.

Not sure what the answer is other than get to an even number of teams in Premier Division, either 8 or 10 next year.

The rules for dropping prem players back changed this year. Now no-one who played prems on a given weekend can play a lower grade the following week if the prems have a bye. Used to be that 2 could play down.

Round 1 is an anomaly because no prem team plays the week before, but I don't know what you'd do about that - start div 1 and div 2 a week later!!

Given St G lost in round 3, pretty sure they weren't holding Mudge and Addison back so they could beat Sthn Power in div 1 last weekend.

Reality is that the top 4 sides in div 1 are associated with prem div teams and the top 3 in div 2 are as well, so seven of the 9 prem div sides have their ressies going very nicely. That that will have more to do with the comfortable wins than what's happened with their prem teams.

Manly have the bye this weekend and their ressies are playing Wollondilly - so tipping another comfortable win that has nothing to do with the prem div bye.

[ThePunter]

Afternoon gents - long time listener, first time caller.

Seems like a bit of a storm in a teacup here. Richards was by all accounts coming back from injury sustained in NEAFL Rnd 1 a month ago, and thus came back through the Reserves like basically any other club in the country. Just because the guy fired a few shots against what was apparently a fairly insipid Wolves side does not require this level of overreaction - take his 13 goals out and Manly still lose by an outrageous margin. Wait and see if he's played in Premier Division again this weekend before throwing the baby out with the bathwater - entire comp had no issue with the beatings inflicted on Uni Premier Division over the past few years when they were hamstrung by eligibility rules, have to take the good with the bad when things come full circle.

[saviour01]

There is something fundamentally unfair about the Bye in Prems (forgetting Sydney Uni for a moment).
Last week Southern Power lost to their nemesis, St George, by 15 goals in Div 1 with Addison and Mudge the best 2 - both clearly Premier Division players.
Actually every Premier Division team that has had a bye this season (4 rounds) has had there next team have a convincing win. This, at a glance, flows through to their lower Divisions.

Not sure what the answer is other than get to an even number of teams in Premier Division, either 8 or 10 next year.

As Bomber said, no one who played prems can drop down the following week.

And to be honest it didnt make a difference, my div 4 side could probably their div 1. 110-1 in our 3rds v their 2nds. 105-22 in our 2nds v their thirds. They use to flog us, whats happened there?

[Pmcc2911]

Interesting point (I know it is only early days) but next year you could see the return of most Prems clubs with their reserves in Div 1.
Syd Uni are currently 1st in Div1 (no surprise there), St Geo 2nd, Penno 3rd and UTS 4th. Add to them from Div 2 Nth Shore and UNSW 1st and 2nd and wests who are 3rd and you will have 7 of the 9 Prems clubs with their reserves in Div 1. Manly and ECE the only two who don't.

[saviour01]

Interesting point (I know it is only early days) but next year you could see the return of most Prems clubs with their reserves in Div 1.
Syd Uni are currently 1st in Div1 (no surprise there), St Geo 2nd, Penno 3rd and UTS 4th. Add to them from Div 2 Nth Shore and UNSW 1st and 2nd and wests who are 3rd and you will have 7 of the 9 Prems clubs with their reserves in Div 1. Manly and ECE the only two who don't.

Is it true ECE prems dont even train at the same ground as their reserves?

[5yearplan]

Completely untrue.

[Tim Freedman]

Is it true ECE prems dont even train at the same ground as their reserves?

Ah, that would be a no. The entire club trains at the same ground including Prems, Div 1, Div 4, 19s & Womens.

[saviour01]

Same nights/times?

[ShortHalfHead]

An interesting conversation. Naturally we assume if Student was at another club, his views would differ. And if Saviour was a Uni boy, he would be pouncing in their defence. It's been mentioned inadvertently that the league has strong ideas about returning to the old days. 2 comps. One with Prem Div, Prem Reserves, Prem 19's and Prem Women's. The really have just to get St George over the line with women's footy, as they have a long held belief that females shouldn't play footy. A survey sent out was heavily slanted towards this. Might sound good in theory, but seems to lack the opportunity for lower division clubs to grow or achieve promotion in any of the four grades, making them just a pathway to the premier division clubs.
Also, with the female footy, a points system is being introduced next year (proposed, anyhow) to achieve some form of equalisation. It is being fiddled with, the latest edition slanting heavily in favour of the University teams as expected.

[Mug Punter]

Afternoon gents - long time listener, first time caller.

Seems like a bit of a storm in a teacup here. Richards was by all accounts coming back from injury sustained in NEAFL Rnd 1 a month ago, and thus came back through the Reserves like basically any other club in the country. Just because the guy fired a few shots against what was apparently a fairly insipid Wolves side does not require this level of overreaction - take his 13 goals out and Manly still lose by an outrageous margin. Wait and see if he's played in Premier Division again this weekend before throwing the baby out with the bathwater - entire comp had no issue with the beatings inflicted on Uni Premier Division over the past few years when they were hamstrung by eligibility rules, have to take the good with the bad when things come full circle.

You are clearly involved with Sydney Uni so I am sure you think the Xavier situation is great.

I just think that the scope for the local competition due to the NEAFL flow on is quite serious. The NEAFL squad was meant to be separated from the local comp for obvious reasons, that being that those players would never have joined Uni at Prem Div level.

I guess we'll just see how it goes but now the floodgates have been opened watch them dominate.

[Tim Freedman]

Same nights/times?

Div 4 train on a different night. Others all the same. Prems train together with Div 1 all night which I think would be the norm at most clubs. 19s do their warm up together with the above and sometimes the girls also warm up with the group.

[unconfuseme]

At the risk of sounding repetitive, a "Sydney" based NEAFL side that is not aligned with the AFL Franchises, should not be aligned with an individual club, if that club is going to have the benefit of playing those "overflow" players in other lower grade competitions.

Under the current format SU is detrimental to the "amateur" code in Sydney. Their involvement disrupts and diminishes the value of the Sydney AFL Premier Division competition, and that flows through to every lower grade they enter teams into ... and in the mean time, they contribute nothing.

Andrews "point" system has merit, as do Mug's suggestions, but you would still have a situation where SU NEAFL players would often end up playing AGAINST SU in Prems ... which is neither desirable nor fair to them.

The NEAFL entity should be a stand alone, AFL/Sydney AFL co-branded initiative.

Players who aspire to NEAFL, would need to register with a SAFL club, using a system that enables a reasonable chance of even spread of talent, but mostly based on junior club origins. For Example, of their current roster, players like the Krochmal boys would ideally be registered with UNSWEasts, Potter with Penno, Dimery with ECE, etc ... players like Barrett (Balmain) and Young (Campbelltown) would ideally go to the nearest Prems club to their origins, and interstate/unaligned players could go to the Uni clubs (as they do now) ... there is a system, and with some thought, it would not be that difficult. When not selected for NEAFL, they would return to their "Club of Origin", enabling them to play with pride as well.

Obvious benefits would flow from the improved talent across the SAFL clubs. The cultural benefits within clubs can't be underestimated when these former "local" juniors have the chance to continue playing (even sparingly) with the clubs who most likely had a hand in nurturing them.

Likewise, it gives these players a clear pathway BACK to their original clubs, after NEAFL - the vast majority will not progress past NEAFL, and will only remain in NEAFL for a few seasons.

A structure along these lines, that is inclusive of the SAFL clubs, would genuinely benefit and improve the SAFL.

It could even generate interest and support for the NEAFL entity from the general SAFL community, rather than the current attitude which generally hovers between ambivalence and contempt.

[Mug Punter]

At the risk of sounding repetitive, a "Sydney" based NEAFL side that is not aligned with the AFL Franchises, should not be aligned with an individual club, if that club is going to have the benefit of playing those "overflow" players in other lower grade competitions.

Under the current format SU is detrimental to the "amateur" code in Sydney. Their involvement disrupts and diminishes the value of the Sydney AFL Premier Division competition, and that flows through to every lower grade they enter teams into ... and in the mean time, they contribute nothing.

Andrews "point" system has merit, as do Mug's suggestions, but you would still have a situation where SU NEAFL players would often end up playing AGAINST SU in Prems ... which is neither desirable nor fair to them.

The NEAFL entity should be a stand alone, AFL/Sydney AFL co-branded initiative.

Players who aspire to NEAFL, would need to register with a SAFL club, using a system that enables a reasonable chance of even spread of talent, but mostly based on junior club origins. For Example, of their current roster, players like the Krochmal boys would ideally be registered with UNSWEasts, Potter with Penno, Dimery with ECE, etc ... players like Barrett (Balmain) and Young (Campbelltown) would ideally go to the nearest Prems club to their origins, and interstate/unaligned players could go to the Uni clubs (as they do now) ... there is a system, and with some thought, it would not be that difficult. When not selected for NEAFL, they would return to their "Club of Origin", enabling them to play with pride as well.

Obvious benefits would flow from the improved talent across the SAFL clubs. The cultural benefits within clubs can't be underestimated when these former "local" juniors have the chance to continue playing (even sparingly) with the clubs who most likely had a hand in nurturing them.

Likewise, it gives these players a clear pathway BACK to their original clubs, after NEAFL - the vast majority will not progress past NEAFL, and will only remain in NEAFL for a few seasons.

A structure along these lines, that is inclusive of the SAFL clubs, would genuinely benefit and improve the SAFL.

It could even generate interest and support for the NEAFL entity from the general SAFL community, rather than the current attitude which generally hovers between ambivalence and contempt.

I agree with you in principle there provided that we can find someone to find the $400,000 for this AFL/Sydney AFL co-branded initiative.

But as we don't then the next best option is that the players in the Core Uni NEAFL Squad on their $20,000 a year scholarships are quarantined in the NEAFL Program, or at the very least are evenly farmed out to the SFL Clubs.

But no, Sydney Uni will fight to have all their NEAFL fringe players all in their Prem Div squad as well rather than have a system that allows all SFL clubs share in the benefits of the NEAFL pathway. It's all very predictable and typical. Equally predictable is the Sydney Uni types coming on here saying how great it is.

Personally I wouldn't blame an SFL club from boycotting a game if Xavier tales the field going forward. The idea that somehow it is fair and reasonable to have an undividual bloke on the same money as the entire team he is playing is just ridiculous.