So there's only two clubs not to win a flag during divisionalisation! And my mob is one of em. Glad the other is Parra. Wankers.
New Competition Structure for 2018
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From what I read on another thread recently Camden are loaded and ready to go with their president saying their depth is better than the current bottom 5 Prem clubs. And yes some teams in the second teir Seniors comp
Would struggle initially but no different to the current system. The positives far outweigh the negetatives IMHO
Pennant Hills
East Coast
UTS
Manly
Wests
Leysy is smarter than that and he knows they would be in for years of pain. Having a side in Premier Division doesn't mean you will attract talent. Success generally builds success. Meaning if you have poor results then it is very hard to attract talent. Many of their current list are players who do not want to play Premier Division level and for a good reason. If they can't win Div 1 then they shouldn't be looked at for the top level. Manly absolutely dominated Div 1 before they were promoted as did UTS from memory.Comment
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Laughable. He does realise that the "bottom 5" are:
Pennant Hills
East Coast
UTS
Manly
Wests
Leysy is smarter than that and he knows they would be in for years of pain. Having a side in Premier Division doesn't mean you will attract talent. Success generally builds success. Meaning if you have poor results then it is very hard to attract talent. Many of their current list are players who do not want to play Premier Division level and for a good reason. If they can't win Div 1 then they shouldn't be looked at for the top level. Manly absolutely dominated Div 1 before they were promoted as did UTS from memory.
Not to take anything away from Camden, they've built their club well. But 4th in Div 1 is a long way from Prems, especially when you consider the teams above them are all 2nds sides...Comment
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Laughable. He does realise that the "bottom 5" are:
Pennant Hills
East Coast
UTS
Manly
Wests
Leysy is smarter than that and he knows they would be in for years of pain. Having a side in Premier Division doesn't mean you will attract talent. Success generally builds success. Meaning if you have poor results then it is very hard to attract talent. Many of their current list are players who do not want to play Premier Division level and for a good reason. If they can't win Div 1 then they shouldn't be looked at for the top level. Manly absolutely dominated Div 1 before they were promoted as did UTS from memory.
(E.g. Would Camdens Div5 beat ECE Div4, Wests Div5, Manly Div4 etc....?)
I think you have to start somewhere and JL knows this and has a good committee ready to go and i know the bloke would work his arse off for years to come to make it successfull. You only have to look at the last few years.
I watched Div1 last weekend at Olds and Camdens 3rd quarter was impressive and they had plenty of chances to beat St George. Consistency for all four quarters cost them.
Nothing we can all do anyway we are in the hands of the administrators and will wait for them to tell us whats happening again i guess just like when the Divisions were brought in.Comment
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Yes UTS won 09 and 10 pretty easily too and Manly did the same in 11 and 12 and even back then people had an issue with them going up. Camden only just beat North Shore 2s in the grand final last year.
Good luck to them i will not write them off, however this just looks as tho a replacement for Campbelltown if anythingComment
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Will they find it difficult to attract good players and therefore become self full filling in that they will always be second tier.Comment
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There is also talk of changing 19's to 18's and in juniors 17's to 16's.
I think the jump from 18 straight into big boys footy is too much for most kids (elites excluded), rugby have U20 colts in one comp and U21 in another comp. League I think still have U19's.Comment
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I think they probably should go up (and will get flogged in prems), but compare that div 1 side on the weekend to the one that is put out in finals.
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I think you are correct in saying that being in Prems and Div1 19's will attract and hold good players and provide a path way for juniors but the other side of the coin is what happens to those clubs in the second tier.
Will they find it difficult to attract good players and therefore become self full filling in that they will always be second tier.Comment
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Strategically, I think there definitely needs to be representation of the south west and western suburbs. Maybe not now or in the next few years, a series of hidings would be disastrous and undo all the good work already done.
Think about the last few promotions to PD - Wollongong was first, after really, only claiming a premiership in 2004. Way too early, but a strategic decision it would seem.
Sydney Uni in 2007 (a re-promotion of sorts) their 1s and 2s were either premiers or runners up, or thereabouts, in the SFA through the 90s and 00s. Always a strong unit.
UTS in 2010 after sustained success. Manly the same. They deserve to be there.
Few years ago, South West Sydney would've been up there for promotion, not so much for on field results but for off field - facilities, sponsors, committee etc.
Penrith - probably lacking the support of council (or at least the bloke that keeps them off Howell Oval) but a very well run club.
Holroyd-Parramatta - well......if their ressies can't field a team, there's something amiss.
Camden - have grown organically since their return from the South Coast, have copped some hidings early but stuck it out and grew from within, also grew some relationships with junior clubs (and senior) in their area.
Blacktown - would be interested to see if their player retention and culture was the same when copping some thrashings. The only folk who wouldn't agree that they've had it easy since their test tube birth would be the folk at the club itself.Comment
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I think promoting Camden is driven by a head office dude ticking this KPI box - "develop AFL in the Sth West, West of Sydney" rather than Camden being ready. When you look at the history of Manly and UTS before they were promoted it was a different story.Comment
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Camden's Div 5 side is alright at that level but they lost to us earlier in the year and that's our 6th grade team, so I'm not sure they would beat anyone in Div 4 or above without a significant injection of talent. North Shore and Wests are the standouts at Div 5 level.
I am pretty sure JL realises that at the top end and was referring to depth meaning their third grade side would compete against the lower end third grade sides from those Prems Clubs.
(E.g. Would Camdens Div5 beat ECE Div4, Wests Div5, Manly Div4 etc....?)
I think you have to start somewhere and JL knows this and has a good committee ready to go and i know the bloke would work his arse off for years to come to make it successfull. You only have to look at the last few years.
I watched Div1 last weekend at Olds and Camdens 3rd quarter was impressive and they had plenty of chances to beat St George. Consistency for all four quarters cost them.
Nothing we can all do anyway we are in the hands of the administrators and will wait for them to tell us whats happening again i guess just like when the Divisions were brought in.Comment
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Saviour - this is really my key point. Camden will absolutely struggle to compete in the recruitment market. If I was a talented player and had just moved to Sydney, would I choose to play at St George (an established PD club) or would I drive all the way out to Camden to play for them? If I lived in the City would I choose to play for UNSWES, UTS, Syd Uni or would I drive all the way out to play at Camden? Everyone underestimates how hard it is to recruit normally let alone recruit players by convincing them to take out a second mortgage to pay for fuel and tolls and drive 65kms to get to training and 65kms to get home. And there are very few players moving to Sydney who base themselves out at Camden! I'm sure there are a few but definitely not the majority. I know that Camden & C'Town don't really get along but they should really talk to people involved over there about how hard it is to recruit talent that far out of the city. They had the money to do it but were too far out and their results didn't make them a destination club.
To be successful at PD level you have to recruit. St.G grand final team last year had 8 players of their 22 who were not local juniors and they probably recruit the best in the business. (yes yes i know you don't pay them). And I know someone will try and come on here and argue that they were all local juniors...... Just to be clear, I am not knocking St.G and instead making an example of what you need to do to be a great PD team. Recruit to top up your local talent.
The only exception to the rule IMO to the above would be Pennant Hills who are the best breeder of local talent in all of Sydney. I don't know what they put in the water but it definitely works.
The fact is that Camden would get flogged on a regular basis over the first 2-3 years in PD and then it makes it harder and harder to recruit. AND some of their local players would move onto lower divisions. One of their key players has told me this personally. If they AND AFL Sydney want to bury their heads in the sand and think it is their "field of dreams" moment then good luck to them. I know JL reasonably well and I have no doubt he will put everything into it. He has done and is doing a fantastic job, but not even he is Kevin Costner....
My suggestion to them is not to rush. Build success first like UTS & Manly, focus on recruiting and wait until you are actually ready.Comment
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I agree with a lot of the above. But it's a risk either way. Hard to recruit to div 1, do the sponsors, the committee, depth etc hang around for the next 4 or 5 years if they aren't in prems?
Also agree with Pmcc's "AFL KPI" comment, but would understand if they decide to back themselves and have a go at it.Comment
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Lol the depth at Camden must be spectacular if the pres is still jogging around in div 1 in his 2XL jumper.Comment
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