Season 2020

[saviour01]

Also whats the go with ECE? Sack coach mid last week, put out a call on facebook for a new one. Old premiership coach comes in and they get beat by Manly.

Real big divide between the top and bottom clubs at the moment.

[Clubman]

You are a week late with this news saviour. M Sankey took over at the Norths game. The lose to Manly at Manly could be that they had 5 players out injured from GORE HILL the week before. (5 Good Players missing) Etto, Savage, Jones, Stewart, Stubbs, 2 had Broken ankles - The other games at Manly - Eastcoast Reserve Team WON by 75 points and the Third Team WON by 90. EastCoast are advertising now for a New Coach 2021 - That's a good thing

[Nuttsy]

You are a week late with this news saviour. M Sankey took over at the Norths game. The lose to Manly at Manly could be that they had 5 players out injured from GORE HILL the week before. (5 Good Players missing) Etto, Savage, Jones, Stewart, Stubbs, 2 had Broken ankles - The other games at Manly - Eastcoast Reserve Team WON by 75 points and the Third Team WON by 90. EastCoast are advertising now for a New Coach 2021 - That's a good thing

Didn't Stubbs play ressies? Strange as he would be in the top 10 players at pretty much every club if up and going

[The Runner]

Eagles seem to have fallen off the pace a fair way - even with a few out, Manly were winless coming in. Is this an impact of other clubs getting Neafl players?
Looks like a bit of East / West divide in Prems opening up.

[saviour01]

Didn't Stubbs play ressies? Strange as he would be in the top 10 players at pretty much every club if up and going

Getting ready for a finals run in ressies. Manly have always been pretty bad in their ressies and thirds. Not sure how they would go with the Sydney AFL pressure on moving everyone's thirds to div 1 rather than div 2. Not sure how they turn it around either.

Eagles got a few back from NEAFL though didn't they? Cole has been named in their best every single week this year after his Sydney Uni season last year.

Big gulf in clubs at the moment. UTS, Camden, Manly are gone in both with not much going right it seems. Norths, Syd Uni and UNSW doing great guns.

[bomber.]

Eagles seem to have fallen off the pace a fair way - even with a few out, Manly were winless coming in. Is this an impact of other clubs getting Neafl players?
Looks like a bit of East / West divide in Prems opening up.

The longer clubs think the gap is about NEAFL players, the longer it will be before they start to close it.

[Blinkers28]

A mouthwatering final round on the cards across a number of divisions.

NEAFL will no doubt stack to take on North Shore for the minor premiership. Important week off on the line too. Cannot discount Manly with their tail up, could spring a surprise against Penno, with Magpies needing to win big against Camden. Fifth spot still up for grabs, Penno favourite.

Uni and North Shire should be a great game to round out the Women’s competition. Power v Magpies will also be interesting, as they both play each other week 1 of finals.

Power made a statement against Penrith, starting to peak in both Platinum divisions and winning out at Greygums for the first time in a long time. Despite their respective ladder positions, they’d be favourite to do the Platinum double again.

Despite the large gulf in clubs this year, it’s pleasing to see a number of divisions going down to the wire.

[Jupiter]

A mouthwatering final round on the cards across a number of divisions.

NEAFL will no doubt stack to take on North Shore for the minor premiership. Important week off on the line too. Cannot discount Manly with their tail up, could spring a surprise against Penno, with Magpies needing to win big against Camden. Fifth spot still up for grabs, Penno favourite.

Uni and North Shire should be a great game to round out the Women’s competition. Power v Magpies will also be interesting, as they both play each other week 1 of finals.

Power made a statement against Penrith, starting to peak in both Platinum divisions and winning out at Greygums for the first time in a long time. Despite their respective ladder positions, they’d be favourite to do the Platinum double again.

Despite the large gulf in clubs this year, it’s pleasing to see a number of divisions going down to the wire.

Maybe Power for promotion and Bats go down? I followed the NEAFL comp a bit, I think alongside Justabaracka one of the few. I reckon the Bombers have as many if not more state league experienced players (most through Uni) than Uni (and I'd argue younger and better - and good on them!) and they'll be advantaged by the pointless point system over many teams with their strong junior feeder base. The club that seems really disappointing this year and below expectations is East Coast, really surprising, U/19s too, other than that no real surprises as compared to last several years in prems really. Hopefully many great games this weekend and really just good to have footy on.

[justabaraker]

Maybe Power for promotion and Bats go down? I followed the NEAFL comp a bit, I think alongside Justabaracka one of the few. I reckon the Bombers have as many if not more state league experienced players (most through Uni) than Uni (and I'd argue younger and better - and good on them!) and they'll be advantaged by the pointless point system over many teams with their strong junior feeder base. The club that seems really disappointing this year and below expectations is East Coast, really surprising, U/19s too, other than that no real surprises as compared to last several years in prems really. Hopefully many great games this weekend and really just good to have footy on.

Yes, Jupiter, I'm also surprised at how bad the East Coast is going.
You're right about the best and brightest of Sydney footy returning to our footy, but Baulko isn't benefitting because the best and brightest haven't been coming from there lately anyway. On Saturday they played Cole, Emery and Dimery but oh dear, the bottom five or six on their paddock really aren't up to scratch. I remember being out at Purser three or four years ago and watching their Rouse Hill Magpies Academy (or something) running around at half-time....hundreds of little boys and girls doing Auskick in black and white (oh YUCK !!) with a jumper, schoolbag and beanie, and we thought that Baulko was about to take over the world, like they nearly did in their three-peat years.

But it seems to have all gone wrong doesn't it. As you say, seniors, Magoos and U19s all in the doldrums. While North Shore seems to have blended a scary mix of returning elite players with some talented newbies from their junior catchment area.

A year or two ago, I was thinking that the Bulldogs were looking like creating a powerful presence that would last forever. But, guess what, this year they are looking a bit second tier as SydUni and North Shore could now dominate 'forever'.

But what you say is right - how good is it to just have footy at all, as well as being able to see some of the best footballers in NSW running around on the local paddock...I'm thinking of the Gulden's, Veale, Sheather, Braden Campbell, Owen-Auburn, Baron-Hay, the Reinhard's, Manteit and more than half of the SydUni team. Yes indeed, I've been enjoying watching these guys over the past few years and now this year they're here for us.
Probably bad if your team hasn't got any of them, but great for purists like me.

[Tim Freedman]

I remember being out at Purser three or four years ago and watching their Rouse Hill Magpies Academy (or something) running around at half-time....hundreds of little boys and girls doing Auskick in black and white (oh YUCK !!) with a jumper, schoolbag and beanie, and we thought that Baulko was about to take over the world, like they nearly did in their three-peat years.

Don't worry too much Justa, ECE still have their junior academy in place with over 150 kids. It is just on hold this year due to the challenges with COVID but will be back next year. It's been a huge positive to connect with the players and families of the local junior teams. And they are now kitted out in ECE gear.......

We all know that AFL Sydney goes in cycles and it's not all doom and gloom for ECE. It wasn't too long ago that North Shore & St George were getting smashed by over 15 goals and they have turned it around with smart recruiting and local juniors. The wheel turns for all clubs at some stage and ECE dropping off for a year isn't cause for panic. They've played in six grand finals, won four flags and missed the finals on two occasions in the last ten years that their senior side has played in AFL Sydney Premier Division. Not a bad record IMO and no doubt they will work hard to get back into finals next year.

Also, I wouldn't be writing off UNSWES or Penno during the finals series. Both strong teams and could very easily beat North Shore & Sydney Uni. Personally, I'm really looking forward to a finals series where anyone in the Top 5 can win it.

[Tom Wills]

A very overused word is "institutional," but that is what we are seeing as a difference between the top and bottom clubs in Sydney footy (don't assume that I am saying East Coast is a bottom club).

It is not just about the fall-off in Prems by a few clubs; but the crazy strength of North Shore / Sydney Uni across every grade (2 of the best three teams in under 19s Div 2 are North Shore and Sydney Uni), and they are literally first, second or third in every men's grade. Pennant Hills and UNSW are not far behind.

Cycles occur when only your top team is good - institutional strength is what we have here, and I can't see it changing over the foreseeable future.

[justabaraker]

A very overused word is "institutional," but that is what we are seeing as a difference between the top and bottom clubs in Sydney footy (don't assume that I am saying East Coast is a bottom club).

It is not just about the fall-off in Prems by a few clubs; but the crazy strength of North Shore / Sydney Uni across every grade (2 of the best three teams in under 19s Div 2 are North Shore and Sydney Uni), and they are literally first, second or third in every men's grade. Pennant Hills and UNSW are not far behind.

Cycles occur when only your top team is good - institutional strength is what we have here, and I can't see it changing over the foreseeable future.

I've been following our footy for a long time - long enough to remember when Balmain was going to dominate 'forever', and then when Campbelltown were going to do the same. And then, of course, when Baulko had their three-peat then moved...let's say...'upwards'...in search of greater glories. In fact, I even had a moment wondering whether Manly Wolves were the new powerhouse - that was scary. Did anyone see the UNSW Bulldogs last year and wonder whether they were setting up to dominate forever ?
TomW, time will tell if North Shore and SydUni will dominate forever, but I reckon TimF might be right....they will have their day then someone else will step up. It will be 'good for footy' if that happens and it's why we all turn up at the park each week in the hope that our turn is coming soon.

[andreww1]

I've been following our footy for a long time - long enough to remember when Balmain was going to dominate 'forever', and then when Campbelltown were going to do the same. And then, of course, when Baulko had their three-peat then moved...let's say...'upwards'...in search of greater glories. In fact, I even had a moment wondering whether Manly Wolves were the new powerhouse - that was scary. Did anyone see the UNSW Bulldogs last year and wonder whether they were setting up to dominate forever ?
TomW, time will tell if North Shore and SydUni will dominate forever, but I reckon TimF might be right....they will have their day then someone else will step up. It will be 'good for footy' if that happens and it's why we all turn up at the park each week in the hope that our turn is coming soon.

This is my theory.
The success of Balmain, Campbelltown, ECE and Manly was all built on $s. Works for a period of time but generally not sustainable as these clubs have shown.
Syd Uni success is built on $s and NEAFL as well as attracting students. With the impact of Covid on international students and reduced govt funding it may impact their $s. Obviously NEAFL has gone now. So their challenge is to develop a sustainable model beyond that although their 19s have been strong in last 2 years so that might help sustain them going forward. Plus most Prems games they are at maximum PPS limit so if the limit comes down again as Syd AFL have indicated they will need to play more local juniors.
North’s and UNSW have $s but also many years of strong juniors which is why they are strong across all grades now. Can’t see that ending anytime soon even when the $s start slowing down.
St George and Penno have no $s but good juniors which has helped them achieve success across various grades for quite a few years. They rely on creating a good community club culture to attract and retain players. This is a sustainable model.
Camden, Wests, and UTS although they have some $s aren’t strong in juniors so until they do they will struggle to achieve sustainability.
So Syd AFL encouraging all Prems clubs to focus on juniors and U19s is the right strategy for sustainability.
You are welcome. Happy to take questions. [emoji4]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bomber.]

Clubs in Sydney will cycle based on the personalities involved with them.
It's less to do with juniors and pathways than most people think. We had really big pathway that included the North Shore and the Peninsula, but despite that in the early and middle part of this decade we really struggled for numbers and for performance. Under 19's regularly backed up in the reserves, sometimes quite a few did, we had reserves backing up in the 1's and we had forfeits in lower grades. In 2015 we lost the last 8 games in prem div and the last 3 by a total of 357 points.
Our pathway was then cut in half, so if it's about pathways that should have killed us, but it didn't.
Success is clearly about players, but it's also about culture, coaching, player development etc etc etc and those things are about the people at the club.
So clubs will cycle because no-one can do it forever - on the field or off it. There's nothing institutional about community footy clubs in Sydney - maybe apart from Sydney Uni.

That said, it'd be bloody great to win one or two!!

[saviour01]

Will the Uni's still have $ going forward? If the Chancellor is taking a 20% pay cut and they are trying to find ways to make up for a $470 million loss, I dare say Sydney AFL is pretty low down on their priority list.

ECE paid NEAFL money to play in the prems comp and they ended up with a 400k debt and after winning it have come 6th, 5th, 4th and 8th. While I doubt Sydney Uni will go broke would be great to see them drop out of the 5 over the next few years.