NEAFL - Thoughts on Year 1?

[justabaraker]

Yes Noodle - good reply. You've got me thinking...

Sounds like you are part of the Uni machine and I see that you only just joined RWO today.....the posts here must have spurred you into action !

I thought the original question by "The Lion" sounded quite valid and sincere, and I'd like to hear some other considered opinions now.

[Mug Punter]

Wasn't one James Hird drafted from Ainslie?

Of course he was, and the ACTAFL have a greater darfting record than the Sydney market which is 15+ times its size.

My point is that as a pathway next to no players will get drafted from the NEAFL.

Take the best two teams out of any comp at the top level and that comp is compromised. Sure it will mean everything to the players on the field but dress it up any way you like and they are playing for the title of the third best team in Sydney. Totally cheapens the SFL Premiers tag don't you agree?

Good post by noodle, it may be good for Sydney Uni (I doubt it long term but that remains to be seen) but it sure as hell isn't good for the game in Sydney. Isn't it about time we put Sydney football first and not one or two clubs?

[unconfuseme]

Yep, well said Noodle, and you have very clearly high lighted the problem ... Sydney Uni's involvement at every level is all about Sydney Uni ... no real consideration for improving the code, or the competitions that they have been involved in ... but that can be said for a lot of clubs.

Of course, SU, and similarly SHE, are not to blame for this, they have just taken advantage of the lack of foresight and planning from those who devised the whole concept, that was obvious to most to be flawed from the outset ... OK you have some money, players, coaches, admin, you applied... your in!

The question about "What benefit does this bring to Sydney AFL" was clearly on the last page of the application, and since there were only 2 spots, and 2 applications, nobody ever bothered with the answer.

It will be interesting to see what they do to engage support, since they freely admit that they can't even get it from their own, let alone the rest of the Sydney AFL community, which should have been prerequisite.

I don't think building a new ground in a corn field will do the trick either

I expect that unless there are wholesale changes at the expiration of the 2 year NEAFL Licences, the whole competition will become a drain on AFL funds, which they will not tolerate for ever.

I am sure that a lot of people would love to have some sort of interest in the NEAFL, but like me have zero allegiance with either of the Sydney teams (Swans do not count).

... regardless of what they do on the field, the 2 Sydney entities just cant be sustainable if they are not representative of the whole of Sydney, in some way.

[Shotties]

Unconfuseme, if I may be so bold, what are your current and ongoing actions to improve the code in Sydney and the SFL?

Further, if you were in a position to guide the actions of either NEAFL clubs, what course of action would you have the clubs take to improve the code / SFL at every level?

[Carn the Lions]

I have taken the original question at face value.
From a Uni perspective, it has been a really challenging year but the response from the player group is really positive. The Premier Division has probably suffered the most.
There are definitely things that we will do differently next year but feel we are better for the experience. We are not really driven by third party interest but will continue to attempt to get greater input and involvement from our past players and commercial partners. The competition level is in alignment with the greater University's vision for the institution's involvement in high level sport.
We have never really drawn any great crowds but would like to improve the relationship between our grades as the club continues to expand. It is very challenging particularly given the level of non-player participation is very small.
The drive to NEAFL primarily came from our top level players, we thought it was an opportunity to be undertaken whilst offered. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Certainly not one to regret after one reasonaly unsuccesful year, not really all that different from when we went from the SFA to SFL in 2007 (Actually when you watch the games the similariies are obvious).
The travel, the bounce times and the lack of home games, as pointed out, are a problem with both revenue and attendance but once again matters that can be refined.
I love Oval No.1 but agree it is not up to the requisite standard, there is talk of the University investing money to improve the facility but obviously that won't happen overnight, so other solutions will be examined.
Ultimately, as per all decisions made by our club, we still consider it is in the best interests of our members to play in the NEAFL. The matter was put to a club plebiscite before we proceeded. We continue to hope our club can provide members the opportunity for tertiary study with the highest level sport they can attain. We also aim to provide a program that will see players acheive as much as they can out of their football.
The acid test for the NEAFL will be whether the elite players in Sydney embrace the concept in the long run. The decision to use to existing clubs simple as they already have a player list and some type of administration in place.
The Sydney clubs will survive because people will always love to get together on a Saturday afternoon for a kick. I can assure you footy has been fun at Sydney Uni whether we were in the NEAFL, SFL or SFA and nobody came to watch the SFA.

Great response Noodle and a great insight. Good to get some feedback

[Tim Freedman]

Unsure how the two NEAFL sides can cheapen a Premiership won in the Sydney AFL in 2012? Ask a player on the night after winnning his medal if he feels it is a hollow victory considering he is in the 3rd best Sydney side and you will get a pretty quick response. In fact I'm confident the winning side would be willing to play a game against Syd Uni or the Eagles to see exactly how they measure up.

Absolutely nothing cheapens a premiership medallion IMHO. You can only beat who you are put up against.

[KTigers]

Precisely, Mr Freedman. When the boys from North Shore (or whoever wins the PD GF) are sitting around after the game with a beer in hand, they sure ain't going to be thinking what a hollow victory their premiership is.
As I said yesterday, just because two Sydney clubs have put one each of their many teams into another league the world won't stop spinning on its axis. I think the Sydney AFL can handle it. Might be time to move on, and maybe even give SHE & SU a pat on the back for having the balls to give this NEAFL thing a go.

[northernspy]

Isn't the NEAFL just an extension of divisionalisation?

[Sterling Cooper]

Problem Solved.

Future will be -

4 NEAFL Clubs based in Sydney;

1. Sydney Hills Eagles (up and running and already looking healthy)
2. South East Sydney & Universities (Syd Uni, UNSW-Eastern Suburbs, Gong, & St George act as feeders)
3. West Sydney (Campbelltown, Western Suburbs & Pennant Hills feeders)
4. North Sydney (North Shore, Manly)

All current PD clubs will simply feed into the 4 'zones' above. All PD clubs will become completely amateur and remain the same..

'Top level' interested volunteers will migrate to the 4, other 'club focused' volunteers will remain.

UTS won't feed any players into the new comp because of their big fish in small pond mentality.

Best regards,

Roger Sterling

[Sterling Cooper]

My sincerest apologies, forgot to mention Balmain's future...

They'll be broke in 2013 and disintegrate along with their mercenaries. The Western Australians will end up playing for the highest bidders.


Best regards,

Roger Sterling.

[Flying Swan]

I enjoyed Roger's radical proposals. Sterling set of ideas but .............. no one wants to go to Canberra. It's boring and the football is not that much better than SAFL. When Northern Division played the Eastern Conference they beat Sydney/Canberra by 200 points! It's a strange old comp when some teams can use 'top up' players from other teams. There should be less teams in Sydney so that the comp gets more concentrated and the football standard rises. Great idea about one University team. The model mentioned could be extended to the 18s.

[unconfuseme]

Unconfuseme, if I may be so bold, what are your current and ongoing actions to improve the code in Sydney and the SFL?

Further, if you were in a position to guide the actions of either NEAFL clubs, what course of action would you have the clubs take to improve the code / SFL at every level?

I can tell that you are not involved in the administration or planning with the AFL in NSW, Shotties! ... in all the years that I have been involved in AFL in Sydney, as a volunteer and club administrator, from Auskick all the way through, with kids involved at every level of rep football, I have never been asked those questions, and I don't know anyone who has!?

That should answer a good portion of your question (see consultation)!

I have been involved in some capacity in Sydney AFL, on and off from the 70's, and I have seen things done very well, opportunities lost, good ideas butchered, the lot!

I don't pretend to have all of the answers, and I don't have time to elaborate anyway (unless I was being paid!), but the basics are not rocket science, and since you asked, I will throw my 2 bobs worth in..

CULTURE

AFL is the 3rd or 4th choice football code in Sydney. We need a point of difference. It is our culture. However, it needs to be defined and it needs to be consistent. Generally speaking, at junior level it is clear for all to see, with well run competitions, zero tolerance policy, participation focus, clean fun games (when you can keep the parents out of it that is). Compare it to what you get at a lot of junior soccer and league games, it is a clinically clean family environment ... so that is being done well. But culture goes beyond that, and is also about your whole AFL community structure, allegiances and tribalism, which is the next point.

FULL ENGAGEMENT

From Auskick to Swans/GWS, we need to have clear pathways and alliance for all clubs/teams, junior, senior, NEAFL, AFL. Every club needs to be given direction to build strong relations with all clubs in their line, and that includes the 2 AFL clubs. So, for example, if you are a kid who starts out playing Auskick at Holsworthy, currently, you will be aligned with say Moorebank at the u/18's and lower divisional level, Campelltown at Prem Div., SHE (or whatever that NEAFL team should be identified as) and ultimately GWS. Every club in that line needs to have a formalised relationship, with defined joint activities, designed to assist each others development, which will equally benefit themselves. On the other side of the boundary, it would be, say, St Ives Auskick/St Ignatious or Penno 18's/Pennant Hills/Sydney City (not Sydney Uni, but something representative)/Swans.

CONSULTATION

As I touched on before, the greatest wasted resource (same with most organisations) are the people at the coal face. They actually know what is going on, they are volunteers, so they are passionate about it, and in many cases they are far more qualified than the people telling them what to do! With all due respect, many of the people who have been involved in the running of AFL in this state have been ex-pat administrators who come up here trying to run our game like a country association (or more recently they have just been auditioning for another position with a new AFL club ). So it is no surprise that the code has not shown much growth. We need to align what we do with what works in Sydney, because it is totally different to any traditional AFL market. By all means, tell people what you want to achieve, tell them what you think is the best way to do it, but ask for their experiences, and thoughts ... and LISTEN!

STRONG DIRECT MANAGEMENT.

The AFL is a dictatorship. It is hugely successful. Every time Demetriou speaks about a decision it is "... endorsed by all of our clubs!". AFL administration in NSW has been too "PC". It's like parenting ... you have to be able to say NO!
Once the direction and plan is formulated, unless you as a club buy into the overall plan, you are out! You want to start up a new club, and it doesn't strictly meet every requirement ? ... sorry, no. Go down the road, take your resources to this club that is struggling, and get them where they need to be, we don't need another club.


These are just general overview points i know, but implemented properly, they would have a huge impact on growing the code.

NEAFL - specifically here, my preferred model is 2 representative teams, say age limit u/23's, with full funding from the AFL, and support from the SAFL Senior clubs, as well as the Swans and GWS. They need to be identifiable with their 2 zones - Sydney Hills, probably works, but Sydney Uni needs to be City or something iconoc. With the best young players from across the two Sydney AFL zones, who are not part of the 2 Academies, and not just from 2 clubs, they would be more than competitive. With unilateral input (player/coaching/admin) from their Senior Feeder clubs, they would receive much more grass roots support at games, and a realistic chance of exposure. Another defined pathway level for young players to aspire to can only strengthen the proposition that the code offers.

I'm open to any other suggestions too ...