Bendigo FL discussion 2023

[saintron]

Rochy etc dont have other clubs near them that they have to compete with

 

[ROOTA#6]

Rochy etc dont have other clubs near them that they have to compete with

Yeah they do just not as many maybe.

For me that is the main problem for footy in the Maryborough and Castlemaine situations. So many clubs stacked right on top of each other competing for less participants

 

[saintron]

The nearest to rochy would be elmore and locky

 

[Vlodrive]

As someone who has had involvement at Maryborough it is a very proud club and trust me it isn't going anywhere. The club is financial and probably in much better health off field than some of its competitors. Currently the club has an excellent group of young players who have stuck together despite the adversities and hopefully they will show further progress in 2024. The performance of the Under 18 team this year was an excellent result and augers well for the future. The club has not got into bidding wars and paid overpriced imports that often only provide short term benefits. Many of these individuals have ended up elsewhere on far greater monies than the club offered with varying degrees of success. Some success for the senior teams is on the horizon which is a good thing.

The issue with football in the area is an interesting one and there are many views. Maryborough is in the Bendigo league but the surrounding MCDFNL is affiliated with AFL Goldfields which is based in Ballarat. This is problematic in addressing the challenges with football in the area as there are inconsistencies in how football is administered/ supported by each commission. When there was an opportunity to reform football in the region a few years ago, clubs rejected the proposed changes in their entirety. The many clubs in the region are often very 'self interested' and unwilling in working together to improve football. The merger of Rovers and Royal Park was a very pleasant change/ surprise considering their rivalries.

Maryborough is like the 'meat in the sandwich'. The population is older, young people leave town and never return, the player pool is small and players living in the town are often recruited/poached by surrounding MCDFNL clubs for 'very good remuneration' which is often well above what major league clubs offer.

Lots of challenges and if football is going to thrive in the area everyone needs to work together with a collaborative approach. AFL Victoria and their commissions need to provide direction and support and clubs need to drop their personal agendas and long standing hatreds.

We will just have to wait and see. Unfortunately for Maryborough all teams will be penciling in an easy 4 points when they play them next year. Feel for those who are playing for them and playing against them. Nothing to benefit apart from $$$. How long until the young brigade leave? They only have 1 decent signing and that’s Lohmann.


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[Trent the flight Steward]

Rochy are what 3k? They've got locky, elmore, colbo and maybe Rushworth and Stanhope vying for players. Kids from rochy, Leongatha, kerang, maffra, colac even all have the same generally fondness for their junior club and will travel great lengths to play, and many of those clubs have tradition of many generations play there, there's greater pull to play at home




Obviously Guru knows Maryborough better than most of us, but from memory Maryborough was a printing town, with large printing businesses, no one prints anymore and it's gone, the socio change has dropped away, maybe kids aren't interted in footy anymore, maybe the best kids from natte bealiba lexton etc don't want to try come in and play major league footy.

Castlemaine was largely the same, with people shifting to the area, not interested in local footy, but in maines case the arts scene.

Add to the fact, hardly any clubs have merged surrounding both towns, you've nearly got the same teams as 30 years ago competing for locals. Add to the fact there's less travel in the minor leagues, more chance of winning you can see why many choose the mcdfl or chfl over bendigo

 

[Forest St End]

That may be true about the difficulty of raising funds for a smaller community. In saying that Castlemaine and Maryborough have a larger population or equal to of Rochester, Kyabram, euroa, Seymour and Tatura in the GV. These clubs don’t cry poor, in actual facts they feed of that little town mentality and have established strong cultures that rely on the retention of talented locals.

Not really apples and apples though I don’t think, less teams around them for one.

Small towns like those with rural outlooks and have things like crops being donated to raise funds and the like.

The demographics come into play as well. It costs 600k to by a dump in Castlemaine, a block of land over 300k. It’s not the sort of place a 20 year old starting out can afford to live anymore.

Maryborough has similar demographical challenges, albeit a bit different.

These are all things the league administration should be across and coming up with solutions across the region.

Instead they are focussed on running a circle jerk new netball team and getting more sponsors to increase their wages.

 

[ROOTA#6]

Any word on the results from the PioLeaks investigation?

 

[Forest St End]

Some success for the senior teams is on the horizon which is a good thing.

The worry is see here Guru is under 18 results almost never mean anything at open age level.

We’ve seen Castlemaine, Kyneton, Kangaroo Flat, Maryborough and even South all perform at a better level in the under 18s over the past 15, 20 years than they have ever been able to at senior level.

With natural attrition, changes in lives and the need for years of development all factors I don’t see any under 18 side really reflecting in a senior club for at least four years after they ‘graduate’.

The other issue is without strong senior players around them the kids also tend to either go backwards, quit or go elsewhere.

I’m all in wanting Maryborough to succeed but I’m not sure they have the three or four seasons it will take to bring these good kids up to be impactful senior players and I’m not sure they are getting the guys in they need in the interim.

 

[justanotherfootynut]

Rochy are what 3k? They've got locky, elmore, colbo and maybe Rushworth and Stanhope vying for players. Kids from rochy, Leongatha, kerang, maffra, colac even all have the same generally fondness for their junior club and will travel great lengths to play, and many of those clubs have tradition of many generations play there, there's greater pull to play at home



Should

Should also be remembered Rochy also have had a significant drop in population in the last decade or so with the dairy company close the factory in town

A lot of kids go to high school either in Echuca or the senior sec college in Bendigo which puts strain in junior numbers and kids wanting to play with schoolmates,

And along with the other clubs mentioned above Tongala and Kyabram are pretty close also

 

[AlburyE]

Should also be remembered Rochy also have had a significant drop in population in the last decade or so with the dairy company close the factory in town

A lot of kids go to high school either in Echuca or the senior sec college in Bendigo which puts strain in junior numbers and kids wanting to play with schoolmates,

And along with the other clubs mentioned above Tongala and Kyabram are pretty close also

Further to this Echuca's population is about 3 times (or 10,000) greater than Rochester. Name me any town in Central Victoria that does not have an aging population and houses are cheap. Rochy has every challenge Castlemaine and Maryborough have to get teams on the park. Chuck in a 'minor' problem with the town flooded and the massive damage that caused.

Rochy definitely punches above its weight and its departure from the Bendigo league all those years ago caused real and permanent pain. .

 

[Forest St End]

How much does Rochester spend?

 

[jayco13]

Further to this Echuca's population is about 3 times (or 10,000) greater than Rochester. Name me any town in Central Victoria that does not have an aging population and houses are cheap. Rochy has every challenge Castlemaine and Maryborough have to get teams on the park. Chuck in a 'minor' problem with the town flooded and the massive damage that caused.

Rochy definitely punches above its weight and its departure from the Bendigo league all those years ago caused real and permanent pain. .

First part I can agree with. The second not so much. Rochy have had a lot of success since joining the GVFL. Granted the last few years have been a struggle, but it's been that for a lot of teams. Comes with the ebbs and flows of a major league competition.
Not sure it's 'real and permanent pain'... or a return to the Bendigo comp is the answer either. Rochy are a well run club. They'll bounce back.

 

[johnno#7]

How much does Rochester spend?

Don’t know if this is a pointed question but I’ll try and answer anyway.
Season just gone I would say they were well under the cap. (Only 2 non-locals)
Previous seasons I would guess they would use pretty close to the cap. What’s your opinion?

 

[Forest St End]

Don’t know if this is a pointed question but I’ll try and answer anyway.
Season just gone I would say they were well under the cap. (Only 2 non-locals)
Previous seasons I would guess they would use pretty close to the cap. What’s your opinion?

No, not at all pointed, genuine question, I have absolutely no idea.

 

[AlburyE]

First part I can agree with. The second not so much. Rochy have had a lot of success since joining the GVFL. Granted the last few years have been a struggle, but it's been that for a lot of teams. Comes with the ebbs and flows of a major league competition.
Not sure it's 'real and permanent pain'... or a return to the Bendigo comp is the answer either. Rochy are a well run club. They'll bounce back.

In regard to 'real and permanent pain' I was talking about the impact on the Bendigo Football League, not Rochester.

I understand they have recruited very well since the end of last season and looking forward to having a good year.

 

[Trent the flight Steward]

I'd think a lot of rochy locals have always played for unders and travelled back to play

 

[Forest St End]

I'd think a lot of rochy locals have always played for unders and travelled back to play

I tend to find every time a little town puts together a strong footy team there seems to be a donated crop and a heap of cash involved somewhere along the way.

 

[Truck]

I tend to find every time a little town puts together a strong footy team there seems to be a donated crop and a heap of cash involved somewhere along the way.

Who donated the crop to Castlemaine??

 

[Forest St End]

Who donated the crop to Castlemaine??

They haven’t put anything like a strong team together yet and they have spent stuff all money on players for the last few years.

 

[harsh. but fair]

the discussion on why a certain club is successful or a battler always always intrigues me.
its easy to always find an excuse, but there are some recurring reasons why some do better than others.
a lot of the time it boils down to management, administration and what those individuals stand for and are prepared to do And how hard they want to work
if those key pillars are right most often the rest takes of itself.
an environment that people are drawn to is created.
close to here there is no better example than Echuca.
do some digging as to what they do, stand for and you’d want to play, be involved.

 

[Silver Tongue]

the discussion on why a certain club is successful or a battler always always intrigues me.
its easy to always find an excuse, but there are some recurring reasons why some do better than others.
a lot of the time it boils down to management, administration and what those individuals stand for and are prepared to do And how hard they want to work
if those key pillars are right most often the rest takes of itself.
an environment that people are drawn to is created.
close to here there is no better example than Echuca.
do some digging as to what they do, stand for and you’d want to play, be involved.

Fair point. Echuca were a basket case for years until Walker arrived and set standards, changed expectations etc.

 

[harsh. but fair]

Fair point. Echuca were a basket case for years until Walker arrived and set standards, changed expectations etc.

true, but who at the helm convinced Walker to take the job in first place. This is the time of year you find out who have the best offfield teams.

 

[Silver Tongue]

true, but who at the helm convinced Walker to take the job in first place. This is the time of year you find out who have the best offfield teams.

I imagine Ash Byrne had a significant hand in the change of outcome and performance.

 

[Trent the flight Steward]

For every Boort of 81 & 82 Forest St End there's a wcyche that beat then in 81 with locals and hardly any money spent. Yep Birchip and nully are spending up big with grains, but both are still well run clubs, where the recruits stay there more than a year, these guys could get paid similar to play closer to home as well.


I'd thought it was a pretty well known fact from the dirty williams days, rochy locals play for bugger all, as it allows them to get a few recruits, happens at kerang as well, maffra, Leongatha etc, where they blood juniors into their senior teams early, so they learn how to play the way they want and that way you keep 14-18 core locals and can top up with a couple of big recruits.

Generally you'll find the whole town follows the club as well and that drives locals to come back and play, and there's been generations play there. not sure you could say that about maine or Maryborough at the moment, although I like maine are thinking outside the box and there's guys coming in from the mcdfl as well

 

[harsh. but fair]

For every Boort of 81 & 82 Forest St End there's a wcyche that beat then in 81 with locals and hardly any money spent. Yep Birchip and nully are spending up big with grains, but both are still well run clubs, where the recruits stay there more than a year, these guys could get paid similar to play closer to home as well.


I'd thought it was a pretty well known fact from the dirty williams days, rochy locals play for bugger all, as it allows them to get a few recruits, happens at kerang as well, maffra, Leongatha etc, where they blood juniors into their senior teams early, so they learn how to play the way they want and that way you keep 14-18 core locals and can top up with a couple of big recruits.

Generally you'll find the whole town follows the club as well and that drives locals to come back and play, and there's been generations play there. not sure you could say that about maine or Maryborough at the moment, although I like maine are thinking outside the box and there's guys coming in from the mcdfl as well

Everyone assumes being in a big regional centre has its advantages and it can, but don’t ever underestimate the benefits of one club towns as long as said town is right behind the major league team. How often does it come down to the people involved?