Bendigo FL discussion 2024

[Forest St End]

So the football side of things didn’t bother you then. From a footy side of things I thought it was good.

Absolutely, all of those recruits were great from a footy point of view.

I’m just saying for me there’s a moral aspect to it in terms of who you recruit and why and I don’t think Strath has been a great proponent of that.

Mind you they are not alone and many other people would completely disagree that you ever give a sucker an even break.

 

[Mad Jack]

If this was all about the kids just wanting to play higher level footy than RDFL why wouldn’t they have gone to Sunbury Lions

1. Closer in distance
2. Ballarat league miles ahead of Bendigo
3. Cannons miles ahead of Pios
4. They were not sitting winless until 2 weeks ago
5. The league has stability
6. Do I need to keep going

Or Gisborne, or Castlemaine

 

[ROOTA#6]

The biggest recruiters of kids are other kids

 

[BlueJet]

Schultz I don’t know so ok. I understand how impact for struggling clubs losing good players has more impact than where they end up but I still don’t think the numbers of poached players is a bad as it’s made out to be. Milne is interesting. Why didn’t you like that?

Schultz was originally from Horsham & has been a bit of a footballing nomad, with reasonably short stays everywhere he's been.
I'm also younger than many on here but it's just a poor example.

 

[boncer34]

Yep Johnstone is another as is Wayne Schultz.

Did they need to poach the best players out of Castlemaine and Maryborough while they were struggling to win games? Probably not. Made stuff all difference to Strath but has a massive impact on those clubs.
Personally I wouldn’t do it and I’d be disappointed if my club did.
We all have different perspectives on how important winning is in the scheme of things though and I understand that. I was never all that comfortable with Milne playing either.

Name half a dozen not already mentioned.

 

[oldmanemu]

The biggest recruiters of kids are other kids

This is one of the best comments I've read on this site over many, many years.

Once kids are playing under 18s, the majority are at a senior school, so year 11/12. They want to play with their old mates/new mates, so all go to a club together. If a club can also offer their parents the feeling of a strong/safe/family club, then that club will end up with a strong group of kids playing footy together.

As for the strength of the leagues around Bendigo, mergers should've happened years ago, and should be forced on clubs that aren't successful. If they don't like it, then they fold.

Castlemaine and Maryborough should've been forced to merge ten years ago. The Bendigo league is in a world of pain at the moment. I can't believe Gisborne are still in the league and haven't asked to move away.

Heathcote league is strong and should be left alone. If Marong and Maiden Gully want to move, they go into the Bendigo league straight away. They'll get flogged early, but short term pain for long term gain, and both areas will continue to grow, and in 20 years will probably be one suburb anyway...

Loddon Valley is in real strife. The standard is ridiculously poor for senior footy, and the junior footy is non-existent. They need more numbers so they'd be better off merging some clubs, Calivil/Miti, Bridgewater/Inglewood, and them and the remaining clubs join the North Central league. The clubs might not like it, and might hate each other, but how the LVFL league can continue to exist in it's current form for another 10 years, let alone forever, is fanciful. There just aren't the numbers of players around anymore.

They don't want to end up like the Upper Murray league where there are four clubs, who play each four times a year, all make finals, but the bottom two get caned nearly every week, and the top two get a decent match-up every three weeks.

In saying all this, they have to consider the netball side of things too, though it's far easier getting four netball sides than two footy sides.

 

[MortlockWatcher]

I agree with almost all of that but you cannot force mergers.

If clubs don't feel as though they should merge if the danger signs are evident then they open themselves up for potential extinction and their footy club will only live on as a name in a book.

 

[oldmanemu]

I agree with almost all of that, except forcing mergers. If clubs don't feel as though they should merge if the danger signs are evident then they open themselves up for potential extinction and their footy club can be a name in a book.

Yeah it's not ideal, but been plenty who've been successful, but there's always some resentment amongst supporters. I grew up playing for a merged club, many miles from here. They merged because the out of town club didn't have numbers and they were taking players from each other, and they were successful straight away. About 15-20 years ago, the out of towners wanted their club back, so re-started it, and it certainly impacted the in-town club.

 

[fatkidinthepocket]

You can carry on and bitch and whine about what juniors have been pinched to play wherever but all this is doing nothing to solve the immediate problem. Bendigo footy is stuffed. Your immediate concern should be where your side is playing in 3/5 years. Quite obviously the AFL dont care so stop all this procrastination and come up with a solution. I would suggest you start by organizing a meeting of your league clubs presidents if the meeting last year wasnt satisfactory. I think BFL clubs have to get themselves on the front foot now. 12 months might be too late.

 

[fatkidinthepocket]

I agree with almost all of that but you cannot force mergers.

If clubs don't feel as though they should merge if the danger signs are evident then they open themselves up for potential extinction and their footy club will only live on as a name in a book.

Self determination always the way to go rather than forced mergers

 

[MortlockWatcher]

Minyip-Murtoa is the best example I can come up with off the top of my head.

Two clubs that hated each others guts until both clubs realised that they needed each other in order to keep football going in their region. They took the plunge and merged in 1994 and won a hat-trick of Wimmera league flags between 1996 and 1998. They won their most recent flag in 2022 and have ensured that a club still exists in their area over the past 30 years and into the future as well.

Mergers will help prolong a football presence in the community and in the initial stages will have two entities to support them in terms of players, supporters and sponsors. Mergers will be commonplace in country football from now on into the future.

Forced mergers don't work - two examples are the "Fitzroy Bulldogs" in the VFL in 1989 and the enforced merger of Goorambat, Tatong and Swanpool by the VCFL when the Benalla & District league folded, which saw the latter two refuse to merge and disbanded instead.

 

[Trent the flight Steward]

Yeah it's not ideal, but been plenty who've been successful, but there's always some resentment amongst supporters. I grew up playing for a merged club, many miles from here. They merged because the out of town club didn't have numbers and they were taking players from each other, and they were successful straight away. About 15-20 years ago, the out of towners wanted their club back, so re-started it, and it certainly impacted the in-town club.

Ia that dwwww ??

 

[Mad Jack]

You can carry on and bitch and whine about what juniors have been pinched to play wherever but all this is doing nothing to solve the immediate problem. Bendigo footy is stuffed. Your immediate concern should be where your side is playing in 3/5 years. Quite obviously the AFL dont care so stop all this procrastination and come up with a solution. I would suggest you start by organizing a meeting of your league clubs presidents if the meeting last year wasnt satisfactory. I think BFL clubs have to get themselves on the front foot now. 12 months might be too late.

You make a reasonable point…. problem is, the “big” clubs have and will continue to put self interest ahead of improving things in their own league. They couldn’t give a stuff about struggling clubs.

 

[Forest St End]

Schultz was originally from Horsham & has been a bit of a footballing nomad, with reasonably short stays everywhere he's been.
I'm also younger than many on here but it's just a poor example.

My point is you don’t have to sign him. Easy enough to say to him thanks but we have good kids and don’t really need you, think you should stay where you are.

If he goes elsewhere so be it but at least you’ve done your part by not offering him coin to move away from your struggling opponent.

 

[Forest St End]

Your immediate concern should be where your side is playing in 3/5 years.

Think there would be a lovely sense of justice if Kyneton, Maryborough, Gisborne and Castlemaine all left and it killed the Bendigo league for good.

Real reap what you sow type stuff.

 

[fatkidinthepocket]

You make a reasonable point…. problem is, the “big” clubs have and will continue to put self interest ahead of improving things in their own league. They couldn’t give a stuff about struggling clubs.

They might realise it when its too late that it is their problem. Yep BFL consisting of Slags,Strath, Square and hawks must be a very appealing scenario. Surely they havent got their heads that far up have they?

 

[Forest St End]

Back to the here and now, does anyone know what’s going to be done with Maryborough games?

There was at least three Castlemaine blokes playing for them Saturday, what happens once June 30 passes?

Surely we can’t have a situation where forfeits come into play and percentage is distorted. Has the league got a plan or is it business as usual for them?

 

[BlueJet]

My point is you don’t have to sign him. Easy enough to say to him thanks but we have good kids and don’t really need you, think you should stay where you are.

If he goes elsewhere so be it but at least you’ve done your part by not offering him coin to move away from your struggling opponent.

My point was that he jumps between clubs of his own accord & each club would be aware of this when signing him in the first place.
IMO it's slightly disingenuous to play the victim when he moves on after a year, when it's what he's done just about everywhere else.

 

[ROOTA#6]

My point is you don’t have to sign him. Easy enough to say to him thanks but we have good kids and don’t really need you, think you should stay where you are.

If he goes elsewhere so be it but at least you’ve done your part by not offering him coin to move away from your struggling opponent.

Went to Strath as a co coach didn’t he?

 

[Hank Mardukas]

Think there would be a lovely sense of justice if Kyneton, Maryborough, Gisborne and Castlemaine all left and it killed the Bendigo league for good.

Real reap what you sow type stuff.

You'd be a riot at parties.

 

[Trent the flight Steward]

My point is you don’t have to sign him. Easy enough to say to him thanks but we have good kids and don’t really need you, think you should stay where you are.

If he goes elsewhere so be it but at least you’ve done your part by not offering him coin to move away from your struggling opponent.

Did he go straight from maine to strath or were their clubs in between?

 

[BGOFootyNuff]

Back to the here and now, does anyone know what’s going to be done with Maryborough games?

There was at least three Castlemaine blokes playing for them Saturday, what happens once June 30 passes?

Surely we can’t have a situation where forfeits come into play and percentage is distorted. Has the league got a plan or is it business as usual for them?

I wondered the same thing with this. I would not have been shocked if they pulled the pin on second half of season after playing everyone once. Or they will get some kind of exemption if they need to have other players come in after June 30.

 

[Forest St End]

My point was that he jumps between clubs of his own accord & each club would be aware of this when signing him in the first place.
IMO it's slightly disingenuous to play the victim when he moves on after a year, when it's what he's done just about everywhere else.

Not sure that was as true of him in those years but regardless no one is playing the victim, just the facts.

Went to Strath as a co coach didn’t he?

Correct.

 

[Mad Jack]

They might realise it when its too late that it is their problem. Yep BFL consisting of Slags,Strath, Square and hawks must be a very appealing scenario. Surely they havent got their heads that far up have they?

I reckon they have. Others will disagree. And I think it’s already too late, the ship has sailed.

 

[CollarBlind]

Loddon Valley and Golden rivers may merge. Marong and maiden gully leave, newbridge possibly to mcdfl. Calivil, miti and serp surely will merge shortly. I think the calder team are setting themselves well with their name to get other teams, I'd think.charlton would be logical. Then they have enough juniors and could go bendigo or central murray. If there is bendigo left.

Sounds plausible, I don't disagree with that. But surely not all 6 Golden Rivers clubs would work would it? Macorna, Wandella and Murrabit obviously the most likely with Ultima, Moulamein and Hay on a sliding scale to less likely. What could be these clubs futures? I think a re-structure is definitely needed for the AFLCV region. It's easy to say that clubs need to determine their own future (which I 100% agree with) but they need to know where the goal posts are or may be in the future. Lots of discussions needed