Bendigo FL discussion 2025

[Forest St End]

I don’t hear anyone from the GV, Ballarat or Central Murray leagues complaining that their leagues are worse off for having an uneven draw.

I wonder what they were saying at the time when it first happened?

The only one I’ve seen was the Maryborough Castlemaine league who absorbed the teams when Lexton Plains folded. I’m sure those clubs don’t complain now because it is the reality but at the time one of the big arguments against taking those clubs was the creation of an uneven draw.

 

[ROOTA#6]

I wonder what they were saying at the time when it first happened?

The only one I’ve seen was the Maryborough Castlemaine league who absorbed the teams when Lexton Plains folded. I’m sure those clubs don’t complain now because it is the reality but at the time one of the big arguments against taking those clubs was the creation of an uneven draw.

There was not one bit of talk about uneven draws when the new clubs came on board and formed the Central Murray League.

Every got on with it and played whoever the were drawn to play.

The best teams always made finals and the best team won….no sooking or whinging.

How do I know…I played for one of the clubs that would go on to struggle badly

 

[Grimmett]

I don’t hear anyone from the GV, Ballarat or Central Murray leagues complaining that their leagues are worse off for having an uneven draw.

BFL has minor grumbles annually but they just get on with it and understand it will even out over time.

 

[Forest St End]

BFL has minor grumbles annually but they just get on with it and understand it will even out over time.

And ultimately that’s what will happen in Bendigo because everyone has a flag to chase.

Speaking for myself though it won’t be forgotten the morons in charge created this mess by being totally responsible for losing Kyneton and at least largely responsible for losing Maryborough.

 

[ROOTA#6]

And ultimately that’s what will happen in Bendigo because everyone has a flag to chase.

Speaking for myself though it won’t be forgotten the morons in charge created this mess by being totally responsible for losing Kyneton and at least largely responsible for losing Maryborough.

Ridiculous comment

 

[Crazymaggy2020]

Ridiculous comment

Why is it ridiculous ? Why did Kyneton leave ?


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[ROOTA#6]

Why is it ridiculous ? Why did Kyneton leave ?


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

So league administrators are to be blamed for all of the issues that Kyenton and Maryborough have faced are they?

Those administrators managed Kynetons finances when they went broke?

Those administrators chose not to follow recommendations around mergers or consolidation in the Maryborough region many years ago?

I think you over estimate how much influence league administrators can have instead of actually looking for clubs to take a lot of accountability for the plight them can find themselves in

 

[fatkidinthepocket]

So league administrators are to be blamed for all of the issues that Kyenton and Maryborough have faced are they?

Those administrators managed Kynetons finances when they went broke?

Those administrators chose not to follow recommendations around mergers or consolidation in the Maryborough region many years ago?

I think you over estimate how much influence league administrators can have instead of actually looking for clubs to take a lot of accountability for the plight them can find themselves in

Do the other 7 BFL sides have the same view as the posters of the one club whose views seem to dominate here? Does this mean that supporters of other clubs dont visit this website or that they are reasonably happy with the league? Just interested to know.

 

[NeonLeon81]

And ultimately that’s what will happen in Bendigo because everyone has a flag to chase.

Speaking for myself though it won’t be forgotten the morons in charge created this mess by being totally responsible for losing Kyneton and at least largely responsible for losing Maryborough.

Would love to hear your top 3 or 4 reasons why for each

 

[Mad Jack]

Ridiculous comment

Kyneton were the most financially viable club in the comp by a long way when they left.
They were also part of the cohort of clubs around 5 or so years ago, that included Maryborough, that gave powerbrokers a glimpse into the future should they not be proactive and equitable in the way they operated. Low and behold, we are now almost exactly where they said we’d be.

 

[Mad Jack]

So league administrators are to be blamed for all of the issues that Kyenton and Maryborough have faced are they?

Those administrators managed Kynetons finances when they went broke?

Those administrators chose not to follow recommendations around mergers or consolidation in the Maryborough region many years ago?

I think you over estimate how much influence league administrators can have instead of actually looking for clubs to take a lot of accountability for the plight them can find themselves in

What’s the point of a league administration then?

 

[NeonLeon81]

Do the other 7 BFL sides have the same view as the posters of the one club whose views seem to dominate here? Does this mean that supporters of other clubs dont visit this website or that they are reasonably happy with the league? Just interested to know.

When things get tough people often look for someone to blame for their troubles. Very rarely do they take an honest assessment of their own wrong doings.

This was in part the case with Kyneton in my opinion. I feel like it’s the case for the vocal minority in here too more often than not.

 

[ROOTA#6]

Kyneton were the most financially viable club in the comp by a long way when they left.
They were also part of the cohort of clubs around 5 or so years ago, that included Maryborough, that gave powerbrokers a glimpse into the future should they not be proactive and equitable in the way they operated. Low and behold, we are now almost exactly where they said we’d be.

Kyneton may have been viable when they left but the did go broke not long ago…they admitted that themselves. Was that the leagues fault?

Administrators several years ago pointed out that footy in the Maryborough region in that current form was unsustainable and made recommendations but they were ignored.

Clubs control their own destiny not league admin

 

[ROOTA#6]

What’s the point of a league administration then?

To administer the league not bail out clubs

 

[Forest St End]

Would love to hear your top 3 or 4 reasons why for each

Anyone who had any involvement with administration in the region for a decade knows why Kyneton left.

They were hugely vocal at meetings about the costs associated with the hub, the lack of vision for the future, the need for real equalisation and spending control, the disadvantages for regional clubs with the Pioneers system, the lack of finals sharing and the removal of dividends for clubs and so on. And they got sick and tired of the hub offering no response to any of it.

If there’s any doubt here’s part of their statement upon leaving:

RDFNL Culture, Governance and Financial advantage – With our womens team and juniors already transitioned to RDFNL last year, we have been dealing with RDFNL and the support and governance practices in RDFNL have been exceptional and extremely proactive and collaborative. RDFNL provides full complement of independent umpires. Financial advantages with the move would be lower salary caps, lower club management fees, lower umpiring fees, greater opportunities for revenue raising at finals as RDFNL run a rotating roster for hosting finals so that all clubs get a fair chance. All these would contribute to long term sustainability of KFNC and align with our club culture and values.

That’s as big a public whack as you could politely give on the way out the door and if you ask Hayden Evans for the uncensored version he would happily give it.

As for Maryborough you can more or less just copy and paste the issues. All the AFL has offered them is a points system and salary cap that are unmitigated failures, a pathway system that kills regional clubs and every increasing burdens of financial
and administrative contributions to the hub.

I asked last week if anyone could name something the hub had done that had made a positive difference to the game. No one has offered anything.

It is an unmitigated failure of policy and practice and clubs like Maryborough are the collateral damage.

 

[BlueJet]

When things get tough people often look for someone to blame for their troubles. Very rarely do they take an honest assessment of their own wrong doings.

This was in part the case with Kyneton in my opinion. I feel like it’s the case for the vocal minority in here too more often than not.

Yep - it's always the league, hq or even the local paper to blame.
It must be great being able to outsource all accountability.

 

[Forest St End]

Yep - it's always the league, hq or even the local paper to blame.
It must be great being able to outsource all accountability.

Absolute straw man rubbish.

No one has ever suggested clubs don’t make mistakes and no one ever will.

The expectation of competent administration of the game is a reasonable request and the two things are totally separate issues.

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

So league administrators are to be blamed for all of the issues that Kyenton and Maryborough have faced are they?

Those administrators managed Kynetons finances when they went broke?

Those administrators chose not to follow recommendations around mergers or consolidation in the Maryborough region many years ago?

I think you over estimate how much influence league administrators can have instead of actually looking for clubs to take a lot of accountability for the plight them can find themselves in

It’s occurring all around the state with many experiencing the same issues , it isn’t restricted just to individual clubs within the BFL or the BFL administrators / board .
Equalisation - Talented pathways .
Consistent Statewide complaints which are beyond local bodies control .

 

[Mad Jack]

Kyneton may have been viable when they left but the did go broke not long ago…they admitted that themselves. Was that the leagues fault?

Administrators several years ago pointed out that footy in the Maryborough region in that current form was unsustainable and made recommendations but they were ignored.

Clubs control their own destiny not league admin

Was it entirely the leagues fault? Nope. Was a major factor the inequitable path laid out by the administration meaning they and others were continually driving into dead ends? Yes. And that can’t be disputed. Give Brendan Roughead or Karen O’Sullivan a call for a chat one day, you’ll learn a lot.

 

[AlburyE]

Anyone who had any involvement with administration in the region for a decade knows why Kyneton left.

They were hugely vocal at meetings about the costs associated with the hub, the lack of vision for the future, the need for real equalisation and spending control, the disadvantages for regional clubs with the Pioneers system, the lack of finals sharing and the removal of dividends for clubs and so on. And they got sick and tired of the hub offering no response to any of it.

If there’s any doubt here’s part of their statement upon leaving:

RDFNL Culture, Governance and Financial advantage – With our womens team and juniors already transitioned to RDFNL last year, we have been dealing with RDFNL and the support and governance practices in RDFNL have been exceptional and extremely proactive and collaborative. RDFNL provides full complement of independent umpires. Financial advantages with the move would be lower salary caps, lower club management fees, lower umpiring fees, greater opportunities for revenue raising at finals as RDFNL run a rotating roster for hosting finals so that all clubs get a fair chance. All these would contribute to long term sustainability of KFNC and align with our club culture and values.

That’s as big a public whack as you could politely give on the way out the door and if you ask Hayden Evans for the uncensored version he would happily give it.

As for Maryborough you can more or less just copy and paste the issues. All the AFL has offered them is a points system and salary cap that are unmitigated failures, a pathway system that kills regional clubs and every increasing burdens of financial
and administrative contributions to the hub.

I asked last week if anyone could name something the hub had done that had made a positive difference to the game. No one has offered anything.

It is an unmitigated failure of policy and practice and clubs like Maryborough are the collateral damage.

To be honest Forest that statement basically covers the financial advantages of the move and nothing else. I do accept that this by itself is a significant factor, however my impression is that Kyneton had busted their guts in their last couple of years in the BFNL to get financial/competitive then started to deteriorate again on the field getting some beltings, Chapman consequently left 'for family reasons' and they decided it was just too much of a financial strain on the club remaining in the BFNL. Maryborough much the same but at a much greater level with a player shortage as well.

Where does that leave us? It is going round in circles with the same old arguments as above as you can put whatever personal slant you like on these decisions however I have yet to see any harsh, critical comments from any BFNL club - not one.

I personally would like to see the BFNL Board made up of delegates from each club to remove perceptions (real or not) of a biased administration, but again that as just yet another cheap social media opinion. To be honest I find the overall responsibilities of the Board and the Hub blurred and confusing. Especially when it comes to teams entering or leaving the BFNL.

You would think that the 2026 season and how things turn out with Broadford, Maryborough and possible Moama & Gisborne should determine the future of the present administrators.

 

[Arnold Horshack]

Anyone who had any involvement with administration in the region for a decade knows why Kyneton left.

They were hugely vocal at meetings about the costs associated with the hub, the lack of vision for the future, the need for real equalisation and spending control, the disadvantages for regional clubs with the Pioneers system, the lack of finals sharing and the removal of dividends for clubs and so on. And they got sick and tired of the hub offering no response to any of it.

If there’s any doubt here’s part of their statement upon leaving:

RDFNL Culture, Governance and Financial advantage – With our womens team and juniors already transitioned to RDFNL last year, we have been dealing with RDFNL and the support and governance practices in RDFNL have been exceptional and extremely proactive and collaborative. RDFNL provides full complement of independent umpires. Financial advantages with the move would be lower salary caps, lower club management fees, lower umpiring fees, greater opportunities for revenue raising at finals as RDFNL run a rotating roster for hosting finals so that all clubs get a fair chance. All these would contribute to long term sustainability of KFNC and align with our club culture and values.

That’s as big a public whack as you could politely give on the way out the door and if you ask Hayden Evans for the uncensored version he would happily give it.

As for Maryborough you can more or less just copy and paste the issues. All the AFL has offered them is a points system and salary cap that are unmitigated failures, a pathway system that kills regional clubs and every increasing burdens of financial
and administrative contributions to the hub.

I asked last week if anyone could name something the hub had done that had made a positive difference to the game. No one has offered anything.

It is an unmitigated failure of policy and practice and clubs like Maryborough are the collateral damage.

The lower salary cap comment is hilarious. Kyneton blew it apart for two years, wasted ridiculous money on an average coach and couldn't make finals - threw the toys out of the cot and fled.

 

[Mad Jack]

The lower salary cap comment is hilarious. Kyneton blew it apart for two years, wasted ridiculous money on an average coach and couldn't make finals - threw the toys out of the cot and fled.

Enlighten us on what you know. How much did they spend on players? How much did they pay Chapman? Sounds like you’ve got a good handle on the specifics.

 

[Arnold Horshack]

Enlighten us on what you know. How much did they spend on players? How much did they pay Chapman? Sounds like you’ve got a good handle on the specifics.

You really need a hobby outside of this site Jacko. Yeah I do. Too much on both counts.

 

[Mad Jack]

You really need a hobby outside of this site Jacko. Yeah I do. Too much on both counts.

Appreciate your concerns for what I do with my time - though leave it to me to decide thanks.

 

[ROOTA#6]

Fixture is out….let the complaining continue