Northern Football League Division 2 - Part II

[bombersflyup]

wonder if any other sides can boast such a large part of the senior team is made up of their junior club..thomastown are setting the right example, not buying success but building it...

Lalor last year had from memory 11 players that played in their grand final side who all could have played U19's. not to mention there other local players in the side.

 

[al_fc]

Off the top of my head, Lower had 14 players in last week's side who came from their junior affiliate Research. This season have been fielding a very young side, with about 3/4 of the team under 23. Clubs who try to buy success usually have short term success, but ultimately cant maintain it. Building around your juniors promotes club loyalty and from there you can look to top up with just a few carefully selected recruits.

Happy birthday Matchwinner!
You're getting a bit too old for the cave.

 

[saj_21]

Off the top of my head, Lower had 14 players in last week's side who came from their junior affiliate Research. This season have been fielding a very young side, with about 3/4 of the team under 23. Clubs who try to buy success usually have short term success, but ultimately cant maintain it. Building around your juniors promotes club loyalty and from there you can look to top up with just a few carefully selected recruits.

14 is correct with a few more possibly to come in. I think you will find most divi 2 clubs are full of young guys who played juniors at their affliated club.

 

[looker]

My concern with the open clearances will be of continual detriminemt to lower divisional clubs. It is great of a club to promote U/19's, however for most clubs this is by default, not design. South Mornag is case-in-point. This time last year, Sth Mornag were not planning to play a majority of their 19's in the 1sts at this stage of this season. It came about due to lack or recruiting, loss of players, underlined by the open clearance policy.
In years gone by, clubs who have been successful on the field with a young team only improve and continue improvement with the recruitment of selected better players. It would be quite naive of a club to expect it's future topline starting 18 to all come from within. Recruiting needs to occur, and for clubs with no junior affiliate, recruiting is the only means of existance.
As soon as these U/19's start to show some talent, we can now expect the more wealthy and more progressive clubs to poach. Which is their right and which is now bound by no restriction.
Each year I hear of clubs playing their young guys, and that the clubs is on the right track because of it. Well that is total BS.
Lalor did is successfully last year, at the expensive of fielding an actual U/19 team. This year they find themselves in Div 1, without an under 19, and to continue success, recruitment of better players is a neccessatiy.
So there lies the dilemma. They need to recruit to survive successfully, yet will be pot-shotted by naive ill-informed 'subjects' of the game for doing so.
Sth Morang need to play young players, due to circumstance, and are said to be doing the correct thing, even if it means that success does not follow.
Parkside shall be in a dilemma soon, Watsonia have 19's yet continue to recruit good senior players for success, Mernda have not recruited, and U'19 are not capable of good senior footy, however will sweat on Sth mornag and Bundoora to recruit in coming years, Epping need U/19's if they want to be lasting success, Lower is doing a good job and have been for years, they just need to follow in Eltham's path if they want continued success, Thommo had good U/19's and they have played seniors, coupled with handy recruits a couple of years back, as well as filling some holes which are needed with recruits. Thommo's 'old' players are good, and need to be replaced in coming years. MaCleod have done well with high success and good recruting. They have also been able to set a club culture which makes the good junior players want to stay or return to the club.

 

[matchwinner]

My concern with the open clearances will be of continual detriminemt to lower divisional clubs. It is great of a club to promote U/19's, however for most clubs this is by default, not design. South Mornag is case-in-point. This time last year, Sth Mornag were not planning to play a majority of their 19's in the 1sts at this stage of this season. It came about due to lack or recruiting, loss of players, underlined by the open clearance policy.
In years gone by, clubs who have been successful on the field with a young team only improve and continue improvement with the recruitment of selected better players. It would be quite naive of a club to expect it's future topline starting 18 to all come from within. Recruiting needs to occur, and for clubs with no junior affiliate, recruiting is the only means of existance.
As soon as these U/19's start to show some talent, we can now expect the more wealthy and more progressive clubs to poach. Which is their right and which is now bound by no restriction.
Each year I hear of clubs playing their young guys, and that the clubs is on the right track because of it. Well that is total BS.
Lalor did is successfully last year, at the expensive of fielding an actual U/19 team. This year they find themselves in Div 1, without an under 19, and to continue success, recruitment of better players is a neccessatiy.
So there lies the dilemma. They need to recruit to survive successfully, yet will be pot-shotted by naive ill-informed 'subjects' of the game for doing so.
Sth Morang need to play young players, due to circumstance, and are said to be doing the correct thing, even if it means that success does not follow.
Parkside shall be in a dilemma soon, Watsonia have 19's yet continue to recruit good senior players for success, Mernda have not recruited, and U'19 are not capable of good senior footy, however will sweat on Sth mornag and Bundoora to recruit in coming years, Epping need U/19's if they want to be lasting success, Lower is doing a good job and have been for years, they just need to follow in Eltham's path if they want continued success, Thommo had good U/19's and they have played seniors, coupled with handy recruits a couple of years back, as well as filling some holes which are needed with recruits. Thommo's 'old' players are good, and need to be replaced in coming years. MaCleod have done well with high success and good recruting. They have also been able to set a club culture which makes the good junior players want to stay or return to the club.

Is an intersting discussion, because you look at any league and the teams at the top are usually those that have the most coin to fork out - Heidelberg, Vermont, Noble Park, Greenvale, Strathmore, etc.
From my own clubs point of view, when we won the divi 2 flag about ten years ago, we did so largely on the back of veteran players who were at the end of their careers, which meant when we entered divi 1 we didnt have enough quality youth pushing through and had to recruit. We recruited some top notch players, and if we had all of them together at the one time, we could have really been pushing towards the higher rungs of the ladder (and gone broke in the process). Problem with forking out money and seeking a quick fix is that often these players only hang around for a year or two, as happened in our case, and there is little loyalty to the club.
So we had to review where we were at and took a step back to hopefully down the track make bigger strides forward. We now have a large number of quality kids coming thru each year from Research and everyone gets along well and there is a good vibe around the place. With this foundation of youth I am sure that whenever it is that we do make the jump to the next divi, we will be better prepared. No doubt however that you do need to keep the feelers out for quality recruits to add that extra talent to the club and also to help develop the kids.

 

[mitch_fc]

its great to see the young fellas get a game for their senior club. as a young fella u train and watch the senior side run around and to be a part of it actually means something. someone playing for a bit of coin doesn't get that excitement, and it rubs off a bit on the team.

 

[DingDongBell]

Quote:
Originally Posted by greatjudds
wonder if any other sides can boast such a large part of the senior team is made up of their junior club..thomastown are setting the right example, not buying success but building it...

Off the top of my head, Lower had 14 players in last week's side who came from their junior affiliate Research. This season have been fielding a very young side, with about 3/4 of the team under 23. Clubs who try to buy success usually have short term success, but ultimately cant maintain it. Building around your juniors promotes club loyalty and from there you can look to top up with just a few carefully selected recruits.

just thought that id put my two cents worth into the discussion before i get back to looking after business.
i think that the nurturing and promotion of a senior clubs juniors can be put into three categories:
(a). those clubs that have a direct link to their juniors - like whittlesea and hurstbridge. although s morang fall into this group they really are a part of the third group.
(b). those clubs that have strong links to junior clubs like thomastown (lalor stars) and lower plenty (research).
(c). those clubs that try to get a u19 going without any foundation (other strong underage teams) or recruit young players into their senior team like mernda and watsonia.
the clubs in group (a) would see their juniors strongly loyal to their overall club, particularly if the seniors go and watch the unders and are happy to stay and play thru all the ups and downs, and generally dont demand big payments.
the clubs in group (b) can also build their loyality through closer links. both mentione dclubs have strong links with their 'supported' clubs and these players also build up great loyality.
the clubs in (c) struggle to retain all these young players as they just come into the club and are really looking for a game and tend to move on after a few years. and if there is no other underage teams that can support them then the pipeline dries up, as is being seen at both mentioned clubs this season with them both struggling to field full teams each week. and this is where i have also put s morang as most of their u19s in the seniors are from other junior clubs, mainly mill park, with their u19 team also having more players from outside the club than having come thru from the u13s etc. so maybe that is why a number of their players moved on over the summer, as many (most?) were not ones that had come up thru the age groups. clubs in this group are realy vultures on other clubs.

 

[WiNo88]

Re: Northern Football League Division 2

Yes I agree the boys from Ttown are looking very promising at the moment playing some very good footy. They have a very young strong list that have moulded together over the last 3 years. Early form says that Whittlesea are destined to win the premiership but I would put my money on Ttown to come through with goods. Go Towners!!!

 

[GHOST WRITER]

Another weekend is upon us and that means it's time to submit my tips:

Lower by 70
Macleod by 30
Thomastown by 20
Hurstbridge by 15
Watsonia by 40
Whittlesea by 25
Fitzroy Stars by 31

After a week away from the Thomastown scene I might head down to Mernda and watch them do battle against the Bears.

Good luck to all!!

 

[saj_21]

Tips for this weekend.

Lower 87 points
Macleod 54 points
Thomastown 63 points
Parkside 23 points
Watsonia 33 points
Whittlesea 45 points
Fitzroy Stars 29 points

 

[DingDongBell]

Another weekend is upon us and that means it's time to submit my tips:

Lower by 70
Macleod by 30
Thomastown by 20
Hurstbridge by 15
Watsonia by 40
Whittlesea by 25
Fitzroy Stars by 31

After a week away from the Thomastown scene I might head down to Mernda and watch them do battle against the Bears.

Good luck to all!!

my thoughts for the weekends matches:
parkside to bounce back and win at home over hurstbridge
whittlesea to be too slick and professional for epping
stars if they recover in time to continue the climb over panton hill
lower to struggle but eventually win at a new look heid west
thomastown to inflict another loss for mernda
macleod to get back on track over reservoir
watsonia to be too big-bodied for s morang

and rumour has it that resv coach mcgregor is likely to line up at de winton park tomorrow.

 

[M.O.T.H.]

Quote:
Originally Posted by greatjudds
wonder if any other sides can boast such a large part of the senior team is made up of their junior club..thomastown are setting the right example, not buying success but building it...


just thought that id put my two cents worth into the discussion before i get back to looking after business.
i think that the nurturing and promotion of a senior clubs juniors can be put into three categories:
(a). those clubs that have a direct link to their juniors - like whittlesea and hurstbridge. although s morang fall into this group they really are a part of the third group.
(b). those clubs that have strong links to junior clubs like thomastown (lalor stars) and lower plenty (research).
(c). those clubs that try to get a u19 going without any foundation (other strong underage teams) or recruit young players into their senior team like mernda and watsonia.
the clubs in group (a) would see their juniors strongly loyal to their overall club, particularly if the seniors go and watch the unders and are happy to stay and play thru all the ups and downs, and generally dont demand big payments.
the clubs in group (b) can also build their loyality through closer links. both mentione dclubs have strong links with their 'supported' clubs and these players also build up great loyality.
the clubs in (c) struggle to retain all these young players as they just come into the club and are really looking for a game and tend to move on after a few years. and if there is no other underage teams that can support them then the pipeline dries up, as is being seen at both mentioned clubs this season with them both struggling to field full teams each week. and this is where i have also put s morang as most of their u19s in the seniors are from other junior clubs, mainly mill park, with their u19 team also having more players from outside the club than having come thru from the u13s etc. so maybe that is why a number of their players moved on over the summer, as many (most?) were not ones that had come up thru the age groups. clubs in this group are realy vultures on other clubs.

and then you have

(d) those clubs that after a couple of years can't get the lollies and win the premiership to move to the first division only to lose their their best young players who want prove themselves at that next level.

 

[slasher25]

Quote:
Originally Posted by greatjudds
wonder if any other sides can boast such a large part of the senior team is made up of their junior club..thomastown are setting the right example, not buying success but building it...


just thought that id put my two cents worth into the discussion before i get back to looking after business.
i think that the nurturing and promotion of a senior clubs juniors can be put into three categories:
(a). those clubs that have a direct link to their juniors - like whittlesea and hurstbridge. although s morang fall into this group they really are a part of the third group.
(b). those clubs that have strong links to junior clubs like thomastown (lalor stars) and lower plenty (research).
(c). those clubs that try to get a u19 going without any foundation (other strong underage teams) or recruit young players into their senior team like mernda and watsonia.
the clubs in group (a) would see their juniors strongly loyal to their overall club, particularly if the seniors go and watch the unders and are happy to stay and play thru all the ups and downs, and generally dont demand big payments.
the clubs in group (b) can also build their loyality through closer links. both mentione dclubs have strong links with their 'supported' clubs and these players also build up great loyality.
the clubs in (c) struggle to retain all these young players as they just come into the club and are really looking for a game and tend to move on after a few years. and if there is no other underage teams that can support them then the pipeline dries up, as is being seen at both mentioned clubs this season with them both struggling to field full teams each week. and this is where i have also put s morang as most of their u19s in the seniors are from other junior clubs, mainly mill park, with their u19 team also having more players from outside the club than having come thru from the u13s etc. so maybe that is why a number of their players moved on over the summer, as many (most?) were not ones that had come up thru the age groups. clubs in this group are realy vultures on other clubs.

Cant help but reply to this everything you say has merit and when you look at Macleod pre 1992 which had no Junior affiliation and where getting thumped by 20 goals plus each week and had a bill bigger than Christopher Skase they were gone for all money, it was just a matter of shutting the door as the last person walked out.

However I believe Macleod from here on is the the club that has set the scene. Grand final last two years. Year 2007 19 of the 22 where all Macleod Juniors. Year 2007 20 of the 22 where all Macleod Juniors. Since 1999 their Under 19's have been travelling very well. Mind you their seniors have only missed finals once Maybe twice? since 1998. Two of the past three Presidents have been Macleod Junior Presidents and Life members of the Junior Club. The Current President (Derek Shaw) Son played all his football at Macleod Juniors. Derek Coached the Colts at Macleod Juniors. 7 of the current Macleod Committee are Macleod Junior People. The affiliation of both clubs took effect in 1992 it took until around 1998 to start to work and neither club has looked back. Macleod Juniors Colts won 4 priemireship in a row (DIV ONE) 2000 - 2003. It has just been fantastic for both clubs. If the senior club has made a mistake (in my opinion) it has probably been not to recruit just two or three older and stronger bodies to have helped the kids through those years (although they would never have beaten Greensborough). When you look at Lundberg aged 26 being the oldest Macleod Junior in the side (excluding Puffer) their future should be looking not too bad particularly the way the Under 19's are traveling presently. Tomorrows game against Reservoir will be interesting they have some injuries and have bought up 4 kids. Of the 22, 20 are all Macleod Junior players. All the Senior People and Junior people get along very well. We have Senior people Coaching the Junior Ranks and best of all we have the Junior President (another President from the Junior Club involved) as Chairman of Selectors. Most of us are all mates which has made it easy for this transition. All this should put Macleod in your category as a "AAA" Plus.

 

[slasher25]

my thoughts for the weekends matches:
parkside to bounce back and win at home over hurstbridge
whittlesea to be too slick and professional for epping
stars if they recover in time to continue the climb over panton hill
lower to struggle but eventually win at a new look heid west
thomastown to inflict another loss for mernda
macleod to get back on track over reservoir
watsonia to be too big-bodied for s morang

and rumour has it that resv coach mcgregor is likely to line up at de winton park tomorrow.

Further too that BRANDT Macleod Coach is more than likely to line up at De Winton Park tomorrow.

 

[kanga fan man]

If anyone is interested the fitzroy stars game v santa teresa at the mcg today will be on foxtel nitiv which is channel 180 at 5 pm

 

[Fitzroy Stars]

If anyone is interested the fitzroy stars game v santa teresa at the mcg today will be on foxtel nitiv which is channel 180 at 5 pm

The Fitzroy Stars team playing tonight isnt our regular NFL side. We won the right to play this game because of our win in the VAYSAR Aboriginal State-Wide carnival, so we thought we would reward those players first, but we do have some out's from our carnival side Mungara Brown, Randall Rioli, Robbie Taylor are just a few that come to my head. But there are quite alot of boys from our regular NFL side that will be playing, Casey Brown, Kealun Brown, Coree and Alister Thorpe...I'd like to name everyone but dont have a list infront of me. It should make for an interesting game.

 

[macleodboy07]

hey sharky what happened to ur 2 blues today! they were complete out played in evey way! ur only good player was powell who kick basicly ur hole score! now u can shut ur mouth and start worrying about ur own mob cose they were terrible today.

well done to epping today on beating whittleasea! looks to be a massive win! and a bit of a wake up call to whittleasea maybe?

 

[coffee]

Well done EPPING the big heads have been beat .
How was the their coach underpressure was his big head self?

 

[CENTERMAN]

Yes here too ,well done Epping. I Noticed 4 of the Eagles 6 best players were ex Morang boys. Well done to them to.

 

[ironhide]

Well done EPPING the big heads have been beat .
How was the their coach underpressure was his big head self?

The coach handled the loss like any good professional coach would ive heard him speak at the breaks certanly wouldnt call him "Big Headed" he wasnt impressed with the teams efforts at the breaks and let them know but was also mentioned positives.It just seems the Eagles team is a Jigsaw Puzzle having watched a few games this year,after coming off some easier games -no disrespect(Fitzroy,Hied West and Panton Hill)there are yet again more new faces and changes while some familiar ones not there(i dont know why!,possibly Injury or Bullants?)Well done on Eppings performance backing it up solidly i bet they didnt have that penciled in played good footy all day great to watch the uderdogs get up!

 

[ironhide]

Yes here too ,well done Epping. I Noticed 4 of the Eagles 6 best players were ex Morang boys. Well done to them to.

Yep they definatly stood out today,Jinnete was brilliant in the first quarter disposal is a big worry turned the ball over far too many times for a star player tho,stevens is probably the hardest working Back pocket i have seen a long time very consistant and smart.Snowdon was ok bit quiet did some good things,Aqualina played a great game he kept the team in the game of his own boot in the last half!great effort he is exiting to watch and a great recruit!
I have been to 4 games and all ex morang players have played pretty good and have earned their stripes i think people should just admit....They were handy recruits!and i would have them in my team!well done to the boys to play well despite the criticism!

 

[Brutal]

Further too that BRANDT Macleod Coach is more than likely to line up at De Winton Park tomorrow.

Puffer plays kicks 8. MaCleod win by 20. Not having a crack here but fail to see the point in Puffer playing! Reminds me of Terry Keys playing at Hursty when they won the flag, was all great as he kicked 7 in the granny and inspired them to a win but history tells us he was never going to assist them in div 1. Does Puffer pulling on the boots assist his coaching record more than the club pushing forward? Macleod have a fantastic list of young talent, what are the reasons for Puffer comeing out of retirement? What purpose does this serve? We all know Puffer could still trouble most defences going around, he has nothing to prove, he`s not going to be part of a div 1 Macleod side so what is the development gain for the team by him playing? As I have said not being a smart arse or anything, just poseing the question.

 

[Jimmy Jab]

Puffer plays kicks 8. MaCleod win by 20. Not having a crack here but fail to see the point in Puffer playing! Reminds me of Terry Keys playing at Hursty when they won the flag, was all great as he kicked 7 in the granny and inspired them to a win but history tells us he was never going to assist them in div 1. Does Puffer pulling on the boots assist his coaching record more than the club pushing forward? Macleod have a fantastic list of young talent, what are the reasons for Puffer comeing out of retirement? What purpose does this serve? We all know Puffer could still trouble most defences going around, he has nothing to prove, he`s not going to be part of a div 1 Macleod side so what is the development gain for the team by him playing? As I have said not being a smart arse or anything, just poseing the question.

Think u will find Brandt will only play against weak sides to slow to play against whittlesea and us

 

[Brutal]

Lower ventured out to West Heid today, not much to get inspired about. Lower had a few out in the two Knee`s and Mitton on wedding duties, pretty much a nothing game, gave a few guys from the two`s a hitout but in all honesty one of those days where a bit of drinking and a chat is interupted by a non event of a football game. Should mention Mario Bandera`s 10 goals 8 behinds although I would not say this was a highlight, more a point of interest for the day.

Heid West would probably be satisfied with there day but it highlights the contrast between the so called haves and have nots in local footy. The only semblence of atmosphere for the day was when the Mr Whippy van arrived at 3 Qtr time in the two`s, the half time conivials between the two commitees of the one`s was attended by the Heid West secretary who was also Umpire Escort, Canteen Helper, Scoreboard Attendant etc ( a fantastic bloke) there time keeper who was fast asleep at 5 o`clock on the couch in the clubrooms ( also a great bloke), plate of sangas, plate of party pies and half a dozen soft drinks.

At the conclusion of the game, whilst I thought it was a poor showing from the Lower Plenty guys to hang around and have a few drinks, this was tempered by the fact that there would have only been 15 Heid West players/members there as well. From talking to the Heid West secretary at half time(prior to Escorting umps out) they are trying extremely hard and only just failed to get thirds up this season, however I struggle to see where the future is for a club like this. A proud history they have, picturesque location, dedicated if but few passionate people trying there best. All this in contrast to the mob accross the road, the cream of the crop, whose weekly player bill could probably fit 150 Heid West teams.

After my experience today, I truly wish them the best, you would like to think that clubs like this and the people who strive to keep them going can share a greater reward than the knowing that at least the side had a crack. Perhaps the League should be a guideing hand to these clubs and work with them to enhance there chances of success and survival.

 

[slasher25]

Puffer plays kicks 8. MaCleod win by 20. Not having a crack here but fail to see the point in Puffer playing! Reminds me of Terry Keys playing at Hursty when they won the flag, was all great as he kicked 7 in the granny and inspired them to a win but history tells us he was never going to assist them in div 1. Does Puffer pulling on the boots assist his coaching record more than the club pushing forward? Macleod have a fantastic list of young talent, what are the reasons for Puffer comeing out of retirement? What purpose does this serve? We all know Puffer could still trouble most defences going around, he has nothing to prove, he`s not going to be part of a div 1 Macleod side so what is the development gain for the team by him playing? As I have said not being a smart arse or anything, just poseing the question.

I hear what you say, but Keys was not the only one to retire when they won the flag. As for Macleod most of them are kids and very good ones at that and hopefully they will all stay. Therefore there is nothing wrong with having that older and more experienced player to help try and get them to divvy one. If they do Puffer can then take a rest. Then next season is another story. Recruiting a few key and older players is on Macleods list, without mentioning names one big one could be sealed shortly. . Who knows what the situation with Lynch will be at Coburg hopefully he does well but if he comes back then that hole is filled (therefore in this case Puffer filled the gap) and there is also Corr both these players have already stated they are coming back if they fall out at Coburg. No matter what teams will loose some older players when they move up. I am not too sure but believe Sinclair from Lalor played his last game in their winning grand finals last year and he was fantastic for them and certainly helped get them to divvy one. Although Lalor are not up to the level of the top four they are winning games and should stay there this year and then who knows what may happen next year, but the objective is to get there.
So, PLAY ON PUFFER.