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Bunk Moreland said:
I get it. Mind you I’m probably a bit biased as I used to live down that way.

It’s always had the making of a great league, there are so many strong clubs in the area, but they have always been under attack by the VAFA, EFL, Outer East and MPFNL. It’s been relentless from all angles. They started with 50-odd clubs and got picked away.

They’re now starting to grow again which is great and it’s easier to do things from a position of strength rather than just having their clubs poached. They want to put a stop to it and fair enough.
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Valid points. The first division is very strong now as mentioned above.

If ashwood were to try again next year you'd think they would grant their wish instead of keeping a unhappy club around.
 
localfootylegend23 said:
Valid points. The first division is very strong now as mentioned above.

If ashwood were to try again next year you'd think they would grant their wish instead of keeping a unhappy club around.
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Well the first line of their statement says they will play in SFNL in 2025, not 2025 and beyond so i initially thought this will be a 2026 move.

But the rest of the statement talks about their future in the SFNL and reading that it would seem like they have flipped and will be staying there for the foreseeable future.
 
adock said:
Well the first line of their statement says they will play in SFNL in 2025, not 2025 and beyond so i initially thought this will be a 2026 move.

But the rest of the statement talks about their future in the SFNL and reading that it would seem like they have flipped and will be staying there for the foreseeable future.
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What are going to do anyway if they do get to the EFNL 2026
What start in division 5 and maybe make it to division 4
Thats about all they will do
 

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Billy Blogs said:
What on earth is going on at Noble Park, maybe they should look at SFNL 3rd Div
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Berwick vs Noble for relegation? Although past couple of seasons Noble have had reasonable depth with decent reserves and u19 teams….maybe this nudges them ahead of Berwick. Added to the fact Noble have $$$ in the bank just need to find the right people to spend it on now….wouldve got a lot freed up with the outgoings!
 
This made me wonder if old mate Brucey was into footy instead of bowls… would be the mother of all shitfights!!



Doncaster lawn bowler leaves $1m to rival Donvale club

A Melbourne lawn bowler sparked a legal battle when he died and left a million dollar bequest to a rival club, with some club members saying it was a little “payback” from beyond the grave.

Bruce Hallman — a member of the Doncaster Bowls Club for 15 years — passed away in August last year, leaving his entire estate to the betterment of his favourite sport.

But the cash won’t go to his old teammates, instead, Bruce left everything to a place he was never a member, just 10 minutes up the road — the Donvale Bowls Club.

It was a disappointing blow to Doncaster, but it was a bigger surprise to the Donvale beneficiaries, who knew so little about Bruce they had to ask about him in a club newsletter last year.

“If any member has memories or knowledge of Bruce Hallman, we invite you to share them with us,” wrote Donvale chairman Ian Bramstedt.

They discovered Bruce only visited the Donvale club once for a new-membership day in 2019, when one of the Donvale bowlers drove to Bruce’s nursing home to bring him to the club for “roll up” and a beer.

“His positive experience and admiration for our club’s friendliness and community offerings led to this generous bequest,” the chairman wrote.

The experience must have been good, because three months later, Bruce — who had no surviving family — met with a new solicitor and instructed him to leave the entire estate to Donvale.

Bruce’s new solicitor — RJ Legal — is, coincidentally, a sponsor of Donvale. The club says he met the solicitor through another one of their sponsors. However, the Herald Sun makes no suggestion of impropriety.

RJ Legal did not respond when contact by the Herald Sun.

But things keep getting better for Donvale. The committee were originally told the bequest was $700K, but a week ago, were told the final figure was “well over a million”.

“It’s certainly a good news story for the club,” Ian Bramstedt told the Herald Sun.

Although the executive chairman of the Doncaster Bowling Club, Trevor Dawson, had different reaction to Bruce’s decision.

“We were shocked to be honest,” Trevor said.

And he was further shocked when the Herald Sun told him just how many zeros were on the final number.

A legal battle over the money began last year, when Trevor and the Doncaster committee hired their own lawyer, believing Bruce had made mistake and named the wrong club.
But they gave up after being advised there was nothing they could do.

“We did contest the will to a point,” Trevor said.

“But there was no value in going any further.”

“The matter is finished as far as we’re concerned. Donvale got the money and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

The Donvale Bowls Club has already received most of the estate — $800K — and will soon inherit the full amount.

There’s speculation from inside both camps that Bruce had been unhappy with a few members of his old club, and may have left his money to Donvale as payback.

But Trevor Dawson denies the rumours.
“There was no tension between Bruce and any of our members,” he said.

But the generosity has thrilled Donvale and they already have big plans for the windfall — including synthetic grass, covering the greens with a “dome” so they can play all year around, and lights for night games.

“We’re going to be one of only a handful of clubs without pokies to have these type of facilities,” Ian Bramstedt said.

“A once in a lifetime bequest like this deserves a once in a lifetime infrastructure improvement.”

“Good luck to them,” Trevor Dawson said.

“Our club is in pretty good shape. We’ll continue to thrive.”

So whether it was a thank you for an overwhelming day of hospitality from one club, or a last ‘up yours’ to another, no one really know.

Bruce takes that secret with him.

Either way, vale Bruce Henry Hallman.
 
Bunk Moreland said:
This made me wonder if old mate Brucey was into footy instead of bowls… would be the mother of all shitfights!!



Doncaster lawn bowler leaves $1m to rival Donvale club

A Melbourne lawn bowler sparked a legal battle when he died and left a million dollar bequest to a rival club, with some club members saying it was a little “payback” from beyond the grave.

Bruce Hallman — a member of the Doncaster Bowls Club for 15 years — passed away in August last year, leaving his entire estate to the betterment of his favourite sport.

But the cash won’t go to his old teammates, instead, Bruce left everything to a place he was never a member, just 10 minutes up the road — the Donvale Bowls Club.

It was a disappointing blow to Doncaster, but it was a bigger surprise to the Donvale beneficiaries, who knew so little about Bruce they had to ask about him in a club newsletter last year.

“If any member has memories or knowledge of Bruce Hallman, we invite you to share them with us,” wrote Donvale chairman Ian Bramstedt.

They discovered Bruce only visited the Donvale club once for a new-membership day in 2019, when one of the Donvale bowlers drove to Bruce’s nursing home to bring him to the club for “roll up” and a beer.

“His positive experience and admiration for our club’s friendliness and community offerings led to this generous bequest,” the chairman wrote.

The experience must have been good, because three months later, Bruce — who had no surviving family — met with a new solicitor and instructed him to leave the entire estate to Donvale.

Bruce’s new solicitor — RJ Legal — is, coincidentally, a sponsor of Donvale. The club says he met the solicitor through another one of their sponsors. However, the Herald Sun makes no suggestion of impropriety.

RJ Legal did not respond when contact by the Herald Sun.

But things keep getting better for Donvale. The committee were originally told the bequest was $700K, but a week ago, were told the final figure was “well over a million”.

“It’s certainly a good news story for the club,” Ian Bramstedt told the Herald Sun.

Although the executive chairman of the Doncaster Bowling Club, Trevor Dawson, had different reaction to Bruce’s decision.

“We were shocked to be honest,” Trevor said.

And he was further shocked when the Herald Sun told him just how many zeros were on the final number.

A legal battle over the money began last year, when Trevor and the Doncaster committee hired their own lawyer, believing Bruce had made mistake and named the wrong club.
But they gave up after being advised there was nothing they could do.

“We did contest the will to a point,” Trevor said.

“But there was no value in going any further.”

“The matter is finished as far as we’re concerned. Donvale got the money and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

The Donvale Bowls Club has already received most of the estate — $800K — and will soon inherit the full amount.

There’s speculation from inside both camps that Bruce had been unhappy with a few members of his old club, and may have left his money to Donvale as payback.

But Trevor Dawson denies the rumours.
“There was no tension between Bruce and any of our members,” he said.

But the generosity has thrilled Donvale and they already have big plans for the windfall — including synthetic grass, covering the greens with a “dome” so they can play all year around, and lights for night games.

“We’re going to be one of only a handful of clubs without pokies to have these type of facilities,” Ian Bramstedt said.

“A once in a lifetime bequest like this deserves a once in a lifetime infrastructure improvement.”

“Good luck to them,” Trevor Dawson said.

“Our club is in pretty good shape. We’ll continue to thrive.”

So whether it was a thank you for an overwhelming day of hospitality from one club, or a last ‘up yours’ to another, no one really know.

Bruce takes that secret with him.

Either way, vale Bruce Henry Hallman.
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That is extraordinary. I once heard powelltown collect $20k in rent per year from a piece of land someone left to them. Didnt do them any good this year!!
 
localfootylegend23 said:
That is extraordinary. I once heard powelltown collect $20k in rent per year from a piece of land someone left to them. Didnt do them any good this year!!
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Chelsea in the Mornington league had a member leave over 1.5m this year I'm lead to believe
 
Seen croydon north and nunawading have been posting about recruiting for a u19 team. Not sure where they are coming from but good on them for giving it a crack. Nunawading might need to try and get some more players in after norwood has pinched a few of their good ones to most likely play reserves in division one. The last thing you want is u19s having to double up or play too much senior footy early to fill in or whatever
 

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localfootylegend23 said:
Seen croydon north and nunawading have been posting about recruiting for a u19 team. Not sure where they are coming from but good on them for giving it a crack. Nunawading might need to try and get some more players in after norwood has pinched a few of their good ones to most likely play reserves in division one. The last thing you want is u19s having to double up or play too much senior footy early to fill in or whatever
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Boronia also setting up U19s though by the look of their announcements all the players are just coming from other clubs.
 
Almost mid halfway through October and 4 or 5 clubs still without senior coaches but plenty more without reserves or womens coaches too.

Bayswater - You'd have to presume they just haven't had a quality applicant this far along. I know their applications technically only closed a couple of weeks ago but they announced this on August 12th on their socials which means they knew probably in July. They then pushed their closing date out to the 23rd September, 6 weeks after they first advertised. I don't know Hardy personally, and maybe he wasn't 100% the right man for them, but he wanted to continue as their coach. This is shaping up as one of the worst calls in recent times.

East Burwood - 2025 will be their 4th coach in 4 years, no wonder Mariani has walked to Templestowe. Imagine as a player having to build that player/coach relationship 4 years in a row. From a coaches perspective, who'd want to coach there? They definitely approached some well credentialed coaches late July early August so they are well into the process but nothing yet. They are damaged goods.

Waverley - Late announcement by them, but even so its been a month already. Seems to be a coach decision to stand down rather than a club decision. It was always going to be hard in Div 3 this year with Boronia but they were really competitive and you would think are an attractive prospect.

South Belgrave - Finally come clean this week after some speculation floating around the Black was gone for a couple of weeks. They are cashed up and full of talent. Again seems like an attractive prospect for a quality coach. Its not really clear what happened with Black yet but they have a strong history of being a stable club for coaches.

Donvale - Still don't know if this is true. If it is true then its a great opportunity but will also come with some pressure. They are clear favourites to win the flag in 2025. If it is true i wonder if Jason Wade could be the man to step in and take over a team he knows well?

I think the problem for some clubs right now is there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of quality applicants around. A bigger problem for some clubs is the new vacancies that have entered the market are really strong clubs.

If you were an available coach you'd surely pick South Belgrave, Waverley & Donvale ahead of Bayswater or East Burwood.
 
adock said:
Weird. Are we really at the stage where clubs are advertising juniors they recruit from other clubs?
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I suspect it’s just part of promoting their U19s to other potential players.

The main issue is clubs just on the merry go round of taking each other’s players, especially at U19 level… time for the EFNL to get a a bit strategic and start thinking about the future, rather than just let’s add half a dozen new clubs from wherever.
 
People have a go at Vermont and Blackburn for poaching other clubs juniors but now Boronia is doing the same thing. Personally I don’t like it, develop your own juniors instead of stealing other clubs kids.
 
Boronia has recently struggled with junior numbers like many other clubs. The club now has a number of homegrown bottom age 19's for next year who are keen to continue their footy with their mates and move from the juniors to seniors at the one club. However, there are not enough of those players to avoid forfeits next season if injuries kick in. The club has taken the reasonable and logical step of advertising for players, via social media and by word of mouth. The club is just happy to be a step closer to fielding a 19's team. Yes, some players are joining from other clubs but some of that comes back to mates bringing mates. A lot of comments on this forum have referred to the difficulty of getting boys of this age to play footy. That's why we need to build this pathway for Boronia's younger juniors to be able to move through to 19's and seniors if they wish. That sometimes means that players from other clubs will see an opportunity for themselves at a club like ours. As for the social media posts, there are obvious reasons: to welcome players to the club; to retain current players by demonstrating that we can boost the team's numbers; and to recruit other new or returning players to join the team. I hope this explains the club's thinking.
 
ManInWhite said:
Wonder what the clubs thinking will be in a year or 2's time when their young players are being poached by other clubs?
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Boronia has been there before, many times over recent years. Our thinking will continue to be about building a strong pathway that retains and attracts players at junior and youth level. It doesn't always pan out well, but I suspect that most clubs would probably have a similar approach. Thanks for your thoughts!
 
I’m not a big fan of poaching juniors but I think recruiting is okay at U19 level. That’s the senior club.

My issue isn’t so much with the clubs themselves doing it, it’s more the fact that it is required. There are clubs struggling for numbers. Not all have U19s, a few struggled for Reserves numbers last year. All the EFL has done for 20 years is bring in new clubs. Time it started looking after the existing clubs I think. The league can’t sustain more - it will struggle to sustain what it has.

There has seemingly been this obsession with the mythical 50 clubs thing for years now. Glen Waverley has folded. Who else will fold? I would almost say for certain we will see more clubs folding in the next decade. What happens when Berwick and Beaconsfield realise they’ll be better off in the SFL? Then they’ll be nowhere near 50 clubs.

Time to stop the mindless expansion and put the efforts into growing numbers for the existing clubs that need it.
 
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