Statewide League 2008

[NORKY]

What a spot on article Ned Perry. And that goes for last week's article too on the mariners. How can we have an elite u/18 comp, Statewide comp and the Devils running in Tasmania and expect it to be workable. Players won't go for it and the supporters won't go for it.

Very true Docker 5. What a pity we (Tasmania football people) don't have sensible discussions regarding the development and future of Tassie footy. Instead we have AFL Tas hand pick their audience of negotiators and decision makers! This hand picked group of negotiators are all on the same wave length as AFL Tasmania.....and us Tassie footy followers need to beware that they will get the approval if we don't make protesting, factual noise!!!!

Ned Perry is "right on the mark'!! I am sure Wade and his cohorts are not intentionally trying to divide and ruin the future of Tassie footy, however their plans are doomed to fail, along with the clubs that are stupid enough to participate.

AFL Tas are wanting a strong feeder competition for their squad players. This is obvious, and makes sense, however their plans and rationale behind their method to make this happen is way off the mark. The notion has no considerations for the competing clubs, esp. the lack of risk analysis involved.

I am sure players will not be so keen to play as they did when State-Wide commenced years ago. It was novel back then and foreign territory, but now there is history!

History proved the standard was good, but we couldn't afford it, we didn't want to travel, and hopeless club administartors financially ruined clubs to try and be the all conquering state premiers!!, and along the way, e.g South Launceston, failed to make the finals in its entirity....and spent a fortune!!!!

This is where state-wide footy should remain....in the history books of Tasmanian footy!!!

 

[Docker5]

Very true Docker 5. What a pity we (Tasmania football people) don't have sensible discussions regarding the development and future of Tassie footy. Instead we have AFL Tas hand pick their audience of negotiators and decision makers! This hand picked group of negotiators are all on the same wave length as AFL Tasmania.....and us Tassie footy followers need to beware that they will get the approval if we don't make protesting, factual noise!!!!

Ned Perry is "right on the mark'!! I am sure Wade and his cohorts are not intentionally trying to divide and ruin the future of Tassie footy, however their plans are doomed to fail, along with the clubs that are stupid enough to participate.

AFL Tas are wanting a strong feeder competition for their squad players. This is obvious, and makes sense, however their plans and rationale behind their method to make this happen is way off the mark. The notion has no considerations for the competing clubs, esp. the lack of risk analysis involved.

I am sure players will not be so keen to play as they did when State-Wide commenced years ago. It was novel back then and foreign territory, but now there is history!

History proved the standard was good, but we couldn't afford it, we didn't want to travel, and hopeless club administartors financially ruined clubs to try and be the all conquering state premiers!!, and along the way, e.g South Launceston, failed to make the finals in its entirity....and spent a fortune!!!!

This is where state-wide footy should remain....in the history books of Tasmanian footy!!!

You are spot on with that assesment Norky. What gets me is that if the same administrators that have run football were in the private sector they would have been unemployed a long time ago.

 

[NORKY]

You are spot on with that assesment Norky. What gets me is that if the same administrators that have run football were in the private sector they would have been unemployed a long time ago.

Exactly Docker 5! Only problem is the board of AFL Tas are an embarrasing mob who know nothing about footy!

How they allow mistake after mistake to occur without investigations, and fail to conduct independant audits, scrutinising all operations and business, is staggering!!!

 

[Docker5]

Exactly Docker 5! Only problem is the board of AFL Tas are an embarrasing mob who know nothing about footy!

How they allow mistake after mistake to occur without investigations, and fail to conduct independant audits, scrutinising all operations and business, is staggering!!!

Thats right. Who do these people answer to.To many people in Tasmania won't speak up because thet might not be able to climb the ladder. Look how Qld football is progressing. Its a shame that the people that have run footy here are still allowed to be in charge. People have to keep speaking up. Trouble is the local papers won't print what needs to be said.

 

[arrow]

well i reckon the state wide league is a great idea,do away with the devils and marriners, just have the teal cup and other rep sides and bring in a senior and u25 side for each club.

statewide league:nth hbt,clarence,glenorchy,lauderdale,kingbourgh
nth bombers,launceston,devonport,burnie,and maybe but maybe not ulverstone.

the ntfl could have sth laun,gtown,east dev,scotsdale,latrobe,ulverstone,wynyard,penguin and smithton.

the nwfa and dfa merge to have a div one and two.
div one:sheffield,spreyton,wvale,east ulv,forth,yolla,qtown,roseberry,sth burnie,somerset.

div two:west ulv,tbeach,mpreston,yeoman,ridgely,cuprona,natone,and the circular head teams to merge to form two teams and play in div two.

this is my thoughts and will bring up plenty of arguements but its just an idea that is not based on how clubs might be performing at the moment but more where they might be in the future(div two possibly could feild one team only each.

 

[Kingpin]

well i reckon the state wide league is a great idea,do away with the devils and marriners, just have the teal cup and other rep sides and bring in a senior and u25 side for each club.

statewide league:nth hbt,clarence,glenorchy,lauderdale,kingbourgh
nth bombers,launceston,devonport,burnie,and maybe but maybe not ulverstone.

The only way Kingborough would even be a ghost of a chance at being included in a Statewide comp would be if old 'Tarfingers' Morrison was still in charge of the SFL.
Gave them absolutely every conceivable break possible, gave them an armchair ride to the Premier League that none of the other non-TFL teams got, not that they deserved to be included the Premier League in the first place.
They've still got their traditional jumpers, traditional emblem, traditional colours and still have fewer supporters than Hobart which has been ripped apart since they lost theirs in 1998 and even moreso since that boneheaded brainwave of theirs to change to the Lions in 2004.
Been talking about having a new ground in the Kingston region on and off for the past 25 years and are still playing at that atrocious dump of a paddock down by the beach, and probably always will do.
At least dear old Hobes has a chance to re-grow, and get back people to the fold if they stop allowing gnomey-longnosed gits to run the club as if it's their own personal club.
Also Hobart can play on the TCA or if need be, go to North Hobart.
I realise this is only a hypothetical, as in reality most of the clubs aren't really for the proposal because like most of us, they've been kept in the dark on much of the detail and are only being fed snippets and that isn't instilling them with much confidence in the whole thing.
But that lot in the Statewide League? Christ no - they're worse than India for complaining.
Even a devoid of culture Hobart would be better off, and they're absolutely nothing like the Hobart that played in the TFL for all those years.

 

[Duff TV]

Kingpin, in defense of Kingborough I would argue they get better local support at home games, will almost certainly be moving to their new ground in the next few years, have a president that is well respected and has a heart as big as Farlap and have a very good junior set up from 8's right through.

Me thinks they are pretty well set up for the future.

 

[Kingpin]

Kingpin, in defense of Kingborough I would argue they get better local support at home games,

Probably around about the same, crowds-wise.
Hobart might get a few more on average playing against some of the town teams because it's closer and because with the TCA Ground, you can actually get people into the ground, unlike The Pit.
But that's my point Duff, Kingborough haven't had any of their traditions or identity destroyed (aside from renaming Kingston as Kingborough), have had nothing deliberately keep them down for the last decade whereas Hobart has been put through the ringer for the last 15 years (the last 10 especially) firstly by the TFL then by Tarfingers' Morrison's constant siding with Kingborough because they were an ex-Huon club, then later by shoddy administration by the club themselves.
Hobart don't get a lot of support at games anymore because a lot of stuff has happened at the club in the last decade or so - I need not go on - but it certainly has taken its toll on the club, support-wise.
The Lions mistake was the biggest mistake the club has made in it's 64 years, even bigger in some ways than the Tax problems in the 90's, simply because of the way they went about it.
They were advised not to go ahead with it in such a way because the supporters would not cop it (especially after the backlash against the club when they tried to call themselves the Saints), went ahead and did it anyway and on top of that showed a really classless lack of respect to past players and supporters who challenged the decision and now they're in the situation they currently find themselves in.
They can fix themselves up, but by Jesus they've got a hell of a lot of work in front of them.

will almost certainly be moving to their new ground in the next few years,

Bookmarked!
Where abouts is this new ground supposed to be located?
The 'new ground' that they were after a few years ago was supposed to be up near the Kingborough Sports Centre, but nothing's happened in regard to it and I doubt it ever will.
With the way every conceivable bit of land is being built on down there these days they'll be lucky to find enough room left to build a lawn on let alone a football ground!
Quite staggering how that place has grown, I was engaged to a chick that lived down there when I was 19/20, it was all paddocks back then, now housing estates everywhere!

have a president that is well respected and has a heart as big as Farlap

Whilst I acknowledge that he does put in a great deal of hard work each week to keep his club going, I find his attitude towards the colours/emblem debate to be small-town syndrome personified.
If it's good enough for North Hobart and Brighton to compromise on the matter then his stance is totally irrelevant and the sooner he realises it the better (so should Hobart too - seriously, admit you are wrong and piss this Lions shit off once and for all).
Hobart are just as entitled to use their history to try and rebuild their club as much as what his club is, and North Hobart or anyone else are.
I find his stance on the matter arrogant, stupid and bad for football.
PS: It's Phar Lap

and have a very good junior set up from 8's right through.

So does New Norfolk, and look at where they are currently.
Good junior setup's might paint a rosy picture for the stats book, but they don't always tell a true story, especially with all the club hopping that goes on nowdays.

Me thinks they are pretty well set up for the future.

But not as a Statewide club though. Good, well performed regional club though.

 

[Duff TV]

The latest gos is that there will be a decision made on the Statewide League on May 9th.

My mail tells me that some clubs are also going to play sides in regional comps whilst others are going full on straight back in the SWL. Clubs doing the former I think are kidding themselves.

Advantages of SWL As I see it this time round its funded by the AFL. players get to test themselves against similar opposition. Games in both SWL and regional comps would become more even so clubs therefore have a more realistic chance of winning a flag. Its a better step towards playing VFL.

CONS: Will clubs really be able to balance the books? Pressure on Volunteers and supporters to travel - risk of losing supporters. If it fails will clubs be allowed back into regional comps(again)? Clubs fielding a team in SWL and regional comp risk splitting their club. Some better players may not want to do extra training and so may opt out.

mmmmm, tough one all this one but I am 51% for and 49% against.

The mail however is it's going to happen so everyone may as well saddle up and get on the ride.

And to those Devils knockers, get over it as they ain't going anywhere.

And no, I am not all AFL TAS happy happy again, I just see it for what it is. If footy is the winner then lets do it. Kingpin I hear you waking up and I am ready for your sledge old mate.

 

[Kingpin]

No, no sledging from me Duff.
I just think they would've been better off to trial playing a state premiership at the end of the year for awhile to test the waters and try rebuilding the rivalry and moreso working with clubs rather than telling them they'll be doing it.
And lets face it, where are they going to get all these players from that are going to want to train appropriately (3 nights a week) for that level?
The local clubs these days are seeing more and more club-hopping, gravitating to whichever club seems to be hurling the most coin around.
And leagues like the Old Scholars are seeing players who could still be good at a higher level trot around because they can be paid good money, yet can still hit the piss hard with their mates and not have to train much.
It's nice that the AFL is funding it, but, what's going to happen to the clubs when they:
(a) Can't find enough volunteers to run their respective clubs - it's an increasing battle to even get them to turn up to local matches these days and:
(b) Discover the distinct possibility that crowds won't follow their teams across the state and attendances are made up solely of home fans - and very small numbers of them at that - and the takings from attendances, bar/kiosk facilities don't cover player wages and other overheads?
Is this funding from the AFL going to be passed back to these clubs to ensure that they don't end up drowning in debts?

I remember the old TFL days when the executive passed new rules that stipulated clubs were to pay $4,850 on the days proceeding each home match which was for umpires, ground rental, buses for opposition players etc.
I remember the attendances being so small by that stage that clubs like Hobart, Sandy Bay, Launceston, South Launceston and North Hobart weren't raking in anywhere near that sort of money on match day, therefore the debts continued to spiral.
Will there be safeguards against that this time?

If the inevitable happens, and the clubs cannot get enough players to make it viable and the whole idea is scrapped, what happens to those clubs who have felt that they can make it at a higher level and find that level has been abandoned?
Will we be seeing that ridiculous situation we saw in 2001 where the clubs themselves in the old SFL will be getting together to have a good old mother's meeting to discuss whether to allow these clubs back in?
In my personal opinion, it should have sweet-FA to do with the clubs voting and playing pick-and-choose as to who they want in the league.
The leagues don't belong to anybody, let alone a select group of clubs.
But being that it is Tasmania, that possibility has to be looked at, for sure.

Looking at the standard of the reserve grade sides for at least two of the former TFL sides (yes, Hobart and New Norfolk) imagine what their performances would be like if they had to field sides in a statewide league and a team in the SFL!
You would imagine that their reserves teams would be classed as senior sides in the SFL if the new proposal comes to fruition?
Both would be about as competitive as Triabunna, sadly.

To be honest Duff, if it's only being done to help the Devils then I can see it only being a half-arsed job because you and I both know that AFL Tasmania will be very much focused on a) Devils, b) Devils, c) Devils and d) the top few teams in this new TFL.
The rest will be messed about with and can go hang 'emselves, you just watch and see
As you point out, the Devils won't be going anywhere - that's probably right too and can you imagine how they're going to cope with having more than one little pet team?
I can hardly wait for the champagne comedy that that one will be.
The fact that nobody seems to know in exact detail exactly how this new league will be set up, and many other details shows that the planning is a bit rushed and somewhat lacking.
But, we'll wait and see...

PS: Please, I hope they do not ever bring back the name SWL, that would have to be the lamest name for a league - EVER!

 

[Duff TV]

Kingpin, for a bloke who "just did the scoreboard" you come up with some good stuff mate.

Love ya line "AFL Tasmania will be very much focused on a) Devils, b) Devils, c) Devils" and "I can hardly wait for the champagne comedy that that one will be." re Devils v SWL politics.

Yeah some more detail made public would be handy for everyone's piece of mind.

I wonder what the SFL or NTFL's position on all this is. Haven't heard a hoot yet. I mean their comps are about to lose their top end.

Is that what they want?

And will they let clubs back in if it falls over. Will AFL TAS then fund regional leagues forming a new league meaning the OLD SWL clubs are safe. Lots of questions that no-one knows the answers to.

Where is the detail? Can someone let us know?

Are club members voting on this? What do the players want?

 

[North Wester]

It will come down to the members of each club as it should. Why should clubs jump when the same pricks that stuffed football 10 years ago are still there running it. Its not over the line yet. I doubt whether people have forgotten what happened last time.

 

[NORKY]

well i reckon the state wide league is a great idea,do away with the devils and marriners, just have the teal cup and other rep sides and bring in a senior and u25 side for each club.

statewide league:nth hbt,clarence,glenorchy,lauderdale,kingbourgh
nth bombers,launceston,devonport,burnie,and maybe but maybe not ulverstone.

the ntfl could have sth laun,gtown,east dev,scotsdale,latrobe,ulverstone,wynyard,penguin and smithton.

the nwfa and dfa merge to have a div one and two.
div one:sheffield,spreyton,wvale,east ulv,forth,yolla,qtown,roseberry,sth burnie,somerset.



Isn't this whole State-wide concept laughable!!!!! No wonder they reckon us Tassies have got two heads!

We are continually ruining community based footy by trying to develop a competetition that is designed to develop elite players for the Devils!

People can agree or disagree, but we are quickly losing footy followers in Tassie because of the path it has taken the past 20years!

No longer do we hear of people talking about the rivalry between local clubs in the communities. We don't have crowds flocking to the footy to watch prominent local players go to battle. All the ingredients that have made Aussie rules so popular, and folk law, are disappering!

Tassie will forever be divided in to three regions! and that is the landscape we are dealt with. We should be trying to make each region as strong, and local, as possible. Get the media invovled, promote the young kid debuting from his local school, re-establish triabilism, and let people enjoy footy!!!

Our best kids will always get drafted if they are good enough! We had more players get drafted 20odd years ago than what we do now! And now they keep using the old cliche that we have a "pathway" for kids, etc. etc. etc......all sounds good, but results don't agree.

Now we have all this money allocated to our state, and we spend it on recruiting players from other states to play for the Devils!!!!

Maybe I am missing something??? But soon we will all be following another game elsewhere because Tassie footy will be dead and buried! I feel for the players subjected to the politics that is quckly diminishing our great game!!!!

LEAVE REGIONAL FOOTY ALONE...AND LET IT PROSPER!!!

 

[Gibbke]

The SW rationale is flawed and stupid.

The Devils, according to Wade and co, exist for the primary purpose of developing draft picks for AFL sides. One of Wade's statements to this effect was his push for a SW comp just after the National Draft, where he said that footy in Tassie had let down several youngsters because only one was drafted (before the Rookie Draft).

Ok...the average age of a Devil these days is under 20, if you take out the imports. The majority of these came through the Mariners. Seems to me that if you want to develop junior players into AFL-development ready late teenagers, you hit them hard in these junior ranks - and I'll ask the direct question - why then are the Mariners not full members of the TAC U18's? They were dropped because they weren't churning out enough draftees. Where, statistically, is the evidence that a player who spends a few years as a Devil is going to be drafted once he's in his 20's? And if this player is a potantial draftee, then why the hell after the age of about 16 would he be spending time playing in the SW league, when he should be doing time in the Devils or the Mariners or even in the AFL...?

Who is this league catering for? The players in it won't be Devils regulars, and it won't efficiently develop juniors for this purpose...what you will do instead is completely f### the tenuous qualities that Tassie footy revolves around - the grudges and rivalries between our little towns and suburbs...this has been covered all over the place above, so I won't go on...

I propose a SW league of juniors, fully funded by the AFL via submission from AFL Tas. Here in Qld, they have a regular intrastate series, and noone needs to be told that Qld Aussie Rules has been a bit of a success story lately, particularly in terms of drafting. It isn't the QAFL doing the player development with its senior comp, let's put it that way. Why do we not invent a bundle of junior sides, align them with senior Tasmanian sides and as a pathway to the Devils...? They did this with the TAC Cup, Qld...all we're really doing these days is providing draftees for the SANFL...!

 

[roorat]

AFL Tas on verge of finalising model for statewide league
Posted 2 hours 28 minutes ago
AFL Tasmania is about to sign off on the model for its new statewide football league.
The organisation's initial proposal has changed considerably after lengthy discussions with clubs.
The plan to have new teams representing regions has been scrapped and the final model is likely to include at least eight existing teams.
Each will also field an underage side.
"We have encouraged the clubs to really pick it to pieces," said AFL Tasmania's Chairman, Dominic Baker.
"A lot of their input will be included in what we sign off, I think."
North Hobart Chairman, Paul Curtain, is keen to look at the model.
"We are very much open minded to it.
"I'd also say that we are very wary," he added.
Mr Curtain says the financial sustainability of the league and its clubs must be guaranteed.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/30/2232034.htm?section=sport

 

[roorat]

The SW rationale is flawed and stupid.

The Devils, according to Wade and co, exist for the primary purpose of developing draft picks for AFL sides. One of Wade's statements to this effect was his push for a SW comp just after the National Draft, where he said that footy in Tassie had let down several youngsters because only one was drafted (before the Rookie Draft).

Ok...the average age of a Devil these days is under 20, if you take out the imports. The majority of these came through the Mariners. Seems to me that if you want to develop junior players into AFL-development ready late teenagers, you hit them hard in these junior ranks - and I'll ask the direct question - why then are the Mariners not full members of the TAC U18's? They were dropped because they weren't churning out enough draftees. Where, statistically, is the evidence that a player who spends a few years as a Devil is going to be drafted once he's in his 20's? And if this player is a potantial draftee, then why the hell after the age of about 16 would he be spending time playing in the SW league, when he should be doing time in the Devils or the Mariners or even in the AFL...?

Who is this league catering for? The players in it won't be Devils regulars, and it won't efficiently develop juniors for this purpose...what you will do instead is completely f### the tenuous qualities that Tassie footy revolves around - the grudges and rivalries between our little towns and suburbs...this has been covered all over the place above, so I won't go on...

I propose a SW league of juniors, fully funded by the AFL via submission from AFL Tas. Here in Qld, they have a regular intrastate series, and noone needs to be told that Qld Aussie Rules has been a bit of a success story lately, particularly in terms of drafting. It isn't the QAFL doing the player development with its senior comp, let's put it that way. Why do we not invent a bundle of junior sides, align them with senior Tasmanian sides and as a pathway to the Devils...? They did this with the TAC Cup, Qld...all we're really doing these days is providing draftees for the SANFL...!

Great minds think alike?

Thursday, 1 May 2008
NTFL clubs split over State plans - North-West and North to take rival plans to AFL Tasmania
By ANGUS LIVINGSTON


THE Coastal and Launceston NTFL clubs will take rival proposals for the new State league to AFL Tasmania.
At a summit organised by the NTFL last night, the 11 clubs could not agree on the best model for the league, splitting on regional lines.
The three Launceston clubs had already proposed a State league with a senior and under 23 competition.

http://nwtasmania.yourguide.com.au/...take-rival-plans-to-afl-tasmania/1234725.html

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

What's the point of having a state league is its ttalent pool is limited by the rules of the competition?

Then again, as the idea is to prop up the Devils rather than returning Tasmanian football to Tasmania, what's the point anyway?

 

[Gibbke]

Great minds think alike?

Thursday, 1 May 2008
NTFL clubs split over State plans - North-West and North to take rival plans to AFL Tasmania
By ANGUS LIVINGSTON

Or fools never differ!

I would call for an U20 comp instead, see rationale 2 paragraphs down. To me, it's very important that the intrinsic suburban and town rivalries are preserved. They still are in the AFL - it's just that they're buried in amongst the huge hype and glossy colours and the money - but you only have to view the attendances of the Vic teams this year to know what really hits the spot for Vic fans, something SA and WA supporters have been blessed with for years.

Tassie doesn't have that money though, so a few years riding out lean times which might cause an AFL club only minor headaches, could be the difference between viability and survival for a local team. This could very well happen if teams left behind like Penguin suddenly lose their biggest sparring partners in Ulverstone, etc...

Also, it's U20's that get drafted. Great as he was, you wouldn't think that Savage will get drafted on the basis of a Gehrig shutout, and many players like Nathan Howard, Leigh Walker, Brett Geappen, etc, who are big guns in the N/STFL as well VFL stalwarts, were and are never in the draft hunt. Even Callinan couldn't get a run...but the stats show that once you hit 20, or even miss out on your first draft, you're well and truly up against it.

So what would be the point of a statewide comp in this scenario? Why not instead ensure all Tasmanian clubs' viability, and focus on promotion of the local product by highlighting club grudges, intra-state hostilities, and then promoting the Devils as the Tasmanian rep side made up of young guns, the very best Tasmanian senior stalwarts, and a few, not too many, mainland stars. Instead of a stripdown, major body work and a new engine, how about some glue, rust remover, and a new coat of paint...?

 

[roorat]

10 teams for Tasmanian AFL league

AFL Tasmania has settled on a 10 team competition as its preferred model for a return to statewide football next year.
It is proposed that the new league boasts an even split of five teams from the northern half of the state, five from the south.
Glenorchy general manager, Leigh McAdam, says the southern clubs will discuss the proposal collectively.
"It's been agreed at the SFL level that we would like the AFL Tas to present the model to the SFL as a whole as a first step so that is where we are at at the moment," he said.
"We actually haven't seen the model as yet so that is where we are, we would like them to present it to the SFL as a whole."
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/05/12/2242390.htm?section=sport

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Ten teams is too many, and I'm still skeptical of both a state league and the Devils being able to co-exist (in which case, kill the Devils). Ideally, six teams would get the standard up without impacting too badly on NTFL and SFL; but that gets too repetitive over a season and demographics probably demand eight (maybe 7, with three in Hobart and a bye - not ideal but the WAFL and SANFL seem to do OK with a bye).

I still support a state league, and think it is absolutely vital if there is to be a decent standard of the game being played in the state again; but its been handled badly and done for the wrong reasons (to aid the Devils rather than to get good standard tasmanian footy); and will no doubt fail as a result of both that and of the Devils taking the necessary media coverage and administrative support.
It really needed to be taken to the NTFL, SFL and clubs with a "how can we make this work" apporach rather than a "its happening, but you won't see what it is" approach.

 

[Duff TV]

I think it should be 8 teams

Clarence
Glenorchy
Nth Hobart
Hobart or Lauderdale or Kingborough
Nth Launceston
Launceston
Burnie
Devonport

Hoping clubs don't try to put a team in the statewide as well as regional comps. This should be a "no no" as it would split clubs.

Still haven't heard anything from any players out there.

Do they want it?

 

[hardnut69]

I think it should be 8 teams

Clarence
Glenorchy
Nth Hobart
Hobart or Lauderdale or Kingborough
Nth Launceston
Launceston
Burnie
Devonport

Hoping clubs don't try to put a team in the statewide as well as regional comps. This should be a "no no" as it would split clubs.

Still haven't heard anything from any players out there.

Do they want it?

interesting you dont have ulverstone in their. stong club the last 20 years. top 2 club in the ntfl.

 

[Gibbke]

No Statewide seniors. Two separate comps as already exist with a state GF of consequence, a junior league can be our SW instead, and then make the Devils the spearhead they are supposed to be.

Develop juniors in junior comps, put seniors in senior comps which represent every Tasmanian so we can take our rivalries out on each other, and then put the best of those seniors who aren't in the AFL into the Tassie State side so we can pick on mainlanders as well...that's how you do it.

This model is affordable, develops juniors where it will actually make a difference, keeps all fans and doesn't arrogantly assume they will just fall in line with a sanitised AFL-approved model, and frees up the Devils as a rep side without this insane and self-effacing position of being, as Wade puts it, a mere "feeder team" to an alien league...f### that, I want my rep side ( I got my jumper yesterday by the way, I now have both of the main ones) REPRESENTING and playing solely for flags and state pride...it's a state rep side, not a frigging daycare centre for infant AFL footballers...

Tasmanian footy is missing the grudge, and a statewide repeated joke of a comp won't fix that. We should stop listening to AFL style demographics which have no relevance to us, forget the cricket team for a second, and open our eyes to what makes Tasmanian footy tick...and save a lot of money and pain in the process...

 

[roorat]

Wednesday, 14 May 2008
State footy league is on agenda

A STATEWIDE league is firmly fixed on the agenda for Tasmanian footy.
This was the message from AFL Tasmania after it met the AFL on Friday to discuss the concept.
The State and national bodies plan to finalise a detailed Tasmanian league business plan over the next few weeks, which will then need to be endorsed by the AFL executive management team.
AFL Tasmania chairman Dominic Baker said the time- frames around every element of the State league project would be incorporated within the business plan.
AFL Tasmania will consult leagues and clubs across the State about all the operational aspects of a State league.
The proposed league would be a club-based competition with each club required to fill two teams.
The number of clubs invited to join would be between eight and 12.
Baker said that AFL Tasmania would not be making any further public announcement about the league until the business plan and consultative process were completed.
- ROB SHAW
http://northerntasmania.yourguide.c.../state-footy-league-is-on-agenda/1240107.html

 

[Kingpin]

Hmmm - so is it going to be 8, 10 or 12 clubs?

What happened to these brand new geographically located clubs that were going to spring from nowhere? Or has that idea been dropped now?

Where are they going to get the players that actually want to train 3 nights per week from? It's hard enough to find players now.

I could go on and on, but they are questions that need to be asked.

It's admirable that they're trying to lift the focus of football in the State again, but I really can't see how this is going to work in the long run.

Bottom line is, we couldn't get supporters to attend Statewide matches 15 years ago when the clubs still actually had supporters.

We had many players, good ones at that, drifting away to lesser competitions because they didn't want to train as much, but still wanted to be well renumerated.