VAFA General Discussion

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Mounzer11 said:
Had a recent conversation with a couple of boys that play at Xavs in their 3rds side - not sure which one it is. Asked them why they don't go to a divisional side and try and play in the seniors. Answer was simple - they want to play with their mates and play for Old Xavs. Asked them what they would do if the VAFA limited how many 3rds side they could have - answer - they wouldn't play.
Thinking back to when my old club entered the ammos in F Grade - which would be now D3. I think there was one G grade (now 3rds) comp and 3 u/19s. Now, G Grade is Div 4, there are 5 3rds grades and 5 u/19's. Not to mention the womens.
The competition has grown significantly - so the VAFA must be doing something right.
More kids playing football is a great thing.
I was on the side of limiting the amount of teams but I now think that all it will do is lose kids to footy.
But, on the other hand, the grading must be fixed. If Xavs and Scotch have the 6 best teams then they all need to be in the one division - pretty simple one would think.
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That's fair enough - I suppose it depends who you talk to at Xavs about it.

  • Last year we had about 11 ex-Xavs come and have a kick in the twos as a couple of mates were coaching.
  • This year Richmond Central had several ex-Xavs play in their Thirds premiership team.
So maybe a trickle down effect / maybe not.

I don't think we will find out as no way the VAFA will limit teams (and I'm not sure or saying they should). But again things HAVE changed in the past 20 years in that space and it has impacted some clubs more than others I'd suggest.

Chump 🏆
 
JimmyR20 said:
No issues with clubs having extra sides but don't make it easy for them.

I.e. if you are strong enough to have a thirds and a fourths then they should be required to play in the highest vacant thirds division- not the one the "vafa feels they will be competitive in"

This year AJAX introduced a fourths side midway through the year.

That side was placed in div 4 thirds despite their thirds sitting in div 2 thirds.

AJAX won the div 4 thirds flag when by rights they should have been in div 3.

Incidentally they played against Old Scotch 4ths (whose thirds play in premier) who would have been suited to any of the three vacant divisions above them! (Old scotch were dominant prior to regrading but somehow escaped going up)

Let the teams have their 4ths, 5ths and 6ths but don't hand them finals appearances and flags!
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I just had a look and scotch were 4-0 on top and defeated uni blues and after 4 rounds they were 3-1 and went up 😂😂 what the heck happened there
 

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Mounzer11 said:
Had a recent conversation with a couple of boys that play at Xavs in their 3rds side - not sure which one it is. Asked them why they don't go to a divisional side and try and play in the seniors. Answer was simple - they want to play with their mates and play for Old Xavs. Asked them what they would do if the VAFA limited how many 3rds side they could have - answer - they wouldn't play.
Thinking back to when my old club entered the ammos in F Grade - which would be now D3. I think there was one G grade (now 3rds) comp and 3 u/19s. Now, G Grade is Div 4, there are 5 3rds grades and 5 u/19's. Not to mention the womens.
The competition has grown significantly - so the VAFA must be doing something right.
More kids playing football is a great thing.
I was on the side of limiting the amount of teams but I now think that all it will do is lose kids to footy.
But, on the other hand, the grading must be fixed. If Xavs and Scotch have the 6 best teams then they all need to be in the one division - pretty simple one would think.
Click to expand...
I would play at old xavs if I had mates there as I also want a flag
 
Mr Platinum said:
Ivanhoe being in D Grade has nothing to do with any other club, other than Ivanhoe. The fact that the current administration saw fit to take their bat and ball and bail to another competition also has nothing to do with anyone other than Ivanhoe.

Good luck with your new reality, I hope it goes well for you.
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You really must get off on all this, I hear you’re an embarrassment to SKOB and W .


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Mr Platinum said:
Ivanhoe being in D Grade has nothing to do with any other club, other than Ivanhoe. The fact that the current administration saw fit to take their bat and ball and bail to another competition also has nothing to do with anyone other than Ivanhoe.

Good luck with your new reality, I hope it goes well for you.
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You will be welcomed back in a few years, however good luck in the meantime.
 

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MortlockWatcher said:
I've just put him on ignore as he's going through all the threads one by one.
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I hope you reported him before ignoring. It's the only way to bring them to the attention of someone who can do something about it.

Aucklander Itsmyshow can you kick it upstairs to Chief or Wosh for the spamban? Cheers
 
On what people say about how hard it is, let me give you a little insight into the club that won premier section in 2023:

  • A small but dedicated and hardworking committee of 6 or 7, which is a lot less than other clubs
  • A strong playing group culture driven to win, led by a really good coaching panel
  • A desire to win and be successful
  • Running off the smell of an oily rag (volunteers) and everyone chipping in where they can on and off the field
It rather grates when people on here say that the clubs at the top of premier section are blessed to be there, no, they have got there, with assistance of having a good school base of players, on their own merit and through hard work.
 
Mike Olotripo said:
On what people say about how hard it is, let me give you a little insight into the club that won premier section in 2023:

  • A small but dedicated and hardworking committee of 6 or 7, which is a lot less than other clubs
  • A strong playing group culture driven to win, led by a really good coaching panel
  • A desire to win and be successful
  • Running off the smell of an oily rag (volunteers) and everyone chipping in where they can on and off the field
It rather grates when people on here say that the clubs at the top of premier section are blessed to be there, no, they have got there, with assistance of having a good school base of players, on their own merit and through hard work.
Click to expand...

Only the most foolish among us would suggest hard work hasn't been a major factor in any club playing in a premier division let alone winning a flag.
 
Mike Olotripo said:
Exactly right, every club has its challenges. Even though some may be upset with them fielding all those teams, clubs like SKOB and Old Xavs have issues too, i.e. ground availability, finding coaches. I'm sure there are other things too, but it's just how it is.
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Just for clarity - Not upset Mike or even saying it should be changed - and our club has never said that - just suggesting as part of a respectful discussion some of the repercussions involved in the changing ecosystem within the VAFA over the past 20+ years re number of teams.

Unfortunately it has impacted our club in a manner that 91% of its voting members determine the best opportunity is to leave 89 years of history behind. I certainly don't 'blame' anyone, but I do have a view on 'some' of the reasons we find ourselves in this position (and there are several, this is just one element).

Well done again on your win 💪

Chump 🏆
 
Champ or Chump said:
Just for clarity - Not upset Mike or even saying it should be changed - and our club has never said that - just suggesting as part of a respectful discussion some of the repercussions involved in the changing ecosystem within the VAFA over the past 20+ years re number of teams.

Unfortunately it has impacted our club in a manner that 91% of its voting members determine the best opportunity is to leave 89 years of history behind. I certainly don't 'blame' anyone, but I do have a view on 'some' of the reasons we find ourselves in this position (and there are several, this is just one element).

Well done again on your win 💪

Chump 🏆
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It's sad to see a club with such a long and rich amateur history as yours depart.

But we both know you'll still be dropping in with a gem or two, don't we?;)
 
AM said:
The chattery is not "unmoderated". Think you'll find Aucklander is across all the happenings here. Just that he's more a whisperer than a shouter.
Click to expand...

I will start rolling over the threads so all the watchers get notifications.

I'm probably more of a thread ban type of guy too BTW. I'm sure OTP will be keeping a close eye on things too.
 
Mike Olotripo said:
Exactly right, every club has its challenges. Even though some may be upset with them fielding all those teams, clubs like SKOB and Old Xavs have issues too, i.e. ground availability, finding coaches. I'm sure there are other things too, but it's just how it is.
Click to expand...
Willi CYs are now a district club having thrown off the religious shackles over 50 years ago when the CYMS FA disbanded. The club played in several local competitions viz the Werribee FL, Footscray (now WRFL) FL, now in the VAFA since 1983, 40 years.

The Club was on its last legs on several occasions, however ‘hard work’ from ‘dedicated’ members kept a proud club alive and understand full well the efforts by all clubs to not only survive but progress.

As Mike adhered to, ground availability is a big issue for hardworking clubs. [As an aside, two years ago the CYs fielded 3 x U19 teams. This (past) season, only two teams were fielded with over 40 x U19 aspirants advised that the Club couldn’t accommodate them. Altona, Spotswood and Yarraville-Seddon were the beneficiaries].

Fortunately, most of those players have settled in and are happy with their new clubs.

I have digressed!

A small district club such as the Willi CYs having 7 or 8 (maybe) 9 teams, (and I hope not) can be a disaster with grounds having to be sourced. It doesn’t help when the local council (supporting local sport) restricts the hours on which grounds can be used for both training and games.

This coming season the CYs will field 2 x Girls’ teams, 2 x U19 and 1 or 2 Thirds. It’s not easy and what I’m trying to say is that all clubs have extraneous issues which are in the main overcome by dedicated devotees.

All clubs have complications concerning fielding their teams, not only Premier A but down to D3/4 and Clubbies.

Thank you, MO, empathy thrives.
 
Champ or Chump said:
Just for clarity - Not upset Mike or even saying it should be changed - and our club has never said that - just suggesting as part of a respectful discussion some of the repercussions involved in the changing ecosystem within the VAFA over the past 20+ years re number of teams.

Unfortunately it has impacted our club in a manner that 91% of its voting members determine the best opportunity is to leave 89 years of history behind. I certainly don't 'blame' anyone, but I do have a view on 'some' of the reasons we find ourselves in this position (and there are several, this is just one element).

Well done again on your win 💪

Chump 🏆
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100% agree Chump or Chump, as you said, it has resulted in a rather resounding vote by your club to move leagues, and I can see why a big part of that is some clubs fielding a greater number of teams, reducing players from looking at Ivanhoe as an alternative to their current club as they have so many thirds and under 19 sides.

The VAFA ecosystem has changed markedly during my time in the competition, roughly around a decade or so. I look at what our club was like back then, it operated on half the turnover we do now, we had no female footy (either did the VAFA), and the VAFA itself was a far smaller competition that what it is now. Even during this time, player turnover has continued to increase at our club and others too, footy has become far more transient and far less tribal / embedded in the mind of younger blokes. I look at some of our players over the last ten years or so who have simply just said they've had enough at quite a young age. Blokes aren't playing as long anymore and it seems to be either very serious or very social for most of these guys. The dynamics of footy are changing dramatically, and will continue to do so. One of our former captains who has been living overseas for the best of the last 10-15 years came back to a few games and he said to me and a few others how he couldn't believe the standard of reserves footy now and how it was not as strong as when he played, then I told him how 90% of our blokes playing 2s would be under 23 years of age and he couldn't believe it. The younger lads just aren't hanging around like they used to in the majority of cases. Long gone are the days of blokes playing 150 + reserves games.
 
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