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Wimmera League 2024

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what happened?
A couple of free kicks and a play on that was called back (resulted in a goal that was scratched off) that would have changed the result.

I don't like to blame the umpires, but if a player dives at the feet of his opponent and it's a tripping free kick, then it happens again 20 minutes later and it's holding the ball, it strikes me as rather unfair.
 

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Must say, the game was hotly contested throughout both teams had their runs, in the end the umpires influence was far to heavy with some controversial calls in crucial moments. Take nothing away from Nhill incredible win, Deek Roberts individual brilliance and great comeback season, also with the demons great season to go from 2 wins to barely missing out on a semi final.
 
Interesting finals weekend
Ararat machine got going 3/4 time put a fair space in them and the Thunder.
Thunder looked underdone.
Stawell doing enough early in ordinary conditions to get the win.
Nhill quite dogged as usual.
Sets up an interesting game in the Prelim.
A red hot Ararat awaits the winner.
 
Seth Talbot has reportedly been offered $300 a game to play for Lexton in the MCDFNL. Would this be a good move going to sign him?
Lexton have a history of wasting money Darren Jolly comes to mind. Kid would be eaten alive in the MCDFNL its not as pretty and easy to find the footy as the WFL.

Anyway back on topic now computer class is over for the kids.

Stawell vs Thunder, Thunder with the wood over Stawell for the last few match ups but as Eckel said on the radio after the game doesn't mean to much going into a prelim. Conditions haven't suited Stawell the last couple of weeks with rain and wind but they have adapted more so than they can't play in it.

Fowkes vs Delahunty will be a massive battle. Neither are a stranger to a big game or pressure so it should be a corker of a battle.
 
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Lexton have a history of wasting money Darren Jolly comes to mind. Kid would be eaten alive in the MCDFNL its not as pretty and easy to find the footy as the WFL.

Anyway back on topic now computer class is over for the kids.

Stawell vs Thunder, Thunder with the wood over Stawell for the last few match ups but as Eckel said on the radio after the game doesn't mean to much going into a prelim. Conditions haven't suited Stawell the last couple of weeks with rain and wind but they have adapted more so than they can't play in it.

Folkes vs Delahunty will be a massive battle. Neither are a stranger to a big game or pressure so it should be a corker of a battle.
Fair assumption S+P of the upcoming game.
A lot of the thunder haven’t played a lot, looked underdone which was confirmed by a ex premiership captain Saturday.
Fitness maybe an issue if Stawell can stay in it.
If Stawell forwards get a quick entry it’s also a key.
Thunders forwards haven’t booted a lot of goals there running Mids score a fair percentage.
I wonder if the umps will continue to protect Keiran again.
And yes Ararat looked awesome again last week.
 
Fair assumption S+P of the upcoming game.
A lot of the thunder haven’t played a lot, looked underdone which was confirmed by a ex premiership captain Saturday.
Fitness maybe an issue if Stawell can stay in it.
If Stawell forwards get a quick entry it’s also a key.
Thunders forwards haven’t booted a lot of goals there running Mids score a fair percentage.
I wonder if the umps will continue to protect Keiran again.
And yes Ararat looked awesome again last week.
Another please explain could be required from the 3WM guys again if umpiring is at a standard?

Ararat have found a gear that is potentially scary for Stawell or SMT to face next week.
 
Another please explain could be required from the 3WM guys again if umpiring is at a standard?

Ararat have found a gear that is potentially scary for Stawell or SMT to face next week.
Umpiring at most of the Rats games this year has been in consistent/hard to read.
 

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Horsham Saints & Demons have 17 of 22 grand finalists this week. Not great for the WFNL.
As an outsider to the Wimmera just following in the past year, the league appears to have been outdated for years.

Obviously way back in the day each Wimmera town had one side in the major league but it doesn't make sense, it's so hard for towns of 1-2k people like Nhill and Dimboola to compete.
No idea how Minyip lasted until the 90s, a town of 500 having a senior footy three peat in the 90s is mad. Maybe they went all out in their final seasons.

I know there used to be Horsham Diggers as well but particularly juniors must be completely dominated by the two Horsham sides. What would a better system look like?
 
As an outsider to the Wimmera just following in the past year, the league appears to have been outdated for years.

Obviously way back in the day each Wimmera town had one side in the major league but it doesn't make sense, it's so hard for towns of 1-2k people like Nhill and Dimboola to compete.
No idea how Minyip lasted until the 90s, a town of 500 having a senior footy three peat in the 90s is mad. Maybe they went all out in their final seasons.

I know there used to be Horsham Diggers as well but particularly juniors must be completely dominated by the two Horsham sides. What would a better system look like?
For several decades there was only Horsham in the Wimmera League which meant those who didn't want to play with the Demons but did want to play major league went out of town. Murtoa, Rupanyup, Minyip, Warracknabeal and Dimboola all benefited at some point from having Horsham based players travel out of town to play in the WFL.
 
That's a very insightful comment and not something I'd ever considered.

Do you think merging the two leagues would fix the current issues? Or just result in even more teams missing out?
 
That's a very insightful comment and not something I'd ever considered.

Do you think merging the two leagues would fix the current issues? Or just result in even more teams missing out?
I think it's inevitable that population drift and declining community engagement will result in more mergers of clubs. From WW2 to 1980 the Wimmera League was unchanged.
Ararat, Dimboola, Horsham, Jeparit, Minyip, Murtoa, Nhill, Rupanyup, Stawell and Warracknabeal.
Since 1980 we've seen Rupanyup leave, Imps Wonwondah join and then depart as a rebadged Horsham United, Jeparit leave, St Michaels join and rebadge as Horsham Saints, Stawell merge with Warriors, Minyip and Murtoa merge, Warracknabeal merge with Brim, and Southern Mallee Giants join and then merge with Jeparit-Rainbow Storm. Been a bit happen off field in 45 years.
Ararat, Dimboola, Horsham and Nhill remain as they were but the Ararat District Association died, Southern Mallee and Northern Mallee leagues disappeared and the city of Horsham was not immune to change with Homers folding.
It's inevitable there will be change to the clubs in the two leagues and that will result in change to the leagues.
Will Harrow Balmoral head off to the South West DFL?
Will Swifts merge with Navarre?
Can Nhill and Dimboola survive?
Would Ararat consider the Ballarat league now that the grounds down there are elite and Melton South is leaving?
If Ararat left, would Stawell follow?
How long will Kaniva Leeor Utd stay?
Can Edenhope Apsley survive?
How long can the city of Horsham continue to supply sufficient players to keep two WFL clubs plus Kalkee, Pimpinio, Laharum, Taylors Lake, Natimuk United and Noradjuha Quantong going?
Can Rupanyup and Minyip Murtoa survive or do they need to merge?
For those who want to bury their head in the sand and ignore the possibility of some of these events occurring, remember that Homers won a HDFL flag in 1992 and Minyip won the WFL premiership.
By the end of 1995 Minyip was merging with Murtoa and Homers folded in 1999. Not many people were predicting that in 1992.
Things will change but will the clubs' administrations get ahead of the issue like Jeparit, Rainbow, Hopetoun and Beulah or die like so many unfortunately have.
 
Which was an overly long response to your question that didn't really answer it.
I don't think a simple merger of the two leagues solves all the issues but I think it's what will eventually happen.
Sadly I think some clubs will miss out if they don't see the only path to retaining something of their heritage is to merge with a neighbour or two.
 
I think it's inevitable that population drift and declining community engagement will result in more mergers of clubs. From WW2 to 1980 the Wimmera League was unchanged.
Ararat, Dimboola, Horsham, Jeparit, Minyip, Murtoa, Nhill, Rupanyup, Stawell and Warracknabeal.
Since 1980 we've seen Rupanyup leave, Imps Wonwondah join and then depart as a rebadged Horsham United, Jeparit leave, St Michaels join and rebadge as Horsham Saints, Stawell merge with Warriors, Minyip and Murtoa merge, Warracknabeal merge with Brim, and Southern Mallee Giants join and then merge with Jeparit-Rainbow Storm. Been a bit happen off field in 45 years.
Ararat, Dimboola, Horsham and Nhill remain as they were but the Ararat District Association died, Southern Mallee and Northern Mallee leagues disappeared and the city of Horsham was not immune to change with Homers folding.
It's inevitable there will be change to the clubs in the two leagues and that will result in change to the leagues.
Will Harrow Balmoral head off to the South West DFL?
Will Swifts merge with Navarre?
Can Nhill and Dimboola survive?
Would Ararat consider the Ballarat league now that the grounds down there are elite and Melton South is leaving?
If Ararat left, would Stawell follow?
How long will Kaniva Leeor Utd stay?
Can Edenhope Apsley survive?
How long can the city of Horsham continue to supply sufficient players to keep two WFL clubs plus Kalkee, Pimpinio, Laharum, Taylors Lake, Natimuk United and Noradjuha Quantong going?
Can Rupanyup and Minyip Murtoa survive or do they need to merge?
For those who want to bury their head in the sand and ignore the possibility of some of these events occurring, remember that Homers won a HDFL flag in 1992 and Minyip won the WFL premiership.
By the end of 1995 Minyip was merging with Murtoa and Homers folded in 1999. Not many people were predicting that in 1992.
Things will change but will the clubs' administrations get ahead of the issue like Jeparit, Rainbow, Hopetoun and Beulah or die like so many unfortunately have.
Merging the leagues would I think be likely more detrimental with the perceived "higher standard" and "lower standard" of football/netball in the two leagues. This has narrowed in the past few years but WFL would still be the cleaner football of the two. There needs to be a point of difference in the area to remain healthy but how that looks when there is $$$ been thrown around, smaller populations and more rules being enforced on volunteers to meet certain standards of how a club looks (being a president/secretary/treasurer is a full time job these days) I certainly don't have the answer but sometimes any idea is a good idea. As you say the Horsham population can only for a certain amount of time continue to support Saints, Demons, Natimuk, NQ, Laharum, Kalkee Pimp etc.

Reports are that if Swifts and Navarre were to merge that Swifts were happy to move the merged team into the MCDFNL to help with recruitment as at the minute they are struggling to recruit from to far away due to the travel to the border and back for players from Melbourne, Geelong Ballarat etc and that they can't pay overs to entice them to travel. It also is the attraction of something different whilst a lesser league it would be closer to "recruitment areas".
 
divisions could work. hdfl (11) + wfl (9) = 20 clubs to potentially split into 2 divs of 10 where everyone plays each othe home and away. the netball could follow the mornington league's model
 
I think it's inevitable that population drift and declining community engagement will result in more mergers of clubs. From WW2 to 1980 the Wimmera League was unchanged.
Ararat, Dimboola, Horsham, Jeparit, Minyip, Murtoa, Nhill, Rupanyup, Stawell and Warracknabeal.
Since 1980 we've seen Rupanyup leave, Imps Wonwondah join and then depart as a rebadged Horsham United, Jeparit leave, St Michaels join and rebadge as Horsham Saints, Stawell merge with Warriors, Minyip and Murtoa merge, Warracknabeal merge with Brim, and Southern Mallee Giants join and then merge with Jeparit-Rainbow Storm. Been a bit happen off field in 45 years.
Ararat, Dimboola, Horsham and Nhill remain as they were but the Ararat District Association died, Southern Mallee and Northern Mallee leagues disappeared and the city of Horsham was not immune to change with Homers folding.
It's inevitable there will be change to the clubs in the two leagues and that will result in change to the leagues.
Will Harrow Balmoral head off to the South West DFL?
Will Swifts merge with Navarre?
Can Nhill and Dimboola survive?
Would Ararat consider the Ballarat league now that the grounds down there are elite and Melton South is leaving?
If Ararat left, would Stawell follow?
How long will Kaniva Leeor Utd stay?
Can Edenhope Apsley survive?
How long can the city of Horsham continue to supply sufficient players to keep two WFL clubs plus Kalkee, Pimpinio, Laharum, Taylors Lake, Natimuk United and Noradjuha Quantong going?
Can Rupanyup and Minyip Murtoa survive or do they need to merge?
For those who want to bury their head in the sand and ignore the possibility of some of these events occurring, remember that Homers won a HDFL flag in 1992 and Minyip won the WFL premiership.
By the end of 1995 Minyip was merging with Murtoa and Homers folded in 1999. Not many people were predicting that in 1992.
Things will change but will the clubs' administrations get ahead of the issue like Jeparit, Rainbow, Hopetoun and Beulah or die like so many unfortunately have.
Great summary with lots of questions.

Have you ever watched this (on the subject of the "olden days") ... 13,000 at the Wimmera League GF all those years ago!!!!

 

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