is interleague football doomed?

[big tony]

well it looks to me like it is, with the GV not posting there best team this year, missing big names like stevens, symes, porter etc.
no one wants to no about it or be involved.

[HawkeEye]

Interleague footy has been doomed for years.

Top players who are generally getting towards the 30 mark or over, can't play 3 games in 2 days and love to have the week off to spend time with family and other committments, that they may have outside football.

To me, it has been doomed ever since the AFL stopped playing state matches.

Its great for the up and coming players of the comp to play a they get a buzz for it, maybe change it to a under 25 comp or soemthing like that.

Not only the GV lost their best players, but other leagues would have to.

[Flat Track Bully]

well it looks to me like it is, with the GV not posting there best team this year, missing big names like stevens, symes, porter etc.
no one wants to no about it or be involved.

Symes and Porter were legitamately injured...neither played eithe side of the championships. And why would somebody like Anthony Stevens want to deprive a youngster a chance to play at the highest level possible.

[thekid178]

i like the idea mentioned in the herald sun last week that apparently the VCFL r floating, that the carnival be held every second year, and that in between local leagues would face of in 'grudge' matches, similar to what geelong and bellarine did this year with their u/25 match. thoughts?

[Jock Clark 2]

NOT a bad idea. Kid. Bendigo would play Ballarat as they did in 2004 under lites at the very imprssive North Bllarat oval .... now known as Austar Arena.
Still, I like the current format .... 6 x 25 minute halves in 2 days. The young guns thrive on it and the mid-25s don't go too badly either.
BTW, was it Stevens' bro. Michael who played for the Murray League last Saturday/Sunday ??? :confused: :confused:

[Grimmett]

It was Michael Stevens playing for Murray FL Jocko.

[harsh, but fair]

Momentum is growing!
The Border Mail today.

OVENS and Murray league chairman Greg Claney has thrown his personal support behind playing the Victorian Country Championships every second season.

Staging the titles under their present carnival format in the same season as the Australian Country Championships opens up the salivating prospect of playing arch-rival Goulburn Valley in a full-scale match as early as next year.

The future of the country championships will be voted on by competing leagues in August, but VCFL chief executive officer Glenn Scott said some leagues, including the GV, were in favour of not staging them every year.

The O and M and GV have developed a fierce rivalry in recent seasons with the O and M taking the honours at Lavington a fortnight ago.

But the Ash-Wilson Trophy still hasn’t made its way back to the O and M after being left behind by GV general manager Eric Bott.

“Glenn’s proposal has not had a chance to be voted on at board level as yet,” Claney said.

“But a rivalry round has a lot of merit and maybe the way to re-energise inter-league football.

“I note with interest that a crowd of 3000 watched Hampden defeat Mornington-Peninsula in a normal length inter-league match at the weekend.

“Costs would be reduced with only having a bi-annual carnival, perhaps in-sync with the Australian Football Championships.

“Contrary to the belief of some, there would not have been one O and M player who would regret his involvement in the carnival this year.

“A bi-annual carnival would also assist the volunteers who contribute hundreds of hours of their own time to make sure the league is suitably prepared.”

Hampden and Mornington-Peninsula were the only two teams left in Pool B of the championships this season due to the withdrawal of the Geelong and Bellarine leagues from the statewide series.

“The format could vary and we have the carnivals every second year and the other year would be more of a local derby inter-league,” Scott said.

“It’s pretty popular, that idea, and a lot of people also think that’s the way to go.

“From just getting around and talking to the leagues and the people involved, I think there’s a fair chance it could come in as early as next year.

“But it’s in the hands of the leagues.”

Scott said Geelong would be welcomed back into the fold after withdrawing from Pool A.

“It was a shame not to have Geelong this year as they’ve been a stalwart of country championships.”

[Grimmett]

But not every league agrees.

Championships yearly, says BFL

The Ballarat Courier
Tuesday, May 30, 2006

The Ballarat Football League has thrown its support behind holding country football championships every year.

BFL chief executive officer Rod Ward has said the current format should remain in response to a Victorian Country Football League push to change it.

VCFL chief executive Glenn Scott has put forward a proposal to hold the division carnivals every second year and have a local derby interleague during alternate years.

The leagues will meet with the VCFL in July to discuss the future of interleague football.