Should the Lexton Plains FL close down?

[Mobbenfuhrer]

The LPFL is now lopsided. When the LFL and the WPFL were separate comps, they were of about equal strength. But now they're merged, in a 'barbell' effect, the old WPFL clubs have become much stronger than the old LFL clubs.

I don't see the league having a terribly good future at this rate. the biggest own (Avoca) is one of those struggling the most!

Here's my stab at rectifying the issue.

Kill off the LPFL. They're pains in the rear anyway. No webpresence, late starting score provision to papers, don't provide anything at all for the WT, they're not terribly proactive.

Navarre - Horsham DFL (no further away than Great Western!)
Ararat Eagles - Mininera DFL (along with Ararat United. Both clubs are crap, perhaps merge the two, if we have to)
Natte-Bealiba - Loddon Valley FL - (The LVFL needs a bit more umph, anyway).
Avoca - Maryborough DFL (the town's big enough).
Lexton - Central Highlands FL (perfectly placed for it).
Carngham-Linton - Central Highlands FL (for want of a better place).
Skipton - Mininera DFL.
Illabarook - Mininera DFL.
Rokewood-Corindhap - Mininera DFL.

Of course,t hat WOULD make the Mininera DFL a 15-team comp ... 14 is the two Ararat teams merged, which mightn't be such a good idea.

Anyway, just throwing some numbers around.

[Adrian Shelton]

From some stuff i read/heard a couple yrs ago they throw a lot more around than numbers in the Miniera Leauge(everyone on the ground booked in one happy dust up supposedly!) Actually , when i go that way on the bus , it goes past an empty, overgrown ground, i think from memory it's Yambuk. How long have they been out of business?

[Mobbenfuhrer]

Yambuk's fown past Warrnambool actually, nowhere near the areas I'm talking about ... but yeah, they had a club into 1980s.

[Adrian Shelton]

Whoops! I got the Ballarat bus and the Warnambool one mixed up, nice journey either way though.

[Mobbenfuhrer]

Yeah they are nice trips ... :)

[timelord]

I think we talked about this in TLFC, Kev.

I prefer the split. Lexton and Western Plains shouldn't have merged to begin with. Central Highlands are too big as they are, and Mininera has moved in the same direction since the Ararat DFA folded.

[Mobbenfuhrer]

Yeah I know they shouldn't have merged to begin with ... but the LFL and WPFL certainly couldn't operate as two separate leagues now ... well, they COULD, but it'd be going against the few positives of rationalisation ... so it'd be a bit interesting if THAT was tried!

Yeah CHFL is already pretty big, but didn't I only top it up with one more club - Lexton? Wouldn't that fix the bye? Oh, hang on, I gave them the Saints too, ok well that might make it a bit big ... ok well poff Gordon to the Riddell :)

And poff Woorndoo-Mortlake to the Warrnambool DFL, and Hawkesdale-Mac to the SWDFL, and Penshurst too.

( I sound like I'm priming myself for a VCFL job :D ... I'm mastering insensitivity!)

[timelord]

As I recall Kev, I actually gave a couple of Ararat clubs to Lexton (and called it Ararat Lexton) and I took some of the western CHFL clubs and gave them to Western Plains.

[Adrian Shelton]

I always thought Penshurst was plenty close enough to SWFL territory, they could do with a replacement team to take Bessibelles(RIP) spot, actually didn't Merino/Digby move to the Miniera leauge(lucky i'll start getting all the gossip from around that way in person again starting from next weekend, in Mt Gambier SWFL is almost local, with Tyrendarra being closer than Hamilton and all)

[timelord]

Merino Digby were last in the SWDFL before folding, Adrian. Mininera was WAY too far away for them!

[Slax]

Originally posted by Mobbenfuhrer

Lexton - Central Highlands FL (perfectly placed for it).


What are they like? I know the Central Highlands comp and I was wondering about the standard of the Lexton if the come in.

[Wayde Petersen]

I think that any of the LPFL should move at thier own free will for the time being, but if this current trent continues for another 2 years, then the likes of Avoca and the like would have to find a new home.

My region (Goulburn/Murray) is in the most need for a shake-up, which was caused by Barry Conolly (Chris's old man) who gutted the old Waranga North East League, when they poached Euroa in 1971, Seymour in 1976, and eventually Mansfield in 1998, to prop up an ailling league that was in deep trouble in the 60's when Murchison (moved to Kyabram DFL in 1964), Nagambie (followed suit in 1965), Rushworth (moved to the Heathcote DFL in 1965 then to the KDFL, 32 years later), and Stanhope (moved to the Heathcote DFL in 1975, and moved to the KDFL in 1995, after the club was a potentail merger prospect for Girgarre), and was dominated by the three Shepparton teams.

This enevitally caused the folding of the WNEFL in 1976, causing Yea, Avenel, Mansfield, Thornton, Eildon (before they merged), and Alexandra searching for new homes, Yea & Alexandra to the Yarra Valley Mountian District F.L in 1976, moving a decade later Yea to the KDFL, later moving to the new Central Goulburn F.L in 1998, Alexandra moved to the Tungamah League in 1987, Mansfield moved to the Tungamah league in 1976, staying there in it's various different names until they moved to the Goulburn Valley F.L in 1998, Thornton & Eildon went to the Benalla & District F.L, merged a few years later, then moved to the Tungamah League in 1995, and Avenel have been pretty stable in the Kyabram DFL since 1976, winning a few flags but being far away from most of the clubs, is a hinderance.


Also the once powerful Tungamah League (once a major league), has been gutted and has gone under three names in a decade (GVFL Division Two & the Central Goulburn F.L), because the addittion of southern teams such as Mansfield, Alexandra & Thornton/Eildon, proved too much to bear for Mulwala (left in 1987 to the Murray League), Katamatite, and Tungamah (moved to the Picola League in 1995), Katandra (moved to the PDFL a year later), After the name change, Congupna cracked the ****s and wanted a move to the Murray League which they got in 1997, Mansfield took its chance to move up in 1998 to the Goulburn Valley League), but in later years, Yea and Rumbalara finally got thier chance to play in a proper league.

So, you can see that it's an absolute mess, and petty politics (so typical in football) got in the way in what was the best chance to clean up this mess in 1997, but people haven't given up hope in trying to make football up here more geographically sensible, so in light of this I propose changes in all our leagues as follows:

GOULBURN VALLEY FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Shepparton, Shepparton United, Tatura, Rochester, Benalla, Shepparton Swans, Tongala, Echuca, Kyabram & Mooroopna.

WARANGA NORTH EAST FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Seymour, Mansfield, Avenel, Yea, Alexandra, Euroa, Thornton/Eildon, Violet Town,

KYABRAM DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Murchison, Rushworth, Ardmona, Girgarre, Stanhope, Lancaster, Merrigum, Nagambie, Undera

TUNGAMAH FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Tungamah, Katamatite, Katandra, Tallygaroopna, Shepparton East, Rumbalara, Dookie United, Congupna.

PICOLA & DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Berrigan, Blighty, Waaia, Strathmerton, Mathoura, Katunga, Picola United, Deniliquin Rovers, Yarroweah, Wunghnu

MURRAY FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Cobram, Tocumwal, Numurkah, Finley, Nathalia, Deniliquin, Mulwala, Barooga, Echuca United, Moama

BENALLA & DISTRICT FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Goorambat, Swanpool, Bonnie Doon, Tatong, Devenish, Longwood,

BENALLA ALL BLACKS TO MOVE TO THE OVENS & KING LEAGUE

Tell me if i've left anyone out, but I think that i've got a series of leagues that are of a reasonable size, solving some of the excessive travel, re-forming two local leagues (Tungahmah & Waranga NEFL), who should get major league status, lessinging the number of clubs in the Picola, Murray, Goulburn Valley & Kyabram Leagues, and giving a good look overall.

Whaddoyareckon ?:D

[timelord]

Two things stand out straight away, Wayde.

1. WNE wouldn't last five seconds because it would be so badly balanced it's unreal. Euroa and Seymour would dominate the comp with only Mansfield a chance to break the domination. The rest of them are not major league clubs.

2. Tungamah has NO major league clubs - and that includes Congupna, who are kidding themselves if they think they are a major league club! So they can't be a major league either.

You also have to go wider to solve the problem. I think you left out two very important leagues that have a part to play in the whole mess. Central Murray and Coreen. And you haven't addressed the player payment issues that infect KDFL either (I think you've got a mixture of rich and poor clubs there - which lends itself to a potentially similar problem to that of your WNE).

I'll have to work on something here myself, but you are right about one thing. This area is a bigger and more urgent problem than LP's. (Sorry, Kev!)