WA Football administrator quit in protests at WAFL club alignments

[ManWithNoName]

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/afl/a/24501225/footy-boss-quits-in-disgust/

One of WA's longest-serving football administrators has quit in disgust and will boycott this year's WAFL grand final in protest at the impact of the AFL alignment system.

He told WAFC chairman Frank Cooper that the WAFL risked suffering similar damage to a decade ago when West Coast were aligned with East Perth and Fremantle were linked to South Fremantle. The Eagles are in the first season of a five-year arrangement with East Perth. The Dockers are aligned to Peel.

He said East Perth's ninth consecutive win last week, which entrenched them in top spot on the ladder and strengthened their favouritism to secure the flag, was the final straw.

"It gets more depressing as the Eagles reserves juggernaut rolls on to its ninth successive victory - something East Perth has not been able to do for decades when left to their own resources," he said

So Perthians, is he right? Or overreacting?

 

[The Speaker]

He's correct, even though Peel isn't doing too well.

 

[Illinois Nazi]

No doubt he was one of those who refused to even consider attempts to have the Eagles and Dockers reserves teams play in the WAFL in their own right, so I can't say I really give a s**t.

 

[Dont be a lemon]

How old is he?

 

[Freo Big Fella]

The fact that East Perth are on top and Peel are sitting bottom shows the outcomes are far more varied than the alignment opponents are prepared to consider.

Still amazed that WAFL presidents can spend 15 years trying to run Peel out of the comp, then turn around and whinge about "disloyalty."

 

[The_Reaper]

He's correct.

It also goes to show just how s**t Peel are

 

[Underdog]

No doubt he was one of those who refused to even consider attempts to have the Eagles and Dockers reserves teams play in the WAFL in their own right, so I can't say I really give a s**t.

"I don't know if he was in opposition to separate teams but I'm going to say he was because it suits my agenda"

Fixed for you.

 

[Illinois Nazi]

"I don't know if he was in opposition to separate teams but I'm going to say he was because it suits my agenda"

Fixed for you.

Thanks, you're a real trooper.

 

[Underdog]

The fact that East Perth are on top and Peel are sitting bottom shows the outcomes are far more varied than the alignment opponents are prepared to consider.

Peel have no culture. I tipped them for the spoon. They might get off the bottom but they'll be thereabouts.

East Perth has a pretty strong culture and club. Adding a bunch of professional footballers and administrators to their outfit was always going to make them a lot stronger. It's an absolute farce.

 

[greatwhiteshark]

He is correct and the fact that these idiots at the footy commision have not learnt from past mistakes just goes to show how stupid they are.
Let the Eagles have their own side and the dockers take over Peel and then we have a 10 team comp.
Give them both a salary cap of just 50k while the other 8 clubs have a cap of 375k. Give them no chance of being able to recruit players from other WAFL clubs as they have a majority AFL list.
Any WA player on their afl list once delisted immediately is returned to their WAFL club.
Make the AFL sides find their own volunteers and everything else required to work their seconds side.

The system worked fine for 25 years and their was never a need to change it.

 

[LosBeatles]

How old is he?

27

 

[Rob]

Peel have no culture. I tipped them for the spoon. They might get off the bottom but they'll be thereabouts.

East Perth has a pretty strong culture and club. Adding a bunch of professional footballers and administrators to their outfit was always going to make them a lot stronger. It's an absolute farce.

The difference is that East Perth were able to hold onto their best players. Peel wasn't.

In hindsight, you wonder whether Perth may have been a better fit for an alignment. They've been s**t for ages, and West Coast's Lathlain Park development gives them a bit of a natural affinity.

 

[Cheesewheel]

Peel have no culture. I tipped them for the spoon. They might get off the bottom but they'll be thereabouts.

East Perth has a pretty strong culture and club. Adding a bunch of professional footballers and administrators to their outfit was always going to make them a lot stronger. It's an absolute farce.

It also doesn't help that we've spent the last few years recruiting talls and therefore massively compromised a lot of the team's balance. Apeness, Taberner, Smith, Gumbleton, Griffin, Bradley, Hannath, Moller and A. Pearce are all 195+cm key position/ruck players who have had to fit into the team.

 

[Clive Diablo]

East Perth were the best sde in the WAFL last season and surprising lost the GF. They have the best coach. The young Eagles players give depth and are able to play roles.
Peel were the worst side in tbe WAFL last season by a long way. They have an awful coach. The Freo players have almost no support. That is why EP are top and Peel last.

Yes The Eagles should have combined with the only club to match Peel with imeptness in Perth.

The Perth members didn't want it. The East Perth members did.

 

[fabulousphil]

The difference is that East Perth were able to hold onto their best players. Peel wasn't.

In hindsight, you wonder whether Perth may have been a better fit for an alignment. They've been s**t for ages, and West Coast's Lathlain Park development gives them a bit of a natural affinity.

It would have made sense for the allignment if there was going to be one of Perth ( Demons) with the WCE

 

[Underdog]

East Perth were the best sde in the WAFL last season and surprising lost the GF.

What?

They finished 4th on the ladder just 1 game in front of 5th. Their percentage was 5th best. They were 5 wins (20 points) behind league leaders Claremont.

They obviously stood up in finals but calling them the "best side in the WAFL" and "surprising" premiership losers is absolute bullshit.

The Perth members didn't want it. The East Perth members did.

Pretty sure they didn't, the administrators did.

 

[Darcy 2 Fyfe]

What?

They finished 4th on the ladder just 1 game in front of 5th. Their percentage was 5th best. They were 5 wins (20 points) behind league leaders Claremont.

They obviously stood up in finals but calling them the "best side in the WAFL" and "surprising" premiership losers is absolute bullshit.


Pretty sure they didn't, the administrators did.

Freo should have aligned with West Perth in my biased view. Double derbies would have been great for WA footy.

 

[The_Reaper]

Freo should have aligned with West Perth in my biased view. Double derbies would have been great for WA footy.

I wonder if the WAFC would have vetoed that given that the northern suburbs would be the obvious/only possible place for a WA3

 

[Shane Hird]

East Perth were the best sde in the WAFL last season and surprising lost the GF. They have the best coach. The young Eagles players give depth and are able to play roles.
Peel were the worst side in tbe WAFL last season by a long way. They have an awful coach. The Freo players have almost no support. That is why EP are top and Peel last.

Yes The Eagles should have combined with the only club to match Peel with imeptness in Perth.

The Perth members didn't want it. The East Perth members did.

That's not true. As crap as Thunder's ladder position is, the club work with Freo pretty well considering it's early days into the 'merger'.

Freo are looking long term with Peel. There's a huge talent pool of juniors coming through and they are set scoop them all up in the next 3 or 4 years.

The way it worked before with WC and Freo players scattered all over the place just didn't work.

I can understand how hardcore WAFL fans are not happy with this system, but what other choice is there really.

 

[Kwality]

I wonder if the WAFC would have vetoed that given that the northern suburbs would be the obvious/only possible place for a WA3

A call to arms for conspirators everywhere .....

 

[The_Reaper]

A call to arms for conspirators everywhere .....

I'm not implying any conspiracy at all.

Just think that from a WA3 perspective a West Perth link with Fremantle would be highly undesirable.

Not to mention that from a geographic point of view, the Freo reserves playing out of Joondalup would be the height of idiocy.

 

[Scotland]

They way it worked before with WC and Freo players scattered all over the place just didn't work.

It worked fine. West Coast have won 3 flags, Freo have had a couple of top 4 finishes and the WAFL has run as a competition in its own right.

The only 'issue' is that the AFL clubs did not have complete control over their reserves players - ie if we drop Scott Lycett back to Peel then the Peel coach might use him as a ruckman or a forward or whatever his side needs whereas we might want him to plays specifically as a ruckman to work on that aspect of his game. With the East Perth alignment we have greater control over WC players playing in the WAFL with the trade-off being that 7/9 WAFL clubs don't have AFL-listed players and 2 do.

 

[Silvagnis]

He's pissed that Bootsma snubbed South Fremantle and signed with Freo's seconds...

 

[Shane Hird]

It worked fine. West Coast have won 3 flags, Freo have had a couple of top 4 finishes and the WAFL has run as a competition in its own right.

The only 'issue' is that the AFL clubs did not have complete control over their reserves players - ie if we drop Scott Lycett back to Peel then the Peel coach might use him as a ruckman or a forward or whatever his side needs whereas we might want him to plays specifically as a ruckman to work on that aspect of his game. With the East Perth alignment we have greater control over WC players playing in the WAFL with the trade-off being that 7/9 WAFL clubs don't have AFL-listed players and 2 do.

As a Victorian that's been living in Perth for the last 12 years, part of me just says " Who really cares about the WAFL "...but I do understand how many fans do care about the integrity of the WAFL comp.

I don't know....if there were 10,000 people going to games it would be a bigger issue. I couldn't care less if EP won a flag this year. But obviously some would be not happy at all.

 

[The_Reaper]

He is correct and the fact that these idiots at the footy commision have not learnt from past mistakes just goes to show how stupid they are.
Let the Eagles have their own side and the dockers take over Peel and then we have a 10 team comp.
Give them both a salary cap of just 50k while the other 8 clubs have a cap of 375k. Give them no chance of being able to recruit players from other WAFL clubs as they have a majority AFL list.
Any WA player on their afl list once delisted immediately is returned to their WAFL club.
Make the AFL sides find their own volunteers and everything else required to work their seconds side.

The system worked fine for 25 years and their was never a need to change it.

isn't this the suggestion for next year onwards?