I played in the edfl years ago, started under 10's and went straight through until i was about 23. Then I went travelling for a few years, got back when i was 27 and never played again. Still miss it and even though i have no connection with the club anymore as I haven't played for 15 years I still look at the results in the paper to see how they are going.
What Does Local Footy Mean To You?
- Thread starter TheLoungeLizard
- Start date
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Campbelltown Blues in the AFL Sydney Comp
Means the world to me, been at the same club since I was 8 years old (29 now) with the exception of two years I lived in Melbourne and one year where I was completely burnt out and went and played about three grades lower with some mates for half a season
Body's completely shot basically now, coached the twos for a while when I had a busted ankle but got that fixed end of last year, club had a great season this year winning flags in both grades - sadly there's always a couple of sob stories with flag wins and this year was my turn ("season ending" shoulder injury round 12, got back for the twos' prelim, broke my hand in two places ten mins in but played the game out - but pulled out of the GF side when I couldn't grab the ball properly at training)
I'd be completely done now had I played in a flag last year (my first year of senior footy in 2002 was also two flags, fortunately I was lucky to play in the 2s flag then, would've been nice to bookend my "career" that way) and with every September for the last 3 either having a body part in plaster or on crutches, it's probably time to hang them up. The lure of a flag keeps me a little interested though, but I think its a bit selfish to have that as the primary motivation to keep playing, both to the blokes you play with and my family too. You'd hate to be the bloke who's crippled at 40 because he played on too long
Body's completely shot basically now, coached the twos for a while when I had a busted ankle but got that fixed end of last year, club had a great season this year winning flags in both grades - sadly there's always a couple of sob stories with flag wins and this year was my turn ("season ending" shoulder injury round 12, got back for the twos' prelim, broke my hand in two places ten mins in but played the game out - but pulled out of the GF side when I couldn't grab the ball properly at training)
I'd be completely done now had I played in a flag last year (my first year of senior footy in 2002 was also two flags, fortunately I was lucky to play in the 2s flag then, would've been nice to bookend my "career" that way) and with every September for the last 3 either having a body part in plaster or on crutches, it's probably time to hang them up. The lure of a flag keeps me a little interested though, but I think its a bit selfish to have that as the primary motivation to keep playing, both to the blokes you play with and my family too. You'd hate to be the bloke who's crippled at 40 because he played on too long
jjsmitty8
Norm Smith Medallist
To me, local footy is just as great as the professional aspect.
Like most kids I started playing in under 10's. Moved clubs in under 12's and played right up until the end of 18's. That was the end of me, but not the end of supporting the club. 5 years on, local footy is the one thing that brings myself and my mates together. We all have misses', we all work, day and night shift, part time and full time, but the local footy on a Saturday is a perfect place to catch up. It's always a bit blowy out our way, so we use our cars to shield us from the wind and set up for the triple header in camp-style fashion. Knick one of the bins that the council has put around the ground for our own personal use lol, multiple eskies and beers, tail gate down for extra seating and of course a little bbq for warmth and a couple of snags.
Plus, 3 games of footy throughout the day means 13 chances to get on the ground and have a kick. Before the first game, in between games, and after the last game with all of the quarter time breaks.
Local footy is unique and I'd be lost without it.
Like most kids I started playing in under 10's. Moved clubs in under 12's and played right up until the end of 18's. That was the end of me, but not the end of supporting the club. 5 years on, local footy is the one thing that brings myself and my mates together. We all have misses', we all work, day and night shift, part time and full time, but the local footy on a Saturday is a perfect place to catch up. It's always a bit blowy out our way, so we use our cars to shield us from the wind and set up for the triple header in camp-style fashion. Knick one of the bins that the council has put around the ground for our own personal use lol, multiple eskies and beers, tail gate down for extra seating and of course a little bbq for warmth and a couple of snags.
Plus, 3 games of footy throughout the day means 13 chances to get on the ground and have a kick. Before the first game, in between games, and after the last game with all of the quarter time breaks.
Local footy is unique and I'd be lost without it.
it might be different in football states but from my experience - and I don't mean to pick on just you - this kind of stuff is pretty poor form up here at least
local clubs get by on beer/barbecue/canteen sales, to bring your own is not right IMO
jjsmitty8
Norm Smith Medallist
Yeah, this is down in chilly old Melbourne. I get what you're saying, but from my experiences around local footy clubs it's pretty common.
For me and my mates in particular, none of us have played at the club for a good 5 plus years. We only go to watch blokes we know/used to play with. So to us, there's no real benefit in putting our money into the club by buying their overpriced beers when we can just take our own supplies and get better value.
We tend to park on the direct opposite side of the social club so we don't gee anyone up.
