Bendigo FL discussion 2026

[western royboy]

Well when its published in the newspaper they can't really get around it can they, from Noosa, you look at least 800 return per player

When Salary Caps are investigated…no one goes through them forensically. It’s one of many reasons why they are a joke.

 

[carlton_86]

I empathise with the young Sandhurst fella - you don't like seeing anyone get hurt, intentionally or unintentionally.
And this incident was far from intentional. Said Sandhurst player charged at him - for what reason, we'll likely never know. Holmes simply defended himself. It ended up clumsy, but his intention was to defend himself not injure or maim. Five was excessive in my view and to lump on another five is just plain rotten.
It's a fair question everyone asks - if the shoe was on the other foot. The fact 'double jeopardy' is discretionary, not mandatory, opens it right up for scrutiny and debate.

The BFNL are stuck in a bind now. Abandon 'double jeopardy' and it's an admission they buggered up and the system was wrong all along. Keep it, and you are almost now compelled to slug everyone double. The outcry will be twice a big next year when some bloke gets three weeks, but not six. Nothing footy fans hate more than inconsistency and policy on the run. Just look at the AFL getting its whacks over constant rule changes, umpiring and the farce that is trying to sneak the likes of Essendon and Carlton into finals to make up for the shortfall caused by poor GWS and Gold Coast crowds.

The 100% loading should be there as a threat to stop the potential of happening but it is discretionaty in the rules and doesn't have to be applied to everycase. there was a situation in the KDL in 2024 where a fight broke out just before the final siren and one kid who had never even been reported got 9 weeks for a couple of seperate charges of rough conduct for essentially grabbing and putting a player on the ground to remove them from the fight. the club fought it and got the league to agree that the loading shouldn't be applied to juniors who don't even have umpires generally let alone video to report players from yet as they had told the commission the loading would apply there was no option to remove it

 

[Wooden Robot]

I believe that has somewhat been the issue with RAC’s perceived or otherwise.
I can assure measures have been taken against people who have led .

Should be interesting going forward – seems like what you are explaining is a play straight out of the Dan Andrews-botched hotel quarantine saga.

Bendigo footy is suffering, but it’s not the board’s responsibility and they don’t have the say or lead; not the RACs, they’re only admins; not the league ops. Everything was a ‘creeping assumption’ that someone else thought the other party was agreeing to or doing.

Right hand didn’t know what the left was doing?

We all know AFL Victoria is more complicit than all with their negligence.

Clear as day, mistakes have been made and missteps taken. But will anyone throw the hand up and say they got it wrong, or we should have done better?

 

[Wooden Robot]

The 100% loading should be there as a threat to stop the potential of happening but it is discretionaty in the rules and doesn't have to be applied to everycase. there was a situation in the KDL in 2024 where a fight broke out just before the final siren and one kid who had never even been reported got 9 weeks for a couple of seperate charges of rough conduct for essentially grabbing and putting a player on the ground to remove them from the fight. the club fought it and got the league to agree that the loading shouldn't be applied to juniors who don't even have umpires generally let alone video to report players from yet as they had told the commission the loading would apply there was no option to remove it

Don't disagree.
I'm sure the loading was introduced to outlaw blatant acts of violence and incidents where it's obvious someone has deliberately set out to take someone out of the game, which happened a lot in the 70s, 80s and into the early 90s (as evidenced by my You Tube feed), but are clearly frowned upon these days. Again, empathy to the young Sandhurst lad, but the Holmes incident was nothing of the sort and loading should not have been applied.

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

Should be interesting going forward – seems like what you are explaining is a play straight out of the Dan Andrews-botched hotel quarantine saga.

Bendigo footy is suffering, but it’s not the board’s responsibility and they don’t have the say or lead; not the RACs, they’re only admins; not the league ops. Everything was a ‘creeping assumption’ that someone else thought the other party was agreeing to or doing.

Right hand didn’t know what the left was doing?

We all know AFL Victoria is more complicit than all with their negligence.

Clear as day, mistakes have been made and missteps taken. But will anyone throw the hand up and say they got it wrong, or we should have done better?

Admitting RAC’s aren’t suitable or beneficial for community footy is a start .

 

[Jack Doolan]

I understand flights will be done in all sorts of ways my question was what the rules if there are any actually say about a fly in player or didn’t that occur to the great minds at the AFL

 

[Mad Jack]

Don't disagree.
I'm sure the loading was introduced to outlaw blatant acts of violence and incidents where it's obvious someone has deliberately set out to take someone out of the game, which happened a lot in the 70s, 80s and into the early 90s (as evidenced by my You Tube feed), but are clearly frowned upon these days. Again, empathy to the young Sandhurst lad, but the Holmes incident was nothing of the sort and loading should not have been applied.

It’s a simple fix - make it mandatory for the GF no matter the charge, or scrap it. Remove the discretion, then the rule is blatantly clear either way.

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

I understand flights will be done in all sorts of ways my question was what the rules if there are any actually say about a fly in player or didn’t that occur to the great minds at the AFL

All payments , gifts , subsidiaries or costs met by the club are meant to be included within the salary cap . Eg . Fuel cards , flights , accomodation , blocks of land . Etc etc

 

[western royboy]

Should be interesting going forward – seems like what you are explaining is a play straight out of the Dan Andrews-botched hotel quarantine saga.

Bendigo footy is suffering, but it’s not the board’s responsibility and they don’t have the say or lead; not the RACs, they’re only admins; not the league ops. Everything was a ‘creeping assumption’ that someone else thought the other party was agreeing to or doing.

Right hand didn’t know what the left was doing?

We all know AFL Victoria is more complicit than all with their negligence.

Clear as day, mistakes have been made and missteps taken. But will anyone throw the hand up and say they got it wrong, or we should have done better?

The accountability era ended long ago. Welcome to all care no responsibility. The old adage was you were supposed to leave things in a better situation than what you found it. No one seems to care about that anymore, it’s all instant gratification or bust.

 

[MortlockWatcher]

And you can probably count on an amputee's hand the number of clubs in the state that record all of this detail diligently to the n'th degree in their books.

 

[ringo1]

And you can probably count on an amputee's hand the number of clubs in the state that record all of this detail diligently to the n'th degree in their books.

The salary cap is a complete furphy. When Deer Park run around year after year giving players $7500 sign ons you know something is up. I reckon we could all name 5-10 clubs that don't follow the rules. The Points/Cap have been a disaster for country footy IMO and one of those reasons is that it simply has not been enforced in a consistent manner.

 

[Jack Doolan]

All payments , gifts , subsidiaries or costs met by the club are meant to be included within the salary cap . Eg . Fuel cards , flights , accomodation , blocks of land . Etc etc

So when a club proudly declares they are flying multiple players in from Queensland the AFL are just turning a blind eye as I suspected

 

[Jack Doolan]

It’s a simple fix - make it mandatory for the GF no matter the charge, or scrap it. Remove the discretion, then the rule is blatantly clear either way.

I think the double has its place and anyone who knows football knows when it should be applied for king hits and other old school type Grand Final incidents

It would be fine if it was used correctly and this wasn’t it

 

[Mad Jack]

I think the double has its place and anyone who knows football knows when it should be applied for king hits and other old school type Grand Final incidents

It would be fine if it was used correctly and this wasn’t it

I tend to agree - but what I’m saying is it takes all the ambiguity out of its applied across the board for any GF incident. Tell everyone at the start of the year, that’s the rule, it’s the same for everyone, and it completely eliminates any bias whether that’s real bias or perceived.

 

[rkjc22]

Been told SGM is a waste of time. Board has the numbers.

 

[Doona2]

I understand flights will be done in all sorts of ways my question was what the rules if there are any actually say about a fly in player or didn’t that occur to the great minds at the AFL

Plenty of young men living/working in a better place than Victoria, and then getting a footy fix and filling their boots across 15-20 weeks of a winter.
Parents booking flights &/or "utilising" frequent flyer points is something that can't be tracked or traced.

Same can be said for the small planes outa Moorabbin that drop off along the CMFL, assuming that's still a thing?

 

[Wooden Robot]

I understand flights will be done in all sorts of ways my question was what the rules if there are any actually say about a fly in player or didn’t that occur to the great minds at the AFL

Under a salary cap system, all costs related to a player's employment are typically included in the cap, which can include travel, accommodation, and other benefits.

 

[Trent from barwon Heads]

Been told SGM is a waste of time. Board has the numbers.

I reckon youd know the numbers pretty well

 

[western royboy]

Under a salary cap system, all costs related to a player's employment are typically included in the cap, which can include travel, accommodation, and other benefits.

No ability to follow up on these given the limited funding available

 

[rkjc22]

And you can probably count on an amputee's hand the number of clubs in the state that record all of this detail diligently to the n'th degree in their books.

The only ones maybe doing the right thing would be in the bottom half of the ladder who can't attract the quality of player needed to be in a position to overspend due to the points system.

 

[Long Run]

I reckon youd know the numbers pretty well

This from the Weekly Times in recent days is rather prophetic if that's the case. "The magic number the clubs need for change is seven.
They’re confident South Bendigo, Eaglehawk, Castlemaine, Kangaroo Flat, Golden Square, Gisborne and Strathfieldsaye will be forthcoming when push comes to shove, but not Broadford and Sandhurst.
The present board has given Broadford a lifeline after two years in the wilderness and Sandhurst is a strong supporter of the Professor McKinstry-led board.
But if only one of the seven other clubs backflips between now and the vote, then it’s game over.
The incumbent survives because the 75 per cent majority needed won’t be attained."

 

[Jack Doolan]

If that’s the case then Gisborne should refuse to play away games against the clubs backing the board next year

 

[rkjc22]

If that’s the case then Gisborne should refuse to play away games against the clubs backing the board next year

Gisborne should invoice them for all travel costs next season.

 

[Wooden Robot]

Talking to Gissy people today, I'm sensing a realisation they are stuck where they are now for 2026 and will go about their duties, if so reluctantly, and see out their commitments, but with a nod to getting the 'Get out of Jail' card for 2027.

The BFNL could have the best year in their history in 2026, but that won't sway anyone in Giz-Town.

Left with the feeling players, coaches etc. just want certainty either way, Ballarat or Bendigo, and want it now. It's playing havoc with planning and casting a shadow over recruiting. And that's fair enough, I'd love to know if I'm getting a few short trips home next year, or getting home in darkness for half the year.

 

[Jack Doolan]

Talking to Gissy people today, I'm sensing a realisation they are stuck where they are now for 2026 and will go about their duties, if so reluctantly, and see out their commitments, but with a nod to getting the 'Get out of Jail' card for 2027.

The BFNL could have the best year in their history in 2026, but that won't sway anyone in Giz-Town.

Left with the feeling players, coaches etc. just want certainty either way, Ballarat or Bendigo, and want it now. It's playing havoc with planning and casting a shadow over recruiting. And that's fair enough, I'd love to know if I'm getting a few short trips home next year, or getting home in darkness for half the year.

Sadly it seems it will be a nothing year some folks taking time off to do other things others going through the motions but without their heart in it
Really can’t see how it benefits anyone