Maryborough Castlemaine District FL

[Uncle Johnny]

Heard a whisper before christmas that Sam Kerr could be heading Wyches way. Any truth or just silly season rumours??

dunno if being ignorant here or not, but who is sam kerr and who does he play for?

 

[KingRich]

dunno if being ignorant here or not, but who is sam kerr and who does he play for?

Is he from Newstead??? Young kid??

 

[KingRich]

What's everyone's thoughts on next season?? I'm a bit out of the loop. Ladder Prediction:

Harcourt: Heard rumours that they may lose a few but you hear this every year. I wouldn't count them out of another flag just yet.
Talbot: Maybe a little biased but I think we will challenge. Gained Martin and have made a few other key signings. Have also lost a few. Should improve.
Carisbrook: Look to be regaining a few ex-players and rumours are still around for a couple of big signings. Should improve if they can pick up some height.
Avoca: Have lost Tapner and Hunt... gained newbridge recruits... should be around the mark again. Tapner is a massive loss.
Maldon: Have picked up quite a few and they are quality from all reports. Should improve.
Rovers: A lot will depend on whether they can get Handley and Featherston back. If they do they will be defiantely top 5.
Newstead
Dunolly
Royal Park: Will struggle
Trentham
Campbells Creek

 

[darkhorse4000]

What's everyone's thoughts on next season?? I'm a bit out of the loop. Ladder Prediction:

Harcourt: Heard rumours that they may lose a few but you hear this every year. I wouldn't count them out of another flag just yet.
Talbot: Maybe a little biased but I think we will challenge. Gained Martin and have made a few other key signings. Have also lost a few. Should improve.
Carisbrook: Look to be regaining a few ex-players and rumours are still around for a couple of big signings. Should improve if they can pick up some height.
Avoca: Have lost Tapner and Hunt... gained newbridge recruits... should be around the mark again. Tapner is a massive loss.
Maldon: Have picked up quite a few and they are quality from all reports. Should improve.
Rovers: A lot will depend on whether they can get Handley and Featherston back. If they do they will be defiantely top 5.
Newstead
Dunolly
Royal Park: Will struggle
Trentham
Campbells Creek

agreed tapner will be a big loss but the newbridge recruits are 3 very good players which may cover that loss plus hunt is coming back mid season, also heard of a new bloke from wedderburn coming across as well who is more than handy..........

 

[EarToTheGround]

My prediction is that there are 6 teams capable of a GF appearance. But from that point on it drops rapidly. It should be a good year for the MCDFL.

1. Avoca: Hunt and Tapner will be covered. Their recruits are strong and we've seen how much Bellenger could achieve from Feb to the season. Give him a whole off season and pre-season to develop his list. Will finish top.

Started training early and should get off to a great start.

2. Carisbrook: Some very good recruits. Brad Ross will straighten them up and will be a good chance for success in finals.

Have had a few runs pre Christmas and should start well.

3. Harcourt: Will be strong but will finish third ensuring the double chance. They will be a premiership threat, I have no doubt.

Have not started training from my reports so might start slow but finish strongly.

4. Talbot: Ian Martin is a quality recruit but I have not really heard who they have picked up. I think they will fall just shy of the double chance.

Have not started training which is surprising for a team with Premiership aspirations.

5. Maldon: Quality ins. Lachy Brown won a flag in the Bendigo league so I think he'll know how to guide the team in a minor league. Could be dangerous in finals.

Training very hard at this point of the year with high participation numbers.

6. Rovers: Will improve and as King Rich said, I think Handley's return will help them a great deal. Scott Sellers has been sighted around town too. Watch this space. If they got those 2 back they might push for 5th. Otherwise lock them in for sixth.
They have been training since early December so they are not leaving any stone unturned.

- The great divide -

7. Newstead: Big trouble. Losing good players and I've heard nothing of a coach. Should come in seventh.

No training reported.

8. Dunolly: Young players should step up and have recruited a few. Will improve from last year.

Have started training very hard since early December.

9. Trentham: New coach. Cole was obviously a concern but there is no denying he revived that club with 30+ recruits. Time will tell.

No idea whether they have started yet.

10. Royal Park: Sadly for bushy there are a lot leaving and many are quality such as Noonan. Not many ins at this stage.

Have started training early 2008.

11. Campbells Crk: It will be a credit for them to even make the season let alone be competitive. Confidence is high from that neck of the woods with a highly respected coach being appointed.

Not sure whether training has started yet.

 

[KingRich]

Yeah good report there E2theG. I agree with ur assessment of Avoca.. I think they could easily finish top. I think the top 4 will be similar to last year... very even and places could go either way. All points to a good season ahead I think. Who is the guy from Wedderburn?? Just about to move up there myself so will ask around.

 

[wonker]

Yeah good report there E2theG. I agree with ur assessment of Avoca.. I think they could easily finish top. I think the top 4 will be similar to last year... very even and places could go either way. All points to a good season ahead I think. Who is the guy from Wedderburn?? Just about to move up there myself so will ask around.

Dallas Coghill

 

[Snippers]

Hey Bucko, you would have to be a happy man.

Just heard that the Ballarat Hub got the go ahead.

Troy Driscoll - new league president.

 

[Johnny Drama]

- The great divide -

Afternoon Gents. I thought I'd make my way into the forum, kick a few tyres and so on.

I've been reading for a while and the above point made by EarToTheGround is exactly the problem with the MCDFL and the long term survival of all of it's clubs.

I came up with this idea a while back and I think it would change things up quite a bit and add to the long term survival of all clubs and the MCDFL.

The MCDFL would need to recruit 1 team to make this ideal. My recommendation would be Natte because they are geographically suited to the MCDFL.

The 12 teams would be split into 2 conferences. Conference 1 would be the stronger and Conference 2 would be the weaker. Each would have their own finals series and grand final. For example: Based on last year's results.

Conference 1:
Harcourt
Avoca
Carisbrook
Talbot
Rovers
Natte

Conference 2:
Maldon
Newstead
Royal Park
Trentham
Dunolly
Campbells Creek

The Draw Structure

16 Rounds: Each team plays everyone in their Conference twice and those in the other Conference only once.

Benefit of this: The weaker teams play each other more often and only have to face the better teams 6 times in a season. The stronger teams also play more competitive football for 10 rounds of the year and only have to face the weaker teams 6 times which are often lackluster encounters.

The MCDFL is well known for it's weekly beltings of the weaker teams and is doing little for the credibility of the league. This style would address the issue and give the stronger teams a more competitive season and give the weaker teams a chance at success and recruiting.

All teams still face each other at least once per year. Traditional Rivalries such as Rovers v Royal Park would still get to square off where in other divisional comps they would not.

Final System:

Final 4 system from each division.

Week 1: Night finals or multiple venues may have to be explored for the first week of finals.

Week 2: Simply Conference 1 on the Saturday and Conference 2 on the Sunday.

Benefit of this: The gate takings would be immense and help the leagues profitability. More teams playing means more people through the gate.

2 Grand Finals:

Conference 1 on the Saturday afternoon. Conference 2 either on the Saturday night or Sunday afternoon.

Benefit of this: There is no shine taken off the Conference 1 Premiership and the weaker teams have something to play for also. 2 Grand finals would bring massive amounts of money through the gate because the amount of teams that would be competing effectively doubles.

Promotion and Relegation

Wooden Spooners in Conference 1 go down and the premiers from Conference 2 go up.

or

Bottom 2 go get relegated from Conference 1 and Grand Finalists of Conference 2 are promoted

Benefit of this: It keeps the competition fair.


The Wrap Up

This idea would help the current structure dramatically as the writing is on the wall for a number of teams in this district. Not forgetting Campbell's Creek who are trying to claw their way back into the league. This structure would guarantee them an easier draw. Playing Harcourt, Avoca and Brook 2 times each would make their job increasingly difficult.

Football in this area can not lose any more teams. We know there are a few facing big trouble in 2008, so something like this would help them out.

Any thoughts on this idea?

 

[bucko]

Hey Bucko, you would have to be a happy man.

Just heard that the Ballarat Hub got the go ahead.

Troy Driscoll - new league president.

Yes, great news!
I just hope that the delegates will allow Wardy a bit of freedom to make the necessary changes to bring the MCDFL out of the dark ages.

IMO, Troy Driscoll as President is also a positive move and he and Wardy should work very well together.

If the delegates allow them to follow the model that was used at the LPFL last season it should go very smoothly, but I can’t see that happening as some of them seem to have this thing about controlling their own destiny.

Nothing wrong with that, but If last season was anything to go by, their destiny was very much down the gurgler.

 

[Billy_The_Kid]

Sounds a bit like NBA but i like the idea

 

[Johnny Drama]

Sounds a bit like NBA but i like the idea

You're close. I based the idea off the College Basketball in the States.

 

[KingRich]

Well done to Troy. He will do a very good job and was probably the stand out candidate IMO. Were all the other positions the same as last year?? Good to see some youth coming through.

I like ur inovative thinking Johnny and this is the type of thinking that we need to encourage to ensure out league thrives. I will be interested to see this year how McNamee gets Dunolly going and how the other weaker clubs shape up. In an ideal world it would be great if all clubs could be run professionally and be competitive. To be honest I think the standard was better last year and the MASSIVE beltings diminished a little bit.

At the end of the day it's up to the clubs to get their clubs on track and be competitive. However sometimes even with best efforts this is not possible for a variety of reasons. Your conference idea has merit.

 

[Uncle Johnny]

Well done to Troy. He will do a very good job and was probably the stand out candidate IMO. Were all the other positions the same as last year?? Good to see some youth coming through.

I like ur inovative thinking Johnny and this is the type of thinking that we need to encourage to ensure out league thrives. I will be interested to see this year how McNamee gets Dunolly going and how the other weaker clubs shape up. In an ideal world it would be great if all clubs could be run professionally and be competitive. To be honest I think the standard was better last year and the MASSIVE beltings diminished a little bit.

At the end of the day it's up to the clubs to get their clubs on track and be competitive. However sometimes even with best efforts this is not possible for a variety of reasons. Your conference idea has merit.

Yeah, well done to Troy, think it will be a good move to have him there for the league, he knows what he's on about. Think he'll work well with Ross Ward and get the league running well again.

Like you Rich, I think the standard was better last year too, but still something may need to be done. Johnny;s idea seems good, but whether it would be accepted by everyone is a different story.

Like to see how the Ballarat Hub go this year, maybe they can help the struggling teams get their feet back?

 

[Snippers]

Well done to Troy. He will do a very good job and was probably the stand out candidate IMO. Were all the other positions the same as last year??

There was some changes to the Vice Presidents as well. Max Murphy stood down this year.
Dennis Hedger, Barry Phillips, John Field are VP’s.
Reiny lost his position by 1 vote.

Treasurer not yet filled. Talk is it may be Stan Monk.

 

[KingRich]

There was some changes to the Vice Presidents as well. Max Murphy stood down this year.
Dennis Hedger, Barry Phillips, John Field are VP’s.
Reiny lost his position by 1 vote.

Treasurer not yet filled. Talk is it may be Stan Monk.

Disappointing to lose Max Murphy... Very knowledgable and approachable guy but would obviously have his reasons for standing down. Reiny is stiff. He does a lot of work for both his club and the league and hopefully that can continue. Always good to see different guys putting their hand up to do it though.

 

[Shamui]

Hey lads. Avoca started back on the track tonight with good numbers (25+). The recruits from over Bendigo way should prove more than handy and will slot in nicely with the local boys.

 

[Johnny Drama]

At the end of the day it's up to the clubs to get their clubs on track and be competitive. However sometimes even with best efforts this is not possible for a variety of reasons. Your conference idea has merit.

Good comment KingRich. It is the club's responsibility to get themselves back on track and the current system is fine. Harcourt are a good example. I'd rather make a change to keep the struggling clubs alive than lose them for good. History says that we will lose another Chewton and Primrose in the next 10 years. Who that will be? You can probably lay odds on the bottom half of the ladder but stranger things have happened. You'd hate to look into the future and see the MCDFL a 6 team comp. There's no fun in playing teams 3 times per year.

Anyway I just thought I'd throw that idea out there and see what sort of response it would get.

 

[thatswhatimtalkinabout]

Good comment KingRich. It is the club's responsibility to get themselves back on track and the current system is fine. Harcourt are a good example. I'd rather make a change to keep the struggling clubs alive than lose them for good. History says that we will lose another Chewton and Primrose in the next 10 years. Who that will be? You can probably lay odds on the bottom half of the ladder but stranger things have happened. You'd hate to look into the future and see the MCDFL a 6 team comp. There's no fun in playing teams 3 times per year.

Anyway I just thought I'd throw that idea out there and see what sort of response it would get.

When I first started reading your post JD I was very anti the idea of a conference system but as I read further I became converted and could see it actually working VERY well in a league like the MCDFL.

 

[bucko]

Disappointing to lose Max Murphy... Very knowledgable and approachable guy but would obviously have his reasons for standing down. Reiny is stiff. He does a lot of work for both his club and the league and hopefully that can continue. Always good to see different guys putting their hand up to do it though.

I agree King, it is disappointing to lose Max Murphy of the executive, he is very highly regarded throughout the league.

As for Reiny, unfortunately he hasn’t done himself any favours over the years, but I do agree with you, he has been a very hard worker for his club and the league and hopefully he will continue with his good work. I think he would have been more value on the executive than BP.

 

[SiMoSaYs]

I understand that the current way the system works with lexton plains is that the office bearers for the league are not to be on the committe of any clubs...

How will this effect us as Troy is president of brook and the others are also on commitees??

Simo

 

[bucko]

I understand that the current way the system works with lexton plains is that the office bearers for the league are not to be on the committe of any clubs...

How will this effect us as Troy is president of brook and the others are also on commitees??

Simo

I think you will find that the V’Ps of the LPFL are still on the committee with their prospective clubs, However the President is not on the committee at Skipton. Although I would imagine that he still has some type of input down there behind the scenes.

It would be very difficult to find someone that does not have some type of allegiance to a club in some way or another.

I don’t think Troy being Brook’s president and the other VP’s on committee’s of their own clubs will have any effect on the system at all. Most leagues with the delegate system operate in this way.

 

[KingRich]

I agree King, it is disappointing to lose Max Murphy of the executive, he is very highly regarded throughout the league.

As for Reiny, unfortunately he hasn’t done himself any favours over the years, but I do agree with you, he has been a very hard worker for his club and the league and hopefully he will continue with his good work. I think he would have been more value on the executive than BP.

There is one name on the executive that I really dont agree with. BP is one that probably had to stay. Important to keep a couple of old heads on there and whilst his opinion is not always to everyone's liking... he is a walking VCFL encyclopaedia which is handy.

Anywayz now that this is done and dusted we can focus on the footy again for this year!

 

[Harries08]

Hey Bucko, you would have to be a happy man.

Just heard that the Ballarat Hub got the go ahead.

Troy Driscoll - new league president.

So the MCFL now has to use Burley Footies? Not Sherrins

 

[Snippers]

So the MCFL now has to use Burley Footies? Not Sherrins

The old Burley vs Sherrin argument again. Heard recently from a VCFL official, that the AFL conducted a test where they provided footballs with no brand names on them to a group of high ranking players, some sherrin and some burley. The players couldn’t tell the difference.

A football is a football. Get over it!