NEAFL- 2014

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I think the four Canberra/QBN clubs can pay their own way due to clubs/pokies revenue. It's the only explanation I can think of for keeping more of them than QLD clubs.
 
2010premier said:
No damo disagree here. For the qafl to work properly then 18 comp should be the same as seniors and reserves as they have done. It's difficult for aspley to farm out its players that miss selection to sandgate/grange etc and then have the 18s play that team on the same day. Would cause angst between the clubs especially if talented 17 year olds from sandgate goes to aspley to chase neafl pathway and then plays for aspley 18's against sandgate 18's.

In my opinion the neafl clubs shouldn't have under 18's at all. They should concentrate on making the qafl 18''s a top comp. it only works if the majority of 18's stay with their clubs rather than gravitate to neafl clubs. The neafl 18's woold flog everyone- a waste of time and not good for devrloping footballers. The only way to have a really good u18 comp is for neafl clubs to not have 18s at all I reckon- thus strengthening the qafl. Also for the u18 player a qafl club can provide reserves and senior footy- which the neafl sides cannot ( aside from Conway/ weller etc no 18's would be good enough for neafl now) better for the development of the player too.

Make the cake (qafl) stronger and the icing (neafl) will also get stronger. The neafl clubs would be then encouraged to follow qafl and qafl 18's and the rep stuff and recruit for their 35 or rookie list who they want the following year
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My two bobs worth, the 18's should have their own comp , NOT in the NEAFL. It would be a pain for the coaches to only know who was in their 18's side only the day before a game due to being required in the higher grade. And would be a Logistics nightmare.

Agree QAFL & QAFL 18's are the elite cake and the NEAFL the icing to lead to an AFL contract.
If the recruit is too good playing 18's as some no doubt are then sign him for the better comp. no flip flopping back and forward 18's to NEAFL to 18's I personally can't see what the benefit is if this happens. Yes players do have bad games but take them aside and chat don't bring out the knife.

I still cannot understand why one side of the competition has a salary cap and the other doesn't. Are they scared, personally I hate salary caps BUT otherwise without them in some degree a club may be killed off due to mercenaries flogging them as they try to remain competitive.

Here in Cairns we have a points rating for each player, interstate coming in region, local juniors changing clubs etc. But the wages bill here is still high it still doesn't stop southerners shopping around for $500- $1200 per game. They get it and move on when they can. but that is another point not for this site.
 

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Peanut01 said:
No they don't.
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Love your work Peanut...no, the Eastern clubs do not have to pay their own travel and accomodation costs.
No idea what happens re the Northern clubs, but I bet my house on the fact that the Thunder is not having to pay their own. I understand that it's hard enough for them to keep going anyway, without a massive overheads liability.
 
Justabreaker,
True in reference to the Thunder..... Things went well in the first 3 seasons but as the standard of the comp rose they are finding it hard to keep up... and it must be a huge battle travel wise..not to mention gaining good quality recruits from the southern states is proving a battle.
 
stuyd1 said:
Justabreaker,
True in reference to the Thunder..... Things went well in the first 3 seasons but as the standard of the comp rose they are finding it hard to keep up... and it must be a huge battle travel wise..not to mention gaining good quality recruits from the southern states is proving a battle.
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It's a tough balance for NT. If they want to develop kids then in a good comp it means not contending. If they want to win premierships then they must recruit hard and then the 17 year old from the middle of nowhere doesn't get the opportunity. Tough but I notice their training list has some impressive names on it.

Early predictions:

Gws (extended afl list- blokes playing for careers)
Lions ( 2 time premiers, good draft)
Aspley (made GF last year lost none picked up a few)
Swans ( always strong)
Southport ( addressed some deficiencies from last year)
Ainslie ( favourable draw)
---------------
Redland ( good squad but lost the Pullmans )
Suns ( may end up higher but smaller list now and actually 1 short with brown gone)
Nt- good list 10 games in Darwin but the travel is tough
Hills ( like a couple of their recruits)
Queanbeyan (guessing)
Syd Uni (Brabazon and a couple others helps)
Eastlake (lost a few and offset by tuggeranong players but still reckon they will struggle)
Belconnen (loss of lokan hurts)
 
Given the Queensland teams play each other more and the NSW/ACT teams likewise I'd be surprised if the ladder ended up that lopsided between about 3rd and 7th even though the QLD teams are mostly stronger. Just because of the points on offer.
 
I reckon the teams would need around 12 wins to make the top six from fourteen sides.
There are 5 cross conference games for each non-afl side. if the eastern sides can't win any cross conference games, I would have thought they will just about have to win all of their remaining games in their region to go close to the finals, including their matches against AFL sides. Conversely, if the northern sides win all of their cross conference games they should need around 6-7 mores wins from their remaining 13 games to see September action.
Even though the eastern sides get more games against each other, I still think they'll find it hard to play finals if they can't win any cross conference matches.

Interested to hear from someone in Canberra or Sydney. Can the local sides down there knock off Southport, Redland or Aspley next year given the restructure up here? What are teams doing down there to see the same level of increased performance?
 
not too sure about that. Looking at the draw. QLD teams will still lose as many as the NSW/ACT sides due to the fact the draw dominated those teams to play each other more. For an Easterrn side they can go through beating all the eastern sides sides, only losing to swans and UWS, beat one or two of the QLD sides (which has been done) that should qualify them comfortably. Same will happen in the North. As has been stated the finals could be lopsided for the first week.
 
Agreed no orange peeler that if the eastern sides can win a few against the northern sides they should qualify for finals. My question is will this happen? Results have favoured the north in the past and they have all reinforced their squads for 2014. What are the eastern sides doing to bridge the gap?
 
I'm not in the inner sanctum so I cant say for definite. I think you may be getting a bit ahead of yourself with the QLD sides dominating. Most have struggled when they have had to come to Canberra. Admittedly they will "more than likely" hold dominance in QLD. However, with the new format it maybe a suck it and see year for the Eastern Clubs. I think they may go about business as usual this year to see where they stand and then work from there. There seems to be a lot of uncertainty surrounding the comp so I thing clubs are reluctant to spend big coin just yet.
 

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If they are reluctant to spend it just yet and they don't play finals, I cant see them going out and blowing buckets load more in 2015 in the hope that they may play finals. I am sure AFL want less team in ACT (including Queanbeyan) than the existing four. Maybe after this year a few Clubs will decide that propping up an AFL reserves grade comp isn't for them and the AFL get their preferred model.
 
Peanut01 said:
Interested to hear from someone in Canberra or Sydney. Can the local sides down there knock off Southport, Redland or Aspley next year given the restructure up here? What are teams doing down there to see the same level of increased performance?
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Who can tell ? The odds seem to favour the northern teams who apparently have more credentialled footballers....but that's based only on what I've red on the websites.
My hunch is that the Canberra teams have stood still from last season, perhaps a few recruits from Tuggeranong, but nothing much else going on, according to the websites.
My hunch about the Hills Eagles is the same - stood still. But they have close links with the GWS, and had them last year and the year before.....hasn't helped much so far but there are reasons to think that things could open up nicely with that alliance.
The Eastern smokey could be Sydney Uni - a great culture, strong management and have recruited well. They are supported financially for the next couple of years by the AFL. Downside is their lack of a reliable home ground.

It's true that Northern sides have struggled when they've come down south for the weekend, and it's true that the Eastern sides have magicked up a couple when travelling north. So I'm going with The Peeler - eastern sides to sneak a few, Sydney Uni to sneak into the finals.....and make a cameo appearance in Week One before getting blown away. I expect that a Canberra/Qbn team would sneak in too, but I don't know which one.

And the big question continues to be......what the hell is in it for any club to spend up big in NEAFL ? I do like the comp, and I watch six or seven matches a season, but I wouldn't put my money into it because I can't see it being sustainable.
"Self-interest" is the best horse to back because you know it will run on its merits, but I can't see how it's in the self-interest of a NEAFL club to be there.

Sorry.
 
good post justa...

agree on most parts.

from what i have heard eagles though should be a lot stronger, uni imo will be weakest team on paper...

ur last paragraph sums it up perfectly and the key word... sustainable.
 
Not true at all Chikka - the 3 NEAFL clubs have their U18's in 3 of the 4 conferences that have been developed under the (latest) U18 structure for 2014. Aspley playing in the northern conference, Redlands in the Central conference, Southport in the Southern conference. There is also a QAFL conference but unlike the senior comp, this conference is not necessarily any stronger or weaker than the other 3 conferences. The AFLQ moved away from an elite U18 comp due to the foreseeing issues I believe of kids moving clubs "to better their footy" plus having no knowledge of what the comp structure was going to be until mid March once the grading games had been completed. Reckon it will work okay in the end. Certainly will mean boys won't move from Sandgate / Grange / Mayne / Caboolture / Redcliffe to play for Aspley 18's anymore and I imagine a similar mindset for the GC clubs and Southport. Nothing stopping them once they move past 18s footy to do so but by then many have a pretty good idea of where they sit in the big scheme, how motivated they will be to aspire higher etc. The finals system in the 18's will involve the top 4 sides from all 4 conferences playing against each other to have an eventual overall premier.
 
Agreed that Uni will be the weakest team and collect the spoon but will cause a boilover or two during the season.

Who are the Hills eagles signings?

My super early tip is only Swans will make finals from Eastern, in saying that I think the race for the finals from 5th-8th will be closer than most think.

Purely as a guess I think Southport will win it against an AFL club.
 
miksmif said:
Agreed that Uni will be the weakest team and collect the spoon but will cause a boilover or two during the season.

Who are the Hills eagles signings?

My super early tip is only Swans will make finals from Eastern, in saying that I think the race for the finals from 5th-8th will be closer than most think.

Purely as a guess I think Southport will win it against an AFL club.
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So who is likely to be the strongest Eastern side next year? Belconnen again or maybe Ainslie or Eastlake??
 
apparently a few new signings for the eagles, young kid jackson ferguson from st kildas list and jericho from adelaide apparently, this and a number from vic and act.
 
I believe Queanbeyan had heaps of injuries last year (the Foxtel Cup team was about half strength) not sure how they'll look in 2014.
 
Peanut01 said:
So who is likely to be the strongest Eastern side next year? Belconnen again or maybe Ainslie or Eastlake??
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I'd most likely back ainsle to be the strongest of the eastern teams..mainly due to their history but if queenbeyan have better luck with injuries they will be up there
 
miksmif said:
I'd most likely back ainsle to be the strongest of the eastern teams..mainly due to their history but if queenbeyan have better luck with injuries they will be up there
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Ladies & Gentlemen,

Happy New Year to all, a combined competition at last, I am salivating at the year to come.

While it is great to ponder the strengths and weaknesses of each region or state as one could put it, it is of the utmost importance to hope with all possible hope that with the changing of the past format of the NEAFL Competition, the major body (our AFL government) has the conviction and the process to improve the umpiring of this re-vamped competition.

While it is great to have 4 of the 18 current AFL reserve teams playing in this new NEAFL Comp, it will be a waste of resources IMO, from both an individual Club and the AFL reserves level, if the umpiring standard (as it is at present, again IMO it is star struck by the AFL list's that play in this competition) does not change to a fair and more level playing field. (pardon the pun).

The close calls have in the past, IMO have been paid in favour consistently to the AFL Clubs, the young and not so young umpires when in control of an AFL reserves V NEAFL Club game, have been on too many occasions they have been too quick to pay a free kick or mark to a known, or an up and coming AFL player rather than as the rules require to be paid, on its merits. (a look at the Lions V Aspley and the Swans V Belconnen Grand finals you will see this)

With the reduction of some very good relegated clubs, who IMO still deserve to be playing in this revamped comp and then with this, now fewer sides playing in this the new NEAFL competition, this surely should bring a new emphasis on having the best umpires ruling at a standard that not only the clubs, the supporters and the game in general itself expects and deserves. (it is important to understand that most of the non AFL players have day jobs and give these required work days up for travel to be part of this competition). For those reading this within the AFL System, a day job is such as being paid for work that does not involve playing or administrating within a structured or sanctioned AFL Competition.

It is up to all of us, who support the game at this new NEAFL level, to ask the question of our clubs to pass on to the AFL - the take no for an answer requirement, to have the best of the whistle blowing brigade that the AFL can provide to be part of this new Competition moving forward, without this we as supporters within this a new competition (which has had more changes than the game itself has had) are doomed, without this we will not again IMO have, as all true structured competitions have and are based on fairness and impartiality, without this we will always have the question of why, how, if only and when.

As it is what I have told a lot of my friends, to be fair of both genders and more importantly all Administrators who have listened or who have been within earshot have heard me say - YOU CAN PUT LIPSTICK ON A PIG, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT WILL ALWAYS BE A PIG. Umpires are (the best are not noticed but are impartial) coached to be good if not great, not just discovered because they look good, if we coach them well - like most good footballers they play/umpire many serviceable games.
 
Any qualifications BB outside of being a footy supporter / possibly ex player / possibly current player to suggest that you have any more knowledge of whether an umpire is doing a good job or not...:rolleyes:
 
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