RDFL Thread 2007

[Itsmyshow]

Perhaps he's one in the same? He's obvioulsy got his finger on the pulse, Mike is the Craig Hutchison of the RDFL!!

Tried that one.. Swears that he isn't, thats good enough for me..

 

[Itsmyshow]

hey there harry, i must retract my last comment from earlier today!!! u are now clearly the NUMBER NEWS BREAKER on this thread, it looks like we can now call matt nicholls just plain old matt, now he is known as "FORMER MR RDFL"

so mr harry what would the 2 div teams look like?
the comment about wallan going straight into div 1 is a bit steep, they would be a bottom 3-4 side in the rdfl at the moment so what merit do they have going straight into div 1 when you see that riddell are shooting for 3 straight, its clear that riddell are the closest team to be straight into the div 1 position.

how would the promotion system work??? same as ess dfl? winner of div 2 comes up and last placed div 1 relegated??
for you ppl who keep an eye on div 2 ess footy there is so uch to gain for the div 2 side to play div 1.

that would be a fair system i would think?
have a look at the past 3 sides who have been promoted from ess div 2- avondale hts, west couburg and craigeburn, 2 of those teams are fighting for a finals berth, all aginst the cash up clubs.

it would be great, have something to really fight for if you were in div 2.

what do other ppl think of the promotion/ relegation system?
dose anyone else have a good idea????

Let's be realistic, Wallan are a division one side. They currently pay near double the league fees to compete in the NFL than they would have to in the RDFL, gives them a large scope to recruit players I would think. I have no hesitation in saying that if Wallan were to return to the league and ask Division one status they can do so.

By the looks of what Mike wrote, the 6 new teams would all be division one, giving the league and the clubs 12 months to sort themselves out as to where they would be in a restructured comp, as well as give the league an opportunity to open the door for other clubs in the region to join or rejoin to create the 2 ten team divisions. Suprised that Sunbury want out of the BFL so badly, but who are we to say no..? It can only strengthen the RDFL IMO...

 

[blues12]

A submission to clubs will take place shortly on the possibility of this move becoming a reality for the 2008 season.

So Mike's prediction of a 2 division competition could, in all likelyhood, become a reality, much sooner than I or anyone else could have possibly predicted.

Hopefully the existing clubs make the right choice in moving the competition forward, with this break in developments in the past 2 days.

Mike out.

Mike 10 clubs in the rdfl, all except one were here when these clubs deserted us, Why should our clubs vote for the return of these sides? Our comp is very even at the moment and smooth sailing.
Mike give us a list of pro's and cons. You sound like a very big fan of the expansion. Why dont you sell it to us, alot of club administrators read Big Footy, let us know WHY we should welcome them back.
The feelers have already been about and it doesn't sound like a positive for these clubs wanting to re-join.

 

[matt_nicholls]

Fellas I'm back after a day and a half off work. Good to see the RDFL world is still rotating and the discussion on new teams joining the comp is continuing. Congratulations Mike for taking over as numero uno. It's a tough gig. Here's a story I wrote last week for today's paper. You guys might find it interesting.

Also, latest stories and odds will be up on centralsport.org soon.

Enjoy.

Football restructure needed

by Matt Nicholls

THERE was an overwhelming response to my article published last week on the future of the Riddell District Football League.
I received phone calls from a number of people, mostly those currently involved with the RDFL at some level, but a number from outside the competition.
I spoke to the Ballarat Football League CEO, two people from clubs within the Central Murray Football League, and representatives from AFL Victoria and the VCFL.
The article has seemingly created widespread interest across football circles throughout the state.
On popular internet website www.bigfooty.com there has been a number of interesting comments about the concept.
For those who missed The Free Press last week, the article was an opinion piece on how the RDFL could expand its wings to become a two-division competition.
I spoke about clubs such as Wallan, Gisborne, Sunbury, Darley, Bacchus Marsh and Kyneton joining the competition to make it one of the most powerful in Victoria.
While much of the feedback I received was positive, there was a fair share of backlash too.
Ballarat Football League CEO Rod Ward told me last week that if my concept took off, it would significantly hurt his competition, as the idea involved five BFL clubs returning to their former home in the Riddell District.
Mr Ward’s comments were fair, but football is now a cut-throat industry where every league is out for itself.
Darley, Melton, Sunbury and Melton South are all original RDFL clubs and all have their juniors in the Riddell District competition.
If not for the RDFL’s dramatic fall from power 10 years ago, it is unlikely the Ballarat Football League would have these sides competing.
FLOW ON EFFECT
Across Victoria, there are dozens of football leagues that need to be restructured.
If you are to change the RDFL, it will have significant implications on neighbouring leagues such as the Bendigo and Ballarat competitions.
To fix those competitions you need to add from neighbouring leagues which creates a huge flow-on effect.
It is my opinion that the VCFL and AFL Victoria need to sit down with a big whiteboard, forget history for a minute, and fix a fast growing problem in football.
Almost every football competition in the state has geographical problems.
Some competitions are played in a close proximity, but there is a real difference in standard between the top and bottom sides in those leagues.
In around an hour, I sat down with a map and list of football leagues and ladders and came up with this possible league reformation, using clubs from the Riddell District, Bendigo, Ballarat, Central Highlands, Maryborough-Castlemaine, Heathcote District and Kyabram District football leagues.
There were 77 clubs in those seven competitions, and taking into account that Strathfieldsaye (near Bendigo) is likely to have a senior club up and running next year, this is how my restructured format worked out.

LEAGUE 1 – Riddell District Football League
Div 1: Gisborne, Kyneton, Bacchus Marsh, Sunbury Lions, Melton, Darley, Melton South, Riddell, and Woodend-Hesket.
Div 2: Kilmore, Wallan, Romsey, Lancefield, Sunbury Kangaroos, Diggers Rest, Macedon, Rockbank, Trentham, and Melton Central.

LEAGUE 2 – Bendigo Football League
Div 1: Golden Square, Sandhurst, South Bendigo, Kangaroo Flat, Eaglehawk, Harcourt, Elmore, Colbinabbin, Mount Pleasant, and Castlemaine.

LEAGUE 3 – Ballarat Football League
Div 1: Ballarat, East Point, Lake Wendouree, Redan, Sebastopol, Maryborough, North City, Daylesford, Hepburn, and Learmonth.

LEAGUE 4 – Heathcote District Football League
Div 1: Broadford, Heathcote, Avenel, North Bendigo, White Hills, Yea, Nagambie, Rushworth, Huntly, and Strathfieldsaye (new club to be formed next year).

LEAGUE 5 – Kyabram District Football League
Div 1: Ardmona, Girgarre, Lancaster, Merrigum, Murchison, Stanhope, Tallygaroopna, Undera, Violet Town.

LEAGUE 6 – Central Highlands Football League (merged with MCDFL)
Div 1: Waubra, Avoca, Ballan, Dunnstown, Bungaree, Buninyong, Campbell’s Creek, Carisbrook, Maryborough Rovers, and Talbot.
Div 2: Royal Park, Newstead, Dunolly, Gordon, Beaufort, Creswick, Clunes, Springbank, Newlyn, and Maldon.

Obviously VCFL and AFL Victoria experts would be better placed to make judgements on such radical changes to the above football leagues, but it certainly is something that should be considered.
No doubt the football sidelines will be swarming with discussion about this issue on Saturday as this topic continues to grow legs.

 

[B.O.G]

Fellas I'm back after a day and a half off work. Good to see the RDFL world is still rotating and the discussion on new teams joining the comp is continuing. Congratulations Mike for taking over as numero uno. It's a tough gig. Here's a story I wrote last week for today's paper. You guys might find it interesting.

Also, latest stories and odds will be up on centralsport.org soon.

Enjoy.

Football restructure needed

by Matt Nicholls

THERE was an overwhelming response to my article published last week on the future of the Riddell District Football League.
I received phone calls from a number of people, mostly those currently involved with the RDFL at some level, but a number from outside the competition.
I spoke to the Ballarat Football League CEO, two people from clubs within the Central Murray Football League, and representatives from AFL Victoria and the VCFL.
The article has seemingly created widespread interest across football circles throughout the state.
On popular internet website www.bigfooty.com there has been a number of interesting comments about the concept.
For those who missed The Free Press last week, the article was an opinion piece on how the RDFL could expand its wings to become a two-division competition.
I spoke about clubs such as Wallan, Gisborne, Sunbury, Darley, Bacchus Marsh and Kyneton joining the competition to make it one of the most powerful in Victoria.
While much of the feedback I received was positive, there was a fair share of backlash too.
Ballarat Football League CEO Rod Ward told me last week that if my concept took off, it would significantly hurt his competition, as the idea involved five BFL clubs returning to their former home in the Riddell District.
Mr Ward’s comments were fair, but football is now a cut-throat industry where every league is out for itself.
Darley, Melton, Sunbury and Melton South are all original RDFL clubs and all have their juniors in the Riddell District competition.
If not for the RDFL’s dramatic fall from power 10 years ago, it is unlikely the Ballarat Football League would have these sides competing.
FLOW ON EFFECT
Across Victoria, there are dozens of football leagues that need to be restructured.
If you are to change the RDFL, it will have significant implications on neighbouring leagues such as the Bendigo and Ballarat competitions.
To fix those competitions you need to add from neighbouring leagues which creates a huge flow-on effect.
It is my opinion that the VCFL and AFL Victoria need to sit down with a big whiteboard, forget history for a minute, and fix a fast growing problem in football.
Almost every football competition in the state has geographical problems.
Some competitions are played in a close proximity, but there is a real difference in standard between the top and bottom sides in those leagues.
In around an hour, I sat down with a map and list of football leagues and ladders and came up with this possible league reformation, using clubs from the Riddell District, Bendigo, Ballarat, Central Highlands, Maryborough-Castlemaine, Heathcote District and Kyabram District football leagues.
There were 77 clubs in those seven competitions, and taking into account that Strathfieldsaye (near Bendigo) is likely to have a senior club up and running next year, this is how my restructured format worked out.

LEAGUE 1 – Riddell District Football League
Div 1: Gisborne, Kyneton, Bacchus Marsh, Sunbury Lions, Melton, Darley, Melton South, Riddell, and Woodend-Hesket.
Div 2: Kilmore, Wallan, Romsey, Lancefield, Sunbury Kangaroos, Diggers Rest, Macedon, Rockbank, Trentham, and Melton Central.

LEAGUE 2 – Bendigo Football League
Div 1: Golden Square, Sandhurst, South Bendigo, Kangaroo Flat, Eaglehawk, Harcourt, Elmore, Colbinabbin, Mount Pleasant, and Castlemaine.

LEAGUE 3 – Ballarat Football League
Div 1: Ballarat, East Point, Lake Wendouree, Redan, Sebastopol, Maryborough, North City, Daylesford, Hepburn, and Learmonth.

LEAGUE 4 – Heathcote District Football League
Div 1: Broadford, Heathcote, Avenel, North Bendigo, White Hills, Yea, Nagambie, Rushworth, Huntly, and Strathfieldsaye (new club to be formed next year).

LEAGUE 5 – Kyabram District Football League
Div 1: Ardmona, Girgarre, Lancaster, Merrigum, Murchison, Stanhope, Tallygaroopna, Undera, Violet Town.

LEAGUE 6 – Central Highlands Football League (merged with MCDFL)
Div 1: Waubra, Avoca, Ballan, Dunnstown, Bungaree, Buninyong, Campbell’s Creek, Carisbrook, Maryborough Rovers, and Talbot.
Div 2: Royal Park, Newstead, Dunolly, Gordon, Beaufort, Creswick, Clunes, Springbank, Newlyn, and Maldon.

Obviously VCFL and AFL Victoria experts would be better placed to make judgements on such radical changes to the above football leagues, but it certainly is something that should be considered.
No doubt the football sidelines will be swarming with discussion about this issue on Saturday as this topic continues to grow legs.

not bad work there mr nicholls, u were just sitting on that as your money shot werent u?? maybe just gone back to number 2 reporter.
lets say for argument sake this all went though, would this then rekindle the age old argument of weather or not we should introduce inter leauge games for these 6 proposed leauges?
how could we structure this so that that we could get a ranking of each leauge and a good system that would draw a big crowd to these games?

the other hurdle would be when to play it?

 

[matt_nicholls]

not bad work there mr nicholls, u were just sitting on that as your money shot werent u?? maybe just gone back to number 2 reporter.
lets say for argument sake this all went though, would this then rekindle the age old argument of weather or not we should introduce inter leauge games for these 6 proposed leauges?
how could we structure this so that that we could get a ranking of each leauge and a good system that would draw a big crowd to these games?

the other hurdle would be when to play it?

Happy to be number two. Interleague could easily work, needs to be brought back. Play it on the Wednesday night before Queens Birthday weekend and have that round as a general bye.

 

[Digger52]

hey there harry, i must retract my last comment from earlier today!!! u are now clearly the NUMBER NEWS BREAKER on this thread, it looks like we can now call matt nicholls just plain old matt, now he is known as "FORMER MR RDFL"

so mr harry what would the 2 div teams look like?
the comment about wallan going straight into div 1 is a bit steep, they would be a bottom 3-4 side in the rdfl at the moment so what merit do they have going straight into div 1 when you see that riddell are shooting for 3 straight, its clear that riddell are the closest team to be straight into the div 1 position.

how would the promotion system work??? same as ess dfl? winner of div 2 comes up and last placed div 1 relegated??
for you ppl who keep an eye on div 2 ess footy there is so uch to gain for the div 2 side to play div 1.

that would be a fair system i would think?
have a look at the past 3 sides who have been promoted from ess div 2- avondale hts, west couburg and craigeburn, 2 of those teams are fighting for a finals berth, all aginst the cash up clubs.

it would be great, have something to really fight for if you were in div 2.

what do other ppl think of the promotion/ relegation system?
dose anyone else have a good idea????

They tried this format in the 90s when there were 2 Divisions ,it was ok until I think it was Wallan ( don"t quote me on that) refused to go up to 1st Division because they did not think they could compete .I know when Diggers won it in 93 the next year they struggled in 1st Division.

 

[Harry Wilson]

hey there harry, i must retract my last comment from earlier today!!! u are now clearly the NUMBER NEWS BREAKER on this thread, it looks like we can now call matt nicholls just plain old matt, now he is known as "FORMER MR RDFL"

so mr harry what would the 2 div teams look like?
the comment about wallan going straight into div 1 is a bit steep, they would be a bottom 3-4 side in the rdfl at the moment so what merit do they have going straight into div 1 when you see that riddell are shooting for 3 straight, its clear that riddell are the closest team to be straight into the div 1 position.

how would the promotion system work??? same as ess dfl? winner of div 2 comes up and last placed div 1 relegated??
for you ppl who keep an eye on div 2 ess footy there is so uch to gain for the div 2 side to play div 1.

that would be a fair system i would think?
have a look at the past 3 sides who have been promoted from ess div 2- avondale hts, west couburg and craigeburn, 2 of those teams are fighting for a finals berth, all aginst the cash up clubs.

it would be great, have something to really fight for if you were in div 2.

what do other ppl think of the promotion/ relegation system?
dose anyone else have a good idea????

Thanks BOG, I would love to be able to take credit for the story, but it wasn't me who broke it, it was Mike Lyon. If you have another look at my post, I was saying the same thing as you, that is Wallan surely couldn't be considered for instant admission into div 1, which is what Mike Lyon suggested. I then suggested that Wallan should be included into div 2 RDFL and this years premiers, or as you stated, Riddell, should be promoted into the 6 team comp next year. When Riddell or who ever wins the premiership this year, leaves the RDFL to go into this new Div 1 comp it will leave on1 new spot. That should be where Wallan come in.

Following that, we could bring in 2 new sides in 2009 with the top 2 sides of 2008 being promoted to div 1. This would then give you 8 sides in div1 and 10 sides in Div 2. Failing that you could always have 9 sides in both comps by 2009 thus giving both divs a bye. The promotion system should be based on the top 2 sides being sent up to div 1 and the bottom 2 sides from div 1 being relegated to div 2. This would then provide a good balance constantly being turned over between the 2 divs.

What are yours or other people's thoughts on the matter? Better get thinking and raise some sugegstions or concerns now so that they may be addressed in time. This looks like it will happen in the very near future.

 

[B.O.G]

Following that, we could bring in 2 new sides in 2009 with the top 2 sides of 2008 being promoted to div 1. This would then give you 8 sides in div1 and 10 sides in Div 2. Failing that you could always have 9 sides in both comps by 2009 thus giving both divs a bye. The promotion system should be based on the top 2 sides being sent up to div 1 and the bottom 2 sides from div 1 being relegated to div 2. This would then provide a good balance constantly being turned over between the 2 divs.

nice to see you admit to something that wasnt urs, there would be plenty of users here that would have taken the credit for that.
not to sure if the 2 team relegation would work? im only looking at the ess dfl as its the closest metro leauge to us that dose include relegation. take a look at keilor park, 0 wins and a monty to be relegated next is abers who have 3-4 wins and can mix it with the lower sides but due to $$$$$$ cant match it with the big boys, i think IMO that if the bottom 2 sides are relegated that is a massive blow to a team that might be attempting to save there side from relegation, i just think its unfair, of course it dose mean that if a team knows it will be relegated that their players drop off, but that is modern day football.

but that is why i spose so many of us have a say on here to express our thoughts.

looking at the "proposed sides" in div 1. you could nearly say that it would be WH and riddell who mite end up at the bottom 2 sides, no disrespect to followers on those 2 sides, but then again maybe throw in kyneton, Baccus Marsh Darley.
how are the ballarat teams going(except sunbury) at the moment who are not travelling well.

who would want to put foward a hyper thetical ladder of how they would think that the two would look like?

 

[WISH_I_COULD_KICK]

anyone care to give a round preview?

 

[Ballsy]

Talking to some of the Sunbury LIONS people they were impressed with the following and support of the local sides. Especially when Kangas and Diggers played on their ground and the cars were two deep around the whole ground they havent seen that for years. The local sides of the RDFL pull a far better following than Sunbury playing at home or away. Thus a greater rivalry between the locals (RDFL) when they play. I think Sunbury miss the crowd support from both teams. The only rivalry is the BFL versus Sunbury. The thing to be careful with all this division stuff is if the STONGER sides came back would they be a power house and thus the crowd support dropped off hurting the existing RDFL clubs or would the supporter base pick up. None of the RDFL sides have pokies thus needing the supporters to help finacially with the club .

 

[goblues09]

Two Division RDFL


all this talk of promotion and demotion would surely all need to depend on how the senior AND reserves sides went - no point promoting a club because the seniors won the flag in Div 2 but their reserves finish 4th or 5th - take Riddell for example. Their seniors this year sit in 1st spot two games clear and are looking odds on to go for a 3-peat - yet their two sit 4th some 5 wins behind woodend....sure the seniors may be competitive in div 1, yet the twos will prob be smashed each and every week......

then again its Riddell so why am i worried bout the new asses that may be torn for them

 

[footballtragic]

The RDFL need to look at this long and carefully. I would suguest that the RDFL look at how the Geelong Football Leaugue have structured their leagues. They are all individual leagues that are based on performance of the sides. GFL have accepted that some teams just will not be competitive in a higher competition. There is no promotion or demotion system in place. Think about the amount of money that would be required to be competitve in DIV 1 in the new RDFL? How could you compete with the LIONS? Romsey, Sunbury Kanagroos, Diggers Rest, Melton Centrals, Macedon, and even Woodened and Riddell would all struggle with the jump to DIV 1 and Riddell are on track for a 3 peat this year. I support the move but the DIV 1 should be the premier leaugue which may need a new name and the RDFL to remain but both leagues would be controlled by the RDFL organisation. I would then suguest that every 3-4 years the league could look at evening up the comp with maybe some movement of teams.

Just my thoughts ... Would love to see these teams back in the RDFL and the RDFL to gain back some of the respect it may have lost.
Would love any feedback on this

 

[Animosity]

Talking to some of the Sunbury LIONS people they were impressed with the following and support of the local sides. Especially when Kangas and Diggers played on their ground and the cars were two deep around the whole ground they havent seen that for years. The local sides of the RDFL pull a far better following than Sunbury playing at home or away. Thus a greater rivalry between the locals (RDFL) when they play. I think Sunbury miss the crowd support from both teams. The only rivalry is the BFL versus Sunbury. The thing to be careful with all this division stuff is if the STONGER sides came back would they be a power house and thus the crowd support dropped off hurting the existing RDFL clubs or would the supporter base pick up. None of the RDFL sides have pokies thus needing the supporters to help finacially with the club .

The cars wernt two deep, it definatley would have been if the bloody weather held off! .. inside social rooms were definatley full ... RDFL would only benefit with powerhouses such as sunbury coming back. Sunbury just cant pull a crowd because ballarat itself is a bloody hour plus away! who the hell wants to come all that way to see a local game of footy! ... thats whats killing them, not just because "they win all the time so who cares" ...

Sunbury vs Gisborne,melton,darley & riddell would bring HUGE crowds, DOUBLE the kangas v diggers @ clarke 07 ... its ok for powerhouse sides to have their own rivalry? leave it for them to benefit from .... I would personally like to see all exisiting BallaratFL sides signed with the RDFL. Baccus to div 2. Wallan to come back and riddell to be promoted.

Start div 1 small, Gisborne/sunbury/riddell/melton/wallan/Msouth/Darley/Kyneton

That would be a more than attractive div 1 league and a great standard of footy for a first year as RDFL div 1+2

not forgetting div 2 would be a very even strength practically the same but slipping in baccus for riddell. both divisions with strong,even and competetive sides. My only concern is what the mighty mongrel has mentioned and thats quality div 2 players being pinched and inticed to play " better brand of footy " at a div.1 club with the financial differences between these 2 divs a HUGE according to the cash i know that gets thrown around some of the mentioned "div 1 clubs"

 

[ORANGE UMP]

A great big hello once again to all of my friends in Big Footy land.

Mike has been diligently gathering intelligence and some not very intelligence to place at the mercy of the fine people of this very web information site.

Mike has it on very good authority, that the Sunbury Lions Football Club, as of Tuesday 7th August, have officially submitted an application to return to the RDFL for season 2008, leading the way in discussions with other clubs Melton, Melton South, Wallan and two other clubs, stongly rumoured to be Gisborne and Bacchus Marsh about forming an initial 6 team division one competition next year, leading to a stronger ten team division one competition in 2009.

A submission to clubs will take place shortly on the possibility of this move becoming a reality for the 2008 season.

So Mike's prediction of a 2 division competition could, in all likelyhood, become a reality, much sooner than I or anyone else could have possibly predicted.

Hopefully the existing clubs make the right choice in moving the competition forward, with this break in developments in the past 2 days.

Mike out.

Seeing the original RDFL clubs come back could be very good for the league whether there was a relagation/promtion system in place or not but there are other issues and i'll just mention 1. I wasn't umpiring in the days of the old 2 division league and I don't really know what our numbers were like back then but at our current status I wouldn't say we couldn't cover a 2 division comp but we would struggle for numbers. Currently a lot of umpires in the field do u/18/res doubles, most of the boundary umpires are young running in 3's on the 18's and res and our most of our goal umpires already umpire 2 games every saturday. We currently cover 14 senior spots each week but that would have to upgrade to at least 20 and that doesn't take into account our association with the ballarat umpires and vafa umpires association. We have a few good younger umpires who are breaking into senior levels which is promising but probably not enough to make that jump to 20-24 senior spots. At the moment we cover almost every game the RDFL schedules as well as the ballarat and ammo's games. I'm sure the last thing most RDFL people would want to see is club umpires at reserve level. Matt Nicholls may have to swap priorty's and make umpiring his number 1!!!!!!!! However on the other hand, a bigger stronger comp could encourage more umpires and make it a really strong association for the competition, who knows??????

 

[blues12]

I'm sure if the 2 div was to go ahead, umpires would not be sent to BFL and with the need to cover our own league would not be sent to the ammos.
At the moment clubs are disappointed that we see some of our best umpires sent elsewhere. Especially when the league and top 6 sides are so competetive.
If this were to happen I believe 2nd division would severly suffer, all the best umpires would umpire div 1 and Div 2 would get whatever is left over. The league at the moment has good up and coming umpires.
Who would make the decision on who goes where?

 

[Itsmyshow]

Round 16

Diggers Rest Vs Macedon FC
The Burra were bounced back to earth last week by Riddell and will be looking to consolidate a top 5 position on Saturday against the undermanned Cats. Sims is finding some good form, as is Jose and that will always be a good sign for the Burra.
The Cats are just so undermanned at the moment, most of the kids are struggling with injuries and the wear and tear of the star 18's playing both games is starting to show, but the Cats will give everything they have in this game.
Key Matchups: The Under 18 game.
Diggers by 102 pts

Sunbury Kangaroos Vs Melton Centrals
The Roos will be disappointed with the loss to the Hawks last week and will look to bounce back against Centrals. Early in the year Centrals gave the Roos an almighty run for their money, so the Roos will need to be on their toes. The sight of Jamie Cuffe will boost the Roos fans and the onballers will be licking their lips at the Cuffe/James combo.
Centrals had a huge win last week against Lancefield, finally showing the potential that most of us knew they had, yet they were yet to show us by winning. Wheelahan is one of the dominant players in the comp, Nankervis has been playing some strong football and Kane Bullen has been more consistent over the past couple of weeks.
Key Matchups: Bonnici Vs Wheelahan, Ploog Vs Bullen
Roos to win

Rockbank Vs Riddell
The Rams chalked up their 2nd win against the Cats last week, young Brendan Newitt starred for the Rams earning himself a Rookie nomination, the stalwarts of the club are increasing their input and the Rams are showing that they are on the right track.
Riddell just keeps knocking over everything in its path. Brayden Allen has been solid in recent weeks and with the return of Michael Allen who is showing form up forward working in tandem with Leigh Harrison, the Bombers are going to be very hard to beat.
Key Matchups: Matt Krul Vs Glenn Robertson, Luke Walker Vs Jason Allen, Dylan Nicholson Vs Justin Bellville.
Riddell by 60 pts

Romsey Vs Lancefield
The Redbacks will be looking to bounce back after last weeks disappointing loss to the Blues which could cost them a top 3 spot. Burlak has been arguably the best forward in the league over the past 5 weeks and will look to put a stamp on this game. The Redbacks midfield needs to get control of this game, last time these 2 met, the Tigers midfield destroyed the Redbacks, so McClellan, Morgan, Hollywood and others need to make sure that they are winning the clearances, Connellan being the key to this.
The Tigers were toppled last week but have worked too hard this year not to want to bounce back this week. Choate, Collins, Conway and young guns Milner and Graham as well as key forward Smithwick all need to have an impact on this contest for the Tigers to do so.
A classic rivalry that will be a red hot contest on Sunday.
Key Matchups: Connellan Vs Conway, McClellan Vs Graham, Morgan Vs Collins.
Romsey by 30 pts

Match of the Round
Kilmore Vs Woodend/Hesket
The Blues pulled off a massive win last week to turn this game into match of the round, keeping alive their hopes of a finals berth. When the game was needed to be won, this time, the Blues stood up. Can they keep their fairytale alive this week against the Hawks? Collis has been in sensational form for the Blues, while Kemp was at his sweeping best last week. Robbo could hold the key to this, but he needs to fire, and fire BIG TIME.
The Hawks had a hard fought, slogging win against the Roos last week. Can they back up after such a game? Sipthorp was excellent for the Hawks last week, the Hawks will look to get most of their drive from Sippy, Johnno and Pods. There should be some interesting matchups in this one, the Blues have absolutely nothing to lose in this game and should just throw everything they have at the Hawks. I would expect players to line up in different positions all over the ground.
Key Matchups: Robertson Vs Sipthorp, Kemp Vs Ng, Cornish Vs Tacker, Strayney Vs Barker.
Woodend/Hesket by 10pts

 

[dpagan]

looking at pickles odds. thought it would be a good chance for people to share some smokies for the bowen? i'll run with kemp from kilmore

 

[blues12]

The blues are a big chance of knocking off the hawks, in order for this to happen they must attack from the start.
Robbo Vs Sipthorpe? Both gun players, but if kilmore is to put one of their best attacking players into a tagging role it could hurt their chances of a win.

 

[catters078]

looking at pickles odds. thought it would be a good chance for people to share some smokies for the bowen? i'll run with kemp from kilmore

steve james has had big impacts on alot of games this year...i know bonnici and mark mcinerny will poll well, but i reckon the umpires will notice this guys influences..i think hed actually be a big chance to lead the kangaroos players in votes..

any of you sunbury blokes reckon thatd be a chance?, youd obviously know more than me? ims...tru blu...mongrel??

 

[WISH_I_COULD_KICK]

nice preview ims,looks like a couple of good matchups,but i think centrals are feeling confident with their new game style and will continue to use it as it seems to work,and add the element of greenies return i think they will be jumpin out of their skins on sat.

 

[Itsmyshow]

nice preview ims,looks like a couple of good matchups,but i think centrals are feeling confident with their new game style and will continue to use it as it seems to work,and add the element of greenies return i think they will be jumpin out of their skins on sat.

I cant wait for the Roos/Centrals matchup, I enjoy watching these 2 sides battle it out, it is one of the rivalries within the league that only the 2 clubs really know about, the 2 youngest teams in the comp...

 

[Umpire22]

I'm sure if the 2 div was to go ahead, umpires would not be sent to BFL and with the need to cover our own league would not be sent to the ammos.
At the moment clubs are disappointed that we see some of our best umpires sent elsewhere. Especially when the league and top 6 sides are so competetive.
If this were to happen I believe 2nd division would severly suffer, all the best umpires would umpire div 1 and Div 2 would get whatever is left over. The league at the moment has good up and coming umpires.
Who would make the decision on who goes where?

possibility that a 2 div comp would strengthen the relationship between the ballarat and riddell district umpires associations, simply because if they lose up to 5 teams from their competition they would have an abundance of umpires and would be able to cover the "western" portion (i.e. melton, melton south, darley, bacchus) of our 2 division comp.

 

[dpagan]

steve james has had big impacts on alot of games this year...i know bonnici and mark mcinerny will poll well, but i reckon the umpires will notice this guys influences..i think hed actually be a big chance to lead the kangaroos players in votes..

any of you sunbury blokes reckon thatd be a chance?, youd obviously know more than me? ims...tru blu...mongrel??

what about some others/clubs Is morgan a chance? Blade will take votes away from belleville? very interesting

 

[blues12]

what about some others/clubs Is morgan a chance? Blade will take votes away from belleville? very interesting

What are peoples opinions with 3 rounds to go who will lead their clubs charge to win a bowen. highest to lowest
My opinion at Roos

Bonnici
M.Mcinerney
L.Mcinerney
Hole
Niki
James