Revive the VFA...in summer

[pz5151]

Back in the halcyon days of the VFA, what made it popular was that it was played at a time (Sundays) when there was no other football accessible, as well as the fact that it had rules like the 16 a side, that made it more exciting in some ways. It also had the bonus of having teams in areas that weren't directly represented by VFL/AFL teams due to the growth of Melbourne.

The first step that killed the VFA was the introduction of Sydney broadcasting games live into Melbourne on a Sunday (then other interstate teams and now constant coverage on a Sunday every week). The second step which was the real death knell was becoming a reserves competition for the AFL's Victorian clubs.

The VFA could revive a competition playing each summer, with the original VFA teams, unaffiliated from any link with the AFL clubs. It would be a competition made up of teams like Coburg, Williamstown, Port Melbourne, as well as including teams into new areas of Melbourne like Pakenham, Tarneit, etc. and country teams that would be viable in a semi-professional environment, where you don't need to draw 20,000 to each game.

You could include 15 or 16 a side, play all games at night due to the heat and potentially shorten the games and introduce some more innovative rules that people wouldn't accept in the big league.

Those of us who are lost in the summer months without any footy to watch would enjoy having a second team during the off-season.

For the players, it would also be a draw to play in this league as those who stand out would be in a strong position to be picked up in the pre-season supplemental selections.

 

[Papa G]

The AFL wants you to watch the car crash that is AFLW in summer.

 

[pz5151]

The AFL wants you to watch the car crash that is AFLW in summer.

If only the VFA hadn't sold itself out to the AFL

 

[Pomsta]

Back in the halcyon days of the VFA, what made it popular was that it was played at a time (Sundays) when there was no other football accessible, as well as the fact that it had rules like the 16 a side, that made it more exciting in some ways. It also had the bonus of having teams in areas that weren't directly represented by VFL/AFL teams due to the growth of Melbourne.

The first step that killed the VFA was the introduction of Sydney broadcasting games live into Melbourne on a Sunday (then other interstate teams and now constant coverage on a Sunday every week). The second step which was the real death knell was becoming a reserves competition for the AFL's Victorian clubs.

The VFA could revive a competition playing each summer, with the original VFA teams, unaffiliated from any link with the AFL clubs. It would be a competition made up of teams like Coburg, Williamstown, Port Melbourne, as well as including teams into new areas of Melbourne like Pakenham, Tarneit, etc. and country teams that would be viable in a semi-professional environment, where you don't need to draw 20,000 to each game.

You could include 15 or 16 a side, play all games at night due to the heat and potentially shorten the games and introduce some more innovative rules that people wouldn't accept in the big league.

Those of us who are lost in the summer months without any footy to watch would enjoy having a second team during the off-season.

For the players, it would also be a draw to play in this league as those who stand out would be in a strong position to be picked up in the pre-season supplemental selections.

I'm assuming that you really hate cricket as there aren't enough grounds to do both in summer.

 

[pz5151]

I'm assuming that you really hate cricket as there aren't enough grounds to do both in summer.

I do but to be honest I didn't consider that. How many of the VFA teams grounds are used for cricket?

 

[Bunk Moreland]

The VFA will never be what it was (it had its own day which is why it was popular) but it can be much better.

- concentrate on Saturday afternoon, the AFL have abandoned it for their own reasons

- The clubs need to be actual local clubs representing their suburbs, not AFL reserves teams

- they need to organise and include the metro leagues in promotion and relegation. This will keep the league strong by constantly relegating poor clubs and bringing in strong ones.

 

[Breretonisahood]

The VFA will never be what it was (it had its own day which is why it was popular) but it can be much better.

- concentrate on Saturday afternoon, the AFL have abandoned it for their own reasons

- The clubs need to be actual local clubs representing their suburbs, not AFL reserves teams

- they need to organise and include the metro leagues in promotion and relegation. This will keep the league strong by constantly relegating poor clubs and bringing in strong ones.

Dunno about promotion/relegation to metro leagues. I doubt whether even the strongest metro clubs (eg Vermont, Balwyn, Heidelberg, Aberfeldie etc) would compete with Willy, Port, Sandy etc. Bouncing up and down between VFA and metro leagues each year would be a disaster for the metro clubs.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Dunno about promotion/relegation to metro leagues. I doubt whether even the strongest metro clubs (eg Vermont, Balwyn, Heidelberg, Aberfeldie etc) would compete with Willy, Port, Sandy etc. Bouncing up and down between VFA and metro leagues each year would be a disaster for the metro clubs.

They’d compete fine under the right structure. Pre COVID all these clubs were operating with salary caps up to $250k and they had to cut their spending to get under that when it was introduced. Take out AFL funding for the VFL clubs and turn them back into proper local clubs (which they always were) and they’d quickly come together at a similar level.

 

[St Plugger]

You could include 15 or 16 a side, play all games at night due to the heat and potentially shorten the games and introduce some more innovative rules that people wouldn't accept in the big league.

15 aside is easy to watch because of the lack of congestion, [Really reminiscent of 70's football] and probably there's less chance of concussions, the latest AFL concern, due to having less players on the field.

 

[glengowan]

I reckon the State Leagues could have some commercial value if they did this. Most media don't give the State leagues the time of day in the winter. They'd rather crap on about an AFL player's contract 12 months out or an injury. It could run from October-January and still give the women their own time.

 

[nick1408]

I do but to be honest I didn't consider that. How many of the VFA teams grounds are used for cricket?

Pretty much all of them

Edit:
In the last year of the VFA (1995) the following nine grounds summer use is:

Springvale - Springvale Cricket Club
Port Melbourne - Port Melbourne Cricket Club
Sandringham - Available
Werribee - Available
Frankston - Available
Box Hill - Box Hill Cricket Club
Preston - Preston Cricket Club
Coburg - Coburg Cricket Club
Williamstown - Williamstown Cricket Club

 

[JackFlash]

"It's Sunday for the VFA" A great catch-cry in its time. The AFL are embracing diversity in football with the AFLW game without really doing a lot of research into the female anatomy? The VFA will never return, not while the opportunity is there for an AFLW team to score 10 goals in a game? Participation in sport is highly valued by governments and policy makers, diversity even more so. I have no problem with women playing the game, but they need a shorter ground and possibly only 16 players with 6 interchange. The injury toll is great, but can anyone really talk about it? Along with ACL injuries, the AFL has identified that concussions have been identified as a major injury concern in the women’s league. Yet, they will never give up the AFLW season now, the VFA was wonderful growing up, i went to many finals games at the Junction Oval. It was tough, free flowing footy with a bit of biffo thrown in.

 

[St Plugger]

I have no problem with women playing the game, but they need a shorter ground and possibly only 16 players with 6 interchange.

They already play with 16 aside in AFLW. Maybe 15 aside might help with the concussions! That's 6 less players on the field from 18 aside, removing 6 potential opportunities for a collision with another player!

 

[pz5151]

I reckon the State Leagues could have some commercial value if they did this. Most media don't give the State leagues the time of day in the winter. They'd rather crap on about an AFL player's contract 12 months out or an injury. It could run from October-January and still give the women their own time.

Yeah, it would make sense to move all the state leagues to summer under this model and then have a national reserves competition.

 

[Freofalcon]

I thought the only reason people went to the VFA was because it was one of the few places you could get a beer on a Sunday.

 

[Rusty Brookes]

I thought the only reason people went to the VFA was because it was one of the few places you could get a beer on a Sunday.

At Box Hill, it was one step further - it was one of the few places you could get a beer in the suburb. This definitely was part of the appeal in the 70s/80s from my memory of living across the road from Box Hill's home ground. I get the thought process behind the OP but there is no chance in hell it will happen. As mentioned, cricket clubs need access to the grounds, most the VFL/VFA teams have either merged with AFL clubs (eg Box Hill) or dropped off into other leagues or disappeared all together and I don't think there will be a huge number of takers wanting to play footy at the height of summer.

BTW - there used to be a summer league. The Off-season Football League. Matches were held every two weeks at Princes Park (outside the footy ground). It was a social league organised here on BigFooty with four teams - Hawthorn, St Kilda, Bulldogs and the All-Stars. There was a website, votes etc. I'm proud to say I was a premiership player in its one and only season. We even got premiership medals. It was a bit of a laugh but a lot of fun.

 

[footyfan1978]

Back in the halcyon days of the VFA, what made it popular was that it was played at a time (Sundays) when there was no other football accessible, as well as the fact that it had rules like the 16 a side, that made it more exciting in some ways. It also had the bonus of having teams in areas that weren't directly represented by VFL/AFL teams due to the growth of Melbourne.

The first step that killed the VFA was the introduction of Sydney broadcasting games live into Melbourne on a Sunday (then other interstate teams and now constant coverage on a Sunday every week). The second step which was the real death knell was becoming a reserves competition for the AFL's Victorian clubs.

The VFA could revive a competition playing each summer, with the original VFA teams, unaffiliated from any link with the AFL clubs. It would be a competition made up of teams like Coburg, Williamstown, Port Melbourne, as well as including teams into new areas of Melbourne like Pakenham, Tarneit, etc. and country teams that would be viable in a semi-professional environment, where you don't need to draw 20,000 to each game.

You could include 15 or 16 a side, play all games at night due to the heat and potentially shorten the games and introduce some more innovative rules that people wouldn't accept in the big league.

Those of us who are lost in the summer months without any footy to watch would enjoy having a second team during the off-season.

For the players, it would also be a draw to play in this league as those who stand out would be in a strong position to be picked up in the pre-season supplemental selections.

Makes no sense. Footy is a winter sport for players and for most of us it cricket in summer.
Not many going to play cricket in summer and still try to play footy in same period.
You in dreamland.
The VFA is long gone. As you rightly said, it was South Melbourne moving to Sydney and having games live back into Melbourne on a Sunday that was the start of the end for VFA. It lost the niche part of football viewing window it still had in early 1980's and the AFL just took over the whole weekend and ate up the VFA in the end. What the sport needed was some body above the AFL to have a broader picture for sport and have the AFL be the professional and national league that gets from Thursday night to Saturday night to run it's round and all of Sunday was free niche viewing window for the VFA, SANFL, WAFL etc to have in the footy fan landscape. Sadly, that is not what happened so all other leagues lost their part of the regular football fans weekend football diet. That football fan diet is from March to September. Trying to have footy in same period as cricket and tennis summer, just does not fit at the non-professional level of club land as then you trying to ask people choose between playing footy and cricket when most guys that love both want to play cricket in summer and footy in winter.

 

[Walshawk]

The VFA will never be what it was (it had its own day which is why it was popular) but it can be much better.

- concentrate on Saturday afternoon, the AFL have abandoned it for their own reasons

- The clubs need to be actual local clubs representing their suburbs, not AFL reserves teams

- they need to organise and include the metro leagues in promotion and relegation. This will keep the league strong by constantly relegating poor clubs and bringing in strong ones.

Suburban clubs get their strength from playing other local teams, they do not want to travel across Melbourne. Summer is for cricket. And maybe AFLW.