VAFA General Discussion 2022-2023-2024

[Chief]

Hi all.

Aucklander and I have had a couple of runs through recent posts in this thread and removed a few unsavoury comments.

The usual griping and gossip is par for the course, but some posts go overboard.

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[God Yeah]

The clubs trainers are there to support the players and coaches for head knocks.

There is more scrutiny and awareness on concussion than ever before as we all know. So they are trained on the symptoms and it is also part of the coaching re-accreditation covers concussion identification.

Personally I think the 21 day rule is good.

However we must keep in mind that the 21 days is a minimum and I personally wouldn’t never try and rush someone back early if they hadn’t been approved by a doctor.

"There is more scrutiny and awareness on concussion than ever before as we all know. So they are trained on the symptoms and it is also part of the coaching re-accreditation covers concussion identification."

All good and well if you are seeing the person every day post the incident and can track progression of symptoms. A local club coach or trainer may only see the player the following Thursday or Saturday. Especially the lower down the grades you go.

It's a step forward, but in my eyes it's a motherhood statement on the eve of the season

 

[rightfoot_sloth]

"There is more scrutiny and awareness on concussion than ever before as we all know. So they are trained on the symptoms and it is also part of the coaching re-accreditation covers concussion identification."

All good and well if you are seeing the person every day post the incident and can track progression of symptoms. A local club coach or trainer may only see the player the following Thursday or Saturday. Especially the lower down the grades you go.

It's a step forward, but in my eyes it's a motherhood statement on the eve of the season

GY it has zero to do with the grade which the player is competing in. I would personally check in with my player who was concussed daily. Which I think would be the standard thing to do. As a coach you have to demonstrate a duty of care to your players where possible.

The coaching fraternity do an excellent job whilst trying to balance full time work, family and other activities.

 

[SeaSide]

Every player under AFL level with concussion will have to be out for 21 days , i presume we will have this

C'est la vie, so long as the perpetrator, if found guilty of unfair play, also receives 21 days (and perhaps another week).

 

[WithThePeanuts]

The VAFA tribunal system is cooked. Needs a complete overhaul. Prescribed penalties often do not suit the incident (either too soft or too harsh). With these new concussion guidelines coupled with the fact that most games are now filmed, now is the time to remove the archaic prescribed penalties.

 

[bedford]

The VAFA tribunal system is cooked. Needs a complete overhaul. Prescribed penalties often do not suit the incident (either too soft or too harsh). With these new concussion guidelines coupled with the fact that most games are now filmed, now is the time to remove the archaic prescribed penalties.

Sometimes the vision looks worse than what it is and it's not AFL , so the camera can be on the other side of the ground

 

[God Yeah]

GY it has zero to do with the grade which the player is competing in. I would personally check in with my player who was concussed daily. Which I think would be the standard thing to do. As a coach you have to demonstrate a duty of care to your players where possible.

The coaching fraternity do an excellent job whilst trying to balance full time work, family and other activities.

Absolutely it has a lot to do with the grade the player is competing in. While the obligations on a coach you have mentioned above are constant the follow through on those will deteriorate as you go down the grades.

Coaches that are financially rewarded v's love of the game will lead to a divide as full time work, family and other activities take over.

Just my take, while I support the introduction of players being stood down for a set period of time, I don't believe that it will be enforced as it is intended.

 

[Mounzer11]

Absolutely it has a lot to do with the grade the player is competing in. While the obligations on a coach you have mentioned above are constant the follow through on those will deteriorate as you go down the grades.

Coaches that are financially rewarded v's love of the game will lead to a divide as full time work, family and other activities take over.

Just my take, while I support the introduction of players being stood down for a set period of time, I don't believe that it will be enforced as it is intended.

At my sons junior club, I sat and listened to a leading professor on concussions talk about the lasting impacts of head knocks. The time it takes the brain to heal etc. He was pushing a 21 day stand down period be recommended. His reasoning was that at the local level we just don't have the diagnostic tools to make informed decisions. In his opinion, 21 days was a sort of catch all approach.
But, every good intention has unintended consequences.
My opinion is that concussions will go undetected due to the thought of standing down for 21 days. Players will stop reporting symptoms and saying they are fine they don't miss 3 weeks of football.
Will coaches and peers be asking players to keep their symptoms on the hush hush? Saying, lets not report just in case you are fine next week??

 

[bedford]

At my sons junior club, I sat and listened to a leading professor on concussions talk about the lasting impacts of head knocks. The time it takes the brain to heal etc. He was pushing a 21 day stand down period be recommended. His reasoning was that at the local level we just don't have the diagnostic tools to make informed decisions. In his opinion, 21 days was a sort of catch all approach.
But, every good intention has unintended consequences.
My opinion is that concussions will go undetected due to the thought of standing down for 21 days. Players will stop reporting symptoms and saying they are fine as they don't want to miss 3 weeks of football.
Will coaches and peers be asking players to keep their symptoms on the down low?? Saying, lets not report just in case you are fine next week??

Our last premiership coach was huge on players not playing the week after , he really pushed it and everyone knew where they stood , if if they said they were ok , they never got picked

 

[Mr Platinum]

Our last premiership coach was huge on players not playing the week after , he really pushed it and everyone knew where they stood , if if they said they were ok , they never got picked

Good on him, the same goes with the SKOB coach, he had one of our better players pushing to play last year, the week after getting a head knock.

This lad has a history of head knocks resulting in concussion, so the coach told him he was having a month off, and despite continual protests by the said player, he was not picked to play for a further four matches.

The coach has now gone further and suggested the lad have 12 months off, then re-assess at the beginning of next pre-season. No sport, at any level, is worth endangering
the welfare of anyone.

 

[rightfoot_sloth]

Good on him, the same goes with the SKOB coach, he had one of our better players pushing to play last year, the week after getting a head knock.

This lad has a history of head knocks resulting in concussion, so the coach told him he was having a month off, and despite continual protests by the said player, he was not picked to play for a further four matches.

The coach has now gone further and suggested the lad have 12 months off, then re-assess at the beginning of next pre-season. No sport, at any level, is worth endangering
the welfare of anyone.

Good to hear these stories lads. Players welfare is always the first consideration.

 

[AM]

The VAFA gets quite some kicking on this board, so kudos to them for being so proactive.

VAFA support AFL's change to concussion policy - VAFA

The VAFA is pleased to receive the news of the AFL’s change to the concussion policy for community football in increasing the return to play protocols for a concussion victim to a minimum 21 day period. That minimum period is … Continued

www.vafa.com.au

Good on him, the same goes with the SKOB coach, he had one of our better players pushing to play last year, the week after getting a head knock.

This lad has a history of head knocks resulting in concussion, so the coach told him he was having a month off, and despite continual protests by the said player, he was not picked to play for a further four matches.

The coach has now gone further and suggested the lad have 12 months off, then re-assess at the beginning of next pre-season. No sport, at any level, is worth endangering
the welfare of anyone.

A good man is "Plugger". Has higher coaching honours in store for him methinks, Briza.

 

[FWIW]

FWIW has the Masters comp folded?

 

[Wild Thing]

FWIW has the Masters comp folded?

Wasn’t there only 4 teams in it last year and of those 4 teams, 3 were originally from the Vic Metro Masters (Marcellin, DLS, St Kevins) so wouldn’t surprise me if they got feed up with playing each other regularly and moved back! Not sure if that’s the case but would be my guess

 

[MortlockWatcher]

The Perth FL (ex-WAAFL) have only just released their season fixtures this morning - the season starts on April 6.

No-one over here can work out why they can't release the fixtures for the seniors/reserves grades earlier in the summer like most other leagues do.

 

[eth-dog]

Gotta love the VAFA putting a team with under 19's for the first time in over a decade in what isn't the bottom division

 

[bedford]

Gotta love the VAFA putting a team with under 19's for the first time in over a decade in what isn't the bottom division

What do you mean

 

[eddiesmith]

Gotta love the VAFA putting a team with under 19's for the first time in over a decade in what isn't the bottom division

The bottom division is entirely made up of clubs with 2 or more teams, so technically SMS are in the bottom division for single team clubs…

 

[eth-dog]

What do you mean

SMS in Div 3, not Div 4 under 19's.

The bottom division is entirely made up of clubs with 2 or more teams, so technically SMS are in the bottom division for single team clubs…

We should still be there. I count 2x Prem C clubs, 4x D1 and only one other D2 club in there.

 

[outside_off]

SMS in Div 3, not Div 4 under 19's.

We should still be there. I count 2x Prem C clubs, 4x D1 and only one other D2 club in there.

I dont follow the VAFA thinking re under 19s structure. Will they be brave enough to reassign teams when first few rounds are completed and there is a lopsided ladder?

Also the VAFA player transfers list appears to be incomplete. Players are appearing as cleared on EDFL or EFNL's transfer pages yet name doesn't appear on VAFA list. Good luck sorting team sheets for first round!

 

[God Yeah]

Gotta love the VAFA putting a team with under 19's for the first time in over a decade in what isn't the bottom division

It's effectively Div 4 U/19's.

The only change I would have made is split up Div 2 and 3 by geography (Bull Temp, OI, Parkside, MHSOB, PEGS, Preston, Therry, Kew) and (Collegians, Mazenod, Monash, OC, Parkdale, SBMT, Skevs, Oakleigh, Ormond and SMS).

Still gives the 8 and 10 they currently have.

 

[lettheboysplay]

Expect a truckload of Wattle Park content on the VAFA pages with the Marmalade fellas joining the club - putting all the tall poppy s**t aside, it's awesome what they are doing for community footy and I hope it gets a few people who quit the game early to come back and play.

 

[outside_off]

Expect a truckload of Wattle Park content on the VAFA pages with the Marmalade fellas joining the club - putting all the tall poppy s**t aside, it's awesome what they are doing for community footy and I hope it gets a few people who quit the game early to come back and play.

I'd give them the keys to VAFA social media.

 

[Mike Olotripo]

Expect a truckload of Wattle Park content on the VAFA pages with the Marmalade fellas joining the club - putting all the tall poppy s**t aside, it's awesome what they are doing for community footy and I hope it gets a few people who quit the game early to come back and play.

Spot on, I love what they have done to highlight local footy. They seem like ripping fellas.

 

[Mr Platinum]

Also the VAFA player transfers list appears to be incomplete. Players are appearing as cleared on EDFL or EFNL's transfer pages yet name doesn't appear on VAFA list. Good luck sorting team sheets for first round!

We were promised a twice weekly update, at this rate, I’ll be happy with the twice yearly update!

 

[Max Leader]

We were promised a twice weekly update, at this rate, I’ll be happy with the twice yearly update!

The transfers showed on VAFA page beat no relevance to the actual transfers. He have had 20 transfers in and out and only 3 are showing. Those transferred players are available to play.

Just a poor system from that perspective.