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VAFA General Discussion

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Basically, in the VAFA, if you are not a top tier OC club with full support of your affiliated college or school, you are cactus and may as well be paying players for money to keep successful. The VAFA is set up for the top tier teams and the relative interest of head office in the comps decreases as you go down the levels from Prem to Divisional footy.

Clubs are left struggling as the "paying" wolves come to the door for their players. Or they jump ship and try to compete in an environment where they pay players too.
 
There have been great clubs and I am part of one of them that have tremendous success in the VAFA only to have fallen. it doesn't take much and there is no one there but yourselves to rebuild your club.
 

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Nepotism said:
There have been great clubs and I am part of one of them that have tremendous success in the VAFA only to have fallen. it doesn't take much and there is no one there but yourselves to rebuild your club.
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There are clubs in paying leagues that have also disappeared.

In order to compete in paying leagues you must have deep pockets (pokies or benefactors) to compete.

Doncaster in EFNL didn't field a team this year and looks like Preston (VFL) is gone and Coburg, Sandy & Port are barely holding on.
 
Its a tough game to stay afloat at VAFA or in a local league unless you have a major benefactory or two.
 
Keano15 said:
There are clubs in paying leagues that have also disappeared.

In order to compete in paying leagues you must have deep pockets (pokies or benefactors) to compete.

Doncaster in EFNL didn't field a team this year and looks like Preston (VFL) is gone and Coburg, Sandy & Port are barely holding on.
Click to expand...

Aside from deep pockets also need a steady stream of players coming through. Just ask Doncaster with limited number of juniors.
 
Keano15 said:
There are clubs in paying leagues that have also disappeared.

In order to compete in paying leagues you must have deep pockets (pokies or benefactors) to compete.

Doncaster in EFNL didn't field a team this year and looks like Preston (VFL) is gone and Coburg, Sandy & Port are barely holding on.
Click to expand...
Port Melbourne , please get your facts right
 
Yes a great junior program is a huge bonus. If you can replenish from within and add talent each year, you can plan and build and anyone from outside is just a bonus.


Most of those teams that you have identified that have disbanded, they fell away at junior level first.
 
Keano15 said:
There are clubs in paying leagues that have also disappeared.

In order to compete in paying leagues you must have deep pockets (pokies or benefactors) to compete.

Doncaster in EFNL didn't field a team this year and looks like Preston (VFL) is gone and Coburg, Sandy & Port are barely holding on.
Click to expand...
Extremely well run Clubs can be self sustaining and not rely on the input of rich benefactors. The highest paying clubs aren’t necessarily the ones that win the premiership, more so the clubs with a strong culture and hopefully a solid junior feeder program.

I also think you’ll find Doncaster folded for other playing group reasons, not the inability to pay players.
 

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Max Leader said:
I know, but my mates up the road suffered way worse.

Hopefully the Ivanhoe Bears/Tigers can reverse the trend.
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Max,
Many years ago, (58 actually) I was stationed at a foreign military camp in a foreign country known as 'Camp Bearcat'.
Perhaps the Ivanhoe Bears/Tigers could explore changing their dual name????
 
SeaSide said:
Max,
Many years ago, (58 actually) I was stationed at a foreign military camp in a foreign country known as 'Camp Bearcat'.
Perhaps the Ivanhoe Bears/Tigers could explore changing their dual name????
Click to expand...
We will be ok, as we always have been, for the IFC to remain as the Hoers - it's done the job for 115 years and think it's got a little more left in the tank.

As for Maxy's cheeky drive-by, I think he understands there is a momentum shift happening and some of our juniors are coming home. He just hopes moving forward they are not all the ones playing at his club. Commentary like that though does give us some extra incentive 😎
 
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random observer said:
There's a few others I can think of (other than those posted above).
Mt Lilydale (EFNL) - now North Croydon / MLOC
St Francis Xavier (SFNL) - now Narre South
Southern Dragons (SFNL) - not clear on this. Think they started in SFNL, came to VAFA, went back to SFNL then died.

But your point is right - they are still near the level they were in the VAFA (near the bottom). Other than the Dragons, obviously.


Think there may be something to this.

A number of clubs seem to have downplayed their school connections:
Mt Lilydale OC - now North Croydon / MLOC.

Others have divorced their old schools altogether:
St Leo's Emmaus Wattle Park (VAFA) - now just Wattle Park. I think one of these schools ceased to exist years ago.
St Francis Xavier (now SFNL) - Narre South Saints.
North Old Boys - now just call themselves Brunswick (unclear whether name change or outright separation).

Some have merged to survive:
Salesian (with St Mary's) - VAFA.
Yarra Valley OB (with Manningham Cobras) - VAFA - though Yarra seems to be the dominant partner.

And others have just died:
Old Mentonians
Old Westbourne

Don't know how much old school character / influence school sides now in other comps retain - Rupertswood (EDFL), Eltham Collegians (NFNL) and Old Paradians (NFNL).
Click to expand...

Well reserched RO
 
random observer said:
There's a few others I can think of (other than those posted above).
Mt Lilydale (EFNL) - now North Croydon / MLOC
St Francis Xavier (SFNL) - now Narre South
Southern Dragons (SFNL) - not clear on this. Think they started in SFNL, came to VAFA, went back to SFNL then died.

But your point is right - they are still near the level they were in the VAFA (near the bottom). Other than the Dragons, obviously.


Think there may be something to this.

A number of clubs seem to have downplayed their school connections:
Mt Lilydale OC - now North Croydon / MLOC.

Others have divorced their old schools altogether:
St Leo's Emmaus Wattle Park (VAFA) - now just Wattle Park. I think one of these schools ceased to exist years ago.
St Francis Xavier (now SFNL) - Narre South Saints.
North Old Boys - now just call themselves Brunswick (unclear whether name change or outright separation).

Some have merged to survive:
Salesian (with St Mary's) - VAFA.
Yarra Valley OB (with Manningham Cobras) - VAFA - though Yarra seems to be the dominant partner.

And others have just died:
Old Mentonians
Old Westbourne

Don't know how much old school character / influence school sides now in other comps retain - Rupertswood (EDFL), Eltham Collegians (NFNL) and Old Paradians (NFNL).
Click to expand...
Old Westobourne still fields women's teams in the VAFA after they raided Spotswood's women in the WFNL. On the men's side, after some demands and indifference to the OBs from the school, about 6 years ago, a split occurred and a group formed the Wyndham Suns FC (now "Suns FC") and still play in the WFNL. The men's group that wanted to continue in the VAFA sadly folded.
 

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Dogs till i die said:
Old Westobourne still fields women's teams in the VAFA after they raided Spotswood's women in the WFNL. On the men's side, after some demands and indifference to the OBs from the school, about 6 years ago, a split occurred and a group formed the Wyndham Suns FC (now "Suns FC") and still play in the WFNL. The men's group that wanted to continue in the VAFA sadly folded.
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Time flies my old doggy mate. Bit more than six years ago.

The school parted ways with the club at the end of 2013 due to "ground overuse" (e.g. the groundsman failed to keep them watered and they didn't recover after the big drought) and in 2014 the Old Westbourne club became Wyndham Suns FC with juniors and U19s based at the new Goddard St ground. After some background politics and shenanigans a majority of Westbourne seniors did not move and formed a new club called Westbourne Grammarians based at the school. There weren't enough seniors at the Suns to get up a 2014 side.

VAFA had agreed to start the original Westbourne club (now Suns) in D4 when they got a senior side up for 2015. That deal was reneged on by VAFA and after a year of the Suns U19 side being stuffed around from pillar to post, and being told the seniors would have to come up through Club18s, Suns decided they would be better off in the WRFL Div3 seniors and U18s and the VAFA could go something themselves.

I'm sad to see that the Westbourne mens side has folded (didn't know it had until a few days ago). I haven't had anything to do with them for some years but still take pride in being appointed to umpire them in the highest ever game the club reached - D2 Semifinal against Paradians at the Dairy Bell.
 
I'm guessing round 1 will be 11th of April.
 
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