Toast VFL coaches

[RunningBounce]

Just wanted to raise a glass to the VFL and development coaches.

Broad. Miles. Menadue. Lloyd. Bolton. Stengle. Soldo. Elton. Hunt. Markov. Although there’s some in that list that are better than others, they have all come in and given us a solid contribution, when required. It’s been a long, long time since VFL players have slotted in so seamlessly to the seniors.

Cheers to McRae and X Clarke. You’re gunna coach a team to finals AND have any players who get promoted ready to play our brand of footy. Well done.

 

[Roachy8]

So much better having our own vfl team rather than crappy Coburg affiliation.
Big increase in depth quality.

 

[Schlurp]

Must credit the RFC executive who appointed two people as VFL (read development) coaches who had not just football smarts and experience but also practical teaching experience. We are two years in and the results are outstanding. Some excellent judgement was shown there.

 

[TigerImposter]

So much better having our own vfl team rather than crappy Coburg affiliation.
Big increase in depth quality.

This is a very naive statement based on the RFC failed performances in that period. How many times did the Tigers make the finals whilst with Coburg. In actual fact the Coburg Tigers over achieved considering the spuds that the RFC traded in and drafted. They made finals including a GF and also provided players like King and Foley. Both clubs were in financial ruin and totally mismanaged when the alliance started. I can provide you with a list of duds the Tigers recruited in during their regime and you can tell me whether they were going to be stars anywhere else.
FMD as if Coburg were in charge of the development of the RFC listed players. The RFC fd staff were full of morons where they would play their players in opposing positions were they would excel at Coburg.

 

[Bojangles17]

I agree the vfl team has been well resourced , NOW , I like to go to the huddle at the breaks and try and tune into what they're saying , Xav Clarke was most engaging with the midfielders and McRae really gave the Impression he knew what he was doing , playing terrific footy and have improved our depth 100%

 

[Bojangles17]

It's hard to believe we must have take. The coburg alliance too seriously when Adam saad completely slips thru our fingers to GC , HTF does that happen

 

[Roachy8]

This is a very naive statement based on the RFC failed performances in that period. How many times did the Tigers make the finals whilst with Coburg. In actual fact the Coburg Tigers over achieved considering the spuds that the RFC traded in and drafted. They made finals including a GF and also provided players like King and Foley. Both clubs were in financial ruin and totally mismanaged when the alliance started. I can provide you with a list of duds the Tigers recruited in during their regime and you can tell me whether they were going to be stars anywhere else.
FMD as if Coburg were in charge of the development of the RFC listed players. The RFC fd staff were full of morons where they would play their players in opposing positions were they would excel at Coburg.

Don't disagree with any of that and I know that you had some affiliation with the Burgers??
Anyway, whatever has changed since those days has certainly been for the better.

 

[TigerImposter]

Don't disagree with any of that and I know that you had some affiliation with the Burgers??
Anyway, whatever has changed since those days has certainly been for the better.

Alliances can work and one example is Box Hill with Hawthorn. Now in 2003 the Hawks were a basket case like RFC and by the time the Lids draft came along they had nailed their picks earlier and in the lids draft whereas we had 4 picks under 21 and McGuane at 38( I think) which only Lids was the gun . Then we got JON and that blonde haired forward the following years.
We also missed Pav earlier. It was basket case stuff which no seconds side or firsts side were ever going to succeed . Hawthorn worked on getting their picks into development at Box Hill and both clubs have shared massive success as Clarko lives on the belief your firsts are only good based on your depth.
Go and see their side tonight and see their outs. Their depth is amazing and yes we're getting there , but it's been a long journey due to the realisation after all these years on what is needed for success.
The RFC would make very few changes in those years week to week bc the depth was so poor and so their was no competition to get into a run down firsts side of mostly hacks. So whatever results were obtained at Coburg by Richo and Collins were amazing. The ruining of the Coburg Tigers was when Collins left bc
of poor communication with Wallet and we couldn't match a massive offer by a SAFL team. Lol. Collins then took the Caruso brothers with him and we ended up with the Spin of Harry Potter.
He was a just a useless brown nose and a yes man who offered his services for a beef burger just to get the job.
Soon as he got the job it was all over as everything that Collins had built went backwards bc it was all about cost saving and not getting kids in for development . He was such a numpty he was playing hbf in the fwd pocket or rucks at full back. It was amateur hour which almost killed me.
You're kidding yourself if you think that Coburg couldn't win a premiership with the current RFC list as they got to a GF with an inferior list. It's all about nailing your trades and draft picks with a shit load of coin to back you up. Collins ended up coming back and coached VFL standalone Williamstown to a VFL flag. As much as a prick he can be you cannot question his professionalism expertise, work ethic and knowledge that is required for success.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Alliances can work and one example is Box Hill with Hawthorn. Now in 2003 the Hawks were a basket case like RFC and by the time the Lids draft came along they had nailed their picks earlier and in the lids draft whereas we had 4 picks under 21 and McGuane at 38( I think) which only Lids was the gun . Then we got JON and that blonde haired forward the following years.
We also missed Pav earlier. It was basket case stuff which no seconds side or firsts side were ever going to succeed . Hawthorn worked on getting their picks into development at Box Hill and both clubs have shared massive success as Clarko lives on the belief your firsts are only good based on your depth.
Go and see their side tonight and see their outs. Their depth is amazing and yes we're getting there , but it's been a long journey due to the realisation after all these years on what is needed for success.
The RFC would make very few changes in those years week to week bc the depth was so poor and so their was no competition to get into a run down firsts side of mostly hacks. So whatever results were obtained at Coburg by Richo and Collins were amazing. The ruining of the Coburg Tigers was when Collins left bc
of poor communication with Wallet and we couldn't match a massive offer by a SAFL team. Lol. Collins then took the Caruso brothers with him and we ended up with the Spin of Harry Potter.
He was a just a useless brown nose and a yes man who offered his services for a beef burger just to get the job.
Soon as he got the job it was all over as everything that Collins had built went backwards bc it was all about cost saving and not getting kids in for development . He was such a numpty he was playing hbf in the fwd pocket or rucks at full back. It was amateur hour which almost killed me.
You're kidding yourself if you think that Coburg couldn't win a premiership with the current RFC list as they got to a GF with an inferior list. It's all about nailing your trades and draft picks with a shit load of coin to back you up. Collins ended up coming back and coached VFL standalone Williamstown to a VFL flag. As much as a prick he can be you cannot question his professionalism expertise, work ethic and knowledge that is required for success.

The bolded is a very important part.

I was a big fan of the alliance between the two clubs, because it saved both our bacon for a period of time. But reality is without coin you dont get great coaches, or the choice VFL players.

the coaches in particular hurt. I heard multiple times about the lack of coordination between Coburg and Richmond on everything from player management to training. Reality is it was on RFC to own that - Coburg was the junior partner in the alliance - but we lacked the resources to do this properly, and we had the wrong people to do it on a shoestring.

I will always have a soft spot for Coburg, even though I hated them growing up. Saw the tigs play a number of times at City Oval, and it always was a good atmosphere there. Still remember the night we announced we were going stand alone, they had the president of coburg on the radio. you could hear the emotion in his voice as he basically thanks RFC for the alliance, but now they needed to stand alone themselves and it would be a year on year proposition for them to survive. I felt gutted for him and all coburg peoples.

This is one thing that shits me about the AFL takeover of the VFA. You keep hearing "without the AFL joint ventures Springvale would never have survived". Well they didn't. Preston is dead. Springvale is dead. Box Hill is dead. They may be separate entities officially, but they have long ceased to have any independant identity from their AFL masters. They are stand alone AFL reserves sides now, just with different names.

At least Coburg survived our venture with its identity intact.

Now we have Frankston begging for readmittance, Ballarat basically dead, Port Melbourne rattling tins, Coburg still a year on year proposition, and then the clincher. As Sandy have pointed out, killing the VFL reserves is a great money saver for the AFL clubs, BUT its gunna ram even more nails in the coffins of the old VFA sides.

Sooner the AFL has a stand alone reserves comp, and it determines what the best long term sustainable arrangement there is for Melbourne second tier footy (ie rebuild a smaller VFA comp, coburg/franga/etc go to the NFL/EDFL/etc) the better.

 

[TigerImposter]

The bolded is a very important part.

I was a big fan of the alliance between the two clubs, because it saved both our bacon for a period of time. But reality is without coin you dont get great coaches, or the choice VFL players.

the coaches in particular hurt. I heard multiple times about the lack of coordination between Coburg and Richmond on everything from player management to training. Reality is it was on RFC to own that - Coburg was the junior partner in the alliance - but we lacked the resources to do this properly, and we had the wrong people to do it on a shoestring.

I will always have a soft spot for Coburg, even though I hated them growing up. Saw the tigs play a number of times at City Oval, and it always was a good atmosphere there. Still remember the night we announced we were going stand alone, they had the president of coburg on the radio. you could hear the emotion in his voice as he basically thanks RFC for the alliance, but now they needed to stand alone themselves and it would be a year on year proposition for them to survive. I felt gutted for him and all coburg peoples.

This is one thing that shits me about the AFL takeover of the VFA. You keep hearing "without the AFL joint ventures Springvale would never have survived". Well they didn't. Preston is dead. Springvale is dead. Box Hill is dead. They may be separate entities officially, but they have long ceased to have any independant identity from their AFL masters. They are stand alone AFL reserves sides now, just with different names.

At least Coburg survived our venture with its identity intact.

Now we have Frankston begging for readmittance, Ballarat basically dead, Port Melbourne rattling tins, Coburg still a year on year proposition, and then the clincher. As Sandy have pointed out, killing the VFL reserves is a great money saver for the AFL clubs, BUT its gunna ram even more nails in the coffins of the old VFA sides.

Sooner the AFL has a stand alone reserves comp, and it determines what the best long term sustainable arrangement there is for Melbourne second tier footy (ie rebuild a smaller VFA comp, coburg/franga/etc go to the NFL/EDFL/etc) the better.

Great post and i cannot like that enough. The AFL have from hearsay (as i haven't checked up yet) has just driven another nail into the standalone teams by scrapping the development league.This means Coburg and the likes will have a list of around 33 with not being able to develop younger talent on a week to week basis as they will be training and playing in other comps.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Great post and i cannot like that enough. The AFL have from hearsay (as i haven't checked up yet) has just driven another nail into the standalone teams by scrapping the development league.This means Coburg and the likes will have a list of around 33 with not being able to develop younger talent on a week to week basis as they will be training and playing in other comps.

not hearsay, its 99% done.



St Kilda will monitor internal rumblings at Sandringham with doubts surrounding the long-term viability of their partnership following AFL Victoria's confirmation on Thursday that the VFL Development League would be discontinued at season's end.

As had long been mooted, the development league, formerly the VFL reserves has been shafted, with AFL Victoria citing logistical and cost issues as the reason.

This has ramifications for VFL clubs Box Hill, Casey Demons, Coburg, Northern Blues, Port Melbourne, Sandringham, Werribee and Williamstown, all of whom have development league sides.

There will now be fewer weekly spots available to play in the VFL system, meaning all clubs will follow a model in which all listed players who aren't selected to play in the VFL each week will be released to local football.

Sandringham operations manager Josh Vella told the AFL website earlier in the week that the Zebras would explore their options in light of what had been an expected call on the development league, with several meetings involving key club personnel taking place in recent days amid reports of player discontent.

While the Saints remain unwilling to comment publicly about the unease at Sandringham, it's understood they have not changed their plans for the alignment to continue into 2018.

There is no contract between the two clubs, rather a rolling agreement. The Saints had only last year changed their plans to establish a stand-alone reserves team to play out of Moorabbin, instead recommitting to Sandringham, who have been their alignment partners since 2009. The plan had been for the team to play several games out of Moorabbin next year, wearing St Kilda colours.

One senior figure involved in the partnership said on Thursday he expected the alignment to continue next year, before being reassessed ahead of the 2019 season. AFL Victoria's media release on Thursday made no mention of any possible separation between the two clubs, saying that other than North Melbourne and Werribee - who will go their separate ways next year - and the possible re-admission of Frankston, no new licences are being considered for 2018.

AFL Victoria chief executive Steven Reaper explained the decision behind the scrapping of the development league.

"Pressures on clubs have been mounting over a number of years, both financially and from an administration perspective, relating to the DL," Reaper said.

"With only eight of the 14 clubs fielding a development team, scheduling difficulties have grown each year; adding pressure to staff and volunteers with games increasingly being played at different grounds and often on different days to senior VFL games.

"The cost of running the development league currently sits in excess of $1 million between the competition and the clubs, and this is both not viable nor the best possible use of investment into the future, when we are seeing clubs experience financial difficulties."

The removal of the DL has raised questions about the long-term future of reserves football for Victorian AFL clubs. All Victorian clubs bar Geelong have at one stage had an alignment with a VFL club since the merger of the VFL with the AFL reserves at the end of 1999, but in recent years Collingwood, Essendon, Footscray, Richmond and North have all separated from their alignment partners, while Carlton and Melbourne's monikers have been adopted by the Northern Bullants and Casey Scorpions respectively.

It's understood there is some appetite at AFL house for a standalone reserves competition, but this would likely be a play for years down the track. There are concerns at some affected clubs about how players would transition from the under-18 TAC Cup to the VFL without the development league, but Reaper tried to allay those fears, citing the drafting of Geelong players Timm House and Ryan Abbott, who joined the AFL after playing local football in 2016.

"Players are still able to develop within community football, and we believe this decision will help enhance relationships between community and VFL clubs and grow the depth of talent at community level into the future," he said.

"Geelong draftees Timm House and Ryan Abbott are both examples of players that played local football last year when not selected for Geelong's VFL team but were still drafted at the end of the season."

 

[Ned_Flanders]

I love how the article says its to ease the mounting cost and admin pressures on "clubs". Shows the focus of AFL Victoria was 100% on the AFL clubs, not the VFA originals.

 

[TigerImposter]

I love how the article says its to ease the mounting cost and admin pressures on "clubs". Shows the focus of AFL Victoria was 100% on the AFL clubs, not the VFA originals.

That's garbage and it goes against the philosophy of putting coin into grass roots footy. Yet the afl has pumped a colossus into GWS Suns and the Women's competition which I have no issue with , but to dribble that line ?????

 

[RunningBounce]

Good post, rfc. HOw do you think the demise of the development league plays out for Richmond?

"Players are still able to develop within community football, and we believe this decision will help enhance relationships between community and VFL clubs and grow the depth of talent at community level into the future," he said.

"Geelong draftees Timm House and Ryan Abbott are both examples of players that played local football last year when not selected for Geelong's VFL team but were still drafted at the end of the season."

Soldo played a fair bit of footy in the development league during his first season. Although admittedly, I didn’t see any of those games, I think it probably helped his development, being able to play at a lower level with coaches, players and systems he was comfortable with. Certainly can’t hurt the progression of a player like Soldo, being able to slide up and down the levels, as required.

 

[Goldust]

That's garbage and it goes against the philosophy of putting coin into grass roots footy. Yet the afl has pumped a colossus into GWS Suns and the Women's competition which I have no issue with , but to dribble that line ?????

As of a few weeks, my nephew is on the scrapheap due to the abolition of the Development League.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Good post, rfc. HOw do you think the demise of the development league plays out for Richmond?



Soldo played a fair bit of footy in the development league during his first season. Although admittedly, I didn’t see any of those games, I think it probably helped his development, being able to play at a lower level with coaches, players and systems he was comfortable with. Certainly can’t hurt the progression of a player like Soldo, being able to slide up and down the levels, as required.

Club has said its good for us, because it saves us money. Also our vfl side is effectively our development side

What i dont like is it:

1) shafts vfa sides who need their own development sides to develop their own players

2) it underlines the complete lack of focus for development in victoria. We have tac, but outside that its chaos ball. Something is wrong when players earn more playing for balwyn than port melbourne

 

[TigerImposter]

As of a few weeks, my nephew is on the scrapheap due to the abolition of the Development League.

Sad to hear.