Dont mind me going 4/4 again in Kentwell
Kentwell Loss by less than 7 - 4/8. I'd say that they are competitive.
How do you imagine Harbour will get 3 teams and a colts together? They are currently running with 1 team, and having SRU teams fill in colts and 2nds for them. Certainly a bandaid for this year but surely not long term.
So Knox and Beecroft with two grades and colts, as well as Sydney Harbour with one grade, head up to Division 2, but Epping, Briars and Hawkesbury Valley, who all fielded three grades and colts are gone????
One of the worst takes of the year. And there’s been a few.
Sydney harbour fielding as many grade sides as Newport so worth a shot I guess
10 teams in dif 1 has merit. Forest, Petersham, Pats and Mosman are all capable of fielding 5 grades + colts, (Mosman will bounce back to its usual 2 colts teams next year.) Sending them down a div where it’s a shit fight for some teams to have a second grade would be detrimental for player retention at those clubs.
You're right, we should protect Div 1 from those savages in the lower divisions.
As good as it has been to see Drummoyne do well this year, the fact that they (and possibly other examples in years past) didn't go down to Div based on anything other than their total points creates confusion and speculation. If the worst club isn't determined by it's total points score across all grades, then we move into a committee's assessment as to who should and who shouldn't go.
Less than ideal, I agree.
Anyone who has observed Subbies for the last 10 years probably realises we have a "Div 1 vs everything else" problem.... no wait: "challenge". That's the word I'm meant to use at work
Strong clubs at the top who are capable of maintaining a Colts program *cough* Waverley *cough* and good numbers in Grade.
However, you'll also have clubs who probably know they'd just get destroyed up against big clubs, and seem perfectly happy with 2nd Div e.g. Hills.
We might be at the point where we consider dissolving Divisions at the bottom end to fill gaps at the top end, and that requires a lot of change in thinking, and creates real issues compared with how the system operates now. Some of these smaller clubs won't have many home ground fixtures, and be forced to play at unsuitable times, hastening the disillusionment of some players and officials.
It will probably accelerate the erosion of Subbies as we know it, eventually becoming something like this:
* First Division as an impenetrable bastion of mostly Eastern Suburbs clubs, with resources and juniors as appropriate
* Second Division being a big step down in numbers and quality (3 Grades + Colts is probably the limit, more likely just 3 Grades)
* Third Division as a group of single grade clubs, fighting over the scraps of whatever players are left, like mutants in a wasteland of league and AFL
Why not the following;