Standalone VFL sides - Footscray join in

[bergholt]

Looks like the Scraggers will also soon have a standalone VFL side:

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/d ... 2rzm7.html

Quote from the article:

"The Bulldogs join Collingwood, Essendon and Geelong in having stand-alone VFL teams, while Carlton (Northern Blues) and Hawthorn (Box Hill Hawks) effectively run their affiliates. Richmond is also planning to have its own stand-alone side."

That only leaves Melbourne, North and us. Not great company to be amongst - this is really starting to look like a problem.

[skeptic]

I get the impression that we are more or less getting to the stage where we run Sandy

[Junction Oval]

Well done Bulldogs. My question is - when are we going to be able to do the same? Let's hope that our new President gives the matter some serious attention.

[ShanghaiSaint]

is the advantage of a stand a lone that much over the cost of running it? also if we get one that could decimate the Sandy team yeh?

[gringo]

I think the traditional VFL clubs will be more accommodating as the AFL clubs all get their own teams up. Sandy is pretty much at a point where we are stacking our guys in the positions that matter anyway. We have a coach there that seems to be very aware of our needs so I'm not sure we need to rush the decision ATM. I would rather pay 100% of our SC than get hand outs to have our own team in the vfl.

[plugger66]

WB have a ground to play at. If we did I reckon we would have our own side. We dont have anywhere to play. There is no doubt the clubs benefit having their own side even if the other side is accomodating.

[saintbrat]

Western Bulldogs have to stand alone bcause Williamstown wanted out,
The Tigers are choosing to, can afford it , leaving Coburg go struggle from what I can gather

[plugger66]

Western Bulldogs have to stand alone bcause Williamstown wanted out,
The Tigers are choosing to, can afford it , leaving Coburg go struggle from what I can gather

Pretty sure WB could find another side if they didnt want to go alone.

[longtimesaint]

This is beginning to look like the old VFL reserves that everyone thought we should get rid of. Maybe we could plat the VFL games as curtain raisers!

[older saint]

Getting left behind at a great rate. With all the young players we have and more to come next season own reserves side is critical. Yes lots of boxes to tick but too important not to fix the problems.

[saint66au]

Quickly becoming one of my pet subjects..and something Ill be asking for an update on at the AGM

You cant have a :takeover" of an old established Club like Sandy..Hawks did it with Box Hill but they were a struggling Club about to fold. Any form of alliance is a compromise and any leaning to favouring St Kilda casues angst among Zebs supporters. Witness when the Saints pulled 5 players out of the Sandy side at short notice a couple of weeks ago. Howls of protest from Zebs fans (many of who arent Saints supporters) that we'd ruined Sandys finals chances. while we are aligned with a Club like them this will always happen
Need a Standalone side ASAP. If the benefits are so dubious why have 2/3 of the comp decided to do it?
Plugger is spot on with the ground reason. Bulldogs have Whitten Oval which they spent Govt cash on to bring to VFL standard. We let Moorabbin go and moved (thanks Kingston Council) to Seaford. We now have two grounds (one built from scratch) neither of which are VFL standard.
Cant see any nearby grounds willing to share..and there arent that many anyway.

Blame the 15,000 Members who have dropped off. Could have used the NZ money otherwise.

[saintbrat]

what a differance a 0 makes
and ground not yet at VFL standard

The overwhelming majority of the club's 3000 members who took part in a vote chose the Footscray name ahead of the Western Bulldogs.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In a first for the Bulldogs, Victoria University will also be the naming rights partner of the Whitten Oval. The VFL team will play an as-yet-undecided number of home games at the club's spiritual base, which has undergone a multimillion-dollar renovation in recent years. However, more funds are needed,

including supporter donations, to allow the venue to meet VFL stadium requirements.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/d ... z2c7srbwbW

[gringo]

Quickly becoming one of my pet subjects..and something Ill be asking for an update on at the AGM

You cant have a :takeover" of an old established Club like Sandy..Hawks did it with Box Hill but they were a struggling Club about to fold. Any form of alliance is a compromise and any leaning to favouring St Kilda casues angst among Zebs supporters. Witness when the Saints pulled 5 players out of the Sandy side at short notice a couple of weeks ago. Howls of protest from Zebs fans (many of who arent Saints supporters) that we'd ruined Sandys finals chances. while we are aligned with a Club like them this will always happen
Need a Standalone side ASAP. If the benefits are so dubious why have 2/3 of the comp decided to do it?
Plugger is spot on with the ground reason. Bulldogs have Whitten Oval which they spent Govt cash on to bring to VFL standard. We let Moorabbin go and moved (thanks Kingston Council) to Seaford. We now have two grounds (one built from scratch) neither of which are VFL standard.
Cant see any nearby grounds willing to share..and there arent that many anyway.

Blame the 15,000 Members who have dropped off. Could have used the NZ money otherwise.

What makes it VFL standard TBBO is hardly Etihad? Is it a fence?

[suss]

It would be interesting to know if the club has done a feasibility study on developing Linton St into a VFL standard venue. Everyone knows it would cost a bomb, but how much?

[plugger66]

Quickly becoming one of my pet subjects..and something Ill be asking for an update on at the AGM

You cant have a :takeover" of an old established Club like Sandy..Hawks did it with Box Hill but they were a struggling Club about to fold. Any form of alliance is a compromise and any leaning to favouring St Kilda casues angst among Zebs supporters. Witness when the Saints pulled 5 players out of the Sandy side at short notice a couple of weeks ago. Howls of protest from Zebs fans (many of who arent Saints supporters) that we'd ruined Sandys finals chances. while we are aligned with a Club like them this will always happen
Need a Standalone side ASAP. If the benefits are so dubious why have 2/3 of the comp decided to do it?
Plugger is spot on with the ground reason. Bulldogs have Whitten Oval which they spent Govt cash on to bring to VFL standard. We let Moorabbin go and moved (thanks Kingston Council) to Seaford. We now have two grounds (one built from scratch) neither of which are VFL standard.
Cant see any nearby grounds willing to share..and there arent that many anyway.

Blame the 15,000 Members who have dropped off. Could have used the NZ money otherwise.

What makes it VFL standard TBBO is hardly Etihad? Is it a fence?

I take it you havent been to seaford or Morrobbin. They havent even got changing rooms for the opposition let alone a grandstand or a canteen. And toiltes for people who actually watch the game.

[Life Long Saint]

For all those wondering if there are benefits and what they are...ponder this statistic.
Since 2001, only two premiers (West Coast and Hawthorn) have not had their own team in a state level competition.
It has been mentioned that Hawthorn effectively run Box Hill so, for all intents and purposes, that leaves one team.

Also, consider Why is it that Geelong can develop better talent than the rest? They have not had access to early picks. Even if you discount the father/son selections, their ability to grow their talent is nothing short of amazing.
If we want to be a successful side then we need a reserves team. The longer we wait, the further behind we will slip.

[Mr Magic]

If they were really interested, the Club could talk to the VAFA about using Elsternwick Park for games.
I'm sure it wouldn't cost anywhere near the money required to turn either Linton Street or Seaford into usable VFL standard grounds.

[plugger66]

For all those wondering if there are benefits and what they are...ponder this statistic.
Since 2001, only two premiers (West Coast and Hawthorn) have not had their own team in a state level competition.
It has been mentioned that Hawthorn effectively run Box Hill so, for all intents and purposes, that leaves one team.

Also, consider Why is it that Geelong can develop better talent than the rest? They have not had access to early picks. Even if you discount the father/son selections, their ability to grow their talent is nothing short of amazing.
If we want to be a successful side then we need a reserves team. The longer we wait, the further behind we will slip.

Its all 100% true but the problem is and always has been we dont have a ground to play on. I think if we did then the club would jump at it like the WB have done.

[plugger66]

If they were really interested, the Club could talk to the VAFA about using Elsternwick Park for games.
I'm sure it wouldn't cost anywhere near the money required to turn either Linton Street or Seaford into usable VFL standard grounds.

Elsternwick park is ready to go apart from the changing rooms. That could be an issue but they do have a canteen and toilets and a grandstand. All things needed for a VFL game. Sorry they also would need coaches boxes. and maybe a little upgrade on the toilets and canteen. The problem would be the VAFA. They play many games on the ground especially from last week on when the finals start. I suppose we could finish our home games earlier in the season. Give Sholl a call.

[St Plugger]

There already is a VFL standard ground available............Junction Oval!

[stkildathunda]

For all those wondering if there are benefits and what they are...ponder this statistic.
Since 2001, only two premiers (West Coast and Hawthorn) have not had their own team in a state level competition.
It has been mentioned that Hawthorn effectively run Box Hill so, for all intents and purposes, that leaves one team.

Also, consider Why is it that Geelong can develop better talent than the rest? They have not had access to early picks. Even if you discount the father/son selections, their ability to grow their talent is nothing short of amazing.
If we want to be a successful side then we need a reserves team. The longer we wait, the further behind we will slip.

Re Hawthorn, not when they won the premiership.

[plugger66]

For all those wondering if there are benefits and what they are...ponder this statistic.
Since 2001, only two premiers (West Coast and Hawthorn) have not had their own team in a state level competition.
It has been mentioned that Hawthorn effectively run Box Hill so, for all intents and purposes, that leaves one team.

Also, consider Why is it that Geelong can develop better talent than the rest? They have not had access to early picks. Even if you discount the father/son selections, their ability to grow their talent is nothing short of amazing.
If we want to be a successful side then we need a reserves team. The longer we wait, the further behind we will slip.

Re Hawthorn, not when they won the premiership.

Id be interested in your take on the whole matter.

[stkildathunda]

For all those wondering if there are benefits and what they are...ponder this statistic.
Since 2001, only two premiers (West Coast and Hawthorn) have not had their own team in a state level competition.
It has been mentioned that Hawthorn effectively run Box Hill so, for all intents and purposes, that leaves one team.

Also, consider Why is it that Geelong can develop better talent than the rest? They have not had access to early picks. Even if you discount the father/son selections, their ability to grow their talent is nothing short of amazing.
If we want to be a successful side then we need a reserves team. The longer we wait, the further behind we will slip.

Re Hawthorn, not when they won the premiership.

Id be interested in your take on the whole matter.

Personally I dont see going standalone is that big difference. I dont think the push would be as big if in 2009/2010 that ball bounced 2 different directions!

Ideally the way the alignment is currently running is just nowhere near good enough so something needs to change thats for sure.

Thing with development of kids is it cant be underestimated what impact the Sandringham players in Cockie, Cook, Shepheard, Dowler and co have actually had on our young guys development. Its important to have those mature bodied players around them to "protect" them and if we were standalone theres no way on earth we'd have any of them on our list. I know for fact Cockie's presence in middle has helped quite few of our mids development and makes them better players (straight from our players mouths)

My question is always this. Under the current system how have we seen the development of our own players? Everyone talks up all our kids and fact they've all played games this year and have shown they can make it.

We currently play our own gameplan, most the coaches are on Saints payroll. Whats the difference between that and going standalone?

Im split on it, i dont think its as beneficial as people make out but i wouldnt be against the idea.

[plugger66]

Re Hawthorn, not when they won the premiership.

Id be interested in your take on the whole matter.

Personally I dont see going standalone is that big difference. I dont think the push would be as big if in 2009/2010 that ball bounced 2 different directions!

Ideally the way the alignment is currently running is just nowhere near good enough so something needs to change thats for sure.

Thing with development of kids is it cant be underestimated what impact the Sandringham players in Cockie, Cook, Shepheard, Dowler and co have actually had on our young guys development. Its important to have those mature bodied players around them to "protect" them and if we were standalone theres no way on earth we'd have any of them on our list. I know for fact Cockie's presence in middle has helped quite few of our mids development and makes them better players (straight from our players mouths)

My question is always this. Under the current system how have we seen the development of our own players? Everyone talks up all our kids and fact they've all played games this year and have shown they can make it.

We currently play our own gameplan, most the coaches are on Saints payroll. Whats the difference between that and going standalone?

Im split on it, i dont think its as beneficial as people make out but i wouldnt be against the idea.

Thanks for that. What can change though apart from obviously going alone? At the moment it doesnt seem to help either side. And the seconds at sandy are really just terrible. Is that because of the alignment?

[stkildathunda]

Not sure what can change. Think if Saints just showed bit respect and not treat them look fools it would go a long way.

All our injuries and putting players out for surgery hasn't helped the Dev Squad as all their players have had to play seniors. Also the very late changes don't help them. It's flow on effect.

Think if can have injury free season next year it would help.