Under 18's Opportunity for Footscray?

[bulldogtragic]

Just watching the country news, and ain't it brilliant. Got to 'sport' and the Bendigo Pioneers (TAC Cup) hierarchy are looking for an AFL club, with a VFL affiliate to work with and to help non-draftees transition into VFL or perhaps go another step on. Names mentioned were Essendon or Footscray as hopeful VFL teams to link programs with.

I hate Essendon enough and it seems like they piliged the VFL up here and left, so I'd prefer them not to. With Bendigo boys over the list it's a feel good story, but moreover is there a benefit of linking our VFL side to an under 18's club looking to develop talented kids into the draft, but also non draftees?

[boydogs]

Re: Under 18's Opportunity for Footscray?

Why would they limit their players to 1-2 VFL sides? Sounds like they are trying to create an obligation for someone to take them on

[bulldogtragic]

Re: Under 18's Opportunity for Footscray?

Why would they limit their players to 1-2 VFL sides? Sounds like they are trying to create an obligation for someone to take them on

I may not have been elegant with my words, my apologies. My understanding is some bigger clubs who have longer VFL ties have links such as this, but as we are new to the VFL we haven't had to think much about this yet. It would be a proposed synergistic relationship allowing Bendigo Pioneers kids to learn and work with a VFL team through the year and provide some pathway for their kids to have a partner (ish) club while our recruiters would have a closer look. They wouldn't be limiting their players going anywhere but they would want their kids to be somewhere close to home. Their pitch to us would be players who missed the first cut (ie Dickson, Boyd, Morris or Campbell types) from the draft have a shot to make it, if we pick the right kids who we don't want to draft, by having them under our closer watch after TAC we are more likely to find more of these value players. It needs to be win-win, I don't think it's quite that black and white.

[Twodogs]

Re: Under 18's Opportunity for Footscray?

It'd be nice to get rights to a Bendigo region player via a draft concession the way the NSW and Qld clubs now get sole right to nominate players from their respective states.

We'd take a few nominated players, enrol them in our academy or let them play at Footscray and if they warrant it just add them to our list.

In return we could forge closer links with the Bendigo Football League, we could provide guidance and advice on how to run a football organisation with no money to spare. Get a school publicity footy league going that sort of thing.

[boydogs]

Re: Under 18's Opportunity for Footscray?

I may not have been elegant with my words, my apologies

Nah it was clear enough, just seems to me this would only help Bendigo by creating an obligation for us to pick up more of their kids. We already have access to take the ones we want. Not surprising this was talked up by them not us

[boydogs]

Re: Under 18's Opportunity for Footscray?

It'd be nice to get rights to a Bendigo region player via a draft concession the way the NSW and Qld clubs now get sole right to nominate players from their respective states.

Now that would get my attention

[jeemak]

Re: Under 18's Opportunity for Footscray?

Unfortunately it doesn't really fit with Winning the West, does it.

I'd prefer to make sure our marketing and distribution strategy fit with our player development strategy which for the first time in many years is focused on our own reserves teams being planted fairly and squarely in the west of Melbourne.

I'm not saying building relationships outside of that is a bad idea, more so, I'm saying we're just trying to make a new strategy work and we need to concentrate on its fundamentals, which for me, is concentrating on talent within the target area and developing it.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: Under 18's Opportunity for Footscray?

Unfortunately it doesn't really fit with Winning the West, does it.

I'd prefer to make sure our marketing and distribution strategy fit with our player development strategy which for the first time in many years is focused on our own reserves teams being planted fairly and squarely in the west of Melbourne.

I'm not saying building relationships outside of that is a bad idea, more so, I'm saying we're just trying to make a new strategy work and we need to concentrate on its fundamentals, which for me, is concentrating on talent within the target area and developing it.

Since I'm in the minority on Tasmania, I think it opens up a new market, especially with the void that exists between Essendon leaving the VFL team to fold 2 years later. There are a lot of ex-AFL players playing in the local league and top line players I think have all the keys to the city, like Nathan Brown, Selwoods etc. With Crameri and Stringer the next gods coming through there's an opportunity from a marketing point of view to harness parochial Bendigonians to the bulldog brand with locals as star players and a link to community and helping local kids through different pathways.

The Footscray game on ANZAC Day (Night) up here was a cracking event and a good crowd, obviously with no Bendigo team next year it can't be exactly repeated with the same two teams. If I was the club i'd be looking to make that a regular feature, up here for my selfish purposes of course, maybe Nth Ballarat and throw in a Pioneers game and it could be epic.

Or Tasmania.

[doggies ftw]

Re: Under 18's Opportunity for Footscray?

Unfortunately it doesn't really fit with Winning the West, does it.

I'd prefer to make sure our marketing and distribution strategy fit with our player development strategy which for the first time in many years is focused on our own reserves teams being planted fairly and squarely in the west of Melbourne.

I'm not saying building relationships outside of that is a bad idea, more so, I'm saying we're just trying to make a new strategy work and we need to concentrate on its fundamentals, which for me, is concentrating on talent within the target area and developing it.

Agree with that, having some sort of partnership with the Western Jets though would be fantastic. Agree it would be *!*!*!*!ing lovely if we could get an academy player for putting time and money into it like the northern franchises do