Good to see everyone so excited but there will be no upsets.

And I see they've fixed the draw so a non-HAL side must get to the semi finals

and?

MV will lose to Bayswater

Why fix the draw after the first round? Why the armchair ride for one/two non-ALeague team over their other peers.

Onto the draw, see both WA teams and the solitary SA team got A-League teams, LOL. Well with the million NSW teams was always going to end up a Spiv wankfest anyway.

We'll seehow it goes shall we?

It's not as if they get a piggy back to the final tbh.

I used to play for both Bayswater and Stirling, still know a few of the boys playing :(

I'm guessing to keep in interesting for grass roots football into the SF.

Would be boring from the quarters onwards if it was just A-League clubs, this from a non-A-League club viewpoint.

Not to mention the fact that you can't even guarantee 3 A-League clubs in the SF. So many people are writing off state clubs but the fact is there are many gems that people don't see. The Aus public is so daft.

haha......


rather sit at a dead end

Alex Smith, for example, is FNQ Heat's marquee player. Has played many games in the HAL.

[-o<

If state league clubs are good enough (which i believe quite a few are) then they shouldn't need the free ride. They're perfectly capable of making it on their own, and a-league clubs are perfectly capable of fucking up on the day as well.

South Hobart all over the local news.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=690359244382429&set=vb.205666279518397&type=2&theater

Like I said, they aren't going straight to the final.

Wish we could fast forward to July 29. Keen as!!

I can see HAL teams losing due to being in pre season mode etc. Cupsets should be expected!

AL teams should be more organised ;)

The same problem happens for ACL. Maybe we should move our season?

BUT BUT BUT THE NRL/AFL!

-PB

This, for a first try it's been fantastic, something never achieved in Australian sport before. Saying that, hopefully we'll see strong competition justifying an open draw from the Round of 32 onwards next time, and no fucking second or third chances for Sydney teams.

:lol: Because having teams from your own league in a cup (like Welsh and Channel Islander teams in the FA Cup) is illegitimate, but playing a youth team controlled by the national federation in a senior cup is #legitimate :lol:

I'm all for the free ride. Let's remember that these clubs barely have any finances at all and this is the first year of the competition. Let's just see how it goes. If anything, I'm more disappointed that the first round had to have those big matches between A-League clubs.

Hey guys, this guy noticed something that the FFA openly announced they'd do months ago! Have a medal, champ!

i was looking forward to the central coast mariners youth team pulling off an upset against the central coast mariners

This. If it was all ten A-League clubs playing state clubs, that's ten chances for an upset, as opposed to four chances against arguably last year's best A-League teams.

Seriously don't get the negativity.

We have gone from no knockout cup at all that has been promised and promised but always delayed till next year to having one and now we are complaining that it is not completely random.

This is the comp first year and we don't know how well the state clubs will go against a-league opposition in a proper competitive match.

To be honest I am expecting blowouts but overtime the standards between A-league and state league should not be a big difference.

When that happens then an open draw should not be a major issue

Edited by Timmo: 27/6/2014 11:00:02 PM

just wanna say, good lookin cup. IMO, best lookin trophy in Australian sport.

Sure is. Although I'm not sure why there's an image of the cup on the cup. Cupception.

I thought this was the bloody aim of the whole exercise, it's not "cup-a-soup" .