I'd really like to know where GVS is getting its money from.
Is it attendances?
Canteen revenues?
Council support?
Sponsors?
Benefactors?

This high profile recruitment approach may backfire on them if there is no onfield success, in terms of losing their financial support and heading to the bottom of the NPL.

Their web page, facebook page have been neglected. I don't like to critisize because I know how hard this can be, but have they chosen the wrong direction?
In hindsight should they have gone out to recruit players that firstly are living in Melbourne, travelling to Shepparton and from Melbourne to play and train on an irregular basis.
Rumours circulated that some of the star recruits were on $2000 a match, certainly some are paid above the odds in the range of $750-$1500. Certainly Colosimo won't come cheap.
Would that money have been better invested in coaches or facilities?
Or a long term approach based on local players with or without one or two marquees type players.

Anyway goodluck to them very hard to start from scratch in the top league.

like all country sport it'll be people with more money then sense.

mate of mine used to live in shepp said that they have a few blokes with deep pockets baking them..

http://www.mmg.com.au/local-sport/shepparton/hoping-suns-shine-through-window-1.74433

Predicted by you, perhaps wishfully.

Fair play for South on a great season so far (FFA Cup notwithstanding) and fair play for you for having your agenda in protecting your team's interest in not growing the state's top level outside of the Melbourne Metro area inorganically, but if you know what you're talking about you know full well that conflating Ballarat and GVS is not the way to do it, as they are in completely different situations.

While it might look convenient to a scoreboard analyst to have both teams consecutively on the bottom of the table you posted, it's clear that Ballarat have been performing much more like the standard required, only a few points off Port Melbourne, and for the most part of the season within three points of the august Melbourne Knights (how about that FFA Cup?)

Reflecting on performance, the scorelines have been far from as damning as GVS's 0-4, 1-4 and last week's 0-5 loss, in fact Ballarat have only once lost by a margin more than two goals. Ballarat's GD is matched by Dandenong and Port and better than Werribee's, showing that while they're losing some games, they have caught up a long way in standard and are not out of place.

Of course the difference is deeper than the scorelines, as you've been happy to dump on GVS for (assumedly) spending relatively big on Sarkies, Sekulovski, Colosimo and the lack of results this has borne them, but you've ignored that apart from one signing Director of Football Danny Milosevic attracted from abroad (former Liverpool yoof player Danny O'Donnell) and one ex Adelaide NYL player, the vast majority were young players from Ballarat who went to Melbourne VPL clubs or a few players from the squad from last year's State 2 SW season, Dom Swinton in particular stepping up before heading overseas. Indeed at the start of the season, 15 of the squad of 20 were from Ballarat originally, representing their home town.

I could talk about how the club have secured over $5 million to build their new facility, which opened just in time for this season. Good enough for the Bahrain NT, Melbourne City and Sydney FC, but not good enough for the NPLV?

If you want to post tables, how about this one? Ballarat are top of the table in the U-16's. If the whole point of the NPL was to create better youth pathways, then bringing Ballarat to the table has opened up a path that wasn't there before, and they have excelled. Looking forward to these guys pushing through into the first team for Ballarat and beyond, instead of being lost to AFL or meth or whatever it is they do in Ballarat these days.

InB4 "plastic new dawn" comments, but as I don't follow a foreign team closely and never followed any particular state level team before and I was a kid from the countryside when the NSL existed so it was totally inaccessible to me, this is the first time I've followed a team who are fighting a relegation battle, and it's quite thrilling. Hopefully Ballarat will play good football and develop good players and survive that pro/rel battle on sporting merit to truly earn their seat.

For the record, would love it if Ballarat DID sneak up above the Werribee, Knights or Port - would be very happy to see North Geelong put in a good run at the end of the season and get into the top division too. As I said, I'm all for more regional sides in the competition - just think they need to earn it.

Fair play on your comments Ben but I have to rebut this:



That's GVS again, Ballarat has 14 points and -11 GD, plus a game in hand, and put five past Griffin McMaster last week. That said I agree putting the promoted regional teams in NPL1 would have achieved the same outcome youth pathway wise, and I was very surprised when they were announced for the top division, but I guess they wanted an even spread of two per division to minimise travel instead of imposing four regional away trips on the NPL1 sides.

My comment was directly related to your comment on GVS's form being only just not good enough. No argument on Ballarat.

Two of the regional sides were always going to be in the NPL, it was one of the points the FFV were most stuck on. Clubs simply wanted the assurance that the 12 sides who had 'earned' their place in the top division would get them, after that the FFV insisted on having 2 regional sides to increase state-wide interest. The four extra rounds have caused problems with the finances of many clubs who had budgeted for the usual 22 games and now have to find operating costs for the extra fixtures.

Well done South Springvale on making the Dockerty Cup final after defeating St. Albans 9-8 on penalties. Tough task against Melbourne Knights in the final, but every game has been a challenge and they have overcome each hurdle.

Big result last night - 2nd place Oakleigh dropping the ball at home against Hume. South Melbourne now 6 points clear with a game in hand - playing the big derby against the Knights on Sunday.

From a neutral perspective I was hoping that round 25 would pretty much be the decider so that's disappointing.

I might come along tomorrow, all depends on how I pull up after my game a bit earlier. Rivalry, south just got knocked out by knights in the ffa cup and both on a good run of form. All the ingredients for a good game

Edited by tbitm: 19/7/2014 02:14:33 PM

Watched two traditional rivals Georgies Vs Zebras this afternoon and boy did they go hell for leather at each. No one took a backward step and it was full on. Great game as well.

Edited by atlas: 19/7/2014 08:05:51 PM

Ballarat's new signing Paul Harvey bagged both goals as the Red Devils were leading Pascoe Vale 2-0 before the game was abandoned in the 67th minute as a Pascoe Vale player had to be taken to hospital by ambulance. Hope he's well soon.

Edited by paladisious: 20/7/2014 04:47:17 AM

HOLY SHIT GVS BEAT GREEN GULLY. GVS WON A GAME. AGAINST GREEN GULLY!

Anyone know how many teams get promoted and relegated? I want some hope that Box Hill can go up because Avondale are running away with it.

If Avondale Heights get promoted (and they look a certainty) where will they play, their current ground is state League 4 standard.

that question should have been asked when they were given a gig in the NPL

And yet they have undeniably killed it on the park, even if that park itself is indeed of a very low standard. I saw someone's washing on the line on one highlights video.

Conversely, their under 16's are copping a spanking of the likes I've never seen before; 0 wins, 1 draw and 12 losses with a GD of minus one hundred and four-fucking-teen.

Asks some very interesting questions of what we want from our top state level clubs in general terms.

Edited by paladisious: 21/7/2014 10:31:02 AM

What's going on with the Red Devils game that got canceled?

Oakleigh lost to Hume, South beat Knights - 9 points clear with 8 games to play. 1 defeat and 1 draw in 18 games, have to lose 3, including the home game against Oakleigh, in order to cock it up now... Looking good for South!



Officially it's 2 up, 2 down - but FFV are busy giving out more licenses for NPL1 next year and as I can't imagine them going with 14 in the top div and 18 in the 2nd, I suspect we will end up with 2 divisions of 16 each - so that's either 4 up, 2 down, or 2 up and no relegation. With GVS and BRD still in the bottom 2 places, and the FFV keen to keep the regional sides in the top flight, I suspect it will be the latter.

Edited by Benjamin: 21/7/2014 03:04:00 PM

Source for this? I've heard nothing from the FFA that doesn't say that they are indeed fighting a relegation battle.

You're expecting them to come out and say "we want BRD and GVS to survive for the good of the game"

Waiting for the FFV to make a decision:

Absolutely not. Well, survive, yes, (as in not folding the clubs, BRD is 46 years old, after all) but to be guaranteed to be protected from relegation, of course not. What would be the impetus to improve if they did that?

Of course, if there is no relegation for the purposes of evening the NPL and NPL1 to 16 teams each if they add more teams, regardless of whatever teams end up at the bottom two, that makes sense.

Edited by paladisious: 21/7/2014 04:48:34 PM

Simple maths - it's currently 14 teams in each division, we know they've given out at least 2 more licenses for NPL1, I've heard maybe a couple others... I can't see them having 14 and 18 - so logic suggests they make it 16-16 (or increase the number of leagues and reduce teams to make it 10-10-10). If they change the number of teams it makes more sense to excuse sides from relegation than to promote extra sides).

30-32 teams? this is getting beyond a joke. All the ffv give a shit about is the guaranteed revenue stream from the licensing arrangement.

Ballarat vs Pascoe Vale game should be replayed as it was stopped before the 70th minute.

For what it's worth, my understanding is that both injured players are fine and likely to play again fairly soon.



The aim of a national 2nd tier competition (as the NPL is being billed) should be to reduce the number of sides therefore condensing the talent pool. The reality is the opposite.

there's give and take in the argument for player development. What's more important, playing 30 games a season in a slightly lower level competition or 26/22 games a season (14 or 12 side league) in a slightly higher playing standard?

I can see both cases but imo the longer season is probably better since the competition isn't that particularly uneven.