‘Drop zone’ danger
Relegation threat adds spice to matches: Hartman
AFL Barwon region manager Lee Hartman believes the looming threat of relegation adds extra spice and significance to matches that would otherwise draw little interest.
Hartman yesterday reiterated that the bottom two sides in each of the GFL and BFL would be relegated at season’s end as part of a region-wide restructure.
Those clubs will almost certainly be the bottom two sides on the ladder, but the AFL Barwon commission has reserved the right to relegate a club from outside the “drop zone”.
Such discretion is based on a club assessment criteria relating to the overall health of a club based on factors such as junior and netball teams.
From next year, two GFL clubs will be squeezed to the BFL when the GFL is cut from 12 teams to 10. The bottom two BFL clubs will be demoted to the GDFL, which will swell from 12 teams to 14.
“Obviously it’s been on the table for three years now, so clubs are fully aware of the criteria to move up and down going forward, and that’s where it’s at,” Hartman said yesterday.
The fate of St Albans is emerging as a challenging test case for the restructure.
As part of the promotionrelegation process, a club’s football and netball sections move leagues together — with movement based mainly on the football section.
While Supersaints are languishing winless in second last position on the GFL football ladder, their A-grade netball side played in a grand final last year and is again one of leading contenders.
“As per the criteria, it’s stated in the framework that footy and netball will always play together,” Hartman said.
“We’re very strong on that, so the criteria for netball is more around the sides you field, rather than the finishing position.
“So as long as the sides are fielding the required sides, they’ll be ticking the netball part of the criteria.
“The first criteria is finishing bottom two (in footy) this year ... and then the criteria comes into it.
“That’s the first box that’s ticked and then the criteria’s looked at, so if you finish 11 or 12, they’re the first two clubs that will be looked at.”
Hartman said the groundswell of interest at the Lara-St Albans clash on the weekend, where the Cats snapped a 33game losing streak, proved the interest the restructure was generating.
“Even at this time of the year, being winless towards the bottom, the game may not have meant a lot normally for the people outside of those clubs, but with what’s on the line this year it became a huge game,” he said.
“There was a finals-like atmosphere out there and I believe the crowd swelled in the second half with Lara looking like getting their first win in a couple of years.
“So all of a sudden those games towards the bottom have true meaning.”