PREMIERSHIP COACH CALLS FOR SPLIT GFL COMP
Master coach’s bold plan to make 2020 count GFL SPLIT IN HALF WILDCARD ROUND 10-ROUND SEASON
FIVE- TIME premiership coach Heath Jamieson believes the GFL should be split into two conferences this year to overcome the shortened season.
Jamieson has proposed the 12-team competition be split into two pools of six sides, based off last year’s ladder.
It would see St Mary’s, Colac, St Joseph’s, Newtown &
Chilwell, Leopold and Bell Park in ‘pool A’ and South Barwon, St Albans, Grovedale, Geelong West, Lara and North Shore in ‘pool B’.
It would be a 10-round season and teams would play each other twice in their pool.
“I’m not actually involved, but I’ve got a key interest in Geelong footy and I think to play everyone once in an 11round season … I think it’s going to suit the top teams,” Jamieson said. “The one thing we’ve got to look after is the development of the other teams in the competition. If you allow the (lower) teams … more winnable games in a short season, I think it’s going to help their development and they won’t waste a year.
“If we go down the other track where they only get two or three winnable games for them to compete in this year, we’ve wasted a full year.”
The top three teams in ‘pool A’ would qualify for finals and sixth would be out of the race.
Fourth in ‘pool A’ would meet second in ‘pool B’ and fifth in ‘pool A’ would meet first in ‘pool B’ as part of a wildcard round. Both winners would fill the final two spots in the final five.
“I think it will be the fairest way to determine who actually deserves to be premier,” Jamieson said.
“Obviously the fairest way would be 18 rounds … this makes sure the top teams have to be on their game if they want to win the premiership and it also gives the bottom teams the opportunity to push for finals if they think that’s in their grasp at the moment.”
The season has already been pushed back to the first weekend in June but there are fears no games will be played in 2020 due to the coronavirus.
There is the possibility the fixture could run beyond September if matches do start.
Jamieson, who coached Queenscliff to the 2011 BFL premiership and St Joseph’s to flags in 2015, 2017 and 2018, said it was important to think laterally during a compromised year.
He also coached Uni Blues to the VAFA Premier Division flag in his first season last year.
“One thing that has been sucked out of 2020 is the life of the competition, to be honest,” he said. “We’ve sucked the life out of local footy, which is out of our hands, but I suppose to breathe a little bit of life back into it, it would be great the competition starts … and we don’t have any down games, in my opinion.”