Gut Feelings II - A weekly collection of thoughts from deep inside the Magpie Nest
Andrew Thomson
The Seniors again went close but no chocolates and looked a bit rusty , only having 2 practice matches to sort out the cobwebs. The team that lined up on Saturday was vastly different to the practice match teams with an influx of NEAFL aligned players and several players returning after missing the last practice match. The backline looked disjointed at times and clean ball handling was not at he required level.
The Pies face another tough task this week against Labrador, who have recruited again and will be a tougher proposition than last year and coach Brydan Morgan does have a difficult task as he does not know what players he has from the NEAFL until later in the week.
Morgan was happy with his player endeavour on Saturday and pointed out it there were several aspects of the game that were not good enough but he is confident these are simple things to sort out. He also pointed out that the Pies went inside the 50 mere arc 54 times to the Vultures 47 times, so the opportunities to kick a wining score are there.
The Reserves will be hoping to bounce back and they will welcome back the experienced Gareth Crawford, Joel Workman and Matt Mazarolle and also the return to the club of Jesse Hampel , who tweaked a hamstring in the pre-season. Hampel will be looking to force his way into the seniors in the next few weeks. Due to come back into the playing squad in coming weeks after injury or delayed start to the season are Luke Mitchell and Lachie Dennis who will be looking to push for senior selection
The Magpies Senior and Reserves teams are in desperate need of Team Managers this year following the retirements for one reason or another of Michelle Shepherd, who understandably decided to follow her son Callum to Moorooka, Peter Wilmot and Phil Kelemen, who both have their health problems and Chris Dennis, who has taken a well deserved rest after many years as a club volunteer across a mountain of areas.
On Saturday it was left to the support staff and coaches to manage the teams and also gather up all the club gear after the game and one of the players in Jack Goodall took the gear back to Chelmer. President Andrew Thomson is doing a fantastic job at the top but he is also doing a power of work to ensure guernseys are organised and washed and is unfortunately left to pick up the slack in a variety of areas due to lack of volunteers
So if anyone wants a rewarding job and to be an intimate part of the club then let Andrew or any of coaches or committee know.
On the subject of Club Person of the Year winners such as Michelle Shepherd, Peter Wilmot and Phil Kelemen, hats off to club legend and Life Member Gabe McKinnon who played on Friday night for the Woodsmen then turned up on Saturday and ran water in hot conditions for both the Reserves and Seniors. Gabe also wears his other hat as the club Secretary on the Board which is a demanding and time consuming job. the work that goes on behind the scenes to get us to match day is all-consuming, so additional help is needed on match day to relieve those giving up their week nights.
AFLQ developed a Player Points system in late 2018 to be implemented in 2019.
Depending on the playing history of the player he is allocated a points rating and clubs must have all 22 players points total to be at or under the current maximum of 51 points.
Players will have points deducted over the seasons depending on years played and loyalty of service and in some instances it may stay the same for 2 seasons before starting to reduce e.g. Ryan Harwood still remains on 7 points for the 2019 season.
There are also discounts for players who return to their club of origin from NEAFL clubs, or those aligned players who wish to make a permanent switch after many years playing down from their NEAFL list.
The system was brought in to:
1. support equalisation of community football competitions;
2. ensure teams fielded in the competitions are strong and as equally matched as possible;
3. provide the best opportunities for players to develop and display their skills;
4. provide opportunities to compete at a community level within an orderly and fair system;
5. enable team spirit and public support;
6. encourage community and corporate sponsorships of Community Clubs;
7. reduce the inflationary nature of player payments to assist clubs survive financially and reduce financial burden/stress on Clubs;
8. promote player loyalty and junior development;
9. support the role volunteers undertake in managing their Clubs by;
- minimising the need to fundraise for player payments
- providing a more competitive environment on field, that encourages more volunteers to support at Club level
- providing incentive to spend more time and effort in the development of football, a welcoming Club environment and growing the game within the local community.
Player Points Categories
A player’s Category and the subsequent Player Points Allocation will be determined by that player’s playing history and achievements and is structured in a way to promote player retention and loyalty.
Each player expected to play in the Senior Team of a QAFL Club will be allocated a
Category and a Player Points Allocation as follows:
Category 1 – Home Player – 1 Point
Player who has played 40 or more games at the aligned junior club up to and including Under 17 Competition;
A player who has played only at that Community Club or an aligned junior club, and for no other Community Club; or
A player who has not played Competitive Football in the previous 36 months.AFL Player – 7 Points
Player who has played a minimum of one AFL game in any of the current or previous three (3) Seasons.State League Tier One – 6 Points
Player who has played a minimum of 5 senior games of VFL, WAFL or SANFL in any of the current or previous three (3) seasons.
State League Tier Two – 5 Points
Player who has played a minimum of 5 senior games of NEAFL, NTFL or TSL in any of the current or previous three (3) seasons.
Premium Community Player – 4 Points
Player who has played a minimum of 5 senior games in the current or previous three (3) seasons, in any Premium Competition in Australia.Premium competitions include QAFL, Canberra and Sydney Premier Leagues, SA and WA amateurs and major leagues in country and metropolitan Victoria--eg Geelong FL, Ovens and Murray FL, Ballarat FL, Essendon FL
Senior Community Player – 3 Points
Player who has played the same number or more senior games than reserves games in total, over the current and previous three (3) Seasons at community football level.
The player must have played at least 5 games in total, for either the Seniors or Reserves.Community Player and Transferred Junior Player – 2 Points
Community player – A player who has played more reserves games than senior games in total, over the current and previous three (3) Seasons at community football level.
Transferred Junior – a player who was recruited from an U19’s (or younger)Competition and who does not meet Category 1 eligibility.The Pies had 39 points against Mt Gravatt and don’t expect to ever have to make any selection decisions with points in mind during the 2019 season
The breakdown as follows vs Mt Gravatt:
7 points - Claye Beams
6 points
5 points
4 points - Jayden Gallagher, Brody Lumber
3 points - Kale Reed, Thomas Baulch
2 points - Macauley Lonergan
1 point - Jack Goodall, Liam Dwyer, Cal Carseldine, Doug Lawrence, Will Fletcher, Harrison Kerr, Billy Johnson, Jack Austin, Ben Jaenke-Cain, Luca Winton, David Lewis, Drew Mitchell, Logan Murray, Riley Easton, Aaron Highlands, Dan Edwards,
TOTAL = 39 points
The above shows the Magpies ability to develop and retain local talent with 13 of the 22 playing junior football with the Magpies.
The growth of the game, especially in South East Queensland and even more especially in the womens' game continues to gather pace and is healthy for our great game. The early success of the Lions and Suns also creates interest in footy at AFL level but also at local level.
The standard of QAFL football continues to improve and should be spruiked by all supporters of our game.
On that note, club doctor Dr GregThompson has 2 daughters who started playing AFL in Canberra 3 years ago and both just love it. One daughter Alexandra has decided to spend a year in London and luck would have it she found she was living 500 metres from the ground of the Wandsworth Demons, who have 3 mens and 2 womens teams who compete in a London competition which has 8 clubs. Most of the players are Aussies but there is quite a smattering of English players and the club President is English.
Ex-Magpie Alex Dickfos also plays for the Wandsworth Demons who won all 5 premierships last year. Might be time to come home Dicko as the Pies are looking for a big full forward at the moment!! ( a little birdie told me Dicko might be heading home soon!!)
A lot of the footy is 9-a-side but the competition proper in London is 18 a side. The Demons women won the Haggis Cup recently in Edinburgh where 5 clubs from Scotland and few from south of the border competed as well.
Last weekend in Amsterdam there was a 9 a side pre season competition and have a look at the sides that competed -- Women-- Wandsworth Demons, West Clare Waves (Ireland), Amsterdam Devils, Paris Cockerelles, Port Malmo Lynx (Sweden), Zagreb Dockers, Nottingham Scorpions, Hamburg Dockers
Men ---Wandsworth Demons, Amsterdam Devils, Prague Dragons, Oslo Crows, Copenhagen Giants, Bristol Dockers, Norrtalje Dockers (Sweden) Manchester Mosquitoes, Edinburgh Bloods, West London Wildcats, Winturther Lions (Switzerland). The winners were coached by Dustin Fergus who previously played at UQ and was a roommate of Club President, Andrew Thomson at Kings College 20 years ago.
To continue the theme of international footy, Doc Thompson's brother Neil attended a reunion of the Jakarta Bintangs at the Gabba in the Lions win over the Eagles.
The Jakarta Bintangs are largely ex-pats but they did have a few Indonesian players and here is the list of the other clubs in SE Asia-- Bali Geckos, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore Wombats, Hong Kong Dragons, Vietnam Swans, Philippine Eagles, Malaysian Warriors, Japan Goannas, Cambodia Eagles, Lao Elephants, Macau Lightning, Thailand Tigers, Guangzhou Scorpions, Shanghai Tigers, Beijing Bombers, Myanmar Fighting Cocks. Current Woodsmen Volunteer, former senior player and u18 Premiership player, Dylan Mudge is a former Singapore Wombats representative.
Further on international footy, Leigh Barnes, who was mentioned in last weeks Gut Feelings , wrote back in the Old Players Facebook page that Bryan Dragus, who played for the Magpies in 2009-10, is also a legend of USA AFL, having been a leader of the US team in the International Cup in 2011, 2014 and 2017. He finally won the national championship flag in 2017 and was one of the best players and is now married with a baby girl--great stuff.
Of interest there are 42 mens and 22 womens teams in the USA with the Golden Gate AFL having 5 teams, In Canada there are 47 clubs and ex-Magpie Rob McNaughton is still playing for the Toronto Dingoes--I see a recent post about indoor training and with the temperature at minus 20 who can blame them! Current Woodsmen player Brenton Hocking also spent a season with the New York Magpies in 2017.
Fantastic to see footy played everywhere in the world with a significant Magpie connection.
There are still a number of 50 year Commemorative guernseys available for purchase for $100 and the will be on sale at Saturday's home match against Labrador. For those with a penchant for a particular number, numbers available are-- 1, 10, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 28, 30, 31, 33, 36, 40, 50.
the club will hold a Country & Western night after Saturday's match and it will be combined as thank you to the Coaches and Support Staff by the players. There will be $3 cans and there will be prizes for the best dressed. Hopefully the Pies will be celebrating a victory!!