NEW YEAR – NEW BEGINNINGS

Waving goodbye to another fine season of VAFA football, the pre-season of 2009 brings many questions, many theories and sometimes many debates. Let’s look at some of the big questions for this year.
Can St Bedes/Mentone Tigers continue their history making run?
The architect of their amazing premiership sequence has departed to take an elite role, however the bulk of their talented list remains in tact. New Coach Owen Lalor has led their U19 brigade to 3 consecutive premierships as well and is fully versed on the list and their capabilities. Is their enough drive in the ranks to continue their run? The smart money says yes.
Will the drought continue to have an impact on the VAFA?
In short yes. Most councils are now implementing warm season grasses into playing surfaces however this will take a number of years before fully completed. One thing we will have to get used to is watching football on brown, yet safe and soft, surfaces during winter. The ability of warm seasons grasses to recover from winter damage without excessive water means that we can have a high degree of confidence that our seasons won’t be adversely affected by water shortages. Pre-season training, as we knew it 4 to 5 years ago, may be a thing of the past however.
Who are some of the big names to join VAFA ranks this year?
The rumour mill is always working in overdrive this time of the year and we won’t know for sure until registrations and clearances open in early Feb. Some big names have been mentioned at a number of clubs and early indications are that the strength of our sections will be better than ever.
Who does the VAFA take on in Representative Football this year?
The VAFA has a full schedule of Big V clashes this season with 5 matches across 5 classifications. The Senior side takes on the VCFL on July 19th in Melbourne with the U19 side to take on the VCFL U19’s in the curtain raiser. The C-D4 side also takes on the VCFL at District level in Barooga in June 7th. On the same weekend the U23 side takes on Western Australia in Perth as part of the AAFC championships and our new side, the U21’s, takes on the QAFL U21 side in Melbourne on June 6th.
Will the new U18 section commence and what will be the format?
Yes and at present we have 10 teams committed to entering teams in the new section. Some other clubs have expressed interest in entering teams and these discussions will continue during February, with the format and draw released early March once all teams have been confirmed.
Can a district side return to A Section?
Although St Bedes/Mentone Tigers consider themselves a psuedo district club (due to their amalgamations), can Ormond or Hampton Rovers make the B Section Grand Final and return a district club to A Section? It will be a tough job given the competitiveness of B Section this year, but these are two very proud clubs and are sure to both give good accounts of themselves.
Will the VAFA be moving Headquarters?
Discussions are still taking place as to where the VAFA is best suited for future growth; however one thing is for sure, this will take time and Sportscover Arena will remain the home of the VAFA for the next few years at least.