LEIGH Ramsdale almost fell off his chair when he looked at the rankings for the VCFL's 2012 country championships. He couldn't believe the south-east division of the Picola District league, which he will coach next weekend, had been ranked 31st out of the 32 teams taking part in this year's competition. And what riled him even more was the fact that the PDFL's north-west division was ranked five places higher.

''We're very disappointed with our ranking,'' Ramsdale said before putting his men through their paces on Wednesday. ''I know a couple of other leagues are above us and ... I really don't know how they've come up with the rankings.''

Ramsdale's reaction is proof that the ranking system has breathed new life into representative footy in the bush, which appeared in serious trouble just five years ago. Where once interleague footy was seen as a bit of a joke, especially at district league level, every game now has meaning. ''It certainly gives people something to talk about,'' Ramsdale added. ''And for us, it's definitely a big deal. We rate ourselves higher than being the second-bottom league in country Victoria at the moment. We're definitely using that as an incentive to climb the ladder over the next couple of years.''

Having coached Rennie to the premiership in the south-east division of the PDFL last year, Ramsdale has taken offence at the competition being placed second last on the rankings ladder. And he's not the only one. So he and a number of his usual adversaries have committed themselves to setting things straight, starting next Saturday against the Kyabram District league at Barooga.

''The Picola league hasn't played in interleague games for five or six years,'' said Ramsdale. ''Because of that, everyone's really keen and we've had a really good response.''

The idea of the rankings system was thrown up by the VCFL's training and education manager, Dean Rice (the former St Kilda and Carlton utility), after a range of other formats, including lightning premiership-style carnivals, had failed to take off. Under what his workmates began calling the 'Rice Model', it was proposed that one-off interleague matches would be held each season. The winners would move up in the rankings; the losers drop down.

In 2010, Rice's idea became reality when 18 leagues took part. After previous performances in the country championships were used to formulate the rankings table, all eyes were on the marquee clash between the top two leagues, Ovens and Murray and Goulburn Valley. A big crowd turned up to see Goulburn Valley knock their arch-rival off its perch. Similarly good turnouts were reported at other games around the state.

The idea was expanded last season when a further six leagues entered the competition. Goulburn Valley once again secured the No. 1 ranking when it defeated Ballarat in Shepparton by 38 points.

This year the championships have grown again. ''We're really proud, because we've got 32 of our 42 leagues playing,'' said VCFL football operations manager Brett Connell. ''There's a genuine interest in wanting to compete, and the leagues are really encouraging their better players,'' he said.

In six days, Goulburn Valley will be aiming to stay at the top for a third season when it hosts the Mornington Peninsula Nepean league. The MPNFL earned the right to contest the big game when it beat Ovens and Murray by two points last May. That loss resulted in Ovens and Murray - for many years regarded as the strongest league in the VCFL - being demoted to fifth place. Ovens and Murray is now preparing to take on the sixth-placed Hampden league at the neutral venue of Visy Park in Carlton next Sunday. Ballarat will host Geelong at Eastern Oval. Geelong is hoping three-time AFL premiership player Brad Ottens, who is running around with Newtown & Chilwell this year, will line up in its team.

Down the bottom of the rankings ladder, Ramsdale's men will be desperate to avoid the wooden spoon.

It was the addition of eight new leagues to the championships this year that led to the debates over rankings. But the VCFL has a relatively simple explanation for why the rankings towards the bottom of the table appear a bit out of whack.

''We actually liaised with the leagues, because we wanted to keep the games local for the ones that are new to the competition,'' Connell said. ''So we're not really worried about their rankings at this stage; we're more worried about who's playing who. Looking to the future, we have a few other issues, like the fact that the Hume and Tallangatta leagues play each other every year. We don't want to disrupt that if they want to keep going with it, but we'd also love them to be involved in the championships.''

As part of the effort to promote local derbies, the two strongest newcomers, the neighbouring Casey Cardinia and Nepean leagues, were slotted in at No. 17 and No. 18 so they could play each other.

But what will happen next year if the promotion-relegation system throws up a clash between leagues that are hundreds of kilometres apart? ''In a couple of weeks, I'll probably be tearing my hair out,'' Connell joked. ''But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Mind you, I think the players love getting away on those trips.''

Next year's scheduling is the least of Ramsdale's concerns. He has two simple aims next Saturday: win the game, and give the best players the chance to show off their skills.

And there is a big prize on the line for those players who stand out. The best performers in the country championships will be given the opportunity to represent Victoria in the national bush footy carnival in Wagga in July. ''I think for too long clubs have been the ones saying, 'No, our boys are not playing'. But I think players are really standing up for themselves now,'' Connell said. ''I know guys down in the Alberton league who have written into their contracts with their local clubs that if they're good enough to be selected for the league or for Victoria then they're playing and that's that.''

By Adam McNicol

Article first appeared The Sunday Age May 20, 2012