Weekly Times |
THE race for the Geelong Football League premiership remains wide open with just six home-and-away rounds remaining.
Seven of the league’s 12 clubs remain a genuine chance to snare a berth in the grand final and only three wins separate ladder leader Newtown and Chilwell from seventh-placed Grovedale.
While debate rages in North East Victoria about the lopsided Ovens and Murray Football League, Geelong — ranked country Victoria’s No. 1 competition — is enjoying its most even season in many years.
South Barwon, which has won seven of the past nine flags, currently sits in sixth position, six points outside the league’s final five.
AFL Barwon general manager Lee Hartman said the competitiveness was fuelled by strong recruiting and a weighted fixture that gave struggling clubs a better chance of moving up the ladder.
“Obviously South Barwon has been the powerhouse for a long time and it forced a lot of the other clubs to have a good look at what they were doing,” Hartman said.
“So the other clubs have recruited to fill the gaps that they had and South Barwon have come back to the pack a little bit.
“The league is probably as strong as it’s ever been in terms of the quality of players and the standard of footy has definitely risen.”
Hartman said the league’s weighted fixture, introduced about five years ago, gave hope to clubs at the bottom of the table.
“The way it works is we have a top four, middle four and bottom four based on the previous year’s standings,” he said.
“You’re guaranteed to play the other three teams in your group of four twice, and then from the other two groups you play two teams twice and two teams once.
“So if you’re in the bottom four you’re only going to play two of the top four sides from the previous year once.
“It gives the teams down the bottom and in the middle a greater chance to move up the ladder each year.”
Hartman said Grovedale’s rise from wooden spooner in 2012 to grand finalist last year proved the merits of the system.
“Playing all the bottom sides twice definitely helped (Grovedale) and the only time they played the top sides again was really in the finals,” he said.
With the three clubs from the past two grand finals — South Barwon, Grovedale and Bell Park — currently outside the top five, Hartman said the league was set for an exciting run to the finals.
After this weekend’s league bye, South Barwon will host Grovedale in a replay of last year’s premiership decider.
“It will pretty much spell the end of the season for whoever loses that, so it’s going to be a massive game,” Hartman said.
