Albion versus Maribyrnong Park in this year’s pre-season cup match. 61126 Picture: SARAH MATRAY
BY MICHAEL ESPOSITO
ORGANISERS are confident that the prizemoney will be doubled for next year’s pre-season “best of the best” local footy carnival.
Chief organizer Ben Charles, from event management group Sports Support, was looking to increase the prizemoney to $10,000 for next year’s tournament, which is likely to be held on March 17-18.
This year was the inaugural running of the tournament, and featured seven teams from suburban footy leagues and one from the Geelong Football Club in a round-robin competition.
While eight clubs will again be competing for next year’s tournament, the public will have a major say in which leagues are represented.
Sports Support has invited the A Grade premiership winning teams of 14 leagues – seven from metropolitan Victoria and seven from country football leagues – to take part in the tournament.
Punters will be able to rank each league by strength on web forum BigFooty, and the teams from the eighth highest ranked leagues will participate. If one of those teams knocks back the offer, the ninth ranked team will step in.
This will more or less ensure that every participating club is an A Grade premier, as opposed to last year when the Victorian Amateur Football Association, Eastern Football League, and Southern Football League were represented by B Grade premiers.
“Some of the clubs that knocked it back last year were excited to be invited again,” Charles said.
“We’re looking at doubling the prizemoney… to entice the bigger clubs.”
The tournament, most likely to be held at Bulleen Park again, has been billed as a battle for bragging rights, but there will be several interesting subtexts.
The prospect of Spotswood’s Jason Cloke going up against his brother Cameron for Bundoora is one of the several highly-anticipated match-ups of the tournament.
The tournament will also have a forum for clubs and officials to tap into sponsorship opportunities and rebate programs.
The teams that have been invited to the tournament are: Bundoora (Northern Football League), Collegians (VAFA), Noble Park (Eastern Football League), Strathmore (Essendon and Districts Football League), Spotswood(Western Region Football League), St Paul’s (Southern Football League), Romsey (Riddell District Football League), Shepparton United (Goulburn Valley Football League), Cranbourne Football Club (Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football Club), Redan (Ballarat Football League), Bell Park (Geelong Football League), Aubury (Ovens and Murray Football League), South Warrnambool (Hampden Football League, and Golden Square (Bendigo Football League).
