Tough but fair … The WRFL has established a new junior competition structure this year. 51714
By Michael Esposito
RETAINING players and creating a fairer playing field has prompted the WRFL to change the structure of its junior competition this year.
The competition will now be organised into single year age groups from under-9 to under-16, with the under-18 division to remain as is. Each club will only be able to field two teams in each group.
The decision was formalised at an executive board meeting on 7 February.
WRFL CEO Bob Tregear said the inclusion of more age groups would bridge the sometimes yawning gap that has existed between players in previous years.
“You can have kids who are bottom age and kids who only just scraped in to the top age. So you can have more than a two-year-difference between them in development,” Tregear said.
One of the most complex issues facing the WRFL junior competition has been grading, and Tregear believes the new structure will virtually eradicate the potential for teams to play in a mismatched grade.
“The grading’s been a real issue to us in the past. You have to spend the first three or four weeks of your season doing the grading rounds … and you’ve got to rely on the integrity of the clubs to actually try their hardest and put their best foot forward during the grading,” Tregear said.
“It’s been known in the past for some clubs to deliberately play below their ability in the grading rounds so they graded into a lower grade and therefore can have a better chance of winning a premiership.
“Just the fact that we’ve now got single year age groups will eliminate most of the issues in grading anyway, because most of the issues arise because we’ve got kids who are so far apart in their development within the teams.”
There is scope for players to play above their age group. Juniors can play up to two years above their age group, but the WRFL would consider playing someone in a higher age group if there were “extraordinary circumstances”.
Former junior board chief executive officer Phil Lovell, who left the WRFL to begin a community development role in NT last fortnight, did extensive research into player movements among junior grades and found that several players moved to other leagues where younger age groups were offered.
“We get the pointers from all of the development programs around the Western Jets and all the development squads that are associated with that, that they’re all organised in single year age groups so we just think its common sense that we should do the same,” Tregear said.
“It will probably encourage kids to stay in the game longer, and give them a better chance to develop with kids who are more attuned to their own age group and their own level of development.”
Under the new grading system, B Grade teams who finish in the top two will be promoted to A Grade the following year in the next age group up. For example, this year’s under-15B premier will play in the under-16A competition next year.
Tregear said limiting each club to two teams in each age group would balance the player numbers across age groups and clubs. Lessons were learnt from when the WRFL offered an under-13 division but did not restrict the number of teams clubs could nominate for each age group.
“It was very difficult to get an under-13 grade going, because clubs used to try and keep them in the even age groups,” Tregear said.
“As the competition grows, this will push some of the surplus kids out to other clubs. Some clubs have too many kids and some clubs haven’t got enough. And we reckon too if you fill all your age groups with two teams you’ve already got more than a bunch of volunteers are expected to handle anyway.”
The WRFL will also introduce boundary umpires to the under-15 and under-16 competition this season.
