As Part of the Inside the EFL column in the Eastern Footballer, Phil Murton takes at some of the big issues facing the league
By Phil Murton (EFL CEO)
I was fortunate enough to attend the season launch at Montrose Football Club the week of their round one game in division one vs. Noble Park. It was a great night filled with a sense of pride at their accomplishment in 2013, measured with anticipation about heading into the EFL’s premier division. History shows they recorded a fantastic win against last years’ grand finalist and have started division one with three wins in a row setting up a huge home game this week against the impressive Norwood.
They had a great line up of guests including Mark Evans, former Croydon and EFL interleague coach, and current AFL General Manager of Football Operations. Mark is a quality football person evidenced by his progression to his current role and speaks a lot of sense on all matters football. He was interviewed by journalist Rohan Connolly and it was interesting to hear his thoughts on a number of issues in the AFL and got me thinking how closely they relate to the current status of many similar areas in the EFL.
The change in umpiring at AFL level was one topic where Mark referenced that AFL Umpires Coach Hayden Kennedy and his new team (including former EFL Head of Umpiring Michael Vozzo) were focusing on paying the obvious free kicks with more leniency shown in some other areas. It’s a philosophy that has long been the consistent message to EFL umpires officiating EFL games played in much smaller confines and with many more contests than in the AFL.
The unbalanced AFL fixture was raised and Mark highlighted the fact this year would see games of more teams playing “second” games against opposition who finished the ladder in a similar position. The results of this were unlikely to be seen until later in the year but are expected to provide more close games and less one-sided contests. At EFL level we have observed the success of our seeded draw in competitions with more than 10 teams which has been in place since 2007.
One of Mark’s main points was the genuine concern around the AFL Commission table with regards to the game at community level, particularly player welfare. He cited the tragic case of quadriplegia victim Beau Vernon, and the steps the commission wanted to know had been put in place to ensure appropriate support was available for such accidents that may occur in the future. It was a pleasing validation of the EFL Board’s decision to mandate $1 million cover for such injuries, which is in excess of the AFL’s own insurance program for local footy, and something we all hope never has to be called on.
The final question of the night regarded the AFL’s push for more equalization measures and Mark was asked if he had any thoughts on what the EFL could do to equalize our own competition. Mark referenced an AFL Vic Working Party which has been put together, of which I am a member of. Other members include senior figures from AFL Victoria, AFL Vic’s Community Reference Group and CEO’s/Region General Managers from some of the big metropolitan and country leagues.
Player payments is a topic many people want to talk about as we move around the grounds on weekends and there appears a genuine resolve in the football community to try and identify any measures that may be able to be put in place to help. Part of this will be consultation with clubs on their thoughts on what the main issues player payments are creating and any measures that may be worth trialing.
Points systems, salary caps, premium player taxes and the like are all under review. The one point everyone can agree on is that for something to work it needs to be inclusive of all leagues. The working party is meeting regularly and consultation with clubs and leagues will begin shortly.
It showed that although we have much to learn from the professionalism of the AFL, with us managing in excess of 230 games each weekend there are some things the AFL can probably learn from us.
It reinforces the importance of the EFL remaining an autonomous body responsible for managing our own rules and regulations to suit our football.