This kinda thing shits me.
We came dead last in first grade last year, won 2 from 18. The previous year they won 3 from 18 and came last. But the association says we have to have a first grade side if you are a club with more than two grades, even though we clearly haven't got a first grade side....we actually came last in every grade because lifting guys up from 2/3s to 1s obviously meant lifting guys from the other grades as well. We're hoping this season that a 5-31 record might be enough to convince them that we don't have a first grade side, otherwise we're "disbanding" the club and fielding four "independent" 4th/5th grade sides.
We'd be fine in 2nds with a consistent side (which we don't have) and our first grade side would thump most 3rd grade sides but it'd really stick it to the association if we could get two or three sides in finals in one grade lol.
Our association dropped that 1st Grade rule a while back, because the competition got so lop sided. They then had to merge with Canterbury - Western Suburbs in 1st Grade to make a competitive comp. Flip side to that was you had 2 ex-1st Grade sides drop down to 2nds, and the premiers stayed in 2nd Grade, in a 6 team comp. The only reason we made the finals is the team that came last didn't win a game, and the team that came 4th was removed from the finals for fielding suspended players.
At the same time our f**ked up club decided we can't drop back to 3rds because we made the finals, and that we can't get reinforcements from lower grades (no reason given, but both 3rds & 4ths won their grade), and 2nd Grade is too high to place in guys coming up from juniors. While on paper we have 13 players, 6 are cops on shift work, one is a TV reporter, one just tore his ACL again, and one is only making himself available for a handful of one day games.
So yeah, it's not good.
f**king park cricket politics...
have they seen you play ffs
Obviously not, otherwise I'd be in 5th Grade by now!
