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ARFLI's two tiers gets more clubs on the park

  • Sunday, May 17 2009 @ 01:00 am ACST
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The Irish league's experimental two tier competition is off to a good start, with a record 10 clubs in action. For many years ARFLI has been predicting new clubs but ultimately only been treading water with the new boys either not materialising, not lasting very long, or being offset by a club folding somewhere else. So after a promising start with the first match in Ireland in 2000 and an impressive 7 teams by 2005, by 2008 the total had dropped to 5 clubs taking to the park during the season.

So far the separation into Premiership and Conference divisions seems to have been a successful step towards addressing the problem. Rather than simply have separate regions but then none having very many teams, ARFLI have gone for overlapping concepts. Below we list the teams and describe the interesting new structure.

Most closely in line with previous years is the Premiership which features: Dublin Demons, Dublin Saints, South Dublin Swans, Midlands Tigers and Leeside Lions.

Then a parallel Conference runs featuring western and eastern divisions of:

  • Western Division: Clare Crows, Kingdom Kangaroos, Mayo Mariners and Midwest Magpies

  • Eastern Division: Dublin Demons, Dublin Saints, South Dublin Swans and Belfast Redbacks

This second tier 9-a-side competition allows the more established clubs such as those in Dublin to focus on the Premiership and run effectively seconds sides in the Conference, without requiring new players to travel too far very often. Meanwhile the new more westerly clubs can grow in a less competitive environment. All the Western Division sides are having their first full seasons, with the exception of Clare, which has been revived after several years in hiatus. Belfast returns in the Eastern Division after 4 years away.

Ten clubs is a great leap forward for Australian footy in Ireland. How well the new format works throughout the year will depend on issues such as the more established clubs developing big enough lists to support the second tier. Let's hope all the clubs kick on and we see all ten teams become well established - surely what is needed for Ireland's national side to stay ahead of the pack and continue as a top 4 side in international competition.