Sounds like Lakes are splashing the cash around, have brought up quite a few players from the coast and have been targeting quality 1st grade indigenous players from Newcastle clubs and haven't been afraid to offer them above what they are getting at their current club including a couple from Newcastle Olympic and Azzuri.
Apparently they want to make a statement in 2025 and be competing for the Premiership
So it?s going the way of the men?s competition, over paying players for sub par quality football.
Don?t get me wrong happy to have another senior team being competitive, hopefully will have 7 competitive teams next season. But the out lay of money for what is being produced don?t seem right.
Have not been afraid to offer these players above what they are getting at their current club. Seriously! Most of these players are not worth more than their current club is offering, The amount of money some of these clubs are starting to push around is ridiculous and probably why Warners Bay gave up their license in the first place. If this keeps going the whole NPLW will fold within a couple of years. Who wants to spend $130K on players just to win a competition that you receive $5K to win! Makes no sense at all
$200 a game for anyone that starts WNPL First Grade at Lakes is alot of money overall to be spending.
Not very sustainable, I don't think parents of Lakes JDL and PYL players would be happy how much they are paying. Considering the money the club is spending in WNPL.
Lakes offering $200 a game seems on par for what is happening in the competition.
21 rounds, $200 a week you?re looking at a $46k spend across the season. Say 60 by the time you pay the bench.
Not saying it?s right, but if that what Lakes spends I would suggest they are spending a lot less than other clubs.
No different to the men?s where it?s not uncommon for players to get sign on bonuses worth thousands. The problem is systematic across football in Australia.
Thats $200 minimum, i.e. the players who are getting a standard senior contract and playing reserves if they get called up to start First Grade they will get $200, their big signings are on a lot more than that at least double
That's trueNo different to the men?s where it?s not uncommon for players to get sign on bonuses worth thousands. The problem is systematic across football in Australia.
Over your last few posts you are really taking it personally what lakes are doing - don't happen to be the head coach that they didn't want to bring from warners bay by any chance...
They aren't doing anything any other club aren't doing, and are actually taking their women's program as seriously as their men's - there is nothing there a few other clubs couldn't get on board to do right now frankly.
I thought $200 a game was good money for a new WNPL club. I realise Lakes have had a WNPL before.
I mainly meant I'm surprised first year in the outlay considering you can?t get relegated.
The fact is there aint enough "first grade" standard players to go around. Mid Coast was a reserve grade team, so was Warners Bay, not being disrepectful at all but they were decent young girls probably 2-3 years off their actual first grade debuts. Adamstown is filled with promising players, athletic young players that would struggle to break into the first grade at the top 4 clubs. Those top clubs have reserve grade girls better than some of the first graders outside the top 4.
Middies leaving the comp aint help things here in newie as those better girls aint making the trip to newie until they leave school and possibly go uni in newcastle or move here for work. New Lambton become competitive when the 3 jets girls make the transition, before that they are battlers.
Lakes are offering Reserve Grade players from around the comp silly money, good luck to them, there is a real desperation in the women's football in Newcastle, and these Central Coast connections have not bore fruit yet to improve the player pool from a wider area. Lakes will be cheering with he extra 88 nearly $2k regos coming in to get the boys promoted ASAP. Its a players market at the moment, some of the money getting thrown around honestly is quite embarrasing. 400,500, 600+ dollar offers to play, but remember girls, only if you start, will be interesting what actually gets paid out at the end of the season.
There will be 2 teams pushing for the premiership next season, Azzurri and Olympic, then a big gap to the rest, until the A-League girls return to create a few upsets and collect their mortage repayments.
What a time to be alive, one team less next season will help with the deductions, but the comp will be much less competitive?
agree with all of the above - but also wondering what constitutes a top club? is it for example Charlestown because they are offering the best players from other clubs double what they are on at their current club to transfer to them?
is it the clubs using the budget from youth and jdl parents fees and paying overs for players and signing more first graders than the club actually needs so they aren't available for other clubs that in turn makes the rest of the competition weaker?
can't really blame warners bay and midcoast giving it away as they were outside of the top (clubs)spenders/recruiters whatever you want to call them?
I am not taking anything personally but any club that gets away with charging 32 youth players $1700-$2000 ea to play community and gets away with it is ridiculous. They can put big words like Academy in their emails but all it means is they are playing community.
As for the Warners Bay head coach I am sure he has been coaching down with Mariners for months. Not sure if he is still there or not but he has nothing to do with me.
You mean like magic who charge their NPL girls $1400 PLUS CLOTHING (around $300), plus costs for wet weather training on top for two nights of training for an hour at a time?
The lakes girls are already back training now 2 nights a week at Speers, they all train together as a group. They are trying to find a solution to NOT lose girls to the game in the in-between age groups and keep them developing at a level equal with those girls in NPL.
BTW Adamstown are charging $1000 for players to train with the squad in each age groups only for a season when they missed out on selection - no playing time at all.
You can take it out on lakes all you want but at least they are trying to keep girls in the game - I can't speak that any other club is advocating to fix what's desperately needed in the girls space in this area for the growth of the sport.
Sydney comp runs JDL 10 to 13s then 14s, 15s, 16s 18s and two senior groups. Then people sit here complaining there's not enough players in the senior space it's because we LOSE them to the game at barely 13 years of age then again at 15. They don't even get a chance to develop before they are outed from the sport in mass numbers. If you are going to have a whinge, have one for the right reasons and its not at a club who can see how many girls WANT to be playing at the best level they can and aren't even remotely getting the opportunity to get themselves there.
As the coach of Maitland FC U/13?s for 2025 ( and all others except this year) I can say we have always invited players from outside the club to train free of charge we have had girls train all season long and we have bought in groups of girls at different stages of the year for weeks at a time. In season 25 I will have 13 girls from the team age out to 15?s and will still be bringing in more players throughout the year to try and create a bigger pool for selection the following season. We also have some of the girls turning 14 who didn?t make the squad training with the 15?s, again for a bigger pool of players to select from.
Your point about Magic has nothing to do with a club charging girls that amount of money only to play Community. In looking at the Adamstown offers of $1000 to train, the girls still play community, at any club, but train with Adamstown to further develop. The cost of that is still 700 dollars cheaper. I am not taking anything out on Lakes, I wanted people to know they were charging a LOT of money only for the girls to play COMMUNITY, this is what I do not agree with and it shouldn?t be allowed.
$1000 for a full years training with a club that has a proven track record of developing youth female footballers sounds like a good deal - compared to some of the other offers mentioned or even the cash that parents are prepared to pay for so called private group coaching sessions available around the traps.