Quote Originally Posted by sapdad View Post
Sorry,just in case my original post wasnt clear, I said drop 6 teams and go with between 8-10 with 2 up and 2 down every year.6 teams isnt enough,but there is a clear 8 at the moment across all grades.
The reality is NNSW are dammed if they do and dammed if they don't. There is no clear answer.

They have placed Cooks Hill and New Lambton in the 2nd tier of the pre-season cup, they have won by some big margins.

CH u13s - 2 games played, +14GD
CH u14s - 2 games played, +18GD
NL u13s - 1 games played, +13GD
NL u15s - 1 games played, +9GD

The counterpoint to all this chat about fewer teams and more levels is that a club's record on match day is not always a reflection of the club's commitment/performance at youth development.

If we continue to look at NL and CH as examples, they are both likely to end up in the 2nd tier mid-season, however their clubs' growth in the last few years would suggest they have excellent programs. From the outside looking in, both are run by professional coaches. CH has Craig Deans who ran an A League Academy and NL has Clayton Zane who is a full time professional coach.

The more clubs we have in the top tier, the more pressure on clubs to have quality programs that offer not just great youth development, but great value for money. Having fewer clubs in the top tier rewards the status quo.

How many players will CH and NL loose end of the season, not because they aren't excellent programs, but because Little Johnny wants to play in the top division regardless of the quality of the program.