With South East Queensland footy now spanning from Lismore to as far North as Bundaberg, club captains gathered at Leyshon Park, Yeronga, yesterday to have their photos taken and talk leadership at AFL Queensland’s Captain’s Call event.
State Football Operations Manager, Barry Gibson, spoke about the event and how it signified not only the start of the season, but the beginning of a new era for the recently restructured SEQ competitions.
“In talking to people in our local community footy circles, they’re really keen to see what this year looks like, as it’s totally different and we’ve got a lot of teams playing teams that they haven’t played previously, so I think that just adds to the excitement about 2017,” said Gibson.
While the QAFL structure remains the same, the QFA North, QFA South and QAFA (A) and (B) competitions are being superseded by a five division QFA competition and the new QFA Wide Bay Sunshine Coast competition.
The women’s competitions will also be changed. Underpinning the QWAFL will be two QWFA divisions, along with the newly established QWFA Northern Rivers League.
Season 2017 is the first time a promotion and relegation system will be included, injecting even more excitement and introducing the opportunity for clubs to climb divisions, similarly clubs battling hard at the back end of the season to avoid relegation.
“Through consultation with our clubs we determined we needed a tiered divisional structure, and that’s where the promotion and relegation changes came from,” Gibson said.
“We wanted to create a model that was aspirational, not only for clubs, but for players, coaches, administrators and umpires.”
Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast SUNS captains Dayne Beams and Tom Lynch also attended the event, showing their support for community football.
“They’re a significant part of our footy community and it was important they were included. Likewise with our NEAFL clubs, as it’s a celebration of South East Queensland Footy,” said Gibson.
Leadership development organisation, Leading Teams, was also at Yeronga for the event, conducting presentations on effective leadership.
SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND COMPETITION START DATES:
QFA Division 1: March 31.
QWAFL: April 1.
QFA Division 2 and 3: April 1.
QWFA Division 1: April 1.
QFA Division 4 and 5: April 21.
QAFL and QAFL Colts: April 22.
QWFA Division 2 and QWFA Northern Rivers: April 22.
