Reserve Grade axed in potential Men’s Premiership restructure
The Illawarra District League could be set for a restructure in 2019 with Football South Coast considering replacing Reserve Grade with a competition dubbed the ‘Colts League’. The new grade would be an under 23s competition with the potential of seven overage players.
Sources close to the decision-making process have informed me the reason behind the potential change is to align the top two divisions and aid the promotion and relegation.
Reserve Grade was scrapped from Illawarra Premier League after 2008 and in 2018, top flight clubs competed in First Grade, under 23s and Youth Grade (under 19s). The only pending change to this next season is Youth Grade becoming an under 20s competition as it is in the District League.
The Premier League’s under 23s competition permits three overage outfield players plus an overage goalkeeper. The initial proposal for the Colts League would allow six overage outfield players as well as an overage goalkeeper.
I have been informed representatives from District League clubs have had the opportunity to attend at least three meetings with FSC on the matter. In addition to this, a memorandum outlining the flagged changes was sent to the clubs last Friday which asked for feedback by today.
The move could be met by stern resistance with representatives of the four clubs I contacted outlining opposition to the changes. These representatives put forward two main points of concern including a potential break down in club culture as well as clubs already struggling to fill underage rosters.
One representative argued any decision should come after thorough scutanization of player data to make sure any restructure suits the current demographics.
I do not have the data at hand, however, in 2018 a number of District League clubs voiced concerns about their ability to field starting lineups given the pull of Premier League clubs as well as junior competitions going up to under 18s.
The 2018 Reserve Grade Grand Final featured 12 under 23s eligible players out of a total 32 players. Under the proposed rules, a further 14 overage players would have been able to compete while the other six would have been barred.
This is a small sample size, though if you extrapolate this across the competition it may lead to some questioning whether the move is worthwhile. The case for youth development is also muted given over half of a starting 11 could be over the age of 23.
A final decision on the matter is expected around the end of October or the start of November with the announcement likely to come out with the Men’s Premiership Declaration of Leagues.
