By: Troy Swainston – Chief Executive Officer – Eastern Football League
ON our first weekend of football we were blessed with some outstanding weather for both the seniors and juniors.
Our new divisional structure in the senior men’s competition delivered some outstanding games with some very close results.
Round 1 saw some of our more fancied teams lose in close games, poor kicking at goal proving costly in Division 1, relegated and promoted teams had mixed results in their new divisions. Big news in Division 4 with Nunawading winning its first game snapping a 1386-day losing streak.
Make sure you go to EFL.org.au and watch the weekly two-minute highlight videos for all Premier, Division 1 and Division 2 matches. These are available in addition to the full game match-day footage.
The EFL umpires and our clubs appear to have a solid grasp of the new rules that have been introduced this season off the back of the AFL rule changes. As with any change that takes place they can be met with resistance, the League has been very pleased with how the umpires and the clubs have embraced the changes. We have adopted most of the AFL rules changes as we felt they will enhance the game and ensure consistency across leagues. We often have discussions with people on rules, what they often forget is that the League administers for both junior and senior competitions which also requires consistency.
Team officials are a key part of the game and play a pivotal role both on and off the ground in supporting the teams and players. To ensure we maintain a high standard of professionalism the League requires clubs to ensure that their team officials are correctly attired, stand in the correct positions on or around the ground and understand their role on game-day. Having been around football for 35 years, there is nothing more frustrating for spectators than the runner that spends too much time on the ground coaching and water carriers who watch the game whilst standing on the ground rather than exiting the ground and standing in the marked boxes. The rules are not designed to make things difficult, they are designed with the safety of players and officials in mind. Please ensure your club and all your teams obey the rules.
Last year the League announced SEN+ 1377 as its new broadcast partner, with our broadcasts also simulcast on 98.1 Eastern FM. For this week’s game the broadcast will only be available on 98.1 as Australia’s favourite horse has taken over SEN+ 1377, the media release is below.
TO celebrate Australia’s favourite super horse Winx’s anticipated final race on Saturday, 1377 SEN+ will be rebranded 1377 Winx+ for a special whole-day takeover at The Championships Day 2 – Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Sydney’s Royal Randwick Racecourse.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL MEDIA RELEASE
Good luck to all teams on Saturday and remember to tune in to 98.1 Eastern FM this week.
