NORTH Central football league will introduce a tiered Player Points System for 2025 in a move designed to bring grand finalists Sea Lake Nandaly and Birchip Watchem back to the pack.
Under the system, metropolitan and regional leagues are allowed a maximum cap of 46 points, with each player allocated a value from one to six points depending on his playing record.
North Central mandated a general cap of 42 points this season, but the two grand finalists will be limited to 38 points next season, while cellar-dwellers St Arnaud and Charlton will have their caps raised to 46 points.
The cap is intended to equalise the competition, making it impossible for a cashed-up team to amass a dominant squad.
However, the evidence of the past season suggests the moves will make little or no difference to either the top teams or those at the bottom.
Sea Lake Nandaly took out the flag despite playing every match, including the grand final, with fewer than 30 points out of the 42 permitted, the lowest average tally in the league.
A reduction to a cap of 38 points is unlikely to trouble the Tigers.
Birchip Watchem never hit the ceiling either, playing with teams tallying from 33 points to 41. The Bulls only exceeded 38 points five times. Under the system, five points denotes a state league tier one player, who ha played at least five senior games in the VFL, WAFL or SANFL in any of the current or previous three seasons.
There are four such players in the North Central league - Sea Lake Nandaly’s Josh Jenkins, Birchip Watchem’s Patrick Veszpremi, Boort’s Jhye Baddeley-Kelly, and Nullawil’s Jake Exell.
Baddeley-Kelly was named Boort’s best and and fairest and also finished THIRD in the Feeny Medal after a career that included VFL side Coburg Lions.
Players with six points – there are none in North Central – have played at least one AFL game in the current or past three seasons.
The flag-winning Tigers had only two players ranked higher than one point, denoting a ‘home player’ – Jenkins and Jackson McMahon, who carried four points.
Sea Lake Nandaly defeated winless Charlton by 148 points in round 18 despite playing with five fewer player points. Earlier in the season, the Tigers beat the Navy Blues by 104 points with 27 player points to 37.
Only two clubs played matches at the maximum cap: Wycheproof Narraport twice, and Nullawil once.
In round 18, the Demons lost to Nullawil despite hitting the cap ceiling. The Maroons tallied 39 points that day.
The jury is also out on whether the increase to 46 points is a panacea for St Arnaud and Charlton.
The Saints played with points ranging from 28 to 40 in the recently completed season. In the match they played with 40 points, they lost by 12 goals to Birchip Watchem, who played that day with 37 points.
St Arnaud’s two wins for the season were against Charlton. In both, they played with fewer points than the Navy Blues.
Charlton ranged from 32 to 39 points throughout the season. The team’s only positive result came in a draw with Wycheproof Narraport, in which the Navy Blues played with 33 points and the Demons with 38. Other clubs, including Wedderburn and Boort will remain with a player cap of 42 points in the 2025 season.
GARY WALSH
