RDFL to push AFL Victoria to reconsider Country Championships ranking

THE Riddell District Football League will push to have its AFL Victoria Country Championships ranking reconsidered after its upset interleague triumph.

Interleague football: Riddell District FL V Nepean FL. at Tony Clarke Reserve, Macedon Riddell District FL, Mathew Leonard,18 Pictures:Angie Basdekis

THE Riddell District Football League will push to have its AFL Victoria Country Championships ranking reconsidered after its upset interleague triumph.

The competition was ranked 28th this year and had been scheduled to tackle the Tallangatta Football League.

But after its original ­opponent withdrew from the competition, the RDFL was drawn against a 14th-ranked Nepean Football League side, which it beat by three points at Macedon last weekend.

The RDFL’s ranking was protected regardless of this year’s result.

But operations manager Toby Boyle said the league believed its win proved it should be ranked higher.

“To some people it was a surprising result, but to (coach) Matt Power and the players and certainly the staff and board we were ­expecting a win,” Boyle said.

“We had to come in somewhere and our ranking was high 20s because we entered the competition two years ago and we had to start at the back.

“So it’s probably not a true reflection on where we’re at as a league in the state. We’re much stronger than the ranking suggests.

“We’re going to lobby AFL Victoria to reconsider our ranking based on the result and where we think we are.

“But we’ll do that respectfully over the course of the rest of the season and see where we go. Hopefully we can move up a few spots.

“There’s certainly no guarantee for us but it’s certainly worth asking the question.”

The Geelong Football League remains the top-ranked competition in country Victoria after this year’s championships.

The Peninsula, Goulburn Valley, Ballarat and Ovens and Murray football leagues round out the top-five.