Victorian Turf Cricket Association reduces players points cap for 2024-25 season
The Victorian Turf Cricket Association has reduced its player points cap for 2024-25 and incentivised clubs to recruit externally rather than poach existing players.
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The Victorian Turf Cricket Association has cut its player points cap for the 2024-25 season.
Clubs will have 20 points for next season, down from 23 in 2023-24, with the cap to apply from Senior Division down to Division 5.
Some clubs were caught off guard by the move, believing the points system would be reviewed after two seasons, but the association confirmed it was player classification under review not total points.
VTCA president Zoran Havranek estimated the majority of clubs were already well under the new cap.
The association hoped the reduced cap would make for a more “fair, reasonable and equitable” competition.
“We didn’t want clubs to create a false economy and spending big, it’s to protect clubs and keep the competitive nature,” he said.
“Especially in Senior Division where you’ve got the top-tier of clubs that have got the money to buy players and then you’ve got the bottom five that aren’t competitive.
“I think (23 points) was a very liberal and generous starting point and we saw a good injection of players come into the association but now we’ve got to smooth it out moving forward.
“If clubs have got money I’d rather see them invest that in kids and equipment at the club and development rather than waste it on players.
“It’s not something we want to portray as an association, rich clubs that just go our and buy all the players.
“You look at the last six years in Senior Division, there’s been six different winners, so these things are working.”
The association will also adopt a “loyalty bonus” that will see a player drop a point after two seasons at one club.
Senior Division heavyweights Deer Park and Yarraville Club have made early off-season recruiting splashes.
The Lions are reigning premier and have secured Aaron Shellie and Aaron Ayre from VSDCA club Coburg, while the Clubbers, the 2022-23 winners, have picked up Matt Doric from Brunswick.
Players who have spent three seasons in Sub-District will be classified as one-point players.
Havranek said the association wanted clubs to look outside its boundaries rather than poaching internally.
“The feel is we don’t want to see players move from club to club chasing dollars, those players and clubs are disadvantaged by doing that,” he said.
“The premise is, if you want to look at players look outside the association and bring players in.
“We want our association to be the association of choice.
“We don’t want Peter to rob Paul, we want to improve the standard, and given the visa restrictions now we’ve got to look outside the association.”
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Havranek said he had been approached by clubs about the review and the timing of the changes.
“That was classification, I think that was an error on our part, it is classification not a review of the total points,” he said.
“I know a couple of people have come back to me and said ‘you did say that’ but just didn’t say it in the rules, which might be an oversight.”
The VTCA will hold its Paxino Medal presentation night on May 3 at the Deer Park Club.
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