St Albans coach Alex Tortora says GFNL fixture should have greater equity and reflects on ‘really challenging’ defeat

A local footy coach concedes his side’s crushing defeat is on them. But he has questioned the fixture that could see their struggles continue. And the league has responded.

St Albans coach Alex Tortora believes the draw should change. Picture: Mark Wilson

St Albans coach Alex Tortora has called for greater fixture equity in the Geelong Football Netball League in the wake of their crushing 208-point loss to St Mary’s, labelling their draw as “staggering”.

The Supersaints do not play fellow bottom-four North Shore and Grovedale again this season, having lost to both by 60 and seven points respectively.

It comes after the club’s grim season reached a new low after a crushing 208-point home defeat to the Saints in what Tortora described as a “really challenging” day for his side.

The result was just one of the alarming results in senior GFNL football at the weekend where four teams lost by 100 points or more: St Albans, Lara (105 points), North Shore (107) and Geelong West (115)

This was the Supersaints’ fourth loss above 135 points this season in eight matches and their third exceeding 170 points, seeing their percentage plummet to 21.1.

St Albans come up against St Mary’s again on the Saints’ home turf in round 17 and will face premier sides Leopold, Colac and St Joseph’s twice across the season.

Their two matches to come against Lara shape as their best chance to get on the winners list this season.

St Albans is yet to register a win this season. Picture: Mark Wilson

Among AFL Barwon’s raft of changes on the eve of the season was a two-year rolling fixture in the GFNL where each team plays each other three times across a 24-month period.

Tortora understands fixture doesn’t determine their overall success and conceded that their lack of depth and loss of players has contributed to their disappointing campaign.

But he said their loyal supporters should be able to at least see competitive results against more evenly matched teams as the top sides get stronger in the GFNL.

“I think AFL Barwon or whoever is in charge of doing the fixture needs to look at a more simple draw of the bottom four teams play each other twice and the middle four teams twice and the top teams twice and go from there,” Tortora said.

“When you have a draw that is not really equitable in regards to where sides are finishing on the ladder the previous year, you get what you’re getting now.

“I don’t think anyone is surprised to be honest, I’m certainly not that surprised because I know how strong these teams are and I know where we’re at, I know where teams like Lara, Grovedale and North Shore are at.

“When you have a draw that is so inequitable then these results are obvious and it’s pretty staggering how it has all ended up.”

Tortora told this publication in January that he “couldn’t give a stuff” about the fixture and he said that was his personal view and a way to galvanise his players, rather than what was best for the club overall.

“I meant that, deep down I really do mean that but at the end of the day it’s not just about what I think and how I think the mentality should be for my team, it is about my club,” Tortora said.

“You do have that mentality but the truth is what is unfolding before our eyes right now and that’s a lot of inequity in the draw itself which leads to these results.”

AFL Barwon regional manager Ed Wilson said that fixture requests – such as the St Joseph’s v St Mary’s Big Freeze clash being held on a Sunday – do impact the draw and that the governing body has to factor in senior netball as well as football.

But he hoped that results would even themselves out over this promotion and relegation period, which takes in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

St Joseph’s took on St Mary’s last Sunday. Picture: Mark Wilson

“What we are moving towards in the two-year cycle that we are in at the moment is creating a level of fixture equity. In the 12-team competition that we are in the GFNL, it will allow all clubs to play each other across the two-year period,” Wilson said.

“What it does mean is that for a club that may have a more challenging draw one year, that evens itself out over a 24-month period, noting that you play every club three times.

“The additional consideration when it comes to putting together the fixture as well is that it is a football and netball fixture. When it comes to in the past it used to be a heavy football generated fixture based on competition standings, now we want the fixture equity piece as described to play every club three times over two years, it creates the equity across both sports.”

Wilson said the tiered salary caps and total player points that will be introduced in the GFNL and BFNL in 2025 – giving clubs at the bottom of the ladder have more cash and points to splash on recruits – will help assist equalisation.

Club development lead Tim Secombe, who joined AFL Barwon at the end of last year, will also help improve the fortunes of bottom clubs.

But Wilson said building a strong foundation can take years, with investment in juniors a priority.

He said AFL Barwon is eager to help clubs who need assistance and commended those who have already reached out, including St Albans who allowed the governing body to sit in on a recent committee meeting.

“It is challenging to see, regardless of whether it is a football or netball, junior or senior result,” Wilson said.

“Especially in our premier league competition within the region, as we know when clubs are competitive it promotes sustainability, it promotes positive environments when it comes to recruitment, participation and retention so it is challenging to see.

“But I do have to commend a number of clubs throughout the region, whether it is junior or senior across either sports who might find themselves in a challenging situation.”

DIFFICULT DEFEAT

Things looked to be on the up for the Supersaints after they broke a 43-game losing streak to win two in a row in the back-end of 2023.

But Tortora conceded there are a number of St Albans who aren’t ready that have been forced to front up at senior level this year.

He estimates close to half his side was under the age of 20, with these youngsters faced with the daunting task of overcoming St Mary’s hardened and skilful line-up.

But he lauded his younger troops for fronting up each week, saying morale has been high at training sessions despite the mounting losses.

Even their function on Saturday night was well attended and gave no indications that their senior football side had gone down by 208 points earlier that day.

“It was really challenging, it is always difficult to know what to say after a 200-point loss. We had six players who came out from last week to this week for one reason or another – including a change at 12:30pm before the game,” Tortora said.

“I thought we played a lot of players who were not ready to play GFL footy, who were still doing their apprenticeship, who we are asking a lot of at the moment, who aren’t quite ready in their development to play GFL footy which is extremely demanding.

“It is probably on us, we just don’t have the depth at the moment to cover four or five injuries. You look at St Mary’s and across the board their players are match hardened, fit, fast and ready to go. We are just nowhere near their level.

“The flip side of all this youth is they are quite resilient, they bounce back really quickly. We had a really bad game the game before Grovedale and then we nearly beat Grovedale.

“We had a function Saturday night and it was well attended and it was high energy and it was a lot of smiling and having fun and that’s what our club is all about.”

Sam Wolfenden back in 2021. Picture: Mark Wilson

WOLFENDEN RETIREMENT

Tortora underestimated the impact of losing Josh Saltalamacchia (Newcomb), Michael Murdoch (Belmont Lions) and Ben Davis (Stawall).

Injuries have also taken their toll. The emotional retirement of Sam Wolfenden at the age of 24 due to persistent setbacks last week was the latest blow for the club.

Tortora said he is proud of Wolfenden for making the call after seven senior games in four seasons and hopes he still remains part of the St Albans Football Netball Club.

“It is really sad, he’s a young man in his mid 20s and he should be at the peak of his powers, but unfortunately footy has been really cruel for him the last three years, he has just been injured the whole time,” Tortora said.

“He has had various injuries and for his own mental health and his own wellbeing he has just decided that football is not for at the moment, and it is very understandable.

“We are just really grateful that he is part of our footy club, he is a great young man and a great person. He has always put the club first and it is really nice that he made a good decision for himself and we are really proud of him.”

Originally published as St Albans coach Alex Tortora says GFNL fixture should have greater equity and reflects on ‘really challenging’ defeat