Good question, this time 2 years ago they were playing semi finals. Now they are struggling to get within 80 points of anyone. I can’t stress how bad this is for the community.
I’m gonna get to the bottom of it this week.
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Thanks mate. Look forward to hearing what you uncover.
Clubs go up and down in all leagues, though some have more sustained success than others - I doubt footy will cause the Tiwi Island society to be damaged - Reckon there may be more important issues that impact on the community.
You’re gonna view what?
l reckon that there are plenty of factors involved, but don’t underestimate the importance of football on the Tiwi community.
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They are footy mad in the Tiwi Islands which will not change because their footy club is going through a rough patch.
There have been social media reports of further financial problems during the pandemic, with concerns that the EFC may not be in a position to bail them out. IIRC Essendon helped out a few years ago when they nearly went under.
Earlier in 202O there were reports of some smuggling of booze and illicit substances on a flight bringing them home from a match on the mainland.
Perhaps the state of the football is symptomatic of other problems affecting the community. If @benfti is concerned then it’s probably worth listening to what he has to say rather than being dismissive from a position of zero actual knowledge of the issues.
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Yaco, you don’t understand what that team means to that community and what life was like there before they had it.
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Yeah this, it’s either a club problem or a deeper community issue. Or a bit of both
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I just wonder if other NTFL clubs have become more professional/ etc.
Bit sad with EFC help they have not been able to keep up.
Maybe due to COVID, less efc support available due to fly in/out restrictions etc.
I doubt EFC have been able to provide any in person assistance. Tiwi would be an absolute disaster if Covid got in. Flying in from Melbourne isn’t worth the risk.
They could pay for local staff. No idea what the normal assistance is, but considering the depth of cuts to the club personnel it wouldn’t be surprising if we scaled back the Tiwi team.
Edit - Essendon can play an important part here, but even in prosperous times there’s only so much the club can do in regards to broader issues in the community. I suspect their ability to influence the island has been crippled during Covid. That doesn’t mean we aren’t important, having Essendon lobby for assistance to the island could make a critical difference.
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Clearly Whoosha has taken over as head coach. Soooo many learnings!
This is very much what I posted - A Clubs performance goes up and down and other issues that impact on a community - By the way is it still common for parents to name their children after AFL players ?
You also need to keep in mind the Tiwi islands had the highest suicide rate per capita in Australia up until the introduction of the bombers. It’s a massive driver of pride in the community, if it’s falling apart, bad things will happen.
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Their new women’s team is crushing it, though.
I can’t find a team list but EFC’s Courtney Ugle has been helping them on the coaching side.
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yep, the investment and opportunity into the womans game up there is paying off.
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So why is the men’s team falling apart ?
good question, interesting to see if the mens team has had the same level of focus?
It’s an interesting dilemma. The women’s game needs extra effort in order to rapidly bring it up to a competitive standard. In a cash poor environment resources are getting stripped from the men’s competition to assist the women’s. There simply isn’t the money available to double the coaching spend.
Seeing what has happened to NAB league, wouldn’t be surprised if Tiwi has had a similar rob Peter to pay Paula.
We should be targeting equal resources for men and women. Achieving that without hurting the men’s competition is going to be a challenge.