Four days have passed since the Ballarat Football League suffered one of the worst defeats in its senior representative history.
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It still hurts.
Really hurts.
And this is just from a supporter's perspective.
It must have been unbearable for those in the inner sanctum.
The coaching panel led by Chris Stuhldreier and every player who donned the navy blue and white did their absolute best.
As has been stated by all at the coal face, the players' commitment and desire to succeed could not be questioned.
They gave their all.
Unfortunately, the Hampden Football League was head and shoulders above Ballarat.
The BFL had it opportunities to finish closer, but winning was never a possibility once the Bottle Greens were up and running.
On face value, the result suggests that the HFL is a far better competition than the BFL - much better.
Or at the very least the best players are far superior to what is on offer in Ballarat.
This is and always has been an aspect of what inter-league football has to offer.
It is all about bragging rights.
These games are used to reflect which are the stronger competitions.
Right now the BFL does not have much to brag about.
And the worst part about it is that Ballarat will have to wait another year before it can do something about it.
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So what went wrong?
It is straight forward.
Ballarat did not have the cream of its crop on the park.
Hampden did.
The issue is not necessarily about winning or losing.
It was the magnitude of the defeat and the circumstances around it.
The BFL fielded a strong side against the Goulburn Valley at the MCG last year, but unfortunately came up short.
Of course it was disappointing, as it was two years before that in a tight one against Western Region.
On each occasion Ballarat just had to face the fact that it was good enough on the day.
You wear that when you put up the best you have.
For the BFL this year, it was akin to being thrown to the lions.
It was clear some weeks out from the game that Ballarat was going to be up against it, given the way Hampden players had grasped the challenge of the AFL Victoria Community Championships.
In contrast, Stuhldreier found out early in the piece that he was going to be missing all too many players who would have been first-choice selections if available.
There are always going to be players missing through injury concerns.
However, what about those who simply say no?
On this occasion there were too many in this category.
This is not new and certainly not exclusive to the BFL.
What can be down about it?
Ballarat is not going to walk away from interleague at senior level.
The BFL does under its by-laws have the power to suspend players who refuse to be part of its senior representative program.
The by-law states: "Players who fail to attend training without notification or make themselves unavailable for inter-league may incur a suspension of a minimum of one match."
Now that would be a big call - possibly a course the BFL would be reluctant to go down.
There is no doubt the clubs hold the key.
The league needs all 11 clubs to be fully committed and willing to urge their players to be involved as we have seen before.
They need to instill a pride in each and every player to want to represent the BFL.
It has happened in the past and it needs to happen again opn an ongoing basis.
Players need to also recognise playing in a successful side at inter-league level is an opportunity to sell their own brand and advance their careers.
Many a player has been head-hunted after a starring role in league colours.
Players in the BFL have shown they can be committed to the cause year after year.
And this is what is needed again.
Hampden is a great example.
It is not that long ago it was struggling to generate the interest it desired.
Players have stepped up and importantly stayed on board to provide continuity - something the BFL failed to maintain after last year.
Ballarat's loss to Hampden should have inflicted pain on every senior player in the competition.
The player group needs to respond if Ballarat is to start working its way back to the top from a disappointing AFL Victoria ranking of nine.
It is going to be a long haul, but it has to start somewhere.
That has to be now.
THE Ballarat Football League announced immediately after Saturday's game that it would carry out an intensive review into its inter-league program to get it back on the rails.
The first formal discussions will take place at a board of directors' meeting next week.
SO how strong could the BFL be if every player was available for selection?
Here is my dream team.
B: *Grant Valles (Sunbury), Ryan Luke (North Ballarat City), Daniel Kennedy (Ballarat)
HB: Shane Page (Darley), Darren Leonard (Darley), Tony Lockyer (Sebastopol)
C: Lachie Cassidy (Sebastopol), Mickitja Rotumah-Onus (East Point), Jaycob Hickey (Melton)
HF: *Jacob Brown (East Point), Joel Ottavi (East Point), *Lachie George (Redan)
F: Luke Kiel (Sebastopol), *Jordan Johnston (East Point), *Braedan Kight (Melton)
Foll: Daniel Burton (Bacchus Marsh), Brian Graham (Darley), Alik Magin (Sunbury)
Inter: Paul Bower (Melton South), Ben Archard (Melton), Nick Graham (Darley), *Bailey Edwards (Lake Wendouree)
Emerg: Jake McQueen (East Point), Andrew Hooper (Ballarat), Matt Denham (Melton), Jacob Chisari (Bacchus Marsh)
* Played against Hampden.