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Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou has advocated the introduction of a national second division to sit beneath the A-League and act as a stepping stone to professional football.Citing the positive effect of the FFA Cup on state league football, Postecoglou believes there is merit in the idea of bringing together the top clubs from the various National Premier Leagues in one competition and give more opportunities to players and coaches.The goal would be for promotion to and relegation from the top tier - but until that becomes feasible, he reckons a new division would serve a purpose in giving second-tier clubs an incentive to grow and bridging the gap between the A-League and the NPL.When I was coaching A-League I used to get quite a few players from NPL clubs and even the training load was a massive jump for them, Postecoglou said.The divide between what were seeing in the A-League and in the NPL will become wider and wider unless we can provide a link between the two, because I see the A-League clubs becoming more and more professional.A really strong second-tier competition can surely help.Weve seen the FFA Cup provide that little of window of opportunity and you see how its been embraced by the whole football community.If you can bridge that gap by giving some incentive to some of the second-tier clubs to become a bit more professional, therell be more (talent) coming out of there.Postecoglou said there would have to be tight controls around the administration of a second division, who would be allowed in, and how it would link with the A-League, if not immediately by direct promotion and relegation.Australia is one of only two major footballing nations, along with the United States, without promotion and relegation in their top-flight domestic leagues.It is a topic of increasingly hot debate in Australia and while FFA chief executive David Gallop recently described it as the ultimate prize for the sport, there are no plans to introduce it, and Australias geography and tough sporting market presents numerous challenges.Postecoglou described himself as pretty bullish about immediate A-League expansion, with a second tier and promotion and relegation ideally to follow.For me the first stage is to say lets get some more teams in the top division, provide more opportunities for players and supporters and I think youll find from there, growth will kind of happen anyway, he said.I understand theres economics behind it but from where I sit, I think theres a real need for it, and sooner rather than later. 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Bo Jackson Jersey Large . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. Jason Taylor and his Wests Tigers face the biggest test of their new direction and faith in Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses against NRL title contenders Canterbury on Saturday night.Tigers management have been forced to make some tough choices over the last 12 months after their decision to invest in young halves Brooks and Moses.Martin Taupaus move to Manly in an effort to free up salary cap space and the release of Blake Austin to Canberra has centred around the belief their young halves are the future of the club.Taylor has been a frequent target of critics but has always maintained that he was acting in the best interests of the organisation.But the 21-year-olds face a crucial examination against the surging Dogs without senior players Robbie Farah, Aaron Woods and James Tedesco on Saturday night.Our halves taking ownership is what weve built our last six or eight weeks on, Taylor said.Ill be disappointed if that doesnt happen. I want that to continue.Well miss those guys because theyre quality players but the opposition has got some key players out as well.Farah, Woods and Tedesco will miss the ANZ Stadium clash because of State of Origin with JJ Felise, Joel Edwards and Josh Addo-Carr coming in. Fill-in fullback Jordan Rankin suffered a rolled ankle at training during the week but Taylor said he was hopeful of playing.The Bulldogs will be without NSW stars David Klemmer and Josh Jackkson however thats offset by the return of New Zealand international Greg Eastwood.ddddddddddddThe Bulldogs have jumped into the top four for the first time this year following three straight wins, with statistics showing they have been one of the most disciplined teams in the competition this year.They are second for completion rates (78.5 per cent), miss the second fewest tackles (21.1 per game), while their giant forward pack has been able to make the third most metres per game (average 1510 metres).Its always hard to gauge, we think we can play a bit better than the last outing, Canterbury coach Des Hasler said when asked if they were at their best yet.I just think its too early, were still just getting through this last Origin patch.But what you want to try to do is build momentum and I think thats pretty important.STATS THAT MATTER* Hooker Dene Halatau will move into equal sixth on the all-time Tigers list for matches played, equalling Keith Galloway with 173 matches.* Canterbury have been the dominant team in this fixture, winning 19 of 30 matches.* Wests Tigers downfall this season has been its defence. They have conceded the second most points (25.4 per game), tries (4.4), linebreaks (5.8) and conceded the most offloads (11.2).Source: Fox Sports Stats ' ' '