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Similar happening in the SANFL at the moment, without anyone whinging - Port Adelaide on top, Adelaide Reserves 9th in a 10 team comp.
WA Football administrator quit in protests at WAFL club alignments
- Thread starter ManWithNoName
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Similar happening in the SANFL at the moment, without anyone whinging - Port Adelaide on top, Adelaide Reserves 9th in a 10 team comp.
simba_
sucking a lemon
the og leagues are ruined and the big dog has taken over. *queue violins*
Sounds like the WAFL is as big a joke as the "VFL"
The WAFL is run by the WAFC, an independent body that also owns the two AFL licences.
The destruction of the VFA by the VFL isn't particularly relevant.
Yeah, it sounds like the WAFL is as big a joke as the VFL.
Are you going to go into detail as to why you think that, or are you just going to repeat it over and over hoping it becomes correct?
Er, both are former proud competitions, who have now become 2nd tier reserves competitions?
He's spot on! It's hardly a surprise though. This was all pointed out well before the decision was made and the WAFC bears full responsibility for disregarding the WAFL clubs, the majority of whom were against the arrangement
The WAFL has got far more dignity left than the VFA
Port Adelaide will lose their SANFL zone and essentially become the Port Adelaide reserves with some top up SAAFL players.
East Perth have their zones and their long 100 year+ WAFL club setup but just get to include professional footballers.
Eastern Rangers
2015 Worsfold Medalist - Rowen Powell
Brian Atkinson opposed the entry of the Eagles into the VFL, opposed AFL expansion into Western Sydney and was opposed to West Perth relocating to Joondalup.
He'd equally oppose stand alone reserves sides or alignment, he'd oppose AFL take over of WAFL clubs and oppose a true second tier national reserves competition.
The WAFL's real issue is structural, many team plays antiquated brand of football and promote and develop the wrong types of players habitually. Little sympathy, the competition will be rationalized in time.
He'd equally oppose stand alone reserves sides or alignment, he'd oppose AFL take over of WAFL clubs and oppose a true second tier national reserves competition.
The WAFL's real issue is structural, many team plays antiquated brand of football and promote and develop the wrong types of players habitually. Little sympathy, the competition will be rationalized in time.
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Then I have a lot of sympathy for him, because he understands the totally wrong way the national competition has been brought about.
Good on him.
Sadly the WAFL and SANFL are on a downward spiral. Port "Magpies" (AKA Power Reserves) top of the league here after 15 years of mediocrity, joke. Integrity of the comp= next to none. At least the majority of the WAFL were opposed to the alignments unlike the SANFL clubs here (except 2) who happily bent over at the AFL clubs' demand.
Sadly the WAFL and SANFL are on a downward spiral. Port "Magpies" (AKA Power Reserves) top of the league here after 15 years of mediocrity, joke. Integrity of the comp= next to none. At least the majority of the WAFL were opposed to the alignments unlike the SANFL clubs here (except 2) who happily bent over at the AFL clubs' demand.
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My team Claremont is/was often criticized because of the high number of AFL listed players we'd have in our squad. What was often forgotten though was that we produced the vast majority of AFL listed players in our squad........they were Claremont boys originally. The alignment system now sees us producing players of AFL standard, only to lose them to either Peel or East Perth if they are listed by the WA teams.
Obviously we just lose the rest.
Every team in the WAFL that goes to the trouble of producing good players stands a good chance of seeing them play against their original club in a Royals or Thunder jersey after one or two years tops of league level footy.
Hardly fair. It also renders the comp completely pointless.
Obviously we just lose the rest.
Every team in the WAFL that goes to the trouble of producing good players stands a good chance of seeing them play against their original club in a Royals or Thunder jersey after one or two years tops of league level footy.
Hardly fair. It also renders the comp completely pointless.
Not true.
The VFA at least died on its feet.
The VFL is a sick joke.
The WAFL isn't far behind it - any "competition" in which senior sides play against reserves sides pretty much ceases to become a competition.
Nah. I think if Fremantle and West Coast entered their own reserves teams as independent clubs and had no zones, played all matches away from home and topped up teams with WAAFL players (that would be contracted at the start of the year- after the WAFL clubs have had their pick it would work fine.
The WAFL would still have 20 matches a season.
Yeah, I just can't cop it. Obviously the impact is lessened when it's only two teams, but the overarching thing for me is any reserves side is not out there to win - if they do then well and good, but they're generally about development and individuals finding form or learning.
That's not a football "competition" for mine.
My preference of course is for a national reserves competion but unfortunately some clubs can't afford it.
Though from a West Coast point of view we're better off with a team in the WAFL playing in Perth/Mandurah every week then having our reserves fly east every second week.
Off The Couch
TheBrownDog
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I used to be a royals supporter - not any more and I'm not alone
I don't acknowledge their last premierships under this model and I won't should it occur again.
It does nothing for footy in this state other than to weaken it.
I understand why the eagles and dockers need their own sides but not at the expense of the entire WAFL
I don't acknowledge their last premierships under this model and I won't should it occur again.
It does nothing for footy in this state other than to weaken it.
I understand why the eagles and dockers need their own sides but not at the expense of the entire WAFL
Having AFL Reserves teams in the once proud SANFL/WAFL comps is disappointing. It will decimate them before too long. Only real beneficiaries in SA are the Crows and Power, but even they may not benefit if they have no real competition to play against in future years.
They should have a national Reserves competition with Under 21 year old locals as top up players.
They should have a national Reserves competition with Under 21 year old locals as top up players.
Surely West Coast and Freo having their own clubs is the much lesser of two evils. Or at least West Coast having their own club and if Peel want to fold in to Freo Reserves then so be it.
I just can't understand a strong WAFL club being combined with the Eagles reserves. That's unfair.
There's no perfect answer. Even a national reserves comp (besides from the costs and travel for young players) would have issues for state leagues.
I like the idea of West Coast and Freo being limited by a tight salary cap for their non AFL players. It would their overall talent and any injuries would make them very susceptible to be beaten by any half decent WAFL side.
I just can't understand a strong WAFL club being combined with the Eagles reserves. That's unfair.
There's no perfect answer. Even a national reserves comp (besides from the costs and travel for young players) would have issues for state leagues.
I like the idea of West Coast and Freo being limited by a tight salary cap for their non AFL players. It would their overall talent and any injuries would make them very susceptible to be beaten by any half decent WAFL side.
Eastern Rangers
2015 Worsfold Medalist - Rowen Powell
So you'd gimp a national reserve competition in the hope of keeping what would now be 3rd tier competitions relevant. Which they wouldn't be.
Eastern Rangers
2015 Worsfold Medalist - Rowen Powell
Nobody has given completely rational explanations of how it's going to weaken the competition? the standard required to winning a premiership will increase, the low skill brand of football played by the G7 will have to improve and change, the types of players forwarded by WAFL clubs will have to become more AFL compatible and their development system will need to produce more league quality players year in year out.
And Claremont benefits from what is the strongest metropolitan zone and strong regional centers in the Kimberly and Albany, lets not pretend that Claremont isn't one of the stronger clubs (if not the strongest) that will deal with this better than most. There are a lot of good Claremont players going un-drafted and this will continue into the future, ensuring Claremont remain competitive. Claremont is at the moment in a transition phase.
Peel Thunder have been bleeding quality players to the established clubs for years and nobody cared, in fact people outright mocked them because of it. If anything Fremantle will simply fix this imbalance. Any quick look at the three ladders and you know the Peel-Fremantle alignment is only a good thing for the club, and should be retained into the long term.
East Perth players that can't crack the league side will simply move on to other clubs, it wasn't that evident this year as there was a few retirements from last year. Brock Higgins is one who's thrived at another club and i expect more to follow his lead.
Those players draft that do not make it will return to their original WAFL clubs better players and with will strengthen league sides playing against aligned clubs.
That still doesn't address the fact that any non-aligned club that produces AFL standard talent (this usually means putting a player through junior and colts level systems and sometimes ressies) is likely to have to watch that player they've put all that time and effort into playing in an opposing WAFL teams jumper the next year should they get drafted to one of the local AFL clubs. Rather than staying with their original club and maintaining a rough balance of AFL listed talent throughout the whole comp, this system concentrates them all into two teams and unbalances the comp.
It's bad for the comp and I can't see much in the way of an incentive for the non-aligned teams.
Claremont has certainly done well from it's zones over the last few decades, I'm not claiming anything other than that, but the fact remains, all our best players will go, year after year, and now we'll no longer get the services of the ones we've produced who get drafted locally.
Sure we'll have plenty of good players still, but I doubt we'll be that competitive against the aligned sides. I saw all this happen before under the previous alignment system.
It seems to me that it's completely insidious the influence the AFL has on the lower leagues. Everything is being constructed to serve that end only, and the whole game can only suffer because of that.
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