Rumour AFL expansion

There's been rumours over here in WA for the last 24 months that a 3rd WA side is in tbe works. WAFL club's have been linked to the idea of merging to form a club.

The AFL would like to expand the competition to 20 sides. Which will allow Tassie to get a side whilst also allowing the AFL to have it's own licence to mine the rivers of gold in footy over here.

3aw have now broken the story saying it's on the cards for 2026. They have said there's some push back from the existing sides stating they want it to remain a 18 team comp.

How do people feel about this. Especially with tv rights money having significant challenges around the world lately.
 
Jan 10, 2011
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There's been rumours over here in WA for the last 24 months that a 3rd WA side is in tbe works. WAFL club's have been linked to the idea of merging to form a club.

The AFL would like to expand the competition to 20 sides. Which will allow Tassie to get a side whilst also allowing the AFL to have it's own licence to mine the rivers of gold in footy over here.

3aw have now broken the story saying it's on the cards for 2026. They have said there's some push back from the existing sides stating they want it to remain a 18 team comp.

How do people feel about this. Especially with tv rights money having significant challenges around the world lately.
Crazy stuff. Standard would completely drop and would make it impossible for bottom sides for years. If they need a side in tassy then they should move one there. I don’t think they need a side in tassy. And we don’t want conferences. Leave that for the states
 
Crazy stuff. Standard would completely drop and would make it impossible for bottom sides for years. If they need a side in tassy then they should move one there. I don’t think they need a side in tassy. And we don’t want conferences. Leave that for the states
It is. I'm with you tbh. It's going to put alot of pressure on the Victorian sides. Like north, Melb, us and the dogs.

I think they will try and move norf but they won't go for it.

The 3rd WA side will be successful and make money. The long game which is worrying is they'll want a 3rd SA side once port stabilizes after paying off their licence/debt.

The pressure is going up and I fear the AFL are now taking the approach that they'll look for places they can make money whilst reducing the loss leaders they carry.
 
Moving closer and closer to an EPL relegation system if so, which I'm sure will be fun for those who like pissing on almost 200 years of history.

Given how GCS and GWS have gone in recent years as well since inception and what happened with the Bears & Roys, yeah sure, let's revisit the 90's and constricting gameplay so we can spend 20 years watching a slow death and crash back to reality.

Utter nonsense if true.
 
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Phoenix_9

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Sounds good to me. Everyone plays each other once per season.
Tassie could support a team.
WA could support a 3rd team.

The only issue for me is quality, but I think that would take care of itself over time. Also, gives more opportunity to high level state league players, which I’m all for.
 
Jan 10, 2011
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Sounds good to me. Everyone plays each other once per season.
Tassie could support a team.
WA could support a 3rd team.

The only issue for me is quality, but I think that would take care of itself over time. Also, gives more opportunity to high level state league players, which I’m all for.
I certainly don’t want less games
 

Dard Ball Get

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Sounds good to me. Everyone plays each other once per season.
Tassie could support a team.
WA could support a 3rd team.

The only issue for me is quality, but I think that would take care of itself over time. Also, gives more opportunity to high level state league players, which I’m all for.
You saw how much the expansion clubs raped the comp when they came in, yeah? Of course it was us that bore a big brunt of that being down the bottom when they came in. You’re keen for that again??
 

Phoenix_9

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You saw how much the expansion clubs raped the comp when they came in, yeah? Of course it was us that bore a big brunt of that being down the bottom when they came in. You’re keen for that again??
It was just unlucky that when they came in we were down the bottom.
I like to think we won’t get unlucky twice... but that’s probably wishful thinking...
 
Great. More years of compromised drafts while all the talent goes again to new franchises. I wonder which teams will be disadvantaged once again when the afl hold a gun to their heads so to speak?

The only possible advantage I can see is that we have a season where each team plays the other only once. Of course that means fewer games, so less money for the AFL, so that won’t happen.

Wonder if the clubs will have the balls this time around to object strongly?

I actually fear for what the idiots in charge have done / are doing to our game.
 
It was just unlucky that when they came in we were down the bottom.
I like to think we won’t get unlucky twice... but that’s probably wishful thinking...

This is the Saints we are talking about...
 

Hayes4PM

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Sounds like madness when you've got clubs like Gold Coast struggling and never making finals yet, Brisbane have only JUST gotten themselves back in order after, geez, at least 6 or 7 years in the wilderness. Sydney and GWS have needed some academy rules and allowances to attract talent and make sure they get any NSW talent. I think the AFL need to concede that NSW and Queensland will never view AFL as their #1 or even probably #2 sport.

I think the idea of further expansion should be put firmly on hold until the current clubs in Queensland and to a lesser extent NSW are self-sufficient.
 

hangdog

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Although the idea of a 20 team comp with a full AFL reserves league sounds good for evenness I'm not keen for more compromised drafts. A few thoughts.

A 19 game season (play each team once) with 5 weeks of finals (top 10) would make the season only 2 games shorter. Not much oft a compromise.

AFL reserves means that the talent shouldn't be thinned out too much as all the next best players in the league will be attached to clubs.

AFL went too far with draft concessions for GWS. Should expansion clubs come back in they'd have to go with the GC package of picks. It's why I'm never impressed with GWS. They've been gifted competitiveness from the AFL

Also, final out there thought, I'd love to see a team based in Albury/Wodonga encompassing the surrounding areas. Halfway between Sydney and Melbourne, AFL stronghold, facilities that could be updated to AFL standard etc. It would be a different path but I'd like to see the country represented by at least one team.
 

Indie Rock

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Piss poor idea.

Teams have found it harder to rebound off the bottom since the compromised drafts and diluted talent pool with 80 or so extra players on AFL lists.

Get the AFL is trying to increase the following of the game, could have the opposite effect. It’s taken Brisbane ages to rebound (Melbourne too if they have in fact rebounded), we are on that same long journey along with Carlton. I guess Gold Coast are too.

Fans will drop off in droves if they follow a team that goes around a decade without finals or looking like they can win the flag even.

My kids are too young to follow footy yet but dunno how you folks that have kids say around 10-15 can keep them interested when there are so many other entertainment avenues these days......especially when the team isn’t doing well.

As MOLTEN GANGLANDS said - AFL admit the experiment failed, sent GC to Tassie then /thread.
 

St Neil

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Terrible idea. Ensure Gold Coast and GWS are self sufficient before heading off on another frolic by expanding the competition.

More compromised drafts, recruiting concessions and salary cap advantages for expansion clubs. Yuck. The perennial weaker clubs will be susceptible to raids from the expansion clubs and be further weakened.

Then again for the AFL it’s all about $$$.
 

mightymalaka

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This hasn't seriously got legs has it?
They have lost their collective minds at the AFL! We are already experiencing a lesser product from the last expansion right across the league
Let alone the comp just simply did not need a Gold Coast side where pretty much every other sporting venture up there has failed!
Just self indulgent arrogance by headquarters, nor did we have to endure another team out of west Syd where only about 5 people and a dog are interested
In spite of them being gifted an unbelievably good list by taking all the best talent for a few years! Which would no doubt happen again for any new sides!

Will say that when the Afl decided on it's last expansion a team from Tassie at the very least should have been given first priority!
I know there are logistical and political difficulties with Tassie, but at the least it's a proud footy state that had contributed to the history of our game enormously!
They were dudded! And with that all hope that the custodians of our game were not singularly dollar driven!
Not to mention the repercussions to a club like the Saints can only be bad! How about the geniuses there focus on actually getting umpires that can
Actually interpret the game with some sense of what a game of footy feels like, and if they are so hellbent on shelling out money
Get a proper score review system with decent technology and give, give and give some more to help rebuild grass roots and country footy!
 
Jan 10, 2011
34,367
57,683
AFL Club
St Kilda
Other Teams
Ormond AFC
This hasn't seriously got legs has it?
They have lost their collective minds at the AFL! We are already experiencing a lesser product from the last expansion right across the league
Let alone the comp just simply did not need a Gold Coast side where pretty much every other sporting venture up there has failed!
Just self indulgent arrogance by headquarters, nor did we have to endure another team out of west Syd where only about 5 people and a dog are interested
In spite of them being gifted an unbelievably good list by taking all the best talent for a few years! Which would no doubt happen again for any new sides!

Will say that when the Afl decided on it's last expansion a team from Tassie at the very least should have been given first priority!
I know there are logistical and political difficulties with Tassie, but at the least it's a proud footy state that had contributed to the history of our game enormously!
They were dudded! And with that all hope that the custodians of our game were not singularly dollar driven!
Not to mention the repercussions to a club like the Saints can only be bad! How about the geniuses there focus on actually getting umpires that can
Actually interpret the game with some sense of what a game of footy feels like, and if they are so hellbent on shelling out money
Get a proper score review system with decent technology and give, give and give some more to help rebuild grass roots and country footy!
I’m not sure it’s fact that it’s happening so bit harsh to blame the afl yet. I doubt tassie ever get a side. They are like 2 different states who can’t stand each other. And more importantly there is more money to be gained by the afl on the mainland. The more money the afl get the more likelihood of us surviving. I think people forget that. We don’t need expansion sides to fail.
 
GWS could field two sides.


I saw Knightmare rated Thomas Green as the second best player in this draft...just happens to be a gun inside mi who plays like Paddy Cripps. Surely they could just leave Hopper or Taranto out on the nature strip for us, they can't use them all.
 
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