Are the Northern Academies meeting their aim?

[Bay53]

You say these things but know Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and Hobart aren’t represented in the “National” Rugby League. Neither comp is national

The NRL has tried to promote into SA and WA and wants a team in Perth. But Adelaide and Perth are not on the same level as Sydney and Brisbane (and Melbourne). Both the NRL and AFL realised very quickly that if you want to grow the game they needed to have a strong presence in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. That is where the audience is, that is where the decision makers in the TV networks and the sponsors reside.

 

[Scotland]

They don't get propped up by handouts, they MAKE money for the AFL.

Yes GWS and Gold Coast especially receive a higher distribution from the AFL than many other clubs, but is that more than the additional revenue generated by them being in the competition? I don't think so.\

False equivalence.

The AFL makes money because they have an 18 team comp with 2 teams in each of Qld and NSW. The value of the extra game and the value of a game each week played in those states isn't determined by the success or failure of Gold Coast and GWS.

I wouldn’t lose any sleep if the lot of them folded. It’s a joke that they keep getting propped up with handouts while the other non-Victorian clubs are left to fend for themselves.

No one is going anywhere. The AFL is committed to 18 teams under the current TV rights deal and Tassie is joining in 2028.

The AFL have invested squillions in NSW/Qld so those 4 clubs are safe and if tried to downsize clubs in Victoria now there would be an absolute mutiny.

 

[Duckimus Prime]

Absolutely, mate. I’d much rather see a consistent top-four presence from traditional clubs like West Coast, Fremantle, Port Adelaide, and Adelaide than a future where the same four teams make it despite the fact they could all disappear without anyone batting an eye.

Literally only one of the sides you've listed there is a traditional club. West Coast, Fremantle and Adelaide are all AFL Franchises created just like Gold Coast and GWS were, just in a locations where AFL is already the dominant sport.

West Coast and Adelaide also got to pick the eyes out their home states for talent much more than the other two. Who came in once the AFL was significantly draining the talent out of those states.

 

[Philhawk]

Brisbane has 2 of the top 3 biggest Auskick centres in the country, so I'd say it's having an impact, yes.

And it’s a brilliant achievement. But how isn’t this job done?

Are we saying the afl can’t step in and act as the employer to all the centers involved and keep this going, while removing the stupid draft concessions these academies receive?

 

[Former Decathlete]

These threads are hilarious.

Last lot of flags Hawks (3);Tigers (3) Pies, Demons and Cats.

Eagles predicament is self inflicted (horrendous list MGT/arrogance).

Current flag favourite is the Hawks (again).

Lions had a great finals series last year (they finished 5th) but this idea northern sides are "too strong" is laughable.

Especially when Brisbane biggest advantage recently has been 3 gun father-son players which people seem to be conflating with Academies.

 

[Scotland]

Literally only one of the sides you've listed there is a traditional club. West Coast, Fremantle and Adelaide are all AFL Franchises created just like Gold Coast and GWS were, just in a locations where AFL is already the dominant sport.

WC and Brisbane were created out of thin air to join the VFL. Gold Coast and GWS were created out of thin air by the AFL.

West Coast and Adelaide also got to pick the eyes out their home states for talent much more than the other two. Who came in once the AFL was significantly draining the talent out of those states.

WC and Brisbane and Adelaide joined a very different competition to Freo and Port, who joined a very different competition to Gold Coast and GWS.

 

[Aura]

Literally only one of the sides you've listed there is a traditional club. West Coast, Fremantle and Adelaide are all AFL Franchises created just like Gold Coast and GWS were, just in a locations where AFL is already the dominant sport.

West Coast and Adelaide also got to pick the eyes out their home states for talent much more than the other two. Who came in once the AFL was significantly draining the talent out of those states.

I’m aware you’re the only one that isn’t illegitimate but it’s time the rest of you got an academy.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

The AFL introduced Norther Academies for two reasons.
1. To help grow the available talent pool from both NSW and Qld.
2. To get a higher % of local kids into the Northern state teams, to help with player retention.

So how do the numbers look after a good few years of operation?
as it stands the local player content of each team is as follows.
Sydney = 11 NSW players
GWS = 12 NSW players
Gold Coast = 15 Qld players
Brisbane = 11 Qld players

Compare this to the local player content in the SA and WA teams.
Adelaide = 18 SA players
Power = 17 SA players
West Coast = 23 WA players
Freo = 20 WA players

While not meeting the same numbers as SA and WA clubs, there has been an increase in local players in the Qld and NSW clubs.

With regards to total players in the AFL system from the northern states, currently there is 36 players from Qld and 47 from NSW.
I have no doubt this number has increased as well.

So all in all, there seems to be an improvement in the two outcomes the AFL wanted to see from these academies.

I think it’s fantastic there are as many NSW/QLD players running around now as there are, so if that’s due to the academies well that’s great, but we need more. Job’s nowhere near done yet.

 

[The Terrible Thinker]

This is going to come off as a bit of a rant but the western states are severely disadvantaged when it comes to trade and draft versus the eastern states. I get the need to make the northern experiment work but its to the detriment of the rest of the league.

Victorian clubs are some what less affected as they have a large talent pool to draw from, plus there is still an high percentage of talented Ex Victorian players playing interstate wanting to go home at any given chance. That's where Collingwood, Geelong and Richmond have been capitalizing the most. Victoria simply benefits from having the largest population base in Australia to draw from.

There are not enough quality SA or WA players in the league in development to sustain any model of quality player recruitment or retention. The Crows have struggled for so long as they previously could never retain their interstate players and had to pay overs for quality ex SA players to come home. Port are now finding the same issue, so to compensate we have to recruit other club rejects to fill voids. That approach has now come ahead as the overall quality of our playing list is poor.

The ideal situation is for SA & WA to double or triple their investment into grass roots footy and bring more players into the draft system in an attempt to flood the league with expat players wanting to come home at some point. This is knowing that the AFL will never approve an "western academy" concept as the Victorian clubs would strongly oppose the idea.

 

[Former Decathlete]

This is going to come off as a bit of a rant but the western states are severely disadvantaged when it comes to trade and draft versus the eastern states. I get the need to make the northern experiment work but its to the detriment of the rest of the league.

Victorian clubs are some what less affected as they have a large talent pool to draw from, plus there is still an high percentage of talented Ex Victorian players playing interstate wanting to go home at any given chance. That's where Collingwood, Geelong and Richmond have been capitalizing the most. Victoria simply benefits from having the largest population base in Australia to draw from.

There are not enough quality SA or WA players in the league in development to sustain any model of quality player recruitment or retention. The Crows have struggled for so long as they previously could never retain their interstate players and had to pay overs for quality ex SA players to come home. Port are now finding the same issue, so to compensate we have to recruit other club rejects to fill voids. That approach has now come ahead as the overall quality of our playing list is poor.

The ideal situation is for SA & WA to double or triple their investment into grass roots footy and bring more players into the draft system in an attempt to flood the league with expat players wanting to come home at some point. This is knowing that the AFL will never approve an "western academy" concept as the Victorian clubs would strongly oppose the idea.

Have the Crows struggled?

They've been miles better than North, Blues, Suns, Bombers etc

 

[qlderlions]

Yep, Morningside and Coorparoo(my daughter went there last year) are the ones.

That is true, but go out 10km from the Brisbane inner city into the outer burbs and the number of auskickers declines significantly. Auskick doesn't even scratch the surface in Logan City.

 

[bzparkes]

That is true, but go out 10km from the Brisbane inner city into the outer burbs and the number of auskickers declines significantly. Auskick doesn't even scratch the surface in Logan City.

I've got friends down that way whose kids are doing Auskick but yeah, big islander population down in Logan, who'd definitely be way more into Rugby.

 

[kaiserchief13]

I was in Gold Coast recently and I was surprised at the amount of Suns advertising. Barely saw anything for Titans. Suns on bus stops, big billboard or 2 on buildings etc

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

Has anyone actually done the research on this is anyway at any level. We keep hearing of its necessity, its success yet it never translates into anything. If you do the actual research you will see the draftee numbers from these states is getting considerably worse

From the 2010 draft we had 5 NSW players, 1 ACT player, 1 NT and 3 QLD players. All in the normal listed way ie. No CAT B rookies. Then we had in 2024 we had 6 NSW Players (1 a CAT B rookie from US got counted), 4 from QLD (1 Cat rookie) and 1 NT player (Cat B rookie) .

In 2024 AFL was pretty happy and boasted about this number. For some reason the AFL doesnt actually report each years state by state numbers all the time. A huge gap from 2020 to 2023 exists when it just stopped. Could not get AI to find a answer anywhere so had to manually do the count.

In 2020 we had 3 from NSW and 1 from QLD in the main draft + 1 Cat B rookie
In 2021 we had 0 from NSW and 1 from QLD in the main draft + 1 Cat B rookie
In 2022 we had 0 from NSW and 1 from QLD in the main draft (Jaspa Fletcher) + 4 Cat B Rookies
In 2023 we had 1 from NSW and 3 from QLD

AFL Sydney is probably the biggest failure of all. From what I can gather its received around 120 mil in funding from Federal/State/AFL and produced 1 solitary player in Caiden Cleary (this could be wrong but hard to find otherwise).

Not only has it failed to meet its aim it looks to have actively made the situation worse. We are getting less talent from the Eastern state academies then ever before.... Id like to see someone onreport on this but well they wont. The truth is inconvenient here

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

I was in Gold Coast recently and I was surprised at the amount of Suns advertising. Barely saw anything for Titans. Suns on bus stops, big billboard or 2 on buildings etc

Its purely AFL funded with none of it coming from Gold Coasts pockets. Its not only AFL funded this marketing but the AFL pay Gold Coast money in intellectual property rights to do this advertising for them...

So if you see Matt Rowell on a billboard, the AFL have paid for that ad but then also paid Gold Coast for Matt Rowell to appear on that billboard.... Its crazy

 

[wolftone57]

Disagree. No WS kids.

There are now

 

[Colonial]

There are now

There is a couple, but we get an easy out of having to put effort into the aesthetic by having Canberra and the southern regions.
Our board and the AFL have to be forced to put effort into the west.

 

[LeeCarvallo]

Has anyone actually done the research on this is anyway at any level. We keep hearing of its necessity, its success yet it never translates into anything. If you do the actual research you will see the draftee numbers from these states is getting considerably worse

From the 2010 draft we had 5 NSW players, 1 ACT player, 1 NT and 3 QLD players. All in the normal listed way ie. No CAT B rookies. Then we had in 2024 we had 6 NSW Players (1 a CAT B rookie from US got counted), 4 from QLD (1 Cat rookie) and 1 NT player (Cat B rookie) .

In 2024 AFL was pretty happy and boasted about this number. For some reason the AFL doesnt actually report each years state by state numbers all the time. A huge gap from 2020 to 2023 exists when it just stopped. Could not get AI to find a answer anywhere so had to manually do the count.

In 2020 we had 3 from NSW and 1 from QLD in the main draft + 1 Cat B rookie
In 2021 we had 0 from NSW and 1 from QLD in the main draft + 1 Cat B rookie
In 2022 we had 0 from NSW and 1 from QLD in the main draft (Jaspa Fletcher) + 4 Cat B Rookies
In 2023 we had 1 from NSW and 3 from QLD

AFL Sydney is probably the biggest failure of all. From what I can gather its received around 120 mil in funding from Federal/State/AFL and produced 1 solitary player in Caiden Cleary (this could be wrong but hard to find otherwise).

Not only has it failed to meet its aim it looks to have actively made the situation worse. We are getting less talent from the Eastern state academies then ever before.... Id like to see someone onreport on this but well they wont. The truth is inconvenient here

Keep in mind, between 2019 - 2023 we were able to pre-list players so they weren't required to go through the draft for us to list them.

So since 2020 Gold Coast academy alone has been able to produce

Alex Davies
Aiden Fyfe
Rhys Nicholls
Bohdi Uwland
Connor Budarick
Jed Walter
Ethan Read
Jake Rogers
Will Graham
Leo Lombard
Lachie Gulbin

 

[paulige]

Keep in mind, between 2019 - 2023 we were able to pre-list players so they weren't required to go through the draft for us to list them.

So since 2020 Gold Coast academy alone has been able to produce

Alex Davies
Aiden Fyfe
Rhys Nicholls
Bohdi Uwland
Connor Budarick
Jed Walter
Ethan Read
Jake Rogers
Will Graham
Leo Lombard
Lachie Gulbin

Ignore that post - was AI generated and virtually all the numbers are bogus.