List Mgmt. 2025 List Management Discussion

[morsie]

I keep saying about the academies,get back to me when our percentage of our list from Queensland is the same as the percentage that southern clubs have from their own state.Until then both the northern states are in growth phase and need an advantage

 

[Darren Downunder]

The benefit of the Father/Son rule is simple, here is my son and daughter (in orange) at their first AFL player signing session after a game. As a recently divorced dad way back then I purchased them annual memberships and it became our thing to go to every game. They were too young then to really remember Vossy, Lynch, Lappin, Ashcroft, Bradshaw, Fletcher but were aware enough of players like Acker, Browny and indeed their favourite for his brief stint Bushy because he was a local.

Here is my daughter this year at the Grandfinal with her uncle and myself, her favourite player is Jasper Fletcher. In those 24 years since game at the Gabba she has complete school, has 2 university degrees and is a COO of a large investment fund but we still go to every game together and finals if we make it. Yes for those long years between when the Lions hit rock bottom we sat in the rain at the Gabba when crowds didn't even make 10,000 and we got flogged over and over. My brother took up AFL in his early 50's up in Darwin (we were NSW rugby league kids) and has now represented the NT 5 times in masters footy. We are truly now generational supporters of the game and the Lions.

The greatest thing is to be in the pubs in Melbourne on Grand final day as a family and speculate on who will win, to talk about whom might play well, to remember their fathers playing like Fletcher and Ashcroft and to have that link through generations as my daughter, brother and myself are linked. Our generations have become linked to the game from a rugby league heritage and linked to a club as the players and their generations are. We feel part of a larger tribe - a family.

Families as players or families as supporters build tradition and through tradition comes retention and building of a club's tradition and supporter bases. Somewhere on the Gold coast or in Western Sydney another mum or dad is taking their little kids to the footy and that family will also move across from rugby league to become generational supporters. To water down or even diminish the father/son rule is insanity. Which ex-players have successful kids is a lottery, its simply the luck of the draw. Keep the traditions, build the links, connect the families, that is what the rule is for.

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Brilliant post, Clarkie.
You should send this directly to Swannie.
I’m sure there are plenty of comparable stories from supporters all across the country.
Collingwood, Essendon, Carlton, Footscray, Port Adelaide.
All powerful, tribal clubs.

 

[Perrip]

 

[Sunny Land]

I keep saying about the academies,get back to me when our percentage of our list from Queensland is the same as the percentage that southern clubs have from their own state.Until then both the northern states are in growth phase and need an advantage

Spot on post.

Take all the emotion out of the situation (not playing it down) and take in your above post is all that needs to be said about how Northern Clubs cannot compete or survive without some sort of advantage over the bigger advantage Vic/SA/WA clubs get from being a footy state. I dont think AFL will ever be the powerhouse sport it is in Victoria/South & West Aussie up in Brisbane or Sydney. If we want a national competition, the AFL need to recognise that.

 

[braddsey]

Can we sign him at 12:01am Sunday as soon as the Eagles season is officially over? We could do with an extra talk forward Sunday evening. He’s coming anyway!
(Let’s be honest, the Eagles season was effectively over before round-1).

 

[dlanod]

But neither of those were academy players. Most of the discussion is around academies.

The narrative is actually about Brisbane getting good players on the cheap while being good, but gets framed about being about the academies because they can take that away without affecting themselves.

 

[Sunny Land]

I understand.

I'm sure everyone is coming from a good place as well .Misguided or otherwise. It's only a footy blog SL, this particular one would be one of the most tolerant and mildest out there . I'm sure the players are educated by the club these days to not take derogatory comments to heart. Many comments and observations are well off the mark or just plain wrong.

It doesn't need to be a confrontation and shouldn't be taken personally. Everyone is supporting the club in the best way they know how.

Cheers.

One player (still currently playing for another club) in particular was one who did read footy social media and was negatively affected & probably still is at the club he's at now. (Big Footy was a culprit...especially game day posts) Its ironic how many of us preach mental health but think it's OK to talk badly about their own players on social media. I dont care if we are any better or worse than other clubs, its not a consolation to the behaviour. Commentators such as Kornes, Lyon, Dunstall to name a few doing the same on radio & TV. These young men and their families all have a life to lead outside of footy and should be free to live with relatively the same freedom & respect most have.
Not saying they should be immuned to critisism but insults and personal attacks should not be tolerated. If read by players/coach's/admin, there's no doubt it will have a negative effect as it would if it was directed at any of us.

 

[jonnobackpocket]

One player (still currently playing for another club) in particular was one who did read footy social media and was negatively affected & probably still is at the club he's at now. (Big Footy was a culprit...especially game day posts) Its ironic how many of us preach mental health but think it's OK to talk badly about their own players on social media. I dont care if we are any better or worse than other clubs, its not a consolation to the behaviour. Commentators such as Kornes, Lyon, Dunstall to name a few doing the same on radio & TV. These young men and their families all have a life to lead outside of footy and should be free to live with relatively the same freedom & respect most have.
Not saying they should be immuned to critisism but insults and personal attacks should not be tolerated. If read by players/coach's/admin, there's no doubt it will have a negative effect as it would if it was directed at any of us.

Why would an AFL player go to big footy and read posts written by a bunch of people not good enough to make the big league themselves. You’re kidding, what did they expect in an anonymous on line forum with no accountability. Talk about looking for trouble.

 

[Toffee Lion]

I think talks broke down about 4-5 months ago.

 

[Sunny Land]

Why would an AFL player go to big footy and read posts written by a bunch of people not good enough to make the big league themselves. You’re kidding, what did they expect in an anonymous on line forum with no accountability. Talk about looking for trouble.

So are you sayiong it's their fault for reading social media?
What makes them different to any other person other than their work choice?
Some players (believe it or not) go to social media and read. As I say in my post, its not just social media...its other forms of media as well.

 

[briztoon]

But neither of those were academy players. Most of the discussion is around academies.

Neither the media or opposition fans make a distinction between either.

They just see Andrews, Payne, Coleman, Hipwood, Fletcher, Ashcroft, Ashcroft and Marshall and think ****ing academy rorts.

Most fans have short term memories and think of Brisbane as a perennial top 4 team, or could care less about when we were down and out.

**** it’s hard enough to get a Victorian team fan to acknowledge any of their inherent advantages built into the league, and if they do, the most common response is, “but it used to just be the VFL, and you should just be happy to be included”, with some notional idea that the Vic clubs should be the teams making the GF.

 

[Pride of lions]

If the northern states don’t have academies how are any young players in Queensland and NSW ever going to be properly developed and subsequently drafted? The pathway in Victoria is clear where players are funnelled through the zone system from the age of 14, getting top level coaching and development through to the Under 18 competition. On top of that the private school system has top level coaching and scholarship programs from Year 7 onwards. They have a massive advantage already, and the northern academies should be strengthened rather than weakened. if the northern teams can't take their best academy prospects then let the AFL organise and pay for the programs.

 

[braddsey]

If the northern states don’t have academies how are any young players in Queensland and NSW ever going to be properly developed and subsequently drafted? The pathway in Victoria is clear where players are funnelled through the zone system from the age of 14, getting top level coaching and development through to the Under 18 competition. On top of that the private school system has top level coaching and scholarship programs from Year 7 onwards. They have a massive advantage already, and the northern academies should be strengthened rather than weakened. if the northern teams can't take their best academy prospects then let the AFL organise and pay for the programs.

The AFL can resolve it by fully funding and running academies in the northern states.
The question is still if an AFL academy would have the same attraction to young athletes if there’s only a 10% chance they get to stay in their home state - or if these athletes would go to another code/sport (rugby!).
You can argue that juniors from SA & WA have the same conditions, but these are AFL states and have local pathways and are likely to play AFL regardless.
The reality is a Victorian footballer has a 60% chance of being drafted by a Victorian club.

This is why the northern clubs need priority access.

 

[mattsmob]

One player (still currently playing for another club) in particular was one who did read footy social media and was negatively affected & probably still is at the club he's at now. (Big Footy was a culprit...especially game day posts) Its ironic how many of us preach mental health but think it's OK to talk badly about their own players on social media. I dont care if we are any better or worse than other clubs, its not a consolation to the behaviour. Commentators such as Kornes, Lyon, Dunstall to name a few doing the same on radio & TV. These young men and their families all have a life to lead outside of footy and should be free to live with relatively the same freedom & respect most have.
Not saying they should be immuned to critisism but insults and personal attacks should not be tolerated. If read by players/coach's/admin, there's no doubt it will have a negative effect as it would if it was directed at any of us.

From my experience on here insults and personal attacks aren’t tolerated and they do get called out

 

[braddsey]

I was saying years ago that if the AFL were serious about it being a national comp and to remove that ambiguity about it not being a dressed up VFL, the AFL should move HQ to Canberra and run the game as the governing body from an impartial location - but they won't which is why they will always be bias to Victorian clubs.

You can’t run the AFL from a non-AFL state. AFL HQ is already out of touch with fans & clubs.
Besides, nobody who’s not already in Canberra wants to live there. The place is a ghost town when parliament is not sitting.

 

[Dalions]

Neither the media or opposition fans make a distinction between either.

They just see Andrews, Payne, Coleman, Hipwood, Fletcher, Ashcroft, Ashcroft and Marshall and think ****ing academy rorts.

Most fans have short term memories and think of Brisbane as a perennial top 4 team, or could care less about when we were down and out.

**** it’s hard enough to get a Victorian team fan to acknowledge any of their inherent advantages built into the league, and if they do, the most common response is, “but it used to just be the VFL, and you should just be happy to be included”, with some notional idea that the Vic clubs should be the teams making the GF.

See I see it quite a bit differently.
I see it as less than 1 best 22 player per year over a 10-11 year period as pretty poor really.
Bit more success over recent years but via luck of the draw F/S’s, not Academy.

 

[briztoon]

Why would an AFL player go to big footy and read posts written by a bunch of people not good enough to make the big league themselves. You’re kidding, what did they expect in an anonymous on line forum with no accountability. Talk about looking for trouble.

There’s a heap of current AFL players who were members of BigFooty when they were kids and playing Coates Talent League.

There’s a couple who were active on the draft board before they were drafted.

 

[briztoon]

I think talks broke down about 4-5 months ago.

Talks broke down October last year.

 

[Elixuh]

There’s a heap of current AFL players who were members of BigFooty when they were kids and playing Coates Talent League.

There’s a couple who were active on the draft board before they were drafted.

I made my account before being drafted to Essendon

 

[dlanod]

From my experience on here insults and personal attacks aren’t tolerated and they do get called out

Some people do have unrealistic standards of what's considered an insult or personal attack.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Some people do have unrealistic standards of what's considered an insult or personal attack.

How dare you

 

[M Malice]

I made my account before being drafted to Essendon

Are you Ken Fletcher?

 

[Elixuh]

Are you Ken Fletcher?

No, my friends call me Drapes. You can call me Sam Draper.

 

[Toffee Lion]

Some people do have unrealistic standards of what's considered an insult or personal attack.

I consider this a personal attack, an insulting one at that.

 

[bungalow_bill]

One player (still currently playing for another club) in particular was one who did read footy social media and was negatively affected & probably still is at the club he's at now. (Big Footy was a culprit...especially game day posts) Its ironic how many of us preach mental health but think it's OK to talk badly about their own players on social media. I dont care if we are any better or worse than other clubs, its not a consolation to the behaviour. Commentators such as Kornes, Lyon, Dunstall to name a few doing the same on radio & TV. These young men and their families all have a life to lead outside of footy and should be free to live with relatively the same freedom & respect most have.
Not saying they should be immuned to critisism but insults and personal attacks should not be tolerated. If read by players/coach's/admin, there's no doubt it will have a negative effect as it would if it was directed at any of us.

Derogatory insults to your own players is something that rubs me the wrong way. McStay for example was referred to as McSpray quite often by a few "supporters".