I understand and support the idea behind it and get that the AFL has to compete with other sports, but why don't the AFL just do it directly? Set up and official AFL academy in NSW, QLD and NT and then use them to develop players and increase the player base for everyone without giving priority to any club. It achieves all the goals of the current system without any of the issues.
The obvious answer is $$$: It is much cheaper for the AFL to have someone else pay for and do the dirty work for them. But the AFL already gives money to developing the game at lower levels so why not just continue that pathway all the way to the top level? I 'd be really interested to see how much the 4 academies cost the clubs because I would hazard a guess and say that it isn't massive sums of money we are talking about.
The obvious answer is $$$: It is much cheaper for the AFL to have someone else pay for and do the dirty work for them. But the AFL already gives money to developing the game at lower levels so why not just continue that pathway all the way to the top level? I 'd be really interested to see how much the 4 academies cost the clubs because I would hazard a guess and say that it isn't massive sums of money we are talking about.
http://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/2014-06-26/qbe-sydney-swans-academy-explained
