Our zone would have the most non English speaking backgrounds. Over half of muslims in Victoria would be in our zone. Also have the most aboriginals in the zone compared to others (Melbourne area). If we can develop these kids from a young age we could be sitting on a gold mine. Overall % wise I think we would have the most players to pick from. Developing them and getting them to play aussie rules is another thing. Soccer in Australia (especially Victoria) is very multi-cultural (most clubs have ethnic backgrounds) and hard to convince kids to play afl then soccer. The parents would prefer them to stick to their own.
Why the AFL has set up the zones to begin with. A direct challenge to Soccer. Now AFL clubs will be doing the AFLs dirty work in their academy zones, spreading the word and giving kids a direct access pathway into the AFL. If we get a few role models through, more will follow on.




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