A couple of questions to ponder....
1 Does the AFL have a vested interest in the competition being truly national - and the gold coast experiment working? (Multiple concession picks to the Gold coast, hugely over paid ambassador roles to Karmichael Hunt ect would suggest yes)
2 Has the AFL shown a capacity to meddle in football matters that should be out of their hands to create the result they want? (2 Brownlow medalists winning the award in the last 4 years, that have miraculously leapfrogged their suspended rival in the final rounds - when that suspended rival had blinders in the final games, and an acknowledgement by the AFL that all votes are separately counted by them first - would suggest yes.)
3 Is Lochie Weller the most marketable person to come to the Gold Coast? Possibly. Does he have the kind of face that could be used on billboards that would convert some neutrals, and a lot of young girls, over to the dark side from rugby? I reckon. He had a legion of female friends immediately on arrival at Freo and, after a few years development, was looking at a move into the midfield next year, so would have been a higher profile player.
4 Is Gary Ablett being paid an ambassador's wage by the AFL, and will that wage be reimbursed back to the GC for another player when Gary leaves? Yes, the AFL have admitted this themselves in an article in the age yesterday.
5. Has there just been an article written in the last 24 hours on the AFL Website justifying why Weller should be traded for pick 2? Yes.
Upshot: Don't kid yourselves people, the AFL have their grubby little hands over all of this.
1 Does the AFL have a vested interest in the competition being truly national - and the gold coast experiment working? (Multiple concession picks to the Gold coast, hugely over paid ambassador roles to Karmichael Hunt ect would suggest yes)
2 Has the AFL shown a capacity to meddle in football matters that should be out of their hands to create the result they want? (2 Brownlow medalists winning the award in the last 4 years, that have miraculously leapfrogged their suspended rival in the final rounds - when that suspended rival had blinders in the final games, and an acknowledgement by the AFL that all votes are separately counted by them first - would suggest yes.)
3 Is Lochie Weller the most marketable person to come to the Gold Coast? Possibly. Does he have the kind of face that could be used on billboards that would convert some neutrals, and a lot of young girls, over to the dark side from rugby? I reckon. He had a legion of female friends immediately on arrival at Freo and, after a few years development, was looking at a move into the midfield next year, so would have been a higher profile player.
4 Is Gary Ablett being paid an ambassador's wage by the AFL, and will that wage be reimbursed back to the GC for another player when Gary leaves? Yes, the AFL have admitted this themselves in an article in the age yesterday.
5. Has there just been an article written in the last 24 hours on the AFL Website justifying why Weller should be traded for pick 2? Yes.
Upshot: Don't kid yourselves people, the AFL have their grubby little hands over all of this.
