shintemaster
Brownlow Medallist
Yep. I'm sure they both have fans and staff who have put a decade of their lives into making these clubs work, often in difficult circumstances. The argument that they are a financial drain on the competition is ridiculous. They are long term investments designed to increase participation and interest in the game in regions with significant population growth.
Well thought out post but the argument that they are a financial drain on the competition is not ridiculous. It's a very valid argument. It's fine to weigh that up against a potential / hypothetical long term investment but that doesn't make it ridiculous. If push comes to shove I think it is patently not ridiculous to offload head office backed investments in a hypothetical future that are a massive year on year drain before even thinking stretching clubs that have been around for a bare minimum of 2 decades for the most recent and have financially contributed to the league the whole time.