Does Western Australia have a problem?

[greatwhiteshark]

No personal interest in this idea at all?

Of course there is, but if the league can operate only about money then so the clubs should be able to.

 

[My_Username]

The sooner the clubs can operate like the league do (all about money) the better the game will be.
Get rid of the salary cap and join world sport.

So scrap things like junior development entirely?

Or do clubs just develop players that they get to own?

 

[Bjo187]

Of course there is, but if the league can operate only about money then so the clubs should be able to.

The league isn't only about money, otherwise they wouldn't be losing $60 million on AFLW each year.

 

[thejester]

Does WA have a strong private school system like Vic? Basically every Vic kid drafted these days comes through the elite private school networks

But those kids are recruited to those schools because they're good at footy. Recruiters aren't willfully ignoring great players because they're at Joeys not Geelong Grammar.

 

[go_the_dockers]

TAC cup sides have better facilities than most WAFL sides.

U18's have no where near the development put into them, and this is why they are 12 months behind the Vic players.

Until the AFL funds the WA and SA junior development to the same level (20% of the money put into TAC cup sides, put into each of SA and WA development) then it won't change.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

Apparently Eagles AND Fremantle have had requests to improve our NGA turned down by the AFL in the last 2 years

Fremantle wanted to create a South W.A NGA and Eagles a Indigenous only NGA up nortth and both got turned down.

Perhaps if AFL wasnt blocking investment, we wouldnt have a problem yeah?

 

[carndapies]

The WAFL development squads have been deplorable for years.

The West Coast and the Fremantle academies and investment into kids to be developed has been about as poor over the last 5 years as those teams on field performances.

 

[greatwhiteshark]

The league isn't only about money, otherwise they wouldn't be losing $60 million on AFLW each year.

They lose money on AFLW because it is a product that does not bring in enough support to make money. That is bad business.
The league is only about money otherwise we would play each other once, alternate home and away year after year. Blockbuster fixtures would be not locked in and would return to being the best games of the rounds.
The problem is the comp has been so poorly run for so long that many think this is just how it should be. Any premier comp that does not have focus on fairness and equality as their priority is running a poor comp.

 

[Rich01]

Apparently Eagles AND Fremantle have had requests to improve our NGA turned down by the AFL in the last 2 years

Fremantle wanted to create a South W.A NGA and Eagles a Indigenous only NGA up nortth and both got turned down.

Perhaps if AFL wasnt blocking investment, we wouldnt have a problem yeah?

Interesting.
What were the proposals from both clubs?

 

[greatwhiteshark]

Interesting.
What were the proposals from both clubs?

It's different to what it used to be. The WAFL clubs forever did all the development of juniors into colts and worked their zones very well. But of course once the AFL came along the money was no longer there for them to do it.
The Eagles and Dockers won't do it as they get no benefit from it.
Now if the WAFC instead of wasting millions on administration every year gave each of the WAFL clubs a Million dollars a year to go back to investing in their zones then I have no doubt that we would have more players drafted.
Having said that I think many a good player is being overlooked for whatever reason and then they just drop out of football.
Apparantly a strong hand will be picked in this years draft? Either way WA should be producing 15-20 draftees every year and at least 5 top top 20 draftees every year. And we currently don't.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

Interesting.
What were the proposals from both clubs?

Not sure what Fremantles is at all outside of it was to be done in Bunbury

Eagles was to invest 5 mill over a few years in building a academy of northern W.A players who would come down and stay with like host families, going to a sports school and then training with the Naitanui academy after. It was to start of at 10 but build to 20 players. All would be indigenous and from a certain catchment area.

Eagles just got told No flat out

 

[joe444]

On the radio last night, Mitch Duncan gave thanks to players like Cameron Ling for teaching him how to win the hard ball because "we don't do that so much in Western Australia".

Not throwing shade, just observing how more open WA footy is.

 

[Donkers]

The WAFC don't give enough money to the WAFL clubs and the WAFL clubs don't get enough out of junior development. The WAFC also don't get as much money as Victorian football and the AFL teams get rorted in comparison to other sides from the fund distribution.

The AFL wants the WA licences and control of footy in WA so won't provide any funds to that area. Despite the eagles being horrendously shite for 3 and a half years we still have a waiting list for seated memberships so why bother, the money still comes in.

On top of this travel every second week on reduced lists on reduced soft caps has made a difference.

WA has a huge problem with development. The WAFC is an overpaid corrupt cesspit and the AFL won't provide any extra funding as the WAFC won't submit to anything the AFL want.

So elite talent is not being developed right from the right age and juniors who are making it to AFL clubs are well behind others.

 

[masai tu]

On the radio last night, Mitch Duncan gave thanks to players like Cameron Ling for teaching him how to win the hard ball because "we don't do that so much in Western Australia".

Not throwing shade, just observing how more open WA footy is.

That's an East Perth problem.

 

[big_e]

Here is a list of first round draft picks from WA in the last 10 years:

2016 Sam Petrevski-seton (6)
Griffin Logue (8)
2017. Aaron Naughton (9)
2018 Jordan Clark (15)
2019. Luke Jackson (3)
Liam Henry (9)
2020. Logan McDonald (4)
Denver Grainger Barras (6)
Heath Chapman (14)
2021. Jye Amiss (8)
Neil Erasmus (10)
2022 Rueben Ginbey (9)
Jedd Busslinger (13)
Elijah Hewett (14)
2023. Daniel Curtin (8)
2024 Bo Allen (16)

Now, a few of these guy are very good players who have the potential to be stars (Jackson, Naughton) and a few are good AFL players (Amiss, McDonald, Clark) but there are not many players picked from WA in general in the first round, and also, from those that are picked, the strike rate that they will end up being very good doesn't seem to be that great.

From the history above, it's almost to the point where you'd be nervous about selecting a high round pick from WA if you were a list manager. The last high end pick that became a star of the competition was Patrick Cripps all the way back in 2013.

What's even more stark, if you look at my team Fremantle, almost all of our best players have come from somewhere else (Brayshaw, Young, Treacy, Pearce, Serong).

So what's going on in WA? Are kids not interested in footy? Does the development and coaching let them down? Are the standards and facilities not up to scratch?

I really think it's something the AFL in general and WA footy Commission specifically, need to start addressing because if this was a report card on all the talent they've brought in over the last 10 years, they wouldn't be graded well.

FWIW, your list is missing a bunch of names (and probably sourced from ChatGPT, yeah?)

The full list is:

2015
Callum Ah Chee - pick 8, South Fremantle

2016
Sam Petrevski-Seton - pick 6, Claremont
Griffin Logue - pick 8, Swan Districts
Sam Powell-Pepper - pick 18, East Perth
Tim English - pick 19, South Freo

2017
Aaron Naughton – Pick 9, Peel
Brandon Starcevich - pick 18, East Perth
Will Powell - pick 19, Claremont

2018
Jordan Clark - pick 15, Claremont

2019
Luke Jackson - pick 3, East Fremantle
Liam Henry – pick 9, Claremont
Mitch Georgiades - pick 18, Subi

2020
Logan McDonald – Pick 4, Perth
Denver Grainger-Barrass – pick 6, Hawthorn
Heath Chapman - pick 14, West Perth

2021
Jye Amiss – pick 8, East Perth
Neil Erasmus – pick 10, Subiaco
Angus Sheldrick - pick 18, Claremont
Jacob Van Rooyen - pick 19, Claremont

2022
Reuben Ginbey – pick 9, East Perth
Elijah Hewett – pick 14, Swan Districts
Jedd Busslinger – pick 13, East Perth
Ed Allan - pick 19, Claremont
Darcy Jones - pick 21, Swan Districts

2023
Daniel Curtin – pick 8, Claremont
Koltyn Tholstrup – pick 13, Melbourne
Riley Hardeman - pick 23, Swan Districts
Lance Collard - pick 28, Subiaco

2024
Bo Allan – pick 16, Swan Districts
Cody Angove - pick 24, Claremont

 

[My_Username]

The WAFC don't give enough money to the WAFL clubs and the WAFL clubs don't get enough out of junior development. The WAFC also don't get as much money as Victorian football and the AFL teams get rorted in comparison to other sides from the fund distribution.

The AFL wants the WA licences and control of footy in WA so won't provide any funds to that area. Despite the eagles being horrendously shite for 3 and a half years we still have a waiting list for seated memberships so why bother, the money still comes in.

On top of this travel every second week on reduced lists on reduced soft caps has made a difference.

WA has a huge problem with development. The WAFC is an overpaid corrupt cesspit and the AFL won't provide any extra funding as the WAFC won't submit to anything the AFL want.

So elite talent is not being developed right from the right age and juniors who are making it to AFL clubs are well behind others.

Tinfoil hat fitting a little too snug lately?

Got anything to back this up, or is it all just what that WA chip on your shoulder told you?

 

[Bjo187]

All this at the time of the AFL chairman of the last 9 years being a dyed in the wool West Australian. Just another failure under 'Mr invisible' Richard Goyder's watch.

Hopefully the opening in nga access motivates wealthy clubs in west coast and Freo to throw heaps of money at their academies, it's a clear advantage if they wanna use it.