How many years away are we from seeing a full AFL Reserves Comp?

[Great8]

Given that Port's reserves side is the Magpies, would we get to wear our prison bars?

Or would we exist as the Power in the reserves and keep the Magpies in the SANFL?

You would have to be the Power reserves and the Magpies would cease to exist I’d imagine. I’d very much doubt Port would want to fund a “thirds”

 

[Ocha905]

This is a half baked dumb idea but what if the 2 team states (WA, SA, NSW and QLD) share one reserves side? The Victoria teams could team up as well (say Gee/WB, NM/Ess, Coll/Carl, Melb/Rich and Haw/StK.

Teams could play as many on the bench as the want. Can top up with state sides if required. Coaches would be agreed upon by both clubs.

8 well-funded sides that would form clearly be the 2nd best comp in the country. Tassie can enter as well when they come in.

 

[Great8]

The sooner the better. The way that the SANFL treats Port and the Crows is a joke.

Port has had 8 weeks of - free kick differentials for a total of -69 over 8 weeks. Crows not much better ans it's the same every year.

Combine it with the ridiculous recruiting restrictions and there isn't much point being there.

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As someone who attends every week I do believe the umpires favour the genuine SANFL sides but the two AFL reserves sides don’t seem to understand the last touch rule and give away a hell of a lot of frees each week. Watching the game on the weekend I reckon Port gave up 5 or 6 frees for that alone in the first half

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

Given that Port's reserves side is the Magpies, would we get to wear our prison bars?

Or would we exist as the Power in the reserves and keep the Magpies in the SANFL?

Power Reserves and Magpies would presumably be different teams.

The SANFL and WAFL would be fine, even if the standard dropped a bit due to players going to AFL lists to play reserves. The clubs still have an identity of their own.
VFL clubs have suffered big time after their AFL affiliated dumped them and would need support and the tiny remaining VFL support base is largely AFL fans watching their "reserves". Personally, I would prefer to see this happening and the state leagues being back to being competitions and not the hybrid mess they (especially VFL) currently are; but the AFL would need to put money into the clubs and leagues - you know, as custodians of the game (not just one league) and non-taxpaying non-profit organisation they are supposed to be.

 

[HBFlanker]

Not far away at all. Id say 3 years at most.

The VFL in its current format is a joke. It needs a complete overhaul.

With the introduction of a reserves competition you also get the ability to fix list sizes correctly.

With 20 teams in the near future i would have a list size of 42 per team and then each team has a supplementary list of 8 players.

That's 1000 players in total being on a list one way or another. Of course if injuries hit hard, clubs would be able to draft more players into this supplmentary list if required.

The Reserves team would just play whoever the AFL team is playing that weekend, so the squad all travel together.

Stand alone VFL Clubs can reform the VFL as the "3rd" tier. Same goes in WA, SA, NSW and QLD.

 

[1990crow]

Not far away at all. Id say 3 years at most.

The VFL in its current format is a joke. It needs a complete overhaul.

With the introduction of a reserves competition you also get the ability to fix list sizes correctly.

With 20 teams in the near future i would have a list size of 42 per team and then each team has a supplementary list of 8 players.

That's 1000 players in total being on a list one way or another. Of course if injuries hit hard, clubs would be able to draft more players into this supplmentary list if required.

The Reserves team would just play whoever the AFL team is playing that weekend, so the squad all travel together.

Stand alone VFL Clubs can reform the VFL as the "3rd" tier. Same goes in WA, SA, NSW and QLD.

Kayo streaming would have to also make money for the afl and clubs, taking away from the third tiers.

 

[manureid]

Hopefully soon so we can get out of the SANFL.

 

[Yoda_]

THE current VFL is an embarrassment. There is better coverage in local football than the much celebrated “second best comp in the country” that calls itself the Victorian football League with traditional clubs such as Southport, Gold Coast, Brisbane and UWS Giants.

Literally is a make believe reserves comp not completed without 4 more sides. May as well do an east/west division like the NBA do and still have overlap from groups to play each other in finals. Etc. etc.

East Group could comprise the Northern sides, and some Eastern Melbourne clubs, would make 25 sides if ALL AFL teams had a reserves side. Include the Tasmanian side and that is 26, split into two divisions 13 each and that would give a bye each week or a non AFL game each weekend For one club.


Western group;
West Coast
Fremantle
Adelaide
Port Adelaide
Essendon
Geelong
Weribee
Williamstown
North Melbourne
Footscray
Coburg
Carlton
Sydney

Eastern Group;
Gold Coast
Brisbane
Box Hill
Casey
GWS
Richmond
Collingwood
Southport
Northern Bullants
Port Melbourne
Sandringham
Frankston
Tasmania


Play each other once, include byes or however you want to do the fixturing and then at seasons end play an eastern/Western finals series and then a “world championship” like Australia likes to follow With winner from both conferences

 

[Taper]

Given that Port's reserves side is the Magpies, would we get to wear our prison bars?

Or would we exist as the Power in the reserves and keep the Magpies in the SANFL?

Southport wear black and white in the VFL. Not sure why Port wouldn't be able to do the same?

 

[Johnny Bananas]

There actually isn’t really a reason for it. The sum of the arguments tends to be “just cos”.

A national reserves comp isn’t fit for purpose when you consider what reserves football is actually for: experience for young players, match fitness for fringe players, a return route for injured players.

None of those things are enhanced by making the competition national.

You don't think players on an AFL list are better competition to gain experience and fitness against, than players on a state league team list?

In fact, some are actually hurt by it. Injury rehab and return is a highly choreographed affair these days, as if you want your star having to flying across the country to play half a reserves game as part of his return strategy. Travel isn’t good for rehabbing athletes.

Maybe they shouldn't play until they're ready, then.

The only real argument would be a higher level of footy that would fast track development, but that’s highly debatable given how good the current state leagues are.

It just doesn’t make sense when you actually dig into it.

Are they really that good? Eagles notwithstanding, the rest of the reserves teams do pretty well against state league teams, even with the recruiting restrictions.

 

[raymond35]

Southport wear black and white in the VFL. Not sure why Port wouldn't be able to do the same?

Southport changed out of black and white stripes when they joined the QAFL decades ago to avoid a clash, exactly as Port did when they joined the AFL