FreeTK
Premiership Player
- Oct 2, 2019
- 4,781
- 8,822
- AFL Club
- West Coast
- Banned
- #8,151
At lot of the issues stem from the need to subsidize clubs who are not financially viable in an already over saturated market. The AFL are kicking the can down the road by not directly addressing the viability of some clubs and how that relates to the viability of competition in the long term. I think the AFL made a terrible strategic decision by expanding further into NSW and Qld, they basically added two more dependents into an already over dependent system. They can't really back out of it now without merging some Vic clubs together. As the dependency rises, efforts to maximize profit will become more aggressive which may be the end of any sense of fairness the comp might have left.
Disagree.
Expansion in to NSW and QLD is furthering the concept of a national competition. Now that the AFL needs to recover their financial position, gains in non-traditional markets are more important than ever. That includes the two expansion states and AFLW. There is next to no growth to be had in VIC/WA/SA.
Even a minimal increase of 5% growth in QLD and NSW represents millions and millions of dollars and investment in AFL infrastructure, and kids playing AFL when they would have chosen other sports.
You don't get to call yourself an advocate for the national comp if you also throw GWS and the Suns under the bus at the first opportunity.
Agree RE: too many teams in Victoria. That is the root cause of many of the league's current inequities. I was hoping COVID might solve that issue, unfortunately it may not.