http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/back-to-the-future-in-radical-zone-plan-20150604-ghh30v.html
Hopefully this idea never comes to fruition.
Lately the AFL seem so reactionary towards any media criticism, it has me worried about the long term respectability of the game. There is no simplicity to anything they do nor is there any real transparency. Rules apply to some, and not the others, for example they have a priority pick available based on criteria that the public aren't allowed to know.
They want the competition to be more equal, yet they are trying to re-establish arbitrary zones that most observers of our games history acknowledge contributed towards the very uneven dominant eras in the 70's and 80's. I don't understand it.
The Northern Academies are a great, and I refuse to believe that the development pathway in Victoria is worse, you have kids playing in strong suburban leagues, kids receiving scholarships to play at private schools, the TAC cup, all while being in the heartland of the game where a majority of coaches and ex-players live. They AFL needs to completely fund the academies and segregate them from the clubs, but require clubs to offer facilities and coaching expertise. The clubs will know the most about the kids that train with them and play in their local leagues and more likely than not will pick those kids. It happens with Geelong and West Australian players quite often, as it is just common sense.
It seems ridiculous to accentuate the disadvantages in the competition by allowing clubs with much more money in areas where a much larger majority of the kids already love and play the sport to start their own academies.