Port Melbourne to the SANFL

[The_Reaper]

Clink - how can you say Carlton's reserves playing Hawthorn's reserves is good?

The Preston and Box Hill communities have had their football club ripped away from them by $FL influences and now they have no true team to follow other than some $FL club's offcut players mixed with a couple of other blokes, with the true locals stuck in the VFL Reserves (e.g. 3rds football).

In SA and WA, clubs are not connected to $FL sides and the players are spread amongst the nine clubs. Therefore when Quinten Lynch goes up from West Perth or Bradd Dalzeil goes up from East Fremantle, there are still local players providing identity to a team and the side isn't affected greatly as a result of changes at $FL club level. This probably explains why there are 2500-3000 at WAFL and SANFL games and much less at VFL games.

I was a passionate Zebra fan until the $FL folded the VFA and took over the show to the detriment of suburban football. Sandy is not the best players from the area that is now covered by the Southern Football League, plus a couple of former League footballers ... it now consists mainly of players of who at best will be inconsistent $FL players who come from here there and everywhere. Most would not care much about the club (and these guys take up half the spots in the 1sts each week) because they only care about playing in the $FL side.

Give the $FL clubs their own reserves competition without a soul like the VFL is now and allow people the opportunity to see a metropolitan competition with 10-12 teams (equating to 2 per competition), with relegation for the lowest or two lowest clubs back to their affiliated competitions for that comp's premiers. That way the $FL gets their own competition for themselves and Victorian football followers get their tradition and identity back ... I am sure I know where the crowds would go!

Also when you consider that West Australians drafted by West Coast or Fremantle play for the WAFL side they are drafted from eg Lynch plays for West Perth (having being drafted from West Perth) and Masten plays for the sharks (having being drafted from East Freo).

So even though they are being payed by an AFL club, they are locals

 

[Kingpin]

Clink - how can you say Carlton's reserves playing Hawthorn's reserves is good?

The Preston and Box Hill communities have had their football club ripped away from them by $FL influences and now they have no true team to follow other than some $FL club's offcut players mixed with a couple of other blokes, with the true locals stuck in the VFL Reserves (e.g. 3rds football).

In SA and WA, clubs are not connected to $FL sides and the players are spread amongst the nine clubs. Therefore when Quinten Lynch goes up from West Perth or Bradd Dalzeil goes up from East Fremantle, there are still local players providing identity to a team and the side isn't affected greatly as a result of changes at $FL club level. This probably explains why there are 2500-3000 at WAFL and SANFL games and much less at VFL games.

I was a passionate Zebra fan until the $FL folded the VFA and took over the show to the detriment of suburban football. Sandy is not the best players from the area that is now covered by the Southern Football League, plus a couple of former League footballers ... it now consists mainly of players of who at best will be inconsistent $FL players who come from here there and everywhere. Most would not care much about the club (and these guys take up half the spots in the 1sts each week) because they only care about playing in the $FL side.

Give the $FL clubs their own reserves competition without a soul like the VFL is now and allow people the opportunity to see a metropolitan competition with 10-12 teams (equating to 2 per competition), with relegation for the lowest or two lowest clubs back to their affiliated competitions for that comp's premiers. That way the $FL gets their own competition for themselves and Victorian football followers get their tradition and identity back ... I am sure I know where the crowds would go!

*Tips hat*

Excellent post.
The AFL only care about the 16 clubs in the AFL plus GC17 and GWS - they could not give two shits about the rest of the sport itself and it pisses me off no end that these people call themselves 'keepers of the code'.
It's absolute bullshit.

I'm looking on at the Tasmanian State League, which was reformed in 2009 after the original TFL went down in 2000, it's run by AFL Tasmania and funded in part by the AFL and the crowds are absolutely woeful these days.
I used to think the crowds couldn't get any worse than what they were when bigger clubs like North Hobart, Glenorchy, Clarence, Hobart, New Norfolk etc were playing in front of 400-500 in the SFL during the 2000's - seems I was wrong.
AFL Tasmania - an organisation which has a deplorable reputation in Tasmanian football seems intent on moving the goalposts all the time and have decided to axe the reserves competition which has gone down about as well as a vomit pie with the clubs, players and fans alike.
Now, the crowds are sinking to incredible lows as fans have turned their backs again.
Devonport hosting premiership threat Launceston drew an amazing 295 the other week!
It's odd on that Hobart, which has dropped seven in a row to crash out of contention may drew even fewer than that in their final home match against Launceston at the TCA Ground - they drew just on 400 against a fellow Southern team on Saturday.

Never let the $FL near anything, they seem hell bent on destroying the community aspect of the sport.

 

[Northhawker]

Spot on Kingpin.

 

[MontyMensch]

Also when you consider that West Australians drafted by West Coast or Fremantle play for the WAFL side they are drafted from eg Lynch plays for West Perth (having being drafted from West Perth) and Masten plays for the sharks (having being drafted from East Freo).

So even though they are being payed by an AFL club, they are locals

This point highlights another benefit of WAFL/SANFL Football in comparsion to VFL that future AFL draftees the next year usually will play a year or two in the WAFL before being drafted. This is as the junior district levels of football are still a part of the WAFL system rather than in a separate league such as the TAC Cup.

The VFA would of benefited a lot more from giving supporters a chance to see a local kid play for their local team before he goes on to be star in the AFL. Instead with the size of AFL lists these days and injuries, a lot of the guys that are running around in the VFL are kids that were poor draft choices who often quit footy altogether at the end of their one and only contract or blokes playing out their last contracts old,tired and sore.

If the TAC Cup merged some (Only some could be applicable) of its teams into close by clubs structures perhaps in a much stronger brother club system where for example Port Melbourne could select up to 2/3 Chargers players a game then we could get some real community involvement back in the league. Family, Friends, and other non tradtional supporters of clubs could be drawn in for a watch too. Alongside this if a player needed reserves football he could return to his old club where ppl be glad to see him and his more likely to return to form. Instead if Davey and Nahas were to play reserves Port gets rewarded for bringing them to their AFL club's notice by watching them play agianst them for Casey and Coburg.

Then there are the players benefits which are tenfold, it is hardly surprising that in recent times the top draft picks have been those who have expeirenced senior football in the SANFL and WAFL. One could agrue particularly with taller young players in VIC that the TAC Cup/ Elite School comps has seen a number of early draft flops due to scouts not being able to see the players in action against other talls.

I saw Paddy Ryder and Josh Kennedy dominate patches of senior WAFL footy at East Freo whilst Nic Nat did the same at swans. This is interesting form when placed alongside Jack Watts and a number of other "slower developing" talls.

I say go away AFL, and if the VFA showed be married to anyone I would welcome a marriage with another real local comp in the TAC Cup.

 

[stacksonthemill]

TAC Cup, meh. That could well be part of the problem - where these clubs recruit athletes and try to turn them into footballers.

Why on earth don't the $FL and TAC Cup recruit the other way around is beyond me.

 

[MontyMensch]

TAC Cup, meh. That could well be part of the problem - where these clubs recruit athletes and try to turn them into footballers.

Why on earth don't the $FL and TAC Cup recruit the other way around is beyond me.

That is another good point, the TAC Cup system itself is flawed. They claim not to but we all know Coaches will make decisons at times to play players over others not due to who will provide the side more on the day but because they have heard the recruiters are interested. The coaches with the best records often get to move on to assistant postions - their aim. Which agian is obvious thinking that itself is flawed (As a zone like Geelong Falcons would have kids recruited from it if it was coached by a horse) however it still always happens.

If the TAC Cup sides became involved with the VFA, then a under 19's Port Melbourne would definatley mean something to me, an Oakleigh Chargers flag after the beers have been drunk for a majority of the players would feel more like a end. Likewise a Williamstown flag rather than a Western Jets would have a lot more meaning and the players could contuine their career at the same club and most likely in a greater light of the AFL

Finally the Senior coach would not be picking his choice of under 19 players for his side ever on height etc, rather he be picking those have the best footballing skills required to get the team a win. Robin Nahas was actually a gun TAC Cup footballer, but none of the AFL sides came calling due to hs size and his height. A lot would of called it quits, but he kept going and showed an immense lot at Port to warrant a rookie list spot and then quickly proved himself capable in AFL.

The reality is if a 18 Robin Nahas had been available for Port to select, he his form and the lack of quality of small fowards in the VFL would of probably seen him selected. He could started his AFL career a lot earlier.

 

[duckdog]

A hell of a lot of common sense brought up here. Great stuff. $FL is making a big stuff up of country footy also and the draftees coming through would be better off playing against men at their real junior clubs senior division rather than flouncing around in the TAC to line the pockets of those blokes you mention using it as a "coaching pathway" World gone mad.,,,,,and greedy

 

[Kingpin]

Just on my previous post in regard to terrible crowds - North Hobart hosted South Launceston last Saturday at North Hobart Oval.

Official attendance: 94

 

[Norchy_pies4life]

Turned it around the TSL though. Would of been 1800 today at KGV agiant NH.