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