- Apr 23, 2016
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- AFL Club
- Essendon
None of that makes any sense.
Surely the higher the standard you can get in the second tier comp the better it is for talent pathways into the AFL.
As a recruiter wouldn't you want as many of the potential AFL recruits as possible playing in the same comp against similarly talented players rather than scattered across a myriad of local leagues?
A lot of the quality of the VFL came from having a bucketload of undrafted guys that were good, but not quite AFL standard, playing in to their mid 20s.
It's hard to prioritise it as a development comp - which seems to be what the AFL want - whilst retaining the guys in their mid 20s, without paying them a decent amount. Local leagues can offer more money at the moment.
The leagues and talent pathways in Victoria are quite convoluted, you've got NAB League, VFL, School Comps all semi-competing with one-another for young guys, along with local leagues and the VAFA paying older guys.