Second Tier AFL league

Tasfut

All Australian
Jul 16, 2015
843
956
AFL Club
West Coast
Seeing the 'AFL 2050' thread got me thinking, will the AFL ever have a second tier national league?

For example the league could have reserve AFLs sides aswell as the best teams from the VFL, SANFL, WAFL etc.

Do you think this could ever happen and if so when?
 
Apr 12, 2012
45,988
41,667
AFL Club
GWS
Seeing the 'AFL 2050' thread got me thinking, will the AFL ever have a second tier national league?

For example the league could have reserve AFLs sides aswell as the best teams from the VFL, SANFL, WAFL etc.

Do you think this could ever happen and if so when?
National Reserve Grade? Yes please.

National Under 18's? Yes please.

2nd tier with new teams? Nope.

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basashi

Premiership Player
Jun 18, 2010
4,070
5,449
AFL Club
Fremantle
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FFC Quay Club
A breakaway league is a better option. Another league altogether. The AFL have had their time with Australian Rules, and it is now going backwards.

If there was a competing pay tv provider there could be a chance of something imaginative. But it is very very unlikely to be successful. Having to pay for travel and having to pay enough to make participants mostly full timers is just too high a bar.
 

NoobPie

Cancelled
Sep 21, 2016
7,356
5,255
AFL Club
Collingwood
National Reserve Grade? Yes please.

National Under 18's? Yes please.

2nd tier with new teams? Nope.

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Is this national Under 18s going to be existing AFL clubs? There are a number of implications of such a move

I am for a national reserves comp though, as much to preserve (establish / reestablish) the integrity of the state competitions as anything else.
 
Sep 15, 2009
13,126
11,013
Gippsland
AFL Club
Collingwood
A breakaway league is a better option. Another league altogether. The AFL have had their time with Australian Rules, and it is now going backwards.
8 bored billionaires to build 8 stadiums and poach the best from the AFL, 1 team per state.
Won't happen, but would be a super league.
 
Apr 12, 2012
45,988
41,667
AFL Club
GWS
Is this national Under 18s going to be existing AFL clubs? There are a number of implications of such a move

I am for a national reserves comp though, as much to preserve (establish / reestablish) the integrity of the state competitions as anything else.
True. Honestly dont know for the under 18s. Just think a national comp evens out the talent.
Would also be a way of restructuring the academies nation wide as well.


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Mar 13, 2007
28,495
40,796
THE TAN
AFL Club
Richmond
National reserves side keeping the same number on lists.
The additional players to be under 23's from the zone areas they have been allotted.
Recruiting acedemy rights, apply to any player who plays in a cluvs reserves the previous year .
To avoid clubs poaching under 23's into their zone . The player is zoned to the area he first played senior football.
 
Aug 14, 2011
44,794
16,853
Trafalgar
AFL Club
West Coast
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Mclaren Mercedes F1
National reserves side keeping the same number on lists.
The additional players to be under 23's from the zone areas they have been allotted.
Recruiting acedemy rights, apply to any player who plays in a cluvs reserves the previous year .
To avoid clubs poaching under 23's into their zone . The player is zoned to the area he first played senior football.

no zones ... keep the draft strong.
 
Jul 1, 2005
3,310
3,485
Perth
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
Wildcats, Subiaco Lions, Bulls
8 bored billionaires to build 8 stadiums and poach the best from the AFL, 1 team per state.
Won't happen, but would be a super league.
I wish this would happen.... as far as national leagues go, the AFL does a poor job - is still a state league with extra teams from "interstate".

Should be a 10 team competition:
4x VIC
2x WA, SA
1x QLD, NSW

Everyone plays twice, with a final 4.

Future expansion up to 12 teams (2 new teams from either QLD, NSW, NT, Canberra or Tas)
 
Aug 27, 2014
38,196
41,193
spacetime
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Carlton
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there are no other teams worthy
National reserves side keeping the same number on lists.
The additional players to be under 23's from the zone areas they have been allotted.
Recruiting acedemy rights, apply to any player who plays in a cluvs reserves the previous year .
To avoid clubs poaching under 23's into their zone . The player is zoned to the area he first played senior football.


Not sure about the academy thing as not given it much thought but we can officially stick in a fork in the old VFA, WAFL and SANFL. They are done in terms of their old rule as proper quality senior team league's. Needs to be a whole re-structure of the role of these league's with the changed landscape of the last three decades.

I am now all for the full national reserves league for all 18 clubs. That needs to be the one clear second tier going forward and we make it clear SANFL, VFA and WAFL are the 3rd tier where we keep those clubs but they now become either an under 21's state league for the ones that did not make the AFL grade or an under 23 age group league. So whether it be South Fremantle in WAFL, Port Melbourne in VFA or Norwood in the SANFL they become a club that field's an under 23 team in their leagues and each of those main footy states has an 8 club state league for under 23's. The ones over 23 can go into suburban or country league clubs. Under 18's basically stays as it is but the reserves grade AFL becomes clear 2nd tier and the place AFL clubs develop their players not quite ready or playing AFL footy each week. Reserves grade needs to be funded just like the Sheffield Shield is funded for cricket.
AFL should take care of travelling costs for clubs as a league expense. Any day games at AFL senior level have a reserves grade curtain raiser before them. Night games the reserves play earlier in the afternoon at the nearest decent ground possible.
 
Apr 6, 2005
24,235
17,581
La Côte d'Azur
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Richmond
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Everton FC
Why were reserves killed off? Think about it. The curtain raiser meant the venue had to be open and operational, so staff are needed, yet the attendees arent paying more to see the reserves, yet you still need gate attendants, pie sellers ect... I wonder if they were cut purely from the point of view of saving on wages/costs.

These days with just one game the hours for staffing are less. We used to get more for our gate prices, noone paid extra to arrive early and watch the 2nds.

The game and how it is ran has changed so very much.
 
Aug 27, 2014
38,196
41,193
spacetime
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Carlton
Other Teams
there are no other teams worthy
Why were reserves killed off?
Due to the AFL in their wisdom merging the VFA with the Vic based reserves teams and when you did that you also forced more reserves games to VFA grounds as it was no longer the league reserves comp. Was also partly to do with ground rationalisation and thirdly Terry Wallace horrible legacy of on ground pre-match warms ups well before the main game pushing back reserves to way too earlier times slot. It was not one thing but several factors. We are never going back to a curtain raiser for every AFL game simply because too many games are scheduled for same venue over a weekend compared to past where they were spread out over more grounds. However I see no reason not to have day games have curtain raisers. That should spread the load. The Terry Wallace legacy should be abolished as a "need".

If a night game in Melbourne at the MCG or Docklands then around 2 pm in the day the reserves play at Princes Park or Punt Road Oval but if it is a day game actual curtain raiser at the ground AFL team playing. That should mean a couple of games a weekend have curtain raisers of a Saturday and Sunday. It will give something back to the fans that miss seeing the developing players out of AFL team a bit more. As there are not as many clubs in other states I see no reason why a full curtain raiser at every AFL game for them.

If Eagles are playing Melbourne in Perth, Melbourne reserves playing Eagles reserves directly before it.
 
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