Second tier football

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Last thing we need is another league.

Solution is simple - just raise the draft age by one or two years. It has a huge range of benefits. Kids can study and work which can give them some actual maturity and a bit of life experience beyond school. It also allows the draft to actually work and makes identifying players so much easier given they’re developed further. So when a club finishes last and brings in the no 1 pick, it’s somebody who can actually make a difference. And it improves the quality of the league as a whole as it’s not also a development league for 18yo kids who aren’t ready but are there on “potential”.

Don’t need another league, they can play in the state leagues.

While I don't completely disagree, you would have to think there would be push back from the ALFPA about raising the draft age. Starting your career 2 years later doesn't automatically mean it lasts 2 years longer in your 30's. You are essentially shortening a players career earnings by 2 years. It won't be ticked off without a fight.
 
Draft age of 20 lol. What a stupid idea
Say goodbye to every single kid who's any good at cricket or basketball then
Hyperbole response but yeah, no reason draft age should be restricted to need to be 20. Way too many good footballers are good enough to play at 18 and 19 that totally unfair restriction. I would not be totally against it , if they said restrict clubs to drafting only one 18 year old each draft year as that is about as many that are ready for senior football at that age. But the fact that people that work in the industry for a long time like Mick Turner and Shifter Sheahan do not endorse such a change tells me they got it right when they settled on 18 about 15 years ago. FFS, Timmy Watson started when he was 16 or something and he went on to have a stellar career but obviously an outlier. Rene Kink that started at 17, said himself in some interview he thinks in retrospect it was too young to be playing senior football. All kind of points to 18 is the right balance they have had for about a decade now. Clubs just draft too many of them all at once.
 

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While I don't completely disagree, you would have to think there would be push back from the ALFPA about raising the draft age. Starting your career 2 years later doesn't automatically mean it lasts 2 years longer in your 30's. You are essentially shortening a players career earnings by 2 years. It won't be ticked off without a fight.
Not to mention that the NSW and Qsld clubs would now get access to kids in their academy to train them another 2 years longer than the other clubs.
 
Hyperbole response but yeah, no reason draft age should be restricted to need to be 20. Way too many good footballers are good enough to play at 18 and 19 that totally unfair restriction. ...

There are also situations like Jack Higgins who had no interest at school so spent his 18th year essentially train for a future AFL career in lieu of school. Not everyone may agree with that decision and it may come back to bite him later on but school isn't for everyone.
 
A thought off the top of my head - would a system where each round has an age limit work? i.e. first round picks can draft a player 18 and up, second round 19 and up, third round 20 and up (and so on) work? This would allow the 18 year olds good enough (Walsh, etc) to be drafted and the speculative picks to develop in the state leagues with tangible chances of being drafted at 22 (fifth round).

Anything is possible especially in the AFL.
 
Anything is possible especially in the AFL.

I don't think it is too big a change from the current status quo so may be easier for clubs to digest.

Some people smarter than me may be able to offer up knock-on effects. One I could see is that clubs later in the first round may be more willing to trade their first rounder to pick up say two 19 year olds in the second round? Who knows?
 
I don't think it is too big a change from the current status quo so may be easier for clubs to digest.

Some people smarter than me may be able to offer up knock-on effects. One I could see is that clubs later in the first round may be more willing to trade their first rounder to pick up say two 19 year olds in the second round? Who knows?

I am still a believer that you must play 25 games of League football at 2nd tier level before you can be drafted. If you have achieved that at 17 or 20 then so be it. Much better grounding for the kid and he will be more than ready to play when or if he gets the chance.
 
My best hope is they cut the salary right back and if anything increase the size of player lists to around 50.
I think the sport itself is better without the excesses that come with making it fully professional for everyone.
Semi-professional was so much healthier for the sport itself imo. Most players had to have other jobs and this need to be at club with a million assistant coaches just overkill and actually does nothing to improve the sport itself. Just makes it more like a business. That does not make it a better sport. The only guys that fully professional should be the absolute elite and out there promoting the game in schools if they not got time for another job.
If you cut the salary caps back and increase size of lists that is what we can do. Make it semi-professional again due to sport not being able to afford paying players what they used to get.

The alternative model is cut the list sizes back to 35 or less and that is going so much into the unknown, it could cause more trouble than good if get it all wrong.
We know traditionally clubs with a senior team and reserve team of their own has always been the model that worked long term. The AFL just need to find a way to cut costs down but still have a genuine reserve grade comp. Anything else needs to be radically different from what we got now which I looked at in an earlier post. You would basically make the feeder league be a removal of the VFA/VFL bullshit that been around near 25 years and build on the TAC Cup to have senior teams and have the few remaining VFA clubs takeover a few of them.
 
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You need a 2nd tier comp, whether it's a state league or AFL reserves, in all states.

If the WA/SA clubs have their back up players playing WAFL/SANFL and the back up players in Vic are playing A grade Ammos there is a pretty big advantage to those SA/WA clubs.

I don't have the answer, but I know it's not an u19/u21 comp or you're back playing local footy...

Also, look at the succesful Victorian AFL clubs of recent years - most have also tasted VFL success in the lead up. You need your back up players playing competitive footy.

Surely the 10 Vic clubs can get together and organise a league
 
What happens in 2021 and beyond?

The ideal scenario is for a national reserves league, but I don't think the money is there for that now and I don't think the SANFL and WAFL will let it happen.

The more likely scenario is to have three second tier leagues; the VFL, WAFL and SANFL, and the four northern teams field teams in the VFL either in pairs or individually. The other option is that the AFL creates a seperate reserves comp for AFL teams, let's call it the Eastern Football League, and the VFL moves back to just standalone teams.

Thoughts?

Ideal? Why is it ideal?

I'd suggest it is about footy at the highest level, with NIL thought about the game more generally.
 
You would basically make the feeder league be a removal of the VFA/VFL bullshit that been around near 25 years and build on the TAC Cup to have senior teams and have the few remaining VFA clubs takeover a few of them.

The Vic footy problem, why stuff around with the WA model to fix the ongoing circus at the 2nd tier in Vic ??

We dont need a national fix to a Vic admin problem. That we are facing a period of financial stress will see it being put aside & thats good for the game if not your AFL club.
 
The Vic footy problem, why stuff around with the WA model to fix the ongoing circus at the 2nd tier in Vic ??
I did not specifically say WA model has same issues as here. You misunderstood the post. I was specifically talking about Vic feeder league ideas in the part you are quoting me. WA clearly very different model as unlike in Victoria their feeder league has not changed in terms of clubs still existing. It does have issues though, in terms of massive drop off in following which is a massive shame but I've touched on that in other threads. However if the AFL create a reserves comp then obviously Eagles and Fremantle will have their reserves team in it. But if we goto the alternative of lists of 35 or even less the change to WA is not really anything big. WA model already has their under age and senior clubs aligned as far as I recall so not sure why confused yourself when did not even mention WA before.
 
I did not specifically say WA model has same issues as here. You misunderstood the post. I was specifically talking about Vic feeder league ideas in the part you are quoting me. WA clearly very different model as unlike in Victoria their feeder league has not changed in terms of clubs still existing. It does have issues though, in terms of massive drop off in following which is a massive shame but I've touched on that in other threads. However if the AFL create a reserves comp then obviously Eagles and Fremantle will have their reserves team in it. But if we goto the alternative of lists of 35 or even less the change to WA is not really anything big. WA model already has their under age and senior clubs aligned as far as I recall so not sure why confused yourself when did not even mention WA before.

Its a Vic problem, not an AFL problem, hard to comprehend? I used WA to point it out, SA is a different, as are the developing States.

A national reserves comp suits Vic footy, the 2nd tier would be destroyed nationally to fix a Melbourne inability to come to grips with the VFL.
 
There is nowhere for them to go... There is virtually Port Melbourne, Williamstown and Sandringham I see as traditional VFA clubs that should value their long history so much they try to remain as clubs in some form. But given Prahran, Preston, Danenong and so many of the old VFA clubs are gone whether fully or virtually there really is no VFA to go back to...

I think their future has to be looked at more towards becoming like a TAC club in some form. Whether we have an under 21 league of some form where they join with those TAC clubs or something of that nature.
A new form of feeder league looks like what will happen in some form if a full AFL reserves comp does not happen.
There are plenty of places these clubs, plus Frankston and Coburg, who you appear to have forgotten, to go. The VFA merged with the VSFL 25 years ago, the situation has vastly changed since then.

You also may be unaware or are choosing to ignore the fact that the VFL clubs are already aligned to NAB League sides. I don't know how a mid age league would work, but I can't see the traditional clubs be as willing to submit to that as certain clubs were in 1995 when the Association was bankrupt. We've seen inj the past few years Frankston roar back into the VFL after having their licence revoked, Port winning a Flag in a season the players started off playing for no money because the club was that broke, etc.

There is value to these clubs, and if they stay in the VFL as it is now, start their own suburban league or join other leagues or even the VAFA, they will survive.
 
Its a Vic problem, not an AFL problem, hard to comprehend?
The comprehension is yours. You replied to a post that was about how TAC clubs could be having senior teams added here if the lists were cut back to 35. How you thought that was about WA model is your comprehension mistake. Read again and think again instead of going on with your own confusion between two alternatives expressed.
 
There are plenty of places these clubs, plus Frankston and Coburg, who you appear to have forgotten, to go. The VFA merged with the VSFL 25 years ago, the situation has vastly changed since then.
Frankston Dolphins I pointed out specifically what they would be doing in a new feeder comp. Coburg I did not forget just consider they are on death bed anyway and not been the old Coburg VFA club for years now. They are one of the victims of this mess created in late 90's.The VFA did not merge with the VSFL 25 years ago.
The AFL reserves and VFA was merged to a different comp to become VSFL.
VSFL did not exist as such, prior to that. It has been the dogs breakfast as a comp since it came into being.It needs dismantling and an actual league created that serves a useful role for football going forward.
 
The comprehension is yours. You replied to a post that was about how TAC clubs could be having senior teams added here if the lists were cut back to 35. How you thought that was about WA model is your comprehension mistake. Read again and think again instead of going on with your own confusion between two alternatives expressed.

Stop quibbling, I was commenting on the 2nd tier, thats the title of the thread. Your comment was an example of an opinion to which I addressed my views. See the bigger context for your perceived comprehension problem.

I point out again, I used WA as an example to focus an understanding that it is a Melbourne clubs problem, that has been a revolving door issue since the dawn of the national comp.
 

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