Mega Thread The Father-Son Mega thread - 2026 update

[GC2015]

You're totally right, that's exactly why both the Ashcroft boys are playing with all their schoolmates down in Melbourne...oh wait.

The Ashcroft situation is pretty unique. Will lived the first 14 years of his life in Queensland so it's not like it was a completely foreign move for him to return to his home state 4 years later. In the end, I think the prospect of playing for a struggling North / West Coast team couldn't compete with the appeal of Brisbane's recent finals appearances. Although he did reportedly consider it due to wanting stay with his friends and family in Melbourne. As soon as Will made his decision to head north, Levi's fate was sealed because the brothers always wanted to play together at the AFL level.

Brisbane got very lucky timing wise. Twice.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Curious to know what’s going on with Hodges boy??

Anyone with the hodge surname should end up wearing brown and gold.

FS—-> academy Everyday of the week.

A hodge bleeds brown n gold.

I’m a traditionalist and enjoy the F/S across all teams. Only Romance left in the game for fans

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Fair enough. I've been wrong before and could be again on this one as well.

My understanding is Cooper goes to the same school as a lot of these Brisbane Lions academy boys so it's probably not just the family ties that he's factoring into his decision. You can't really underestimate the pull that comes with wanting to play with your mates.

How is cooper hodge the son of a hawthorn legend allowed to plonk his son in a development academy for priority access?? What a Rort

 

[Ned Ryerson]

Curious to know what’s going on with Hodges boy??

Anyone with the hodge surname should end up wearing brown and gold.

FS—-> academy Everyday of the week.

A hodge bleeds brown n gold.

I’m a traditionalist and enjoy the F/S across all teams. Only Romance left in the game for fans

 

[geelong_crazy26]

View attachment 2322491

I’m being genuine. Other teams should benefit from it when it’s their turn. Not just a few

 

[Hawkspot]

I’m being genuine. Other teams should benefit from it when it’s their turn. Not just a few

Read the comments prior to yours. Nobody knows.

 

[Flamin Joe]

How is cooper hodge the son of a hawthorn legend allowed to plonk his son in a development academy for priority access?? What a Rort

These academies are getting out of hand! They've allowed Cooper Hodge to plonk his future son into the Lions Academy before he was even born!

When will the rorting stop!!!

 

[geelong_crazy26]

These academies are getting out of hand! They've allowed Cooper Hodge to plonk his future son into the Lions Academy before he was even born!

When will the rorting stop!!!

Yeah because the son of Luke hodge needed access to an academy to participate or be known to the game of AFL…

 

[Ned Ryerson]

I’m being genuine. Other teams should benefit from it when it’s their turn. Not just a few

I know - this is what the image refers to:

Heartbreaking: The Worst Person You Know Just Made A Great Point - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Judd2Sewell]

One of our oldest BigFooty enemies, Geelong Choke by 26 (one last time for old times' sake), is on our side!

The world is healing.

 

[andleanback]

Yeah because the son of Luke hodge needed access to an academy to participate or be known to the game of AFL…

That’s not the point of the northern academies . You’re mixing them up with nga academies, totally different. The northern academies are the only elite pathway for kids wanting to play afl in those states.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

That’s not the point of the northern academies . You’re mixing them up with nga academies, totally different. The northern academies are the only elite pathway for kids wanting to play afl in those states.

Rubbish, the point of northern academies is to identify, develop, and retain talented young athletes from non-traditional Australian Rules football regions, particularly in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. These academies are part of the AFL’s broader talent development strategy to grow the game in rugby-dominated states.

That is straight from chat gpt.. and the bolded highlights the purpose… grow the game in non traditional footy regions…

Plonking the son of a champion AFL player into one of these academies is an abuse of the intention of the academies. Like Hodges son is if anything wasting an academy spot for a kid who otherwise is lost to the game. But GCS/brisbane couldn’t give a stuff about this, they just want to benefit with an elite kid.

If there is a lack of elite pathways in these regions, that is the AFL’s job to clean up, not the clubs

 

[Steven Tyler]

Rubbish, the point of northern academies is to identify, develop, and retain talented young athletes from non-traditional Australian Rules football regions, particularly in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. These academies are part of the AFL’s broader talent development strategy to grow the game in rugby-dominated states.

That is straight from chat gpt.. and the bolded highlights the purpose… grow the game in non traditional footy regions…

Plonking the son of a champion AFL player into one of these academies is an abuse of the intention of the academies. Like Hodges son is if anything wasting an academy spot for a kid who otherwise is lost to the game. But GCS/brisbane couldn’t give a stuff about this, they just want to benefit with an elite kid.

If there is a lack of elite pathways in these regions, that is the AFL’s job to clean up, not the clubs

We have Hodgies kid in the Brisbane Academy and Mark Williams’ son in the Doggies academy

Makes sense

 

[geelong_crazy26]

We have Hodgies kid in the Brisbane Academy and Mark Williams’ son in the Doggies academy

Makes sense

That is…. Bull….shit…

 

[GC2015]

How is cooper hodge the son of a hawthorn legend allowed to plonk his son in a development academy for priority access?? What a Rort

Rubbish, the point of northern academies is to identify, develop, and retain talented young athletes from non-traditional Australian Rules football regions, particularly in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. These academies are part of the AFL’s broader talent development strategy to grow the game in rugby-dominated states.

That is straight from chat gpt.. and the bolded highlights the purpose… grow the game in non traditional footy regions…

Plonking the son of a champion AFL player into one of these academies is an abuse of the intention of the academies. Like Hodges son is if anything wasting an academy spot for a kid who otherwise is lost to the game. But GCS/brisbane couldn’t give a stuff about this, they just want to benefit with an elite kid.

If there is a lack of elite pathways in these regions, that is the AFL’s job to clean up, not the clubs

Luke Hodge had an interesting take on it when asked this week...

"There’s no way he (Cooper) would have developed as he has in the last 12 months if it wasn’t for the Lions academy."

If the alternative is to have Cooper Hodge missing out on participating in the Lions academy and he doesn't come on in leaps and bounds as a result like Luke is suggesting, is that a better outcome? Essentially losing a draftable AFL talent because he might choose the academy option instead of the F/S option. I understand it's frustrating for Hawks fans to potentially lose out on a F/S prospect, but I think increasing the draft pool is a better outcome for the game than losing that player entirely.

IMO there's a difference between attracting juniors to the game and developing juniors into draftable talents. Obviously Cooper was always going to play footy, but was he actually going to make it without the development opportunities offered by Brisbane's academy? It's impossible to know the answer to that question but Luke seems to think it's helped enormously and it's pretty rare for a non-academy kid from Queensland to make it to the big time. IMO the Morningside footy club in Brisbane don't have the capacity/resources to develop their juniors into AFL players without help from the academies.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Luke Hodge had an interesting take on it when asked this week...

"There’s no way he (Cooper) would have developed as he has in the last 12 months if it wasn’t for the Lions academy."

If the alternative is to have Cooper Hodge missing out on participating in the Lions academy and he doesn't come on in leaps and bounds as a result like Luke is suggesting, is that a better outcome? Essentially losing a draftable AFL talent because he might choose the academy option instead of the F/S option. I understand it's frustrating for Hawks fans to potentially lose out on a F/S prospect, but I think increasing the draft pool is a better outcome for the game than losing that player entirely.

IMO there's a difference between attracting juniors to the game and developing juniors into draftable talents. Obviously Cooper was always going to play footy, but was he actually going to make it without the development opportunities offered by Brisbane's academy? It's impossible to know the answer to that question but Luke seems to think it's helped enormously and it's pretty rare for a non-academy kid from Queensland to make it to the big time. IMO the Morningside footy club in Brisbane don't have the capacity/resources to develop their juniors into AFL players without help from the academies.

Why is “developing players” apparently up to Brisbane and GCS to implement in QLD??

Development pathways at junior levels are up to the AFL to invest in and ensure they are at an adequate standard.

This is something the AFL can easily implement and invest in.

Should all geelong related junior pathways short circuit themselves and let geelong run an academy to benefit themselves and take all the elite juniors??

Woeful excuse to just snatch up all and any decent player in QLD

 

[GC2015]

Why is “developing players” apparently up to Brisbane and GCS to implement in QLD??

Development pathways at junior levels are up to the AFL to invest in and ensure they are at an adequate standard.

This is something the AFL can easily implement and invest in.

That's the way the AFL have chosen to set it up. You'd have to ask them why they chose to do it that way instead of running the development programs themselves.

Should all geelong related junior pathways short circuit themselves and let geelong run an academy to benefit themselves and take all the elite juniors??

Depends. Is the AFL actively trying to grow the game in Geelong in the same way that it is in the northern states? My guess would be no, but maybe you see it differently.

 

[PenAndPaper]

That's the way the AFL have chosen to set it up. You'd have to ask them why they chose to do it that way instead of running the development programs themselves.


Depends. Is the AFL actively trying to grow the game in Geelong in the same way that it is in the northern states? My guess would be no, but maybe you see it differently.

The thing is that the 'academies' aren't their growing the game. They are there allowing these teams to pour resources into already elite level juniors so that they can get priority access to them.

 

[Ned Ryerson]

The thing is that the 'academies' aren't their growing the game. They are there allowing these teams to pour resources into already elite level juniors so that they can get priority access to them.

This - very much this. Ross Lyon was dead on when he called the Suns a nepo baby. The way the northern academies are set up is solely to benefit the clubs in rugby league heartland to the detriment of the other 14 clubs.

The AFL should run the academies and facilitate those kids playing elite footy - not the northern clubs. To do it any other way is a deliberate, and manifestly unfair, advantage to those 4 clubs. And fans of those clubs sauntering onto our board to argue any differently is, much like the AFL itself, disingenuous bullshit.

 

[Philhawk]

Rubbish, the point of northern academies is to identify, develop, and retain talented young athletes from non-traditional Australian Rules football regions, particularly in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland. These academies are part of the AFL’s broader talent development strategy to grow the game in rugby-dominated states.

That is straight from chat gpt.. and the bolded highlights the purpose… grow the game in non traditional footy regions…

Plonking the son of a champion AFL player into one of these academies is an abuse of the intention of the academies. Like Hodges son is if anything wasting an academy spot for a kid who otherwise is lost to the game. But GCS/brisbane couldn’t give a stuff about this, they just want to benefit with an elite kid.

If there is a lack of elite pathways in these regions, that is the AFL’s job to clean up, not the clubs

 

[westhawk]

That is…. Bull….shit…

It is a joke. If you qualify for father son, then you should not be allowed in an academy. The AFL is a corrupt joke.

 

[Kuuz]

If it does end up Cooper going to Lions, I just hope we use it as pure jet fuel to put pressure on the AFL to scrap the rubbish Academy bidding system.

Basically now, Brisbane get the benefit of a very lucrative F/S AND Academy which trumps other F/S. They need their academy bidding prefs jettisoned, as its ridiculous how much talent their getting through both now.

I mean every AFL Draft is now just so heavily compromised with F/S, Academy and Next Gen picks + add in Tasmania entrance - good luck getting any young talent in before pick 30. AFL House like to spruik "equalisation" but the draft is anything but that these days.

More than that (I'm going on a rant now), the media reporting on it is just so poor. I saw the Couch talking about who the suns got via Academy and listed only 6 players and were like "well that's not that much" - but those dense idiots forget that the academy picks let the Suns stockpile better future picks by trading out their first-rounders too. Like can the media use their actual frontal lobe for a few minutes when they build their little program soundbites.

 

[kirbatron]

That's the way the AFL have chosen to set it up. You'd have to ask them why they chose to do it that way instead of running the development programs themselves.


Depends. Is the AFL actively trying to grow the game in Geelong in the same way that it is in the northern states? My guess would be no, but maybe you see it differently.

they want to fast track your success... through various means & this is one.

 

[Snoref]

A simple change to the rules will fix the fact issue and that is if your eligible for FS then your not eligible to be in academy. The academies are there to introduce new blood... ie someone who new to the sport...

 

[PenAndPaper]

A simple change to the rules will fix the fact issue and that is if your eligible for FS then your not eligible to be in academy. The academies are there to introduce new blood... ie someone who new to the sport...

Its just the most obvious answer.