As we’re heading into the again half of the house and away season for the AFL, I’m nonetheless ready for any indication for the way forward for the second-tier programs.
In final yr’s Annual Report, the AFL recognized a number of points with the present second-tier mannequin and accomplished a evaluate into the system concluding with the suggestions to an optimisation of the state league mannequin for each males’s and ladies’s landscapes.
The problems that they’ve recognized are:
– Various skills to develop gamers throughout the state leagues
– Restricted resourcing and management for AFL golf equipment attributable to state leagues fixtures misaligning with AFL fixtures
– Rising competitors prices exacerbated by the restricted capability to develop income
– Monetary insecurity of standalone golf equipment creating aggressive imbalance on-field
– Lack of gamers to different leagues/sports activities/pursuits
Whereas complete particulars of the evaluate aren’t public, there have been a restricted variety of developments because the report that has made any route unclear for the far-future.
It’s apparent that the extra susceptible state league to alter is the VFL, moderately than the SANFL and WAFL, because the VFL struggles to embrace the Victorian id of the league compared to its counterparts, made most notable in interstate video games and the grand finals.
The VFL is at the moment the host of 21 golf equipment, and will even broaden to 23 in 2026 with the inclusion of Tasmania and a attainable St Kilda standalone group. With every membership solely taking part in 18 video games throughout 20 weeks, it’s particular that 23 is an excessive amount of for the league as a easy growth on the variety of video games may very well be past its operational capability.
Some golf equipment won’t even play up towards one another and with the fixture not being absolutely determined till midway by the season, the VFL is a tough product to promote commercially, which may very well be a cause why some standalone groups are in monetary insecurity and why the league is dropping expertise as gamers chase extra profitable offers taking part in in suburban and nation leagues.
With elevated operational calls for because of the inclusion of 5-6 non-Victorian groups, the competitors might turn into financially bancrupt with out a vital reform within the coming years; nonetheless, will probably be troublesome for them to seek out options that every one 21-23 golf equipment can agree on.
My resolution? The AFL ought to have a second try at making the NEAFL a state league competitors.
I perceive that the NEAFL didn’t work beforehand when it was in operation within the 2010s; nonetheless, it’s doubtless that was the case because of the approach that it was run, moderately than the north-east area being resistant to working it’s personal state league.
When the NEAFL was amalgamated by the VFL for 2021, Canberra, Redland and Sydney College determined to return to the AFL Canberra, QAFL and AFL Sydney leagues respectively, whereas Aspley took on the problem to play within the VFL earlier than becoming a member of the QAFL in 2022. Of the remaining 5 north-east groups within the VFL, Gold Coast received the premiership in 2023 and Southport have performed within the 2022 and 2024 Grand Finals.
What I’m proposing is, for the foundational years of the NEAFL, a six-team competitors: Brisbane Lions, Gold Coast Suns, GWS Giants, Northern Territory, Southport Sharks and Sydney Swans. These golf equipment will cowl the whole north-east area, with the Northern Academies at the moment offering a pathway for expertise located throughout each area of Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT.
10 Academy gamers helped the Gold Coast Suns win the 2023 VFL Premiership. (Picture by Kelly Defina/AFL Photographs/by way of Getty Photographs)
Whereas the Suns Academy additionally recruits expertise from the Northern Territory as nicely, this can be a short-term partnership because the NT are at the moment creating their bid for the license of the twentieth AFL Group and the Suns are actually efficiently creating loads of expertise of their Queensland catchment space on a extra steady foundation.
Every of the six groups will play one another thrice, and they’re going to additionally play 4 completely different VFL groups, as soon as in the same state of affairs just like the Expertise League to create a calendar of a 19-game season.
Whereas a six-team males’s competitors may very well be small, it could be influential in establishing a high-quality competitors, with change video games with VFL groups offering a chance to keep up that customary – any matchups with a standalone VFL facet must also be hosted in Victoria.
Ought to the AFL set up a NEAFL facet in North Queensland or Canberra, or if they might want to elevate a QAFL, AFL Sydney or AFL Canberra facet to the competitors, that facet will must be as much as an ordinary to have the ability to compete within the NEAFL. If the competitors can stay as much as the usual that the Northern sides are producing within the VFL, then this may create many alternatives for development in state league sides within the north-east area.
This transfer may even profit the VFL golf equipment too, because the semi-professional sides not have the duty to journey interstate to play matches in a Victorian league (apart from Tasmania). With the VFL regaining its Victorian id, golf equipment could have the flexibility to keep up a expertise pathway for main expertise in their very own district, and it might presumably open doorways for some AFL or VFL golf equipment to broaden their horizons to regional Victoria too.
VFL/AFL golf equipment can develop their partnerships with their native suburban league and will examine re-introducing the VFL Growth League for them to have the ability to develop extra metro or nation league footballers who’ve potential to be within the VFL.
What do you consider this concept? Is there something that you just disagree with or is there something you want to add on?
