Spreading the talent pool to thin

[Adelaide Hawk]

Let's face it. The AFL has one good team, Geelong. There are a couple of others who have had good minor rounds, but beginning to limp towards the line. Then we have perhaps another 3-4 teams who, on their day, MAY be able to compete well in the finals.

After that, the rest are ordinary or just plain crap. We have 16 clubs in the AFL, and too many average players running around AFL matches, some with very poor command of skills. The talent is spread too thin .... and yet the AFL see fit to include a 17th and 18th team to the competition.

Their rationale has me completely stumped. The AFL is not as "elite" and it thinks it is.

[smac]

Not many would argue with you. The most elite thing about the AFL is the salaries and cash flows.

[gadj1976]

I've had this debate AH recently with people who think that reducing the comp to 12 teams is the way to go to make the competition better.

Personally, I think the more they expand the opportunities, the more people will take the game up. You look at cricket which is the complete opposite, and the players that have abandoned cricket for footy (mind you, they're normally very good at both).

BUT, I agree with your sentiment, the other teams are pretty ordinary at the moment. I think that's due to clubs picking athletes and making them into footballers, rather than picking footballers and enhancing their aerobic and anaerobic capacity. Clubs will more than likely say that's it's easier to teach footy than athleticism however to counter that argument.

[Hondo]

The attendances, TV ratings and the $$ value of the TV rights are all increasing regardless, or even in spite of, what we think of the standard. That's why the league is expanding.

I don't know if the overall standard is dropping. If we looked very closely at a Footscray v St Kilda match-up from 1984 we might be very surprised. In those days, we only saw the best 2 games each week (highlights only) which I think made it all look very rosy compared to today when every single game is shown in it's entirety.

And, lets be honest, if the test of a competition is the standard of the worst few teams what does that say about the SANFL in the 1980s, particularly 1980-1985? Or any comp?

I also agree with Gadj, expanding the number of teams is one way to get new kids playing, rather than make the comp too elite and out of reach.

[Dutchy]

Watching Carlton today I must agree....

[heater31]

If you must expand the comp then make it harder to compete in finals as why reward mid table teams with an unlikely chance to play in a GF. Once the 18th team is up and running cut it back to a final 6. but it would never happen

[Punk Rooster]

I think it should revert back to a Final 5.

[mal]

I think it should revert back to a Final 5.

More finals
More Money
More profit
More logic

As for the talent pool
Hawky is right but will be wrong
In about 50 years time if they have 18 teams we will have enough complete talent in each team!
But then again there might be 28 teams and Hawky will be right again ...

[Psyber]

Yes I think we are spreading the talent pool too thin, with too many teams.
It's time to cut some of the excess teams in Melbourne with suitable mergers.
e.g Roos and Carlton, Melbourne and Bulldogs, would save major colour changes.
[Sorry Mal, in about 50 years all the kids will be playing Soccer. ]