Recruiting Zones for AFC and PAFC - Impact on SANFL U16/18’s

[knowledge]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl ... 7b1cfdc9e5

Intererested in other’s opnions on this. When I hear the word “efficiencies” come out of the mouths of the Docklands “Cuckoo’s Nest” it makes we worry.

[Michael]

Can you copy the article for those of us that dont buy the rubbish.

[knowledge]

SOUTH Australia will be divided in two, with the Crows and Port Adelaide allocated half the state each as their development and recruiting zone under a future scenario to be seriously discussed at the first AFL Competition Committee meeting in Melbourne on May 10.

If the system was in place now, star young South Australian’s Jack Lukosius and Izac Rankine would be playing for the Crows or the Power next season, and Port Adelaide would have its old traditional recruiting ground of Port Lincoln and the Eyre Peninsula back as its zone.

Under the proposal, every AFL club would have a zone to develop and recruit from, with a similar draft bidding system to that which currently allows the the Swans, Giants, Lions and Suns to develop and recruit direct from the northern states.

“I like the idea of consistency,” AFL head of football operations Steve Hocking admitted to me this week. Hocking believes AFL junior development money would be better spent if AFL clubs become directly responsible for junior development and can reap personal benefit from its efficient use.

“There is a lot being considered it’s fair to say, and I think what we’ve seen is things stay status quo for a period of time, and I think what we need to do in my view is create better efficiencies” Hocking said.

Under the proposal, every AFL club would have a zone to develop and recruit from, with a similar draft bidding system to that which currently allows the the Swans, Giants, Lions and Suns to develop and recruit direct from the northern states.
And leading the charge for a return to zones in Victoria is the Collingwood Football Club and its influential president Eddie McGuire, who has been working with the AFL and the Victorian State Government on infrastructure and development ideas that could greatly benefit country Victoria and junior football.

“We’re keen on zones,” Collingwood chief executive Mark Anderson confirmed.

“We’re going to be in discussions around what zones make sense for us ... intuitively that area in the Diamond Valley is the heart and soul, but we’ve got a big partnership down in the Latrobe Valley now where we are doing a lot of work with the State government and local government; and we’d love to do a little bit more around talent development there, but it’s not our zone,” Anderson said pointedly.

Multiple ideas will be tabled for discussion at the May 10 meeting. The lifting of the draft age by one year and bringing back the old club-based under-17s or under-19s system, and allowing the Crows and the Power to field a junior team in a national under age competition, is another strong option.

That option is also heavily supported by Eddie McGuire and Collingwood, who have been lobbying for years to have their own under-18 team.


“There’s some discussions looking at that, so that’s certainly on the cards as well,” Anderson was happy to confirm.

The reason the return to zones and a totally revamped under-age development system is strongly tipped to eventually get the rubber stamp, is because of the massive money drain and resource waste that exists under the current under-18 systems.

In Victoria, kids have both the private school system and the TAC Cup doubling up with coaches and other resources like gymnasiums, doctors and physios.

AFL clubs all have the same resources available but are not not allowed to offer them for use to the kids who would benefit from spending time inside an AFL club and would love to wear a traditional AFL team jumper as a junior.

Hocking believes the entire AFL feeder system should be streamlined, and a national second tier or elite junior competition will eventually happen if he gets his way.

“How we are spending our dollars, what’s that look like back through the state leagues, and all those talent levels is high on his agenda on May 10”.

Hocking was also keen to point out that despite the scary reports that Port Adelaide’s Magpies could die if a national second-tier competition was to happen; that was not the case.

Hocking is a lover of strong tradition that works, and Port Adelaide’s Magpies link – and the Crows and Port involvement in the SANFL – is not mutually exclusive to any national competition idea in his eyes.

Adelaide Crow chief executive Andrew Fagan and Port Adelaide football manager Chris Davies are both members of Hocking’s handpicked competition committee. But more importantly, so is Eddie McGuire.

[heater31]

Very concerning language used here......national under age competition.......SANFL might as well shut its doors and then the VFL will finally get its wish total dominance of Australian Football.

[Michael]

For years I have been saying it should be zones . No draft ,just zones and develop your own. Raise the age to 20 before a kid can be selected and that strengthens the state leagues and eventually the AFL. They talk about wasting resources and money ? No f......g joke. They draft kids that are not physically ready and pour money into them to get them ready. Think about the game as a whole for change you fools. Put money back into the state leagues to help them develop players and when they get picked up to play AFL they are ready to play. WTF is going on , it is a complete farce. Everyone is too scared of the AFL . Slowly killing the game .

[knowledge]

Very concerning indeed. SANFL club development programmes (Under 16/18) are heavily geared to AFL funding. It seems that Hocking is not in favour of the status quo remaining. That jeopardises about 14 full time jobs in the SANFL clubs, I’d say.

[Dogwatcher]

The AFL might as well just shut down any competition that is not a pathway to play AFL.

[johntheclaret]

I might be missing something, but I don’t know what all the fuss is about. The cream always gets drafted to the AFL anyway and only after all the development has been done by the SANFL club who gets to see the fruit of their labour for no more than a season.

And I’m sure replacing draftees every year must be a recruiting nightmare for SANFL clubs. Just ask West Adelaide. There is no stability and therefore no possibility of forward planning as none of the SANFL clubs know how many of their current crop will get drafted and how many won’t.

There are always going more players than places so why not let the AFL clubs pay for the development of players. What the SANFL needs to do is focus on making the state league an attractive alternative to catch those players dropping out of the AFL system. It might even make the SANFL a strong league as more mature players are recruited.

The downside would be a much narrower structure at the SANFL clubs with a much more streamlined juniors, development and Reserves grades but a lower cost base for the club too.

[RB]

The AFL clubs will probably go cold on the idea once they realise how much it'll cost them.

[human_torpedo]

From what I understand eventually this will happen to some degree. All AFL clubs will have a pathway program with zones, possibly playing in a competition before the National Champs, lifting the draft age by at least a year, and possibly reducing the squad sizes in the AFL by up to 6 players..

It will obviously hurt the SANFL under 18 competition as it will be a second tier competition with its best players being in the academy system, however a larger emphasis will be on the under 16 program as that is where the academies will be selected from as such

The kids that don't get drafted out of the academies, lets face it only a handful at most would, will filter back through the SANFL system to their original clubs

A lot of water to go under the bridge but essentially that's where its headed

[beef]

From what I understand eventually this will happen to some degree. All AFL clubs will have a pathway program with zones, possibly playing in a competition before the National Champs, lifting the draft age by at least a year, and possibly reducing the squad sizes in the AFL by up to 6 players..

It will obviously hurt the SANFL under 18 competition as it will be a second tier competition with its best players being in the academy system, however a larger emphasis will be on the under 16 program as that is where the academies will be selected from as such

The kids that don't get drafted out of the academies, lets face it only a handful at most would, will filter back through the SANFL system to their original clubs

A lot of water to go under the bridge but essentially that's where its headed

All the best u/18's are generally playing league of reserves footy anyway and others miss large chunks with school footy or carnivals.

[am Bays]

Going to be interesting if the likes of PAC, Rostrevor, Sacred Heart et al, are prepared to compromise on their normally hard line stance on talented kids playing 1st XVIII as opposed to a national AFL U/18 competition.

Will they still offer scholarships to talented young footy players??

Will the new AFL system pick up that slack

[UK Fan]

I might be missing something, but I don’t know what all the fuss is about. The cream always gets drafted to the AFL anyway and only after all the development has been done by the SANFL club who gets to see the fruit of their labour for no more than a season.

And I’m sure replacing draftees every year must be a recruiting nightmare for SANFL clubs. Just ask West Adelaide. There is no stability and therefore no possibility of forward planning as none of the SANFL clubs know how many of their current crop will get drafted and how many won’t.

There are always going more players than places so why not let the AFL clubs pay for the development of players. What the SANFL needs to do is focus on making the state league an attractive alternative to catch those players dropping out of the AFL system. It might even make the SANFL a strong league as more mature players are recruited.

The downside would be a much narrower structure at the SANFL clubs with a much more streamlined juniors, development and Reserves grades but a lower cost base for the club too.

Sanfl clubs receive money to develope juniors.

If they are being developed by afl clubs not sanfl clubs via the zones guess where the funding for junior development will go in the future