The AFL needs to invest more into WA Jr development.

[Cleric]

Looking over the amount of players in the AFL from each state, vs relative population, WA really does fall behind both Victoria and SA.
Per 100,000 people each state produces the following.
Victoria = 6.17 players per 100,000
South Australia = 5.94 players per 100,000
West Australia = 4.27 players per 100,000

With WA being a traditional football state, in the same way both Vic and SA are, why are they under producing AFL talent?

If I'm the AFL, I'm looking at investing more funding into WA to help Jr development, and sitting down with the WAFL to go over what help they need to improve it.

To put a real world figure on it, if WA matched SA, it would add another 48 players into the AFL system than it does currently.

Not looking to bashing WA, but I think the AFL is under investing in SA and WA Jr development, and they should give equal money to both states per capital as they do for Victoria.

With Tasmania coming into the system, there is going to be a need for another 45-50 players to fill those spots.
While hopefully with a Tasmanian team there will be a rise in talent coming out of that state, its not big enough to produce a sizable amount. In the AFL system there's only around 20 players from Tasmania total.

 

[JackFlash]

The AFL should be putting a lot more effort into both WA and SA....they have dropped the ball a bit in this department.

 

[TheEscapeClub]

Doesn't the WAFL or WAFC or the like fund junior development in WA?

 

[Cleric]

Doesn't the WAFL or WAFC or the like fund junior development in WA?

That's the issue. The AFL has left the SANFL and the WAFL to be responsible for Jr development in their states, while pumping millions into the Victorian and Northern states.
How do you think Jr development in Victoria would go if the AFL stopped funding the talent league, and left it up to the VFL to fund and oversee?
Why the AFL is totally supporting one states development in Victoria when its meant to be a national association brings up questions as well.

They need to pay the SANFL and the WAFL the same amount per capita as they spend in Victoria.

I have heard it said a number of times that the U18 Victorian clubs have better facilities than alot of the local SA and WA league sides do.

 

[Spirit Level]

If the AFL put resources into SA and WA the clubs would become too powerful (which they don't want)

 

[Cleric]

If the AFL put resources into SA and WA the clubs would become too powerful (which they don't want)

The AFL take SA and WA for granted. They need to keep funding Victoria, as its a Victorian organisation at heart, and it wants to grow the game in the North for the potential cash they think they can make.
They know SA and WA football fans will continue to do their thing, so why bother investing in them.

 

[longsuffreosupp]

Could be that the kids aren't into AFL as much these days due to factors like TV rights, cost of going to the game, and the contempt by the AFL shown towards the teams in this state that can disillusion them (like the adult supporters at times)

 

[masai tu]

That's the issue. The AFL has left the SANFL and the WAFL to be responsible for Jr development in their states, while pumping millions into the Victorian and Northern states.
How do you think Jr development in Victoria would go if the AFL stopped funding the talent league, and left it up to the VFL to fund and oversee?
Why the AFL is totally supporting one states development in Victoria when its meant to be a national association brings up questions as well.

They need to pay the SANFL and the WAFL the same amount per capita as they spend in Victoria.

I have heard it said a number of times that the U18 Victorian clubs have better facilities than alot of the local SA and WA league sides do.

Who pays for the Vic Under 18 comp ?. The VFL, local clubs or AFL House ?.

 

[bzparkes]

It's worthy to note the declining indigenous participation in footy in WA being a contributing factor to this, which can/should be addressed by giving Freo and WCE additional NGA spots.

Simpson also said on the radio the other week that the difference between WA and Vic kids entering the system is palpable, which is indeed a direct result of inferior pathways. WA kids are usually one to two years behind the Vic kids in their development, which is why many of them go later in the draft and come on later in their career.

Now that WCE and Freo have full access to their NGA kids, I imagine development pathways will improve, because there was not much incentive before as both clubs would just be developing players for the Vic market. See Lance Collard and Edwards, both went to Saints and Geelong respectively, as we were unable to match.

Now I get this has happened to Vic clubs also(Mac Andrew best example) but clubs in Vic rarely have to worry about homesick players at the pointy end of the draft, especially those from Vic Metro, where the best talents come from more often than not. Plus, as there's far more Vic players in the AFL, there's more opportunity to land those coming home, as well as players from outside Vic more open to moving to Melbourne. That doesn't often happen in reverse.

 

[TheEscapeClub]

If the AFL put resources into SA and WA the clubs would become too powerful (which they don't want)

How does that work when you have a drafting system?

 

[powerrrrrrrrrrrr]

Sounds like WA and then SA will be needing academies to continue to grow the game.

 

[bzparkes]

Who pays for the Vic Under 18 comp ?. The VFL, local clubs or AFL House ?.

AFL, through AFL Victoria, and government grants, along with sponsorship and playing fees contribute massively to the CTL.

WA junior pathways largely depend on the WAFC(and in turn, WCE & Freo) to fund them. There's some involvement from the AFL but it's little compared to Vic.

 

[bzparkes]

Sounds like WA and then SA will be needing academies to continue to grow the game.

Pretty much. Headed that way anyway, IMO.

AFL has too many issues with the draft and clubs outside Vic being unable to draft top talent over fears they'll pull the homesick card.

Of course, Vic media will point to JHF and conveniently ignore Tom Boyd, as well as the cohort of draftees that actively refused to leave Vic(Bailey Smith, Archie Perkins) that they celebrated for being 'honest'.

SA and WA clubs just need their own academies, same as QLD and NSW, as they also need to have a different draft strategy, due to the flux of Vic Metro kids indicating they don't want to leave Vic before the draft.

By all means, adjust the rules so clubs can't take the piss with it but let them have access to a broader scope of players so they can draft top picks they're actually able to retain.

 

[Dazb86]

More things to do in the Winter over there.

 

[WillHayward]

Looking over the amount of players in the AFL from each state, vs relative population, WA really does fall behind both Victoria and SA.
Per 100,000 people each state produces the following.
Victoria = 6.17 players per 100,000
South Australia = 5.94 players per 100,000
West Australia = 4.27 players per 100,000

With WA being a traditional football state, in the same way both Vic and SA are, why are they under producing AFL talent?

If I'm the AFL, I'm looking at investing more funding into WA to help Jr development, and sitting down with the WAFL to go over what help they need to improve it.

To put a real world figure on it, if WA matched SA, it would add another 48 players into the AFL system than it does currently.

Not looking to bashing WA, but I think the AFL is under investing in SA and WA Jr development, and they should give equal money to both states per capital as they do for Victoria.

With Tasmania coming into the system, there is going to be a need for another 45-50 players to fill those spots.
While hopefully with a Tasmanian team there will be a rise in talent coming out of that state, its not big enough to produce a sizable amount. In the AFL system there's only around 20 players from Tasmania total.

Great post. I've been wondering about this.

Back in the day the Eagles used to pick players up out of regional WA who ended up as stars.
That seems to have really slowed.

Then blokes like Humphreys and Nick Martin seem to be passed by or slower to develop.

Something is nqr over there.

Maybe it's because the geography is so darn big?
Harder for regional players to be part of elite pathways and train and play games etc?

Money shouldn't be an issue in WA.

 

[Aura]

Pretty much. Headed that way anyway, IMO.

AFL has too many issues with the draft and clubs outside Vic being unable to draft top talent over fears they'll pull the homesick card.

Of course, Vic media will point to JHF and conveniently ignore Tom Boyd, as well as the cohort of draftees that actively refused to leave Vic(Bailey Smith, Archie Perkins) that they celebrated for being 'honest'.

SA and WA clubs just need their own academies, same as QLD and NSW, as they also need to have a different draft strategy, due to the flux of Vic Metro kids indicating they don't want to leave Vic before the draft.

By all means, adjust the rules so clubs can't take the piss with it but let them have access to a broader scope of players so they can draft top picks they're actually able to retain.

Academies piss me off, and in their current form, I believe they are the second worst aspect of the game. I would be far less bothered by them if all non-Victorian teams had equal access and rights.

In case anyone asks, the first issue is never getting home finals—obviously.

 

[Blackas87]

That's the issue. The AFL has left the SANFL and the WAFL to be responsible for Jr development in their states, while pumping millions into the Victorian and Northern states.

I don’t think the AFL left the SANFL and WAFL to be responsible for Jnr development in their respective states, those leagues and state commissions wanted to keep control of football in their respective states when the VFL expanded to the AFL. Hence the AFL does the rest of the country.

 

[Cleric]

Who pays for the Vic Under 18 comp ?. The VFL, local clubs or AFL House ?.

AFL House

 

[Cleric]

It's worthy to note the declining indigenous participation in footy in WA being a contributing factor to this, which can/should be addressed by giving Freo and WCE additional NGA spots.

Simpson also said on the radio the other week that the difference between WA and Vic kids entering the system is palpable, which is indeed a direct result of inferior pathways. WA kids are usually one to two years behind the Vic kids in their development, which is why many of them go later in the draft and come on later in their career.

Now that WCE and Freo have full access to their NGA kids, I imagine development pathways will improve, because there was not much incentive before as both clubs would just be developing players for the Vic market. See Lance Collard and Edwards, both went to Saints and Geelong respectively, as we were unable to match.

Now I get this has happened to Vic clubs also(Mac Andrew best example) but clubs in Vic rarely have to worry about homesick players at the pointy end of the draft, especially those from Vic Metro, where the best talents come from more often than not. Plus, as there's far more Vic players in the AFL, there's more opportunity to land those coming home, as well as players from outside Vic more open to moving to Melbourne. That doesn't often happen in reverse.

It's even worse than that.
When the AFL first introduced the NGAs, they excluded indigenous players from the metro areas and also the country areas that had produced talent already, like Port Lincoln in SA, from both the WA and SA clubs.
When the Victorian NGAs were also developed there was no such exclusion of indigenous kids from their metro and country areas, which is why WBs had access to JUH and North had access to Thomas from Tasmania. Unlike the Vic clubs, Adelaide didn't have access to Izak Rankine.

 

[Cleric]

Great post. I've been wondering about this.

Back in the day the Eagles used to pick players up out of regional WA who ended up as stars.
That seems to have really slowed.

Then blokes like Humphreys and Nick Martin seem to be passed by or slower to develop.

Something is nqr over there.

Maybe it's because the geography is so darn big?
Harder for regional players to be part of elite pathways and train and play games etc?

Money shouldn't be an issue in WA.

Regardless of the WA country areas, Perth alone has a half a million more people than the entire SA population.

I think the issue of declining indigenous kids is greater than just participating. There is a far higher % of them that end up being lost to the game due to problems outside the sport, even after being drafted. It's a whole other topic that the AFL is too scared to address due to the sensitivities around it.

Maybe every team should have some extra spots on their lists added to take on some indigenous talents in their zone. Under the right development and structure that an AFL club has, I would highly surprised if a number didn't kick on and have great careers.

 

[Cleric]

I don’t think the AFL left the SANFL and WAFL to be responsible for Jnr development in their respective states, those leagues and state commissions wanted to keep control of football in their respective states when the VFL expanded to the AFL. Hence the AFL does the rest of the country.

Initially the AFL wanted WA and SA to become AFLSA and AFLWA and come under the AFLs control. Both said no.
Regardless of that, the AFL shouldn't withhold equal funding for Jr development in those states.
It's like I said, imagine what would happen to Vic talent development if the VFL was told they now were responsible for it.

 

[bzparkes]

It's even worse than that.
When the AFL first introduced the NGAs, they excluded indigenous players from the metro areas and also the country areas that had produced talent already, like Port Lincoln in SA, from both the WA and SA clubs.
When the Victorian NGAs were also developed there was no such exclusion of indigenous kids from their metro and country areas, which is why WBs had access to JUH and North had access to Thomas from Tasmania. Unlike the Vic clubs, Adelaide didn't have access to Izak Rankine.

Yeah, pretty ridiculous setup but unsurprising the AFL did it this way, of course.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

The AFL should be putting a lot more effort into both WA and SA....they have dropped the ball a bit in this department.

They don’t run football in those states like they do in every other state.

The WAFC and SANFL do.

 

[JackFlash]

They don’t run football in those states like they do in every other state.

The WAFC and SANFL do.

I understand that, so they must take a good look at it and make changes themselves!

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I understand that, so they must take a good look at it and make changes themselves!

Do you not like the state of your neighbours yard, so you just head on in and start making changes yourself?