Nick's Collingwood Bulletin Board

This is a sad but very important article for every footy fan.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/in- ... 52aot.html

Australian football needs help. Too many grassroots teams around the country are literally on their knees, barely able to field a team.

Last weekend Great Western belted their Mininera and District Football League rivals the Ararat Eagles to the tune of 509 points. That's not a joke. The final score was 79.41 (515) to 1.0 (6).

It's no secret that large sections of country and suburban football have been battling for some time. Somewhere over the past few decades, grassroots sport transformed from a fun and free activity into a business where players are asked to train hard and commit many hours of their week to their craft. In return they're paid, sometimes in the tens of thousands of dollars.

This has created a massive, sometimes irreversible gap between the haves and have-nots. A 2004 inquiry into country footy found that between 1990 and 2003, 66 Victorian clubs merged and another 36 shut down altogether. Many others have followed since.

So, before the AFL invests another cent on overseas ventures, AFLX, a new score review system or any other marketing gimmick, it must first spend more on ensuring the game survives at the grassroots.

The future of our game is at stake, as the AFL throws money at gimmicks like AFLX and games in China, yet neglects country footy. No wonder the skills of our game are diminishing in the AFL. The pool of young players is diminishing. Too many kids these days are turning their attention to the NBA or NFL or soccer.

I have always said that a national competition was the worst possible thing that could happen to football. Short of abolishing it (which is very unlikely) the best solution is to create a national body to orchestrate rule changes, recruiting procedures and similar matters. The AFL should be represented on that body but with no greater status than the SANFL or WAFL. At the same time something must be done to resurrect the game in Tasmania.

The corporates like McLachlan, who come from big money backgrounds, have absolutely no understanding of what real footy is, what it means, or how important it is. All they are concerned with is the size of the next TV rights deal. Believe me, when the money men take over, it's all over.

RudeBoy wrote:The corporates like McLachlan, who come from big money backgrounds, have absolutely no understanding of what real footy is, what it means, or how important it is. All they are concerned with is the size of the next TV rights deal. Believe me, when the money men take over, it's all over.

This is so true I reckon Rudeboy and concur with the other comments above too.

That scoreline of Greater Western over Ararat is just dreadful. Why would anyone bother to play when the competition is that uneven!!

Growing up with country football, I know it is the heart beat of small country towns and if it's in this sort of trouble, the towns will soon be in even more trouble.... it's so sad.

Wish there was some way eg a supporter revolution that would force the AFL to get back to what really matters.

It’s a national trend affecting all sports. Fat kids, too much screen time, over involved parents, extended shopping needing young, cheap labour.

Although I’d love to sink the boot into the private school ruling class from which Gil and his cronies derive, in this instance I can’t.

These types of score have been happening since I was a kid, and since that time, the AFL has grown into a billion dollar industry.

in 1990, Round 3:

CAMPBELLS CREEK 100.34-634 defeated
PRIMROSE 3.0-18.

AFL won't blink at this.

Fake news.

^ No there's a deeper problem than that. I know that in Tasmania for example whole competitions have disappeared through amalgamation, because small towns just can't find the players required to play. Even the top state level there (the TSL) has lost several teams, including Devonport and Burnie (the third and fourth largest cities in Tassie!). I believe they now field just an 8 team competition.

Meanwhile, soccer is growing at the grassroots. Parents are happy for kids to play that because it is not as physical and doesn't demand as much time commitment.

Not sure what the solution is, but the AFL has to be on notice that it can't take the future for granted.

shawthing wrote:...
Meanwhile, soccer is growing at the grassroots. Parents are happy for kids to play that because it is not as physical and doesn't demand as much time commitment.
...

Why would it require less time commitment?