I have been debating and sitting on this article for a while but I think its time to discuss it.
Lets face it, the AFL is a two tier competition and while we may have a salary cap and a national draft the competition it is not even. Yes all clubs will struggle and spend time down the bottom of the ladder and if you look at the stats that since the ‘eveners’ were brought in all clubs bar Freo, Fitzroy and Richmond have played off in a Preliminary final, however does that make it even?
We discuss the AFL as a two tier competition and why seeing the richer clubs like Collingwood, West Coast and Hawthorn play off in the finals is good for the AFL
Lets look at a few things.
West Coast won last years Wooden Spoon and while that may be seen as a win for the competitions evenness but after spending three years struggling and loosing two of the best five players in the competition at the time they are now in the top four again. Richmond on the other hand have not played finals since 2001, that is 10 years of fan anger and failed promises. Fremantle is another club that has never played two connective finals series in their short but poor history.
Gold Coast and GWS have come into the system which will make it even harder to get a golden nugget in the draft however what is frustrating the clubs and supporters is how they are poaching players from the bottom clubs and not stars like Thomas, Goddard and Pendlebury or even fringe players like McCarthy, Goldsack and Byrnes from the successful clubs which everyone thought would have happened.
The reason why these successful clubs are not loosing their stars and fringe players is not because of the under the table payments or the huge two million dollar a year contracts. It is the struggling clubs that are loosing their ‘stars’ and young players instead and while money is important everyone around Australia plays the game to win a premiership. The fact is clubs like Melbourne, Western Bulldogs, North and others will not win a premiership before GWS and Gold Coast. So why not get heaps of money, endure a year or three of trouble and then play in a successful era?
I have discussed before about free agency and while I do not think it will be an issue and the successful clubs will not get more Abletts, Pendleburys etc to their team. However they may be able to draw more Tarrents, Krakeour’s and role/ bit players to their club but you only get a few Judds, Abletts and Barassi’s moving clubs every so often. It will not become like the NRL and American sports.
I want to discuss one more thing and that is why a two tier competition is good for the AFL.
Yes you read right, while no one will admit it but seeing all those successful clubs play off in the first week of finals in front of HUGE crowds will make the AFL bosses happy. The AFL would prefer to see clubs like Carlton, Hawthorn, Essendon, Collingwood, Geelong and West Coast playing off in the finals that clubs like Port, Western Bulldogs, Brisbane, Melbourne etc who do not have the following like the big clubs. It is no wonder that the top four at the end of the 2011 season have the most money and the biggest memberships.
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