They are at it again. GWS under the pump

[Nico]

Surprise, surprise, surprise. GWS is on s roll, the Pies are crap and the McGuire self preservation train kicks in. I read on the AFL site this arvo that Melbourne clubs are questioning the GWS Riverine zone as unfair.

[Reggi]

This is clearly done and dusted. Bigger campaign than against us

[Burra]

Just as a side issue wasn't the Riverina once South Melbournes zone?

[Doctor]

I was in Melbourne this week and it was definitely a thing. Eddie clearly uses and abuses his role on MMM to start the ball rolling on this kind of stuff. He then sits back and lets other media organisations take hold of the flame. Leon Cameron quite rightly said tonight that they weren't talking about it when the Giants lost to Melbourne. Eddie's influence on the AFL landscape is noxious and destructive. The Lions were completely done over by him and are still yet to recover. He has tried to do the same with us and will do so with the Giants. He dreams of the VFL that he grew up with.

What can we do about it? Firstly, continue to pay attention to what is being said in Melbourne and let them know what you think. Secondly, demonstrate solidarity with GWS, Brisbane and Gold Coast on issues such as this. Enjoy the on-field rivalry but be as one when it comes to matters that affect the ongoing viability of clubs in NSW and Qld. I'll repeat my long-standing belief on this. Eddie and co. are very happy for the AFL to include clubs from outside Victoria, as long as we don't do very well. They feel they have a God-given right to win the comp, and that other clubs being run better than theirs and recruiting better shouldn't stop them. It's the Juventus model.

North Melbourne seem to be coping ok with the current AFL landscape, as do the Bulldogs and Geelong.

[liz]

It doesn't help when you have journalists stating that the system was created for the purpose of pumping high quality recruits into GWS and GCS. Could she have missed the point by a wider margin. And it helps even less when you have someone like Paul Roos - who of all people should understand the football development landscape in NSW and Queensland - even hinting that maybe the academies should be reviewed on the basis of something he is hearing from recruiters.

Paul Roos: Give thought to changing the Northern academies system

[Untamed Snark]

It doesn't help when you have journalists stating that the system was created for the purpose of pumping high quality recruits into GWS and GCS. Could she have missed the point by a wider margin. And it helps even less when you have someone like Paul Roos - who of all people should understand the football development landscape in NSW and Queensland - even hinting that maybe the academies should be reviewed on the basis of something he is hearing from recruiters.

Paul Roos: Give thought to changing the Northern academies system

I read that the other day, it is worse in light of Doc's comments

[dimelb]

I was in Melbourne this week and it was definitely a thing. Eddie clearly uses and abuses his role on MMM to start the ball rolling on this kind of stuff. He then sits back and lets other media organisations take hold of the flame. Leon Cameron quite rightly said tonight that they weren't talking about it when the Giants lost to Melbourne. Eddie's influence on the AFL landscape is noxious and destructive. The Lions were completely done over by him and are still yet to recover. He has tried to do the same with us and will do so with the Giants. He dreams of the VFL that he grew up with.

What can we do about it? Firstly, continue to pay attention to what is being said in Melbourne and let them know what you think. Secondly, demonstrate solidarity with GWS, Brisbane and Gold Coast on issues such as this. Enjoy the on-field rivalry but be as one when it comes to matters that affect the ongoing viability of clubs in NSW and Qld. I'll repeat my long-standing belief on this. Eddie and co. are very happy for the AFL to include clubs from outside Victoria, as long as we don't do very well. They feel they have a God-given right to win the comp, and that other clubs being run better than theirs and recruiting better shouldn't stop them. It's the Juventus model.

North Melbourne seem to be coping ok with the current AFL landscape, as do the Bulldogs and Geelong.

Spot on, Doctor, and I share your concern, especially the emphasised bit. The Age has landed on the topic with both feet and has a few worthwhile articles. This one from Greg Baum gives the wider background:

Growing pains: Giants, Suns on different frontiers

Then Michael Gleeson focusses on Eddie:

'Educate Eddie', Giants chief tells departing football boss Graeme Allen

And Tony Shepherd throws down the glove:

GWS chairman Tony Shepherd threatens to resign amidst zones controversy

The Paul Roos comment comes in a typical "sort-of-maybe-speak" remark buried in other stuff. Still, I'm surprised that he would even give it airtime.

[stellation]

Roos' vague "what I'm hearing..." comments sound like "I want to make a statement, but am looking for an out" and are disappointing.

It was extremely rare to see a kid develop through to VFL ranks when I was playing junior footy in Sydney through the 80s/90s, for must of us playing it was a dream that seemed genuinely unattainable and there was no clear path for us to follow. For those who did it was a combination of talent, potential and opportunity- those are, I believe, still the three keys to someone landing on an AFL list from anywhere, and the academies provide all of them.

I can't see the AFL continuing to grow its penetration in NSW and QLD without keeping them in place for at least the next decade, if they want to modify them then they need to put something equivalent in place themselves but for now I believe the current method of kids being directly engaged with an AFL club is by far the best way to grow the sport.

[Melbourne_Blood]

I think it has been raised here before, but the focus of this is the Riverina Being part of the GwS zone. They aren't attacking the academies as a whole ( although I'm sure that's next). I think that's a fair point, it's not a League or Union stronghold, and a lot of these players are boarding at Victorian private schools. The academies are about building the talent pool not pick pocketing talent from areas that already have a strong footy base .

[Ludwig]

We are going over the same ground once again. The AFL wanted to grow the market in NSW and Queensland in order to get more revenue for the league. I wasn't in on the meetings that came to this conclusion, but it seems a sound business strategy. Right or wrong, everyone signed on. The AFL could have made it a less expensive proposition if 2 of the Melbourne clubs would have moved instead of having 2 complete start ups. We could have kept the 16 team competition and we wouldn't have needed the big draft concessions. All would have made for a more balanced competition and would have created a strong, albeit smaller, Melbourne club structure. Surely this was all known at the time the expansion was voted on.

So what purpose does it serve to undermine the AFL's expansion strategy. And it doesn't even appear to be much questioning of the original plan. It's only focused when a northern club, this time GWS, is playing well and taking finals spots away from the Melbourne clubs. From a Melbourne perspective, this is a creation of their own making.

It sounds unthinkable, but the way to solve this problem is to get Eddie McGuire out of the game, permanently. I've used the words 'blight on the game' many times before, and there's nothing that's come about to change my mind. He is constantly causing acrimony and divisiveness in the public arena. It's all so unnecessary. As a league, as a business and a form of entertainment enjoyed my millions, we can't afford to have the likes of McGuire associated with the game. They can talk GWS, COLA, Riverina, Drugs or whatever, but Eddie is the real number 1 problem facing football at the moment.

[RogueSwan]

I think it has been raised here before, but the focus of this is the Riverina Being part of the GwS zone. They aren't attacking the academies as a whole ( although I'm sure that's next). I think that's a fair point, it's not a League or Union stronghold, and a lot of these players are boarding at Victorian private schools. The academies are about building the talent pool not pick pocketing talent from areas that already have a strong footy base .

Yeah, it has been raised before, and I agree it is an area that doesn't need developing . The academies should not be in this discussion, but hey, why not try and take them down at the same time.

[AnnieH]

So long as Wagga Wagga doesn't move over the river, they have nothing to worry about.

Eddie's such a jealous turd.
I've said it a million times... if he spends his energy looking after his own backyard, the colliwobbles would be a power force.
Actually, maybe he should just stay picking on everyone else.

[KTigers]

This whole debate comes up because GWS had the temerity to win one game fairly easily as the other team (Hawthorn) puts in a shocker, as all teams do from
time to time. It shows yet again how Melbourne centric the AFL really is. And how little it takes to unsettle the natural order down there. You'd think GWS had won three consecutive flags. Right now, they are 4-and-2, a game behind us, a game ahead of Melbourne & Port. That is a long way from being a dynasty!
It's not just onfield. Perhaps the Vics missed the story about the poll GWS did of their members that showed for 38% of them GWS weren't even their first team.
My family and I are part of that 38%. We go to games out at Spotless because we want to watch footy when the Swans are playing away and there is no line at the bar.
A dynasty? Might be a little while I reckon.

[Meg]

Unfortunately on this occasion Eddie does have a valid point. I agree with MB and RS above, the Riverina should not be an academy zone. The preferential drafting of Riverina boys, who have grown up surrounded by AFL development opportunities without need of the GWS academy, is damaging the raison d'?tre for the northern academies.

[liz]

Unfortunately on this occasion Eddie does have a valid point. I agree with MB and RS above, the Riverina should not be an academy zone. The preferential drafting of Riverina boys, who have grown up surrounded by AFL development opportunities without need of the GWS academy, is damaging the raison d'?tre for the northern academies.

I flip flop between agreeing and disagreeing. The raw draft figures over the past 15 years or so indicate that the southern parts of NSW (including the ACT that some throw into the Riverina debate) have NOT been a hot bed of AFL talent. However, the sheer number of high quality prospect that have emerged from the Giants' zone last year, this year, and look like emerging in the near future, aren't really within the spirit of what the Academies were really setting up to achieve and they do put the development / draft equity balance well out of whack.

I can even see why other clubs are miffed at the Swans getting Heeney and Mills in successive years, but it's too soon to tell if this is just a fluke or whether they are the frontrunners of more to come - "more" being not just draftable talent (which is one of the aims) but the absolute top end talent.

I think the whole competition needs to take a long hard look at why such a vein of talent has suddenly emerged from the Riverina in such a short period of time since the Giants' academy has been established. It suggests an enormous neglect of a region for the previous decade and a bit.