Changes to VFL team alignments looming from 2012

[MagpieBat]

The new Bendigo FC website has now gone live:

http://www.bendigofc.com.au/home

Not bad. Good luck to them. Just not against us...

Their theme song is "Oh, we're from Bendigo"...

[MagpieBat]

Big news going around the traps is that Williamstown will break its contract with the Bulldogs and go stand-alone from 2013 onwards...

http://www.vflfooty.com/node/7963

Will Footscray field a VFL side, or will they find another alignment partner?

Interesting times ahead in the VFL...

[Dave The Man]

[Big T]

[MagpieBat]

Any proper AFL reserves comp has to be national, in my opinion.

There have been moves in the past to get stand-alone sides for Adelaide, Port Adelaide, Weagles and Freo in the SANFL and the WAFL, respectively. Something which is being resisted by those two comps. Primus admitted on Fox Footy earlier this year that they were still trying to get a stand-alone team for Port in the SANFL, but the SANFL were still opposed.

I thought that the merger between Port Power and Port Magpies was supposed to make them one club again, yet Port players are still stuck in this situation where you can play for Port in the AFL one week, then play for Norwood against Port in the SANFL the next week. Ridiculous.

We've tried to make this current VFL setup work, but it just seems too inherently conflicted against itself. Players being played out of position at aligned clubs; local kids not getting a game because of the presence of AFL ring-ins; AFL clubs totally hi-jacking the VFL clubs to get a 2nds team on the cheap (witness the deeds of Carlscum and Hawthorn towards their VFL clubs in the last couple of years).

The whole concept of where to play AFL reservists needs a complete re-think. I believe we need to bring back the old reserves comp, but make it a national one, where each of the 18 teams has a reserves side. Of course, that in itself brings up a whole lot of other problems. For example, current AFL lists are capped at 38 seniors, plus 8 rookies (a number soon to be cut across the board, if I recall right), plus veterans. So, for Collingwood, that's 48 players in 2012.

So what happens when you lose 6-10 of your total 48 through injury, as we have this year? You need 22 to play a game. 22 for two matches is 44 players. What happens if you have more injuries than just 5 or 6 players? Does the AFL expand list sizes? Or do you just foreit the reserves games if you can't get 22 blokes on the park?

On that point, does anyone know why the old VFL reserves comp was never expanded to become a national reserves comp when the VFL went national in 1990? The reserves comp was just the 10 Victorian teams and Sydney in the 90's, if I recall...?

[die4pies]

[Fire Up]

richmond to cut ties with coburg

[MagpieBat]

^ Yep, announced by Cleary during today's game, apparently. They will part at the end of 2013.

Stand alone AFL teams in VFL after 2013:

Collingwood
Geelong
Essendon
Richmond
Bulldogs

[Fire Up]

^^^ hopefully its the start of having the old competition back where its just the reserves.

next we need roos to break away from shitville (werribee) and north ballarat

[Big T]

Well, lets hope they all copy us, then if they track the same we might win some games!

[Fire Up]

the vfl could be ready to do a "shake up" of things with some afl teams leaving their vfl team.

the ladder is going to be same, but there is going to more of a focus on teams like pies vs cats playing each other more then say pies vs port melb.

[MagpieBat]

Okay, now it is getting absurd.

Word coming out of Adelaide is that the CROWS are going to petition for a VFL side from next year.

For God's sake. A national reserves comp ASAP, please!!!

[Fire Up]

can't wait for the day to see the eagles or freo have their team in the vfl.

just bring back the old reserves. you can have the 18 teams that in afl in their own league (kind of like vfl). then that way say when pies play blues in afl, the same can be done in the reserves but at a different venue like vic park etc.

[MagpieBat]

It's official - Bulldogs to go standalone in 2014 (one year later than originally scheduled):

http://m.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/former-western-bulldog-paul-dimattina-will-not-challenge-for-the-clubs-presidency/story-e6frf9jf-1226478389318

This means that the fixturing of the comp (which has been a MAJOR source of criticism this year) will be somewhat corrected, because of the introduction of only 1 new standalone team in 2013 into the current 13 team comp (Essendon).

In 2014, Richmond and Footscray will join, taking the number of teams from 14 in 2013, to 16 in 2014.

An even number of teams means at least ONE less bye, and maybe even more byes being axed if the Foxtel Cup gets the arse.

[Dave The Man]