As reported on VFL Rewind Radio Program's Facebook page :
AFL Reserves Competition 2025, 2026 or 2027. 3 clubs are left to show their hand to join the AFL reserves competition and make it a reality in 2025.
It’s not a matter of IF. It’s a matter now of WHEN.
2025,2026 or even as late as 2027.
The VFL SANFL & WAFL clubs will be free of AFL Players, unless the AFL go down the route of Confrences.
Adelaide from reports seem like they are almost a yes with West coast and Freo still to decide.
West coast have the cash to join. It will all come down to Fremantle and what they decide to do if we have all 18 teams on board for 2025.
AFL reserves will be a big shake up for state leagues. Where will it leave the old VFA Clubs?
Do they form their own league again?
At VFL Rewind we have seen this playing out over the last 18 months and have called for VFL standalone clubs to have a contingency plan for when it happens.
The VFL league moving to AFL reserves will be welcomed by some and missed by others.
It’s going to happen, we just don’t know what model or format it will look like at the moment.
What a waste of the past 30 years. Nice work AFL, dilute and cheapen our competition until it has nothing left - then abandon the clubs that have worked so hard to survive. Can we re-establish the VFA? Is it possible? There's really no other option. I feel that for the future of the sport Victoria MUST have a state league (kids need a pathway beyond the AFL), but whether the fools at AFL House have the foresight to see what is going to happen or not, I don't know.
It comes down to whether the AFL recognises the value of having a state league in Victoria. There are kids out there who don't get drafted, or come to the game a bit later than most, who need a semi-elite pathway available to them in order to continue their development. And I don't think an AFL reserves competition will be enough to fill that void if the VFL disappears. The disappearance of the six standalone clubs would mean a lot of players spreading out across local footy, and AFL club recruiters can't cover the hundreds of metro and country footy games being played every weekend to find those who have AFL potential. That's where a state league can shoulder that burden and gather the best non-AFL players into one league. Foster some stronger relations between the VFL and the Talent League teams so that undrafted players already have some familiarity with their nearest VFL club (Frankston frequently recruit former Stingrays and Dragons players and many have performed well for us.)
My worry is that the AFL either doesn't recognise this or would simply rather let the grassroots game decay until the only football pathways available are for those capable of playing professionally. Why would they want anyone over the age of 21 playing local or state league footy when they could be spending their money and time watching AFL games and shilling out for memberships and merchandise? I love the game because of how accessible it is and because it's open to nearly anyone regardless of whether you want to play professionally or not. That's what makes the game beautiful. But the AFL is a business looking to make a profit and unfourtunately, my fear is that supporting the grassroots game will always take a backseat to whatever is most profitable for the AFL and its clubs.
I know Andrew Dillon is a big fan of the current VFL structure and wants Victoria to have a strong State league so maybe the AFL will be open to funding a competition below the proposed AFL Seconds comp - if not where does that leave the VFA Clubs? And do Casey, Box Hill and Sandringham survive?
Like you Wally, I have some hope that the AFL will realise that a state league is necessary for their own long term benefit.....but they can be awfully short sighted, so I'm fearful too.....if they don't fund it to at least get off the ground (and to help out the aligned clubs who will need financial help) then I don't know where any of our clubs end up. The VAFA? Do they even want us? I know Frankston already explored both the MPNFL and the SFL back when we lost our license and neither of them wanted us. Where would Willy and Werribee go? I find it hard to picture the WRFL clubs wanting two clubs as strong as yours in their comp. Coburg and the Ants might have better luck with either the EDFL or the NFL given that those leagues possibly have clubs that are financially stronger than them. And Port? SFL looks the only option.....I can't even fathom how that works though. Bleak times ahead if the AFL don't see sense I feel.
Hard to image Victoria not having a State League. I guess a lot will depend on the three affiliated clubs, if they all decide to fold it will be very hard to form a new league. If it does get off the ground they may look at starting new regional teams like Western District, Mornington Peninsula, Ovens and Murray etc...
Then theres the major issue of the AFL commiting to finance it all..
Personally i wouldn't want to see Willi playing in the WRFL, two clubs left for the EDFL after last season and the comp was restructured from three divisions into two and there have been some VERY lopsided results. The only other alternative would be the VAFA but Willi CY's are already playing in Premier B so i don't know if that's a possibility. I hope common sense prevails and a Victorian State comp is instigated with all the old VFA clubs that are financially capable plus some other metropolitan teams to take the number up to 12 so everybody plays each other twice, once at each other's ground - perhaps the games could all start at 2pm, wouldn't that be nice?
Wal, perfect..
It's possible that the local leagues might be more open to accepting us now that we're not in the gutter financially. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they knocked us back in 2017 for being a debt-riddled club that wasn't even secure in its immediate future. Now that we're debt-free and drawing a modest profit they might re-assess things.
Having said that, it's unlikely Frankston would survive long-term even if we were accepted into either local comp. Both leagues have Frankston clubs (Frankston Bombers in the MPFNL and Frankston Dolphins FNC in the SFNL) and our local footy lineage was pretty much taken over by the Bombers when they broke away to keep playing in the Penisula league. And with nearly everyone down here already having a local club already, it'll be hard for Frankston to maintain a large enough supporter base to be viable. Night games have been a great boost to the club and draw the best crowds the VFL has seen for a long time, but even Friday night games will stop being a money-maker if we're competing against other local clubs.
Also responding to Wally's suggestion, keep Frankston's home games at night. For the above reasons we need to avoid our games clashing with local footy. And I think every VFL club should consider doing the same. The less we force people to choose between their VFL and local clubs, the better.