It mightnt be such a bad thing but the problem for the AFL is that 4 of its clubs Melbourne,North Melb,St Kilda and Footscray need the VFA clubs to use as they are all broke and in Footscray and Melbourne's case on the bottom of the AFL and could stay there for a very long time

After the current TV deal that needs 9 games as part of the contract I think some of the lowly Melbourne AFL clubs will have to merge or go under.

I think Footscray (thats their real name check the back of their jumpers for the FFC logo - they just trade as the Western Bulldogs!) is the most likely to go under as they already have the lowest membership and support of any of the Melbourne clubs and that will only get worse after the way they are playing this season.

something is definately going on. Thatmuch I can

I think my recent questions to certain people have also uncovered something

So if the mail is right that the AFL is running the VFL finals this year (their appointed timekeepers and interchange stewards), then alarm bells must be ringing.

Maybe the 'VFA' clubs should look at my idea that I posted in the SANFL thread on BigFooty.com

That was (similar to the ANZ Netball Championship) a conference system with the 'VFA' clubs joining the SANFL.

What would happen is that clubs would play sides in their own state twice (home and away) and would play the other state's clubs once - therefore the need to travel interstate would be kept to 4-5 times during the Home and Away games.

Still, I would be furious with the comp being known as the "AFL Victoria State League" (not there's much I can do about it!).

former VFA clubs just couldnt afford to compete against the SANFL clubs. Not to be arrogant but some of our clubs opperate better than some AFL clubs..... you would be looking at at least another $150,000 just to get parity in player payments.

The 'VFA' name is a big issue with some....
Big problem is AFL funding means old VFA clubs are between a 'rock and a hard place'

jamesh wrote:

former VFA clubs just couldnt afford to compete against the SANFL clubs. Not to be arrogant but some of our clubs opperate better than some AFL clubs..... you would be looking at at least another $150,000 just to get parity in player payments.

The 'VFA' name is a big issue with some....
Big problem is AFL funding means old VFA clubs are between a 'rock and a hard place'

Jamesh,
At least double that $150K if you wanred to be competitive in my opinion. !!

SANFL clubs live off of Pokie money.

flights would cripple both SANFL and VFL clubs too.... remember the support staff needed to run a team. It would only work if the AFL paid for it.

I like the idea of an end of season play-off between SANFL and VFA though at a traditional ground.... i.e. not for Foxtel.

I would hate to see what the current bottom SANFL team (Woodville-West Torrens) would do to a Frankston or Coburg in cross over matches

I think AFL Victoria State League is a better name than VFL as it cancels out the historical confusion of the VFL being a completely different competition all together. Of course they could just revert back to calling it the VFA but very little chance of that happening.

I see in the weekend papers that a conference system is being mooted for the future where the AFL reserves teams would play each other more often than they would play the stand alone sides. Not sure that this helps the stand alone sides as in most cases the AFL Reserves sides won't be overly strong.

Reality is that the standard of the VFL will drop as more sides come into the competition, but the AFL clubs who want stand alone reserves sides are the only ones to blame for that. There is absolutly no proof that clubs develop players at a faster rate because they have their own reserves side and the drop in standard won't help development.

As for what time keepers and officials are used for finals, well people at the top of the tree are always good at paying lip service to volunteers and the work they do but when it comes to rewarding their efforts often they turn a blind eye and it becomes jobs for the boys or in Kate Gurney's case jobs for the girls.

so in one conference Port will play Frankston every week......

I can say now categorically the VFA name is gone and unless someone has a change of heart it wont come back.

The VFL name should not be used because of what it represents..... in reality the VFA name should have continued.... it was an iconic brand...... example General Motors didnt eradicate the Holden name when they took it over as they understood its place in history.

where was the article?
I didnt see anything in The Age
I dont read the Herald Sun