The Recruit will entertain, but can it deliver a star?

Starting on Wednesday July 16, AFL fans will be given a new experience as the AFL trials a new recruiting method. On that night a ‘Talent Search’-style reality TV show, called The Recruit, will debut on Foxtel, with the eventual winner being guaranteed a spot on an AFL list.

The Recruit is open to everyone, from “weekend warriors” to those who’ve never played before. They all have one thing in common: they have never been on an AFL list and haven’t played in the VFL, SANFL or WAFL within the last two years.

The aim is to uncover a hidden talent in one of Australia’s many local footy leagues, capable of playing AFL football, who recruiters may have missed or overlooked.

It’s an ambitious goal, especially given the highly professional nature of modern AFL recruiting. More and more in recent years AFL recruiters are expanding their search, and mature age and state league players are becoming an increasingly noticeable aspect of draft night.

However even the mature-aged players being recruited via the draft are almost uniformly coming from the respected next tier of competition in either the VFL, SANFL or WAFL. Outside of those leagues it’s just hard to get attention, and with good reason.

It’s no secret that AFL is a physically demanding sport. That’s why professional AFL footballers train hard every week, it’s why they put themselves through gruelling pre-seasons. Many clubs are now taking overseas trips at the end of each year in order to put their players through the toughest conditions possible to try to improve their fitness just that little bit further – it’s an intense, competitive environment.

Local footy may be competitive, but is a long way off the pace of the intensity and required fitness that is present at AFL level, and to a lesser extent in the VFL, SANFL and WAFL. Some of The Recruit contestants are as old as 26, and it’s hard to see them building the fitness required in order to make a serious impact at AFL level.

The eventual winner of The Recruit will be given a spot on a club list as a Category B rookie, the same spot occupied by international rookie signings. I’d say they have roughly the same chance of succeeding as your average international recruit. For every Mike Pyke, there will be more than one Aksel Bang – players who appear briefly… and then are never heard from again.

That said, the show has taken some steps to produce a legitimate footballer. For one thing, the team of recruits is to be coached by three-time Brisbane Lions premiership-winning captain Michael Voss, a living legend of the game who will be putting his reputation and standing in the game on the line as he helps to determine a winner.

Alongside Voss will be Darren Burgess, the high performance manager at Port Adelaide, who has become one of the most respected names in the game in recent years. His expertise is believed to be a factor in Port Adelaide’s remarkable return to the top of the ladder.

These two offer a legitimacy that the programme would have otherwise lacked, and suggest that The Recruit is indeed serious about its goal of discovering a legitimate AFL player.

The final call each week on who should be eliminated from the show will be left to Voss, a wise decision. Turning it over to an Australian Idol-style viewer vote would have undermined the contest.

If you asked me to give my honest thoughts on the career prospects of the winning recruit, I might be accused of being a bit bleak. After all, what are the chances of The Recruit unearthing a superstar when there are 18 highly paid and highly professional recruiting departments all trying to do the same? The winner of The Recruit will face an uphill battle to play a game, let alone become a regular senior player.

That said, isn’t that sort of what footy is all about? The Recruit is no guarantee to produce a competent AFL player, but it’s certainly having a crack at it, which is something to be applauded. In a media climate where there’s a lack of innovative footy-related programming, it offers a breath of fresh air.

There’s every chance that in five years we’ll barely remember The Recruit, and will struggle to recall the winner’s name. Still there’s also a chance, that the show will prove a success, and reveal a serious AFL talent. That alone will have me tuning in to watch each week. How about you?