McGuire fights for funds, fairness

Eddie's a tool… Any educated person would recognise that the academies in NSW & QLD are essential. Also essential is the Swans, Suns, GWS & Lions priority access to these players. And I'm a Geelong member..so its not just NSW/QLDers pushing this view. For the good of the game the grand final is played in melbourne, collingwood never travels and hey the northern clubs have priority access to an academy which is designed to promote the growth of AFL up north.

Mate spot on Eddie is only worried about the now. Sure some of its trying to let the new boy in charge know that the AFL cant do without Eddie/Collingwood. The whinging from down the Cabbage Patch is starting to really piss me off. I grew up in SA playing footy still a Port fan, played all thru queensland and NT and now live in Western Sydney - i have been a long term swans member. GWS are about 4 train stops away so have jumped on board as well. If a Dane Rampe can be picked out from the Sydney comp you have to wonder how many other potentials are running around. There is so much potential for the AFL both for future players / fans / tv audience. I remember the bad old days for the Swans when they nearly folded. Its still a fight for the Swans even more so now if the potential of GWS comes to fruition they could have members coming out of their ears. The AFL was right to expand out west here, I might even go so far as to say they have not gone far enough (get that one upya Eddie). In the long run, its got the possibility of being the AFL's crown jewel. Sheedy was right, it should have been done years ago. The sleeping giant, so to speak. If they really break into the market here there will be plenty to go around the AFL.

AFL has a long way to go in the North East . Why would anyone be negative about atempts to improve that situation. I have a bombers mate who goes on about the homeground advantage of the WA teams.(never mind the fact that thay have to travel every second week) He truly wants it to be VFL. I totally agree with him,Bring the wafl back to its rightfull place and the Vics can have thier beloved VFL back. The players will have to take massive paycuts and the televised games will be lucky to be on the abc. Meanwhile soccer will present a truly national game with teams from every state and the chance to represnt your country. Think bigger than Vic and the Pies Eddie Your a business man protecting his investment under the cloud of a passionate supporter /president. Maybe think about what would happen without the interstate teams

Wow I am not a GWS supporter but some of those comments are amazing Ted. "souless club that represents no one" I reckon there are about 13,047 people that would disagree. "in a city that only has enough appetite for one AFL club" given that 21% of Australia's population live in Greater Sydney, I would suggest the market opportunity there is far greater than you think. And the member figures which are growing by the day for both clubs would also suggest you a horrifically wrong (36,370 for Sydney). "at the least the suns have some character" explain that one? They have Ablett and they come from a place where there are man made beaches. They, like the Dockers, are not a bird, plane, cat or some sort, but they are "the Sun"? I reckon the Giants clubs song alone speaks loads about their character. Probably the best club song in the league. I reckon Geelong could tell you a bit about their character after nearly losing to them on the weekend. Comments like this sometimes make me wonder a thing or two about who the people are that follow/help build our game.....and it is worrying considering this is a national competition.

The GWS kids have got a good chance of being premiership players. Young players at most of the Melbourne clubs can't say the same thing.

Gene , why wouldnt the GWS kids want to go home. They,re at a souless club that represents no one in a city that only has enough appetite for one AFL club. These kids will go down as the stolen generation of AFL draft picks wasted on a folly. At least the Suns have some character and a decent following and their kids have the privelege of playing with the best player of his generation.

Gene I have never seen you lose an argument - whether you have the better case or not. Most clubs recognise and accept that the go home factor exists. Its why the AFL created the COLA concession and why the Swans poured millions into the Academies. The solution to the problem is simply to create a local pool of talent. Ideally, the AFL funds the Academies and everyone gets equal access to the players.

The big selling point in RL which Nines McGuire wont say is that a player can choose to go the club of his choice or more accurately doesn't have to go a club he doesn't want to. The NRL has beat the AFL over the head with a stick in the northern States saying that an AFL kid from Townsville could end up in Fremantle. The academies were designed to overcome this to a certain extent and Mc Guire is doing 3 things here: (a) beating the Channel Nine NRL drum; (b) "beating the Victorian clubs are being discriminated against" drum (c) taking the heat off Collingwoods less than stellar form. He doesn't mention that the Melbourne teams seconds play ina high quality reserves competition whereas the northern teams are restricted as to the number of listed players they have in their much lower quality reserves NEAFL comp so the Melbourne teams have a weekly academy to develop their players. And of course the go home factor...

If the best you can come up with is rumors from the home of bay 13 then then you don't have much of a case. Again even *if* some players want out of GWS we need to wait and see who (might be someone not getting a shot), when (is it off the back of another poor year?) and why (GWS need to shed players anyway because their list is shrinking and will eventually be limited to 40 players like the established teams, could be salary cap reasons also, going to be a lot of kids wanting raises all at once, something will have to give)

Just lifted this from the Big Footy website - there clearly is a concern in some quarters about the 'Go Home' factor ... This is not a pot shot at GWS, the AFL or anyone in particular however there are things circulating almost on a daily basis about many players being unhappy at living in Sydney (Western Sydney) and wanting to return home. There is always a huge risk when recruiting players from interstate that eventually they will want to go home and for many kids becoming home sick can be the deciding influence as to whether or not they remain at the club that drafted them. The GWS have a great young list that is being built around fantastic key forwards and a huge amount of ball winning/athletic midfielders, if you are to believe half of what the rumors are then there will be a Brisbane like exodus.

The day the Swans can say they over 50% of their player list born and bred in Sydney is the day we can say we have a national comp. I agree with this. It seems to me that it is a win win for everyone.

Until such time as footy (AFL) is played in schools in Sydney and Brisbane, the grass roots development of the game in the northern states is deficient. Full Stop. The only way in the meantime that the great game can develop is to get greater representation of local talent into local teams Sydney, GWS etc. We need more Kieran Jacks, Dane Rampe. To do that we need academies. We need pathways. We need proximity to pulling power of current players. We need everything that lifts the profile of the game to attract more participation and spectator numbers (and a virtuous cycle). The Swans academy is on the right track McGuire et al who think the academies are an unfair advantage to the Swans etc, are (perhaps through ignorance) arguing for a roadblock to growing the game in northern states. Up here we are at a disadvantage to play the game. At least the academies are helping - so we have a chance of playing where we've grown up. In Melbourne - we have pathways (healthy school and local club competitions). Eddie / Clarko - you can make those arguments AFTER AFL is played across the Sydney school system - but not before. Hell, you might even want to help getting it into the school system.

It was a joke.

McGuire claimed that Buddy should have gone to a struggling club rather than Sydney....Funny when Jolly went home he didn't say that or Buckley or the entire centerline from the Pies when they were made up from other clubs in the 90s esp Brisbane and Sydney -- Licca etc. he couldn't go into politics because people remember what contrary things he says - eg there are no players coming from NSW because the Swans have done nothing to develop NSW yet at the same time are hoarding all the NSW players?? What

And Channel Nine so he bags the AFL continually. Nine allegedly are interested in the next AFL rights because of the Adelaide/perth stations are part of their umbrella. Why doesn't someone asked him why the Nine NRL Footy Show is on at 8.30 in Darwin on Thursday when AFL is the big game in town...

Rubbish

The AFL should stop wasting their money on Auskick in Sydney and put it all into the academies and talent spotting, that'll make Eddie happy. Auskick has been a dismal failure in converting kids to play AFL in properly constituted weekend comps. The day the Swans can say they over 50% of their player list born and bred in Sydney is the day we can say we have a national comp.

I'm not so sure Michael. Sydney's policy on taking discarded players isn't based on the fact that the player wants to get out of the city in which they are based in. Don't players get discarded because they can't get a senior spot, or they are seen to not be up to the standard the club was hoping for? Sydney pick up discards because they see potential in them. Not because they want to get away from home. Am I missing something?

"Why do you think Sydney has a policy of picking discards from other clubs?" They do it for the same reason they have 38 and not 40 players on their list, the salary cap. When you have so much invested into a lot of veteran players and high priced recruits you have to make up for it somewhere else. Part of it is not having 40 players to pay and part of it is by making use of the lowest paid players there are ... the ones no one else wants, the ones willing to sign on for minimum deals juts to get another chance to make it in the AFL. I don't believe for a second it has anything to do with the alleged 'go home factor'

Peter - To the northern states, it is a big deal. Why do you think Sydney has a policy of picking discards from other clubs? They are happy to play away from home ... It is an issue of equity - an even pool of talent helps to create an even competition, just as an equal draft does. So it makes sense for the AFL to fund the Academies and create equal access to all players.