Bite the bullet and bring in the AFL reserves

This is a narrative that really does keep giving, especially in the SANFL with the news that the Crows might be forced to leave the SANFL in favour of the NEAFL or VFL.

Maybe it’s time for AFL house to bite the bullet and introduce a league wide reserves competition.

Quite simply, a reserves competition would be worth the extra money involved for clubs. The pros far outweigh the cons, and I will spend time outlining them here.

First up, the extra television content that is being produced is something that can easily be onsold. An entire season of content is being produced, that can easily slot into the Fox Sports winter of sport, and online as a premium consumable. Sponsors get their brands out in the public space more, with reserves being a national competition rather than domestic.

For the players, they get to play in an even competition of skills. They will only be playing against players that are afforded the same opportunities that they are, rather than a bunch of blokes that worked all week as a bricklayer and play footy that night. They would also be playing opponents that play an ‘AFL style’ of footy, rather than the more grassroots style of local football.

The academy players also wouldn’t be hidden away, as everyone will get to see them play in a competitive competition and be given the ability to draft them. The fans would also be able to watch the young players coming through the system, and watch their development instead of being introduced to them via the senior team.

Venue availability would potentially be a concern, especially with Docklands and MCG being used for multiple games throughout the round. An easy solution for that would be to double header two reserves games at a standalone venue (in the case of interstate travelling teams) or play standalone fixtures at smaller venues.

Where possible, the reserves would be played before the AFL games. But where necessary, take the games to other locations. These games could also be taken to more remote locations, such as the Riverland (SA) or Northern Territory to give locals some football.

Rusted on diehard fans of the local competitions would also be given the chance to reclaim their competitions. With Frankston being booted from the VFL, an AFL aligned club winning the WAFL competition, and Adelaide Crows reserves team running deep in the SANFL finals the old school diehard fans have turned away. Getting the AFL reserves stood up gives the chance for these fans to return.

Switching tact, the cost and logistics of running another competition would be the most obvious con to the introduction of a reserves competition. Games played as curtain raisers would likely not draw many additional fans, and standalone fixtures would be competition for time poor supporters on top of the AFL team demands (either live at game or on radio/TV).

The interstate teams would also need to travel throughout the season, as opposed to their current situation where the worst they encounter is a 1.5 hour drive up the road.

Venue availability, protecting the AFLs more trafficked venues (Docklands/MCG) and maintaining AFL quality ‘second tier’ venues would require a lot of administrative overhead also. It would not be a simple switch to flick.

However, even with the cons and the obvious expense, there is surely merit in introducing a national reserves competition. The AFL has shown they are willing to take risks, introducing Gold Coast Suns and Greater Western Sydney. They are currently introducing a women’s league from scratch and are relishing the challenge.

Surely taking the 18 existing feeder and reserves teams from their respective local competitions and bringing them under one almighty AFL competition is an exercise that is not far out of their grasp.