Carlton End Alignment With Northern Blues.

[laj]

Northern Blues aligmment finished.

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.thea...54e8h.html

[LP]

This doesn't make sense at all, unless we are thinking of a Carlton VFL team in the future!

[kruddler]

https://www.afl.com.au/news/390179/carlt...eaks-havoc

The club now appears likely to move to a standalone VFL side when state-leagues resume competition, which is not expected until May 31 at the earliest.

[Navy Maven]

Honestly, as terrible as this is for all associated with the Northern Blues, this could actually be the best thing to come out of this fiasco for the club. A long overdue move, just a shame it’s had to come under these circumstances.

[laj]

Supported Preston in the VFA so a pity to see them now cease to exist. Anyway, Carlton is a pretty good replacement!

[Professer E]

Also having history with Preston, I'm not sure what this will mean for this grand old club.  Once again the Northern suburbs cop it.

If the rumours of a standalone club in the VFL/A/whateveritscalled are true,  where the heck are we going to get enough players to field a competitive side at that level?  Preston can strip the knights and the old  DVFL, but Carlton has a limited list.

[LP]

Rumors of lots of stuff going down behind the scenes, it looks like this interruption is going to be the catalyst or excuse for all sorts of changes to the game whether we like them or not, maybe it will be quite an unfamiliar game when it returns at least in the way it's managed, coached and traded.

Seems a lot of it isn't just about COVID-19 but the AFLs desire to reduce the costs of being an AFL club making them all more profitable. One thing is players might get their wish for the shorter games they have been pushing for, but at significantly lower wage.

My dad always said, be careful what you wish for!

Other things being floated, extended lists, reserves/unders competition(Shorter games with a curtain raiser!), more player trades, reduced coaches/runners/trainers, sub-contract players or even full free agency, etc., etc..

It sounds like some clubs are asking for a setup that allows players to be freely traded from lower leagues into the AFL mid-season, whenever, like a feeder competition that is outside the draft. In much the same way Premier League team might freely trade for a player from a lower division.

There are rumors that two Melbourne club's are borderline on going to the wall, to potentially be relocated to Tassie and NT.

One of the most radical proposals relates to the draw, they are talking about clustering fixtures so that when club's travel interstate they complete a host of games before returning to greatly reduce travel. To do this the AFL has to commit to decentralized / shared facilities. For example we go to Perth, stay there and play Freo and Wet Toast in consecutive rounds then return. Apparently this slashes the amount of overall travel.

I wonder how badly we are hurting given that Pokies, even if they eventually re-open, are now as palatable as toxic waste dumps?

[ElwoodBlues1]

Supported Preston in the VFA so a pity to see them now cease to exist. Anyway, Carlton is a pretty good replacement!

Ditto, nothing like watching Len Clark, Peter Weightman, David Dickson etc doing their thing in Red...as NavyM  suggested this might lead to something better long term and I have always been a fan of a standalone Blues lineup in the VFL.
Bit sad to see Fraser and other's lose jobs, these are tough times and hope they can find some other footy employment when things settle.

[kruddler]

Rumors of lots of stuff going down behind the scenes, it looks like this interruption is going to be the catalyst or excuse for all sorts of changes to the game whether we like them or not, maybe it will be quite an unfamiliar game when it returns at least in the way it's managed, coached and traded.

Seems a lot of it isn't just about COVID-19 but the AFLs desire to reduce the costs of being an AFL club making them all more profitable. One thing is players might get their wish for the shorter games they have been pushing for, but at significantly lower wage.

My dad always said, be careful what you wish for!

Other things being floated, extended lists, reserves/unders competition(Shorter games with a curtain raiser!), more player trades, reduced coaches/runners/trainers, sub-contract players or even full free agency, etc., etc..

It sounds like some clubs are asking for a setup that allows players to be freely traded from lower leagues into the AFL mid-season, whenever, like a feeder competition that is outside the draft. In much the same way Premier League team might freely trade for a player from a lower division.

There are rumors that two Melbourne club's are borderline on going to the wall, to potentially be relocated to Tassie and NT.

One of the most radical proposals relates to the draw, they are talking about clustering fixtures so that when club's travel interstate they complete a host of games before returning to greatly reduce travel. To do this the AFL has to commit to decentralized / shared facilities. For example we go to Perth, stay there and play Freo and Wet Toast in consecutive rounds then return. Apparently this slashes the amount of overall travel.

I wonder how badly we are hurting given that Pokies, even if they eventually re-open, are now as palatable as toxic waste dumps?

Not sure i like the double-up games as an option. Unless you do that every year (which equates to WAY more travel) there would be years where you don't travel to a state at all. The whole thing is counter-productive to what the AFL has been trying to achieve - each team in each state, each year.

As for the changing of lists....
Something i've been pushing for a long time is more freedom with lists, just like the NFL.
A player gets injured, he goes onto a list - Another player comes on immediately.
A player has mental health issues, he goes onto another list - A player comes on immediately.
A player not performing up to standard, sack him - a replacement player comes on immediately, who you can sack 2 days later if you wish.
Have injuries to your entire ruck list, add 2 rucks. They come back, sack those 2 rucks.

Keep the same amount of list sizes that you do now, but don't have them fixed at ANY POINT in the season. That way you ALWAYS have cover for injuries, suspensions, illness, bad luck.

Of course, alternatively....
You bring back the reserves (for all) and extend the senior list sizes to cover both and allow your reserves to 'top up' as required.


As for which teams are left.
If you don't trim the fat now, you never will.
Saints? -> Tassie. = Southern Saints
Kangas? -> NT = Northern Kangaroos
Dogs -> WA = Western Bulldogs

That will leave us with....
2xQLD
2xNSW
2xSA
3xWA - AFL see a 3rd team in WA as a viable option
1xNT
1xTassie
7xVIC (6 melb + 1 geel)

That will leave the 'big 4' and Dees+Hawks. As the melbourne teams, which are clearly the most successful of all the melbourne teams. Keeping the majority of the history in tact.

I think thats a much more sustainable model.
In the future we can add another SA team, and wherever else the game is growing the most can get the 20th team. Fixturing then becomes a lot easier.

[crashlander]

What a mess! It is one thing to 'end the alignment', but it is another to destroy the structure of an existing team.
We really need an independent 2nds team in the future, but to bee forced into a divorce like this is not the way it should happen.

I wonder what happens now?