10-24-2022, 06:21 AM
(10-23-2022, 11:34 AM)DJC link Wrote:I’m not sure that it’s as simple as that. Players like our skipper have a career and it will be many years before playing AFLW footy trumps her career and many others.
Zoned drafting is inequitable and is holding the competition back. Unfortunately, the alternative will exclude many players. Like many AFL initiatives, the outcomes are often counter-intuitive.
I think i seem to be missing something from your post, or you from mine.
Adjusting the wages and 'un-zoning' the draft doesn't effect current players. They can still play where they want and work as much or as little as they want. If it gets to the stage where they can't do both, then fair enough, but i don't expect that to be an immediate change.
However, as 18yo girls coming into the competition, it will make a difference. They don't have careers to speak of and earning a full wage is enough to support them financially to the point that working (or studying) is optional, not required.
If someone chose work over footy, so be it, its happened in the mens game too. Adrian DeLuca retired at 25 or whatever it was because he could earn more from his profession (an accountant IIRC) then as a footballer.
Essentially the competition will take 10 years to fully be evened out after the change to the zoned draft as it will take that long for the players already on list to be phased out.