Winger wrote: Interesting article that was sent to me. Thanks DAN.
www.news.com.au/sport/afl/adelaide-crows...62cb778a20c6b8a4bebc
So what we have is basically two proud competitions going under to sate the apparently insatiable greed of the AFL and its clubs. Without being particularly au fait with what used to the VFA I suspect it actually is three and from my understanding it is 4 when one considers the current situation of footy in Tasmania.
The article articulates the damage done to the SANFL and mirrors what is happening in the WAFL. Come 2017 for a competition to survive it needs all clubs' supporters to have the hope that their club has a chance to win enough games to make the finals and to win the GF. Under no circumstances can that be the case with a number of WAFL clubs and hence the supporters decide what is the point of continuing to support a competition that is so patently unfair that it is impossible to even dream that it could occur.
Why do we have a final five in a 9 team competition? The answer is very simple; it tries to redress the situation where 3 of the 4 spots are perceived to be filled by Subiaco and the two aligned clubs. By adding a 5th team to the finals (and yes I understand that "East Perth" finished 5th that one other of the G7 teams will make the finals and as happened last year another club, in this case Swans, had a chance to make the finals. However, as is most evident by what Peel did to West Perth last week end and probably Souths this coming week end that when the finals come around good luck even trying to be competitive for a hlaf let alone for the entire final's match.
What also adds to the disillusionment is the situaton where a player drafted to one of the WA domiciled clubs ends up playing against the club he was drafted from.
If one analyses the impact the all-pervasive AFL has had on other Aussie Rules competitions in Perth one would find that each competition has been negatively impacted and in most cases folded. The only possible exception perhaps is the WAAFL that has been the beneficiary of the demise of the SSMFL, WAFA and its offshoot the SFL.
It is a pity that the AFL in ts quest for total control over footy in WA and SA they are willing to oversee the extinction of the WAFL and SANFL competitions.
So there is no doubt what this has to do with this particular topic it is why the West Perth President has been so strident in his criticism of the WAFC and its complete abrogation of ensuring the long term viability of the WAFL competition and its clubs.
