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I've just got home from a function in the wheat belt and one official from a local club claims that they are being inundated with requests from WAFL players to play in the country. Although he did say many were from Peel. I guess that WAFL players are weighing up big bucks in country leagues with the reduced chances of winning a premiership under the alignment. He went on to say that his local club had put in a crop and were expecting to clear $300 000 to help attract players. Perhaps he was just dreaming!p

Custodian, have heard the same about the big bucks being offered. Some Royals players are going travelling and that's not just overseas either.

I heard South Bunbury spend up to $200K a year on players. Fark me the WAFL salary cap is only $225K. I was told most other clubs spend around $100K...if they're not spending that sort of dough they struggle.

Eaton won the flag this year but was told they spent up big, how big I'm not sure.

I know there's a few SWFL gossers on here...can you confirm?

An ex WAFL player, injury free, with incentives over the season could earn half an average persons gross wage playing in the country. A quality WAAFL player with credentials could pull from 10K to 15K. Nice tax free pickup if you are a footballer with a mortgage to pay.
A club in the great southern has financial support that enables them to fly up to eight footballers from Perth each weekend and many clubs in the close wheatbelt towns are bussing in the same number per game.
Any club looking to draw eight topline players would be budgeting around the 200K easy. For financial support South Bunbury draws on its very deep community roots and Eaton would pull from the BCD area.
Regarding the bumper crop, most towns have acreage that derives an income for all its sports, not just football. 700 acres, which is a very big size, would be needed, at say 20 bags, to get a figure of $300000. Even with volunteer inputs to gross that figure would need a size to 900 acres. Could be that an ex farmer bequeathed the land to the football club?
Another fund raiser is for farmers to gift the last truckload at harvest to the footy club. Get the district involved and this is a nice earner.