Is there info anywhere on what we are currently doing?
19 teams doesnât make sense. So just merge Fark Carlton and the Tin Rattlers. Send them the the NT and give us clean air in the north of Melbourne.
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Iâm serious though, have a whole growing city to themselves for a fanbase, have access to the ACT and riverina as an academy area and still be driving distance to Melbourne close enough for fans to travel if they really want to, or continue to have no fans, no growth potential and no academy zone even in their own area.
What annoys me is weâll go to 20 teams, but one of Canberra or w.a 3 (or Brisbane 2) will miss out, but if north relocated we could then do w.a 3 and not have to go past 20 teams for another 50 years.
SO what did we actually lose? Wallan?
But we gained Kyneton, retained the Tiwis, the entirety of our EDFL zone (where all our NGAs have come from) and most of Riddellâs creek league?
Biggest losers seem to be Melbourne and WBD
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I have been informed by multiple sources that the Kyneton area has more white witches and covens than anywhere else in Victoria.
Given the past 20 years, it couldnât hurt
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Absolutely true, add in Woodend for the White Witches and Trentham for the Black Evil ones.
As long as we are retaining the whole edfl zone, thatâs where all the riches are.
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we are one of the biggest spenders in this area of all the Melbourne clubs
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Having taken a bit more of a keener interest in the NGAâs this year, two really significant points need to be raised;
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as posted above, we are one of the biggest spenders in this area of all the Melbourne clubs. Our investment should start to see more investment. Remember Kako, HEA & Sweid have been at the club for 6 years, thats a fair amount of time. We are looking to get kids in at 15 if not earlier.
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we have lucked out that we have a significant area where kids have come to Australia and could be eligible for our academy. Feels like Essendon District Football League has a large amount of possible kids, a high number comparable to local WRFL, Riddel and Northern Football Leagues
I expect our investment to continue, significantly alongside the Bachar Houli Foundation that focuses on Muslim kids participating in AFL pathways. I fully expect Moustaffa Darwish to become the face of this if/when he gets to AFL level in 2027 (yes, Koby draft, likely top 30 prospect having seen a fair bit of his games this year)
Ive got a bit of a list of eligible NGA kids as young as 14, we are investing, we had an out of norm try out for our JHA in the middle of the year once we got wind of rule and area changes.
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Wallan U13 beat my sonâs Yarrambat team that also has Caddyâs brother in it in tne GF this year. Some tough kids out that way
Going by the map the metro suburbs are unchanged, it still covers the same corridor which I think includes Coburg, Hadfield, Roxburgh, Hume
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We arenât losing much imo considering the population is small and predominantly non migrant.
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That will change in time if the state government ever gets the cash to stick to their plan of extending the electrification of the train line from Craigieburn to Donnybrook, Beverage and Wallan
Brisbane are a long long long way off needing a 2nd team. That wonât be a consideration.
Trentham the coldest shithole ive ever played at. I thought Neerim was bad but Trentham takes the cake
To quote Billy Connolly, â'Tis said they eat each otherâ.
By that time theyâll have a brand new stadium, it is the aflâs biggest growth market and is now the second biggest footy state by participation in the country. I think theyâd want a club to cover north Brisbane up to the sunshine coast.
The AFL arenât typically afraid to jump early on these things, there is likely more of a market there than there was in western sydney. I think Canberra and Perth 3 are the obvious options, but growth, potential and the glow of the Olympic mean itâs sure to at least be discussed at AFL house.
You know whatâs almost universally consistent with things that show the largest growth in their sector? Theyâre coming from a low base. 
Brisbane market is growing rapidly. But they got a long way to go. To put it in perspective, the NRL have only just launched a second NRL team in Brisbane, and the AFL market is far far smaller.
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I donât think WA could handle a 3rd team. West Coast and Freo are well entrenched, and itâs unlikely people in this state would switch allegiances for a new team. Its why Freo have less supporters - Many people stuck with the eagles rather than switching when Freo entered,
Thereâs not another clear geographic region that could support a team in WA - the Tin Rattlers are playing a couple of games in Bunbury (which has got me stumped why) but there is nowhere near enough infrastructure nor population to support an AFL team
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