Success of Sydney and Brisbane and the grand finalists’ football factories has prompted fears of a ‘knee-jerk reaction’ over competitive balance
Brisbane co-captain Harris Andrews is among the Lions and Swans’ academy graduates that will line up in the 2024 AFL grand final at the MCG on Saturday.Brisbane co-captain Harris Andrews is among the Lions and Swans’ academy graduates that will line up in the 2024 AFL grand final at the MCG on Saturday.To some, this week’s to-and-fro between former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire and Sydney midfielder Isaac Heeney re-opened old wounds. To others, the blood has never stopped flowing.
But there remains frustration for Melbourne clubs – none of which finished higher than sixth this season – that Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast and GWS still enjoy too much of an advantage. That sentiment reached a crescendo last year when the Suns took four locally-developed, high-end talents in the draft.
“That review is continuing, but I bet there will be no knee-jerk action to a one-off grand final,” Dillon said. “What we wanted to try and do is continue to make the competition as even as possible and we’ll look at that, but the Swans and the Lions are absolutely there on their merits, and they’ve been both incredible clubs for a number of years.
Though they are partly funded by the AFL, and naming rights sponsorship offers another potential revenue stream, the academies are logistical and financial challenges for the clubs. Curran fears rule changes out of the competitive balance review will make it less attractive for the northern clubs to operate the kinds of broad academy programs today that now act as touch points for close to 1,000 children and their families.
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