The AFL have just announced the
destruction of the academy selections with top 20 NGA picks no longer available to be matched by the club that has developed them after this year.
The AFL will be taking over the academies from clubs who will have far less incentive to develop kids from different or remote backgrounds. I can't see the AFL maintaining the amount of effort and resources that Freo have put into our regions and the good work done by Tendai, Roger and MJ. I'd expect a number of kids to miss out on opportunities as a result of this decision.
I can understand the AFL taking control of the academies from a financial perspective but the effort and work put into some of the kids set to come through next year has occurred since the academies were set up. Freo in particular have invested a lot in academies and were set to reap the benefits next year with a number of good prospects including some like Bartlett and Motlop who could go first round. What kind of shenanigans are we going to see now as clubs hide their NGA's?
It's a shame those who are part of the academy already won't be tied to the club anymore.
