Seems to be a significant rise in the number of player exiting the VFL to play state league footy in Queensland.
Not sure of the financial situation of clubs up there, but no doubt the promise of jobs and the lifestyle is heavily pushed to potential recruits. Two Coburg boys have gone up there (Bowes and Crouch) and Carse has left Box Hill to go north, there's a couple of others who escape me at the moment also.
Might be worth keeping an eye on, it's only going to get bigger I would suspect.
I agree it seems to be picking up a little more, probably for the reasons you mentioned.
Is David Round still going about up there?
David Round is still going strong plays for Broadbeach, on the Gold Coast.
I know a couple of blokes went straight from TAC up there
I think the reason why they are heading up there is because of the lifestyle and there is decent money to be made up there playing football.
Let's not forget the richest football club in Australia, the Southport Sharks is up there.
Bit of an overstatement Benny
Southport are as financial as any non AFL team: they have a setup on the Gold Coast that teams like the Kangaroos would kill for.
In fact, the Kangaroos are trying to grab a piece of their pot of gold.
On the actual discussion point, the AFL are trying hard to build up the leagues in Qld. There are a couple of decent comps - like the one in Cairns. It would not surprise me at all that the clubs up there have room to manouver money wise when many others do not: a little AFL support can go a long way. That attracts players and it will only continue as the comps get stronger and the code gets more in the heart of the Qlders.
Benny didn't qualify the comment to NON AFL sides.
No doubt that there are plenty of dollars at Southport.
There is no doubt that that there is plenty of work being put in to Southern Queensland by the AFL.
North will be located there within 5 years, and that will make something of a difference to thye quality pof football, but at this point, they are not really drawing high wuality players up there over trhe VFL or SANFL
Phil Carse, as an example, might be a little useful, but is at (very) best a fringe VFL player, and he will be very good at QAFL level.
AFLQ clubs do not pay as much as other state competitions, that is why most quality players head to S.A. or W.A., life style or employment is the biggest influence on players heading north.
Benny didn't qualify the comment to NON AFL sides.
No doubt that there are plenty of dollars at Southport.
There is no doubt that that there is plenty of work being put in to Southern Queensland by the AFL.
North will be located there within 5 years, and that will make something of a difference to thye quality pof football, but at this point, they are not really drawing high wuality players up there over trhe VFL or SANFL
Phil Carse, as an example, might be a little useful, but is at (very) best a fringe VFL player, and he will be very good at QAFL level.[/quote]
That is true: the depth isn't there yet. Pay is slowly increasing - 10 years ago only the marquee player (if a club had one) got anything worthwhile. Clubs were struggling to survive. Some didn't (like Cooparoo). But the AFL put in their oar and now run thing there more closely. No more teams falling over - dollars coming in from AFL coffers.
I think the QAFL has been a place to attract the younger types. They see that just about every player in the whole comp is known by the recruiting types.
In a decade Queensland is going to be decent competitor for talent: they aim to be as strong as a southern comp by then, although I think they are a little too optimistic in that.
They also want Qld in Div #1 of the U18, as the cream of Qld is beginning to look pretty good. Don't know if they will succeed? Who would drop back? SA? Vic Country? I don't see it. But if they start to dominate Div #2 (as they think they will) they will push for it.
In many ways the AFL are over the moon with how things are going in Qld. Wonder if they have looked at the heartland lately?
Bit of an overstatement Benny[/quote]
Ok, maybe I was wearing rose coloured glasses. :lol: