The VFL is under review. Return to AFL reserves mooted.

Quote:Reserves comeback possible 09 June 2006 Herald Sun Damian Barrett AFL clubs have been asked to consider the future running of the VFL, including the possibility of a return to fielding reserves teams. The proposal was one of many canvassed at an AFL club chief executive officers' meeting in Melbourne yesterday. Referring to a paper titled VFL Position, VFL chief executive Ken Gannon outlined a range of options on the future of the VFL. "It was really to see where the VFL competition is at the moment, what the challenges are and from there we can consider how we might move it forward in to the future," Gannon said. "It was a case of; do you agree with this? Do you understand the numbers regarding attendances, AFL players dropping back to the VFL, the variations between the clubs in how the stand-alone clubs go compared with the other clubs, and how does it compare with other states?" A return to reserves football, one of the game's most loved traditions, would be costly for clubs. But, reigning back control of surplus senior players would be appealing. Many clubs, particularly the Kangaroos, have regularly encountered problems with their surplus players heading back to their VFL-aligned team. The Roos abandoned their links with Port Melbourne last year and now share alignments with North Ballarat and Tasmanian Devils. "You always have different levels of opinion, one club is happy, another club may not be," Gannon said. "The problems generally occur when there are no injuries on any list and everyone has to squeeze into the same team. "You go to the other end of the scale where you are aligned to an AFL team that has injuries, and you have got no AFL players. "You have a competition polarised in that sense." The deadline for possible changes to the VFL set-up is October. All AFL clubs are expected to submit formal proposals on the future running of the Victorian state-based competition. "There was no detail fleshed out (at the meeting), saying how it may or may not occur, and whether the AFL clubs go back and put their own teams in to the VFL, that is an individual choice of the AFL club if things get too hard," Gannon said. "But, then you have to talk about where they get their (top-up) players from and they haven't got venues. "Take the Kangaroos, even though they are getting money from the government for Arden Street, there is no fence around it, no change rooms, no coaches boxes, it is not a match venue. "The only concern we have is opportunity for Victorian players and the variation within the competition makes it the hardest thing to manage."