Decline in the number of Indigenous players in the AFL

[whatwhat say what 22,721]

According to this article in ninefax...

• there were 71 on lists in 2024
• 2 indigenous players (meth coke's nga selection, malakai champion, and our own nga member, ricky mentha) are expected to be drafted in this 2024 cohort
• total will be as low as 62 in 2025

Key callout:

If neither Champion nor Mentha are chosen in the national draft (and instead added to their clubs’ lists as Category B rookies post-draft), it will be the first year since the modern national draft started 38 years ago in 1986 that not one Indigenous player has been selected in the draft proper.

That's crazy!

[Timothy Reddan-A'Blew 5,094]

44 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

According to this article in ninefax...

• there were 71 on lists in 2024
• 2 indigenous players (meth coke's nga selection, malakai champion, and our own nga member, ricky mentha) are expected to be drafted in this 2024 cohort
• total will be as low as 62 in 2025

Key callout:

If neither Champion nor Mentha are chosen in the national draft (and instead added to their clubs’ lists as Category B rookies post-draft), it will be the first year since the modern national draft started 38 years ago in 1986 that not one Indigenous player has been selected in the draft proper.

That's crazy!

Did the article attempt a 'Why'?

There lie dangerous waters...

[whatwhat say what 22,721]

7 minutes ago, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Did the article attempt a 'Why'?

There lie dangerous waters...

yes, lack of development pathways and funding

doesn't help when, for over 15 years now, $$s have been invested in northern franchises for, thus far, very little return

gerard healy has been banging on about it; there have been two players come through the gw$ academy, and one of them only JUST snuck into the zone

by comparison, where there was no development pathway in sydney's west, there was double the # of players coming through the same region in the previous decade

[DeeSpencer 25,542]

5 theories:

1. These things are cyclical, two of the highest rated kids for the next drafts are either indigenous or exploring indigenous heritage.

2. Private schools stopped recruiting indigenous kids in such big numbers due to covid or other factors. Scotch, MGS, Xavier, St Pats Ballarat all had numerous recruits, not sure they do now to the same extent.

3. The NGAs have backfired and disrupted existing pipelines in SA and WA especially where the bulk of indigenous talent has come from. Sanfl and wafl clubs all had their zones and people in the communities even if it was informal links. Rather than a rush to get guys in to the big smoke at a young age they’d come when they were ready.

4. the rise of academies and other elite talent factories at private schools, private coaching clinics, private S+C coaching has widened the void between junior talent and junior performance. Sam Lalor can just roll out of cricket and go number 1 but generally these kids are all trending towards Scully bots. More natural talent is left behind.

5. The city based, hyper professional, hyper scrutinised lifestyle of an afl player just doesn’t mesh with more and more people regardless of race including some (not all, not everyone) Indigenous players. Doesn’t mean there won’t be indigenous players who love it and are desperate for any chance but just like a Jaidyn Stephenson it’s not for everyone.

[The Lobster Effect 888]

1 minute ago, DeeSpencer said:

These things are cyclical, two of the highest rated kids for the next drafts are either indigenous or exploring indigenous heritage.

Who are they out of curiosity?

[Supreme_Demon 3,780]

It's up to the AFL to support grassroots funding in country areas.

They get billions of dollars in TV rights.

The Melbourne Football Club (and MCC) has done a lot in Central Australia with setting up a wonderful grassed MCG sized football oval. 

Hopefully, more of these types of initiatives can be done in the future.

[Dr. Mubutu 834]

29 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

5 theories:

3. The NGAs have backfired and disrupted existing pipelines in SA and WA especially where the bulk of indigenous talent has come from. Sanfl and wafl clubs all had their zones and people in the communities even if it was informal links. Rather than a rush to get guys in to the big smoke at a young age they’d come when they were ready.

It's honestly a lovely tapestry of all 5, however I think this is the biggest point. The AFL are terrible at the grassroots growth of the game, and taking it out of the hands of the lower levels is a HUGE mistake.

[DeeSpencer 25,542]

1 hour ago, The Lobster Effect said:

Who are they out of curiosity?

Cody Walker, son of Andrew and also in the Richmond nga.

And Dougie Cochrane son of Stuart who is exploring his potential indigenous heritage and asking the afl to allow his son to be in the port nga (not with draft access but for training)

[Bay Riffin 1,473]

so the difference is 9 players. Based on a sample of one year. yeah great analysis. 

[Cranky Franky 2,033]

The AFL has always treated grass roots footy ie suburban, country & remote with contempt.

[Little Goffy 14,497]

It is clearly a significant dip, but we don't want to get into a situation like when some [censored] 'artist-activist' made their attention seeking protest piece about how Geelong was the only club which didn't have an indigenous player in it's AFL team, when Geelong had spent the previous 20 years above average for indigenous presence.

I have to give a hat-tip to @DeeSpencer for his list of plausible causes.

In simplest terms -

AFL elite pathways are becoming more narrowed and favouring privileged children.

Indigenous children are less likely to be privileged.

This kind of thing which isn't necessarily racist but does 'perpetuate a racist legacy' is exactly what critical race theory was originally about before the look-at-moi bloggers on the periphery of academia took over and ruined it.

Reminds me of an old observation; If in 1980 you had waved a magic wand and eliminated racism, Australia would have been overall an equal enough society for a lot of the disadvantages to be absorbed with time and a new era to begin. But if today you waved that wand Indigenous people would still be stuck because Australia as a whole is now much more stratified and exclusive.

I do wonder, how many 'poor' kids in general are making it into the AFL now?

25 of the projected top-30 picks this year are private school kids.