With AMW potentially having a season ending knee injury + our experience with Gus last year, this has to shine a light on the current SSP framework. 

Why is there a need for a cut-off at all until say shortly mid-season bye / round 12? It’s there to replace LTI to ensure equality in the playing lists. It’s not as is a club is choosing from next year’s draft pool but from those in second tier leagues… 

On 20/02/2025 at 14:37, Roost it far said:

I just don't see what the deadlines achieve. So we lose a player to an ACL on Saturday but can't replace him until mid season but if he'd done it on Friday morning we could replace him that day. These sorts of rules feel like rules for rules sake. The lists are smaller these days and as long as the injury can be verified as a 9 month + injury I don't see the need to create deadlines. A more fluid approach has multiple advantages for both the team and young players.

Prescient !!!

time to merge this into the mid-season draft thread

What is patently unfair, is having some clubs play games after the SPP period ends, while others don't.

It should be the same for all.

End the SSP after all match sims, or before them, but not in the middle.

Everyone knows contact sport is a higher risk of injury than just training.

I hope he is fine, but if AMW is out for the year, we should be asking the AFL to be able to replace him.

They already dudded us last year, medically retiring Gus a few days after the SSP period ended and not letting us replace him then.

1 hour ago, Redleg said:

What is patently unfair, is having some clubs play games after the SPP period ends, while others don't.

It should be the same for all.

End the SSP after all match sims, or before them, but not in the middle.

Everyone knows contact sport is a higher risk of injury than just training.

I hope he is fine, but if AMW is out for the year, we should be asking the AFL to be able to replace him.

They already dudded us last year, medically retiring Gus a few days after the SSP period ended and not letting us replace him then.

Agreed.

It's worth at least asking.

The worst they can say is you gotta wait to the Mid-season Draft.

Plus it would be good to get first dibs on Jai Culley or Roy George.

Edited February 22, 20251 yr by Supreme_Demon

Meanwhile, the state of play with SSP signings for 2025 is as follows*

Francis Evans - Carlton
Matt Carroll - Carlton
Tom Edwards - Essendon
Jaxon Prior - Essendon
Isaiah Dudley - Fremantle
Quinton Narkle - Fremantle
Ben Jepson - Gold Coast
Jack Henderson - Melbourne
Josh Lai - Port Adelaide
Harry Boyd - St Kilda
Sandy Brock - West Coast

* subject to a possible (but unlikely) review of the cut off date as a result of some injuries yesterday.

 

Moniz-Wakefield to miss 2025 season

34 minutes ago, Whispering_Jack said:

* subject to a possible (but unlikely) review of the cut off date as a result of some injuries yesterday.

carlton lawyers might help our case here!

Anyone know of a half decent small to medium defender?

4 minutes ago, Matt Demon said:

Anyone know of a half decent small to medium defender?

deakyn smith has a real opportunity to press his case(y) in the vfl ahead of the mid-season draft

47 minutes ago, Whispering_Jack said:

Meanwhile, the state of play with SSP signings for 2025 is as follows*

Francis Evans - Carlton
Matt Carroll - Carlton
Tom Edwards - Essendon
Jaxon Prior - Essendon
Isaiah Dudley - Fremantle
Quinton Narkle - Fremantle
Ben Jepson - Gold Coast
Jack Henderson - Melbourne
Josh Lai - Port Adelaide
Harry Boyd - St Kilda
Sandy Brock - West Coast

* subject to a possible (but unlikely) review of the cut off date as a result of some injuries yesterday.

I like how Cal calls it a quirk rather than complete and utter balls up 

On 22/02/2025 at 14:28, Gawn's Beard said:

With AMW potentially having a season ending knee injury + our experience with Gus last year, this has to shine a light on the current SSP framework. 

Why is there a need for a cut-off at all until say shortly mid-season bye / round 12? It’s there to replace LTI to ensure equality in the playing lists. It’s not as is a club is choosing from next year’s draft pool but from those in second tier leagues… 

It's for the lower levels, so they have some time to replace the players they lose

On 22/02/2025 at 14:28, Gawn's Beard said:

Why is there a need for a cut-off at all until say shortly mid-season bye / round 12?

Helpful for AFL clubs, very disruptive to clubs in lower leagues who have players poached in the middle of their season. 

16 minutes ago, Travy14 said:

It's for the lower levels, so they have some time to replace the players they lose

The AFL is the premier competition in the country and most players in these lower leagues would give their left nut to get a crack. I think the afl need to tell these clubs stiff and perhaps provide some financial support where appropriate. The SSP period should at least run until the week of the season starting at a minimum.

4 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

I think the afl need to tell these clubs stiff and perhaps provide some financial support

Many of these clubs are the heartbeat of their community, they don’t just exist to service the ‘premier’ competition.  

31 minutes ago, DeeSpencer said:

I like how Cal calls it a quirk rather than complete and utter balls up 

He obviously can’t given who he’s employed by, but tbh I think he’s conceding as much with the word “quirk”. 

It was so obviously foreseeable. 

2 minutes ago, The Jackson FIX said:

Many of these clubs are the heartbeat of their community, they don’t just exist to service the ‘premier’ competition.  

Well in a way they do, they provide pathways to the AFL.

If I’m a player pushing to get on a list I’d much prefer the chances are increased with longer or multiple signing periods. 

9 minutes ago, The Jackson FIX said:

Many of these clubs are the heartbeat of their community, they don’t just exist to service the ‘premier’ competition.  

Do they.

VFL clubs suck players in and out each week from these comps dependent upon the availability of AFL players

7 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

Well in a way they do, they provide pathways to the AFL.

I’ll give you the hot tip: the Sturt footy club, the Port Melbourne footy club even the Vermont footy club don’t view themselves as ‘pathways’.  They have rich histories, sponsors and supporter bases.
 

They concede some flex in the current SSP system to help give their players a chance at the top stuff. Any suggestion the AFL can just do what it wants with this SSP is just ignorant of the passion and the strength of clubs and supporters at the lower-league level (it isn’t always just about the players). 

The AFL also really need to make their mind up on structuring the second tier competition below the senior comp.

The current ‘VFL’ competition is ridiculous with 21 sides, season starting weeks after the AFL, multiple bye rounds, some clubs playing multiple times and then not playing other sides once…

Really they should have an Eastern Football League as the 2nds comp and only have the AFL affiliated clubs of the VIC, NSW and QLD clubs to compete.

3 minutes ago, The Jackson FIX said:

I’ll give you the hot tip: the Sturt footy club, the Port Melbourne footy club even the Vermont footy club don’t view themselves as ‘pathways’.  They have rich histories, sponsors and supporter bases.
 

They concede some flex in the current SSP system to help give their players a chance at the top stuff. Any suggestion the AFL can just do what it wants with this SSP is just ignorant of the passion and the strength of clubs and supporters at the lower-league level (it isn’t always just about the players). 

They can view themselves as however they want, the fact is they are small in comparison to the size of the AFL.

I understand the rich history of a lot of these clubs, similar to the WAFL and VFL/VAFA clubs. Unfortunately it’s a different world now to what it was and the AFL is a huge business and generates a lot of revenue. That competition will always be put first and it should be. Obviously they need to be investing in grassroots clubs and these secondary competitions, but they also need to ensure there are rules in place that enable players to get on AFL lists.

31 minutes ago, titan_uranus said:

He obviously can’t given who he’s employed by, but tbh I think he’s conceding as much with the word “quirk”. 

It was so obviously foreseeable. 

I bet they’ll blame the clubs for the scheduling of unofficial practice matches. 

Devastating news for Andy Moniz-Wakefield.

I feel sorry for him. 😢

I wish him all the best and a speedy recovery.

Marty Hore has a broken hand too!

We really are having rotten luck with injuries.

It definitely pushes a strong case to increase AFL playing lists.

1 hour ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

The AFL is the premier competition in the country and most players in these lower leagues would give their left nut to get a crack. I think the afl need to tell these clubs stiff and perhaps provide some financial support where appropriate. The SSP period should at least run until the week of the season starting at a minimum.

This is exactly the reason lower levels are struggling.  Because the AFL doesn't give a [censored].  Can guarantee Norwood will now struggle this year after losing Boyd, and he was taken a month ago.