This all gets back to the supposed global vision of the AFL. While we all would like to see a return to a true reserves competition, it is never going to happen. With so many non-victorian AFL clubs, and more to come, it is just not feasible. AFL clubs will have to have alliances with teams, or field a team, in their home state competions to enable them to give surplus players game time.
In the VFL, I think only Geelong go it alone and only North have two affiliations. In WA and SA I believe that the AFL clubs have multiple associations. I don't know much about how Brisbane and Sydney operate other than the news last week that Nick Davis was playing for Wagga. Or was that against Wagga?
So, it gets down to what is the best format to ensure a top quality and vibrant competion for the VFL. Currently, I think that the rules are that alligned clubs have no restrictions when playing another alligned club but must adhere to the 12/10 rule when playing against non-aligned clubs. The 12/10 rule is enforced in the finals. Sandringham seem to always use the 12/10 rule. The Bullants last year were runaway leaders of the competition but didn't give a yelp in the finals as they didn't have 10 decent VFL players owing to them overloading with Carlton players all year. They have gone back to the 12/10 option this year and will be very dangerous in the finals. They have obviously decided that it is better for all concerned to perform well in the finals.
When the AFL club is carrying a lot of injuries on its list, the 12/10 rule is not an issue. Do we think that the Footscray supporters are at all concerned about this issue? It seems that we only have PJ injured, although no one knows when Moloney will play ( If we know Smith as 426, surely Moloneys new name is 'test' ). This leads to a log jam and the players lower down in the pecking order being relegated to the VFL seconds. This is really a fortuitous situation that could be changed by just one bad week of injuries.
Is the VFL seconds such a bad competition? With the assumption that class footballers are being shunted into Sandy's reserves, they surely should be near unbeatable. They are mid table and get thumped most weeks.