LONG TERM PAIN FOR REBUILDING CLUBS
BY STEPHEN BAKER
THE AFL’s working paper on list creation for teams on the Gold Coast and in western Sydney could mean an extended stay in the lower regions of the AFL ladder for some teams, according to Bulldogs’ president, David Smorgon.
“I don’t know about the bottom (of the ladder) for a long time but its going to be very hard to rebuild your team quickly, he said.
In what could be seen as a possible swipe at Fremantle and Essendon, Smorgon said he believed that under the proposed draft concessions for a seventeenth and eighteenth team, there would be no quick fixes for clubs forced to rebuild after relying on recycling older players.
“Clearly with the concessions, in whichever form they’re going to be finalised, it’s going to be very difficult for clubs - particularly those with an ageing list that are now having to look at getting rid of a lot of those older players - to come and bring talent into their club and think that they can get to the top very quickly.”
FOOTYHEADS: Will rebuilding clubs struggle under the AFL’s list creation proposal for the Gold Coast and western Sydney teams?
