Top club seeking AFL Cairns handout
A powerful AFL Cairns club will ask league headquarters for significant financial assistance to get through the 2020 season with their region one of the hardest hit areas over the last few months.
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The four-time defending premiers will ask AFL Cairns for significant financial assistance to get through the 2020 season with Port Douglas one of the hardest hit areas over the last few months.
The Crocs rely on an influx of interstate recruits to put two teams on the paddock every weekend, with a huge number returning to their original homes before coronavirus hit.
Port Douglas’ hierarchy have noted how hard their sponsors and local businesses have been impacted over the last few months, with the northern area a ghost town of late.
So often the envy of every other FNQ club on match day, behind the scenes the Crocs run on the smell of an oily rag most years.
Premiership coach Brad Cooper pointed to Cairns’ population in comparison to Port Douglas’ and their potential to recruit footballers locally.
“It is different for us compared to other clubs because we have to rely on getting recruits in from south,” Cooper said.
“As we cannot field two sides for what we have in town, the Port Douglas and Mossman area just do not have the numbers, we do not have the population.
“Most clubs will need some kind of financial assistance, we have been in discussions with them for a while in regards to that and how it is going to unfold.”
AFL Cairns have previously said they are likely to lend clubs money in the short term and will run on a shoestring budget over the next year or two to cut down costs, with the Crocs potentially needing a little more assistance than another teams.
The salary cap for clubs will be a hot topic of conversation on Wednesday evening when the league meets with club presidents and coaches.
Spending on players has been capped at $60,000 for AFL Cairns clubs since 2018.
First-year South Cairns president Heath Black says the Cutters have lost a couple of recruits but kept the majority of their glut of quality off-season recruits.
“We have not really had the discussion with the playing group around player payments just yet,” Black said.
“There may be a couple that will want to leave after that, or decide they will work on Saturday’s instead, but we will have that conversation when the salary cap gets locked in.
“Most of our footballers just want to play, at the end of the day, they are not worried about the money, that is just background stuff.”
It has been suggested the salary cap is likely to be halved for the 2020 season.
Black says players cant be expected to move to Cairns from interstate and then be told they will not be paid at all, but believes most would understand a small pay cut to what they originally agreed to play for.
The competition is working towards being back playing in some capacity around July 10, with AFL Cairns’ staff now working to ratify what the seniors, reserves, women’s and juniors leagues will look like in 2020.
The seniors season may need to run into November, depending on what is decided on Wednesday night with ground availability up in the air around local and international cricket.
Originally published as Top club seeking AFL Cairns handout
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