AFL must reinstate retention allowance for Lions, Suns, Swans and GWS

EDDIE McGuire will ​choke on his Rice Bubbles when he reads this​, ​ but a $500,000 player retention allowance must be reinstated for footy’s four northern state clubs, writes Jonathan Brown.

Stefan Martin wrestles with Tom Nicholls.

EDDIE McGuire will ​choke on his Rice Bubbles when he reads this​, ​ but a $500,000 player retention allowance must be reinstated for footy’s four northern state clubs.

Taking it away from Brisbane the first time was a massive mistake by the AFL ​ — a knee-jerk reaction to three​ straight flags.

But those premierships were won through good management and a unique blend of talent ​— plus blokes who were prepared to play for unders on heavily back-ended contracts.

Look at Hawthorn and Geelong. They don’t enjoy extra allowances, sometimes the planets align and great sides come together.

Sydney abused the COLA (cost-of-living allowance) by using it to pay for Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin, and it was right for that to be reviewed.

But until the four northern state teams — Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney and GWS — can build lists with at least 40 per cent of their players recruited from their home state (mostly off the back of strong academies) an annual retention allowance to be shared among their best players is a must.

It should be one of ​AFL chief ​Gillon McLachlan’s top priorities.

Currently only 10 primary list Lions hail from Queensland, while Gold Coast has just four. Sydney has 12 players from NSW and GWS has six.

The clubs in South Australia and Western Australia all have about 40 per cent local talent.

The rapid rise of the Giants and all the hysteria this week about zones and academies has confused the real issue facing the northern state markets: relevance and competitiveness.

Having said that, I agree that giving GWS exclusive access to the Riverina area was a bridge too far and needs to be pulled back. But eventually, when all the Suns and Giants draft concessions have filtered through, the system will balance itself out.

Left to wither on the vine like Brisbane ​has been, they will plunge into irrelevance and drag the game down.

Brisbane needs more homegrown success stories like Surfers Paradise product Dayne Zorko.

​​Brisbane can’t be absolved of blame for its current plight. There were some poor management and list decisions, but the AFL took ​its eye off the ball as well by focusing on Gold Coast.

​The Lions ​were allowed to ​​flounder to such an extent that ​the AFL had to prop them up. If a club was $13 million in debt in Melbourne people would be running them out of the competition.

The great irony is that it’s Fitzroy all over again.

Bringing back a $500,000 retention allowance, coupled with successful home-state academies, are the keys to growing the game up north.

Strong clubs in the northern market are crucial. It’s basic economics.

Half the population of Australia lives north of the Murray River, but most of them don’t turn on the TV to watch the AFL.

Footy fans love their home-grown talent, I saw it first-hand with Michael Voss and Jason Akermanis.

There​ are ​untapped ​​​​rivers of ​gold up there that could flow into the game through media rights, which is exactly why we are expanding in the first place.

It’s in the best interests of everyone, including Collingwood.

Talk to Brisbane boss Greg Swann, who has worn the big caps as Collingwood and Carlton chief executive. Shifting north has opened his eyes to the harsh realities of a national competition.

Unless you actually live it you have no comprehension of how difficult and “off-Broadway” it is up there.

The AFL can roll out fluffy national Auskick numbers until the cows come home​, ​but unless the senior sides in the northern states are competitive the game has no relevance.

When Brisbane was flying a decade ago the AFL thought it was set. Now they high-five each other at AFL House if they get 20,000 people to a game.

The pressure on the northern state clubs to retain their interstate players, which is the majority of players at the moment, means they always have to play premiums for contracts.

The players know it, the club knows it and the managers know it, too.

When it comes to negotiating contracts I’ve got no doubt some blokes get a sudden case of homesickness.

Every time a kid gets drafted to the northern states, the Melbourne clubs are into them straight away. ​ Recruiters and list managers are ​saying to their managers: “We want him back in two years.”​

Brothers Claye (left) and Dayne Beams are from Southport.

Think of the kids’ perspective: he’s a long way from home, playing reserves football in front of 50 people in suburban Sydney or Brisbane. It’s a long way from that dream of growing up thinking he’ll play in front of 80,000 at the MCG.

The southern clubs prey on that, especially if the player isn’t getting a regular game.

Footy fans love their homegrown talent, I saw it first-hand with Michael Voss and Jason Akermanis. They were greats of the game​,​ and they were Queenslanders.

There was a sense of public ownership. That’s why we need local academies to the bring through local talent.

To be fair to the southern state clubs, the father-son rule qualification mark of 100 games should be reduced to 50 in exchange for the allowance. Collingwood, Geelong and the Western Bulldogs have cashed in on the father-son rule in recent years.

People often tell me the transformation of Port Adelaide shows what can be done with good management, but it’s not a fair comparison.

They’ve done well to turn it all around but have an army of rusted-on supporters in a traditional football state.

The northern states will never have rusted-on support and we’ve got our heads buried in the sand if we think that the AFL is going to be a dominant sport up there without a little bit of extra help.

Originally published as AFL must reinstate retention allowance for Lions, Suns, Swans and GWS