I believe we should enter 2 teams TAC u18's or whatever it is these days...I was building a Brisbane Bears team in AFL23 and just went to fill the squad with QLD born players for the sake of it, and then topped it off with NT born players as that’s zoned to GC right now and the two states have been together in senior and junior rep footy previously. I’m 100% convinced they would beat SA in an AFL SoO game if it still existed. Pretty sure the Allies won the most recent U18 champs as well, and while there’s other states involved in that team, QLD would absolutely be the biggest contributing factor to it.
It begs the question, will we ever get our own SA academies? It’s unlikely, or impossible rather, and I doubt that the AFL will ever adapt to whenever QLD is considered enough of a talent factory. They’ll definitely remove the academies far too late.
Please note I’m not making excuses for Port, or bashing the QLD sides for something the AFL gave them, you’d be silly not to take them. I just think SA’s small population isn’t countered by the football pedigree it used to develop more than it does now. Something needs to be fixed. Does SA need a VIC style Talent League rather than having the SANFL clubs in charge of development? Would reestablishing the Port juniors (independent from the AFL club) be useful as it’d mean more players getting to play SANFL juniors instead of slipping through the cracks? Whatever the solution is, it’s not my job to come up with it, but someone should.
Those 2 teams let's call them east Adelaide and west Adelaide can have zones and pick the best kids to play.... They wouldn't have any affiliation with snafl clubs or anything. That way sa kids are playing against the best kids to help develop.
Sack Hinkley.