Should the AFL introduce a loan system like European football?

[Purple7x08_24]

In soccer, players can be loaned to other clubs temporarily. Would this work in the AFL? Imagine a star player from one team temporarily joining another due to injuries or form slumps. What implications would it have?

 

[Colonial]

Think it would hurt the smaller clubs and clubs that aren’t in contention.

 

[kane249]

You don't often get players getting loaned within the same league though, often it's to a lesser league or even a different country.

Would be like Freo loaning a player to a SANFL club for the season. Much better off just keeping them at Peel

 

[jackster83]

It would be cool to see Rankine play in a finals side.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

It works in soccer because there's so many clubs playing at essentially elite level (my definition here is that the players salaries well and truly allow them to be a full-time professional). In Australian Rules, there's only one league and only 18 teams that allow that.

As mentioned above, the customary loans are to a different league, a different division or possibly to a team at the other end of the table. I can't imagine Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City have been loaning players to each other willy nilly in recent years.

Further, there's much more expected loyalty in the AFL than in soccer. It's relatively commonplace in the AFL for players to have 200-300 game careers as a one-club player. How many soccer players spend 10-15 years at one club? I'd say sweet FA.

I can't really see why we (Geelong) would ever loan out a player. Seems like very little to be gained. If he's going somewhere else, expecting to get a lot more AFL exposure, well I don't think he can be that far away from getting a game for us. I'd want to keep anyone on the list who looks remotely capable of playing AFL football, in case we have a few injuries. Why loan them away?

 

[JackFlash]

NO.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

In Europe there’s no limit on squad size (attempts to introduce one have hit legal hurdles) so big clubs just hoover up and warehouse all the young talent. The loan system is just a way to get some of them playing without the poor old giants actually having to lose a player permanently.

It’s a shit system but really the only option without squad limits.

 

[rapidfire7]

In soccer, players can be loaned to other clubs temporarily. Would this work in the AFL? Imagine a star player from one team temporarily joining another due to injuries or form slumps. What implications would it have?

Generally speaking, loaning players is seen as an option for fringe/young players, so that they can get some further development under their belts etc. Players who are currently stars within their team rarely, If ever get loaned out. Why would they?

If you are referring to scenarios such as non finals contenders loaning their stars to finals contenders and the like, then there would be so many problems that I don't know where to start.

 

[Purple7x08_24]

Generally speaking, loaning players is seen as an option for fringe/young players, so that they can get some further development under their belts etc. Players who are currently stars within their team rarely, If ever get loaned out. Why would they?

If you are referring to scenarios such as non finals contenders loaning their stars to finals contenders and the like, then there would be so many problems that I don't know where to start.

TBh I just threw the idea out there. If the AFL goes for a national reserves comp that will look differemt

 

[nick1408]

I'm all for it but as a mechanism for in-season trading. With the right rules it could work well. A limit of loans in and out (which would go hand-in-hand with the current squad rules) would work well I think.

While it doesn't happen often top players being loaned to other top clubs does happen (Joao Felix for example). Usually it is lesser players looking for gametime and this is where I think it could work well in the AFL. For example, Essendon might like to loan out Nick Bryan while someone like Richmond may like to loan him in.

I wouldn't go down the A-League's path of limiting it to under 23 players. If the limit is something like one in and one out why do they also need to limit on age?

In Europe there’s no limit on squad size (attempts to introduce one have hit legal hurdles) so big clubs just hoover up and warehouse all the young talent. The loan system is just a way to get some of them playing without the poor old giants actually having to lose a player permanently.

It’s a shit system but really the only option without squad limits.

There is a limit on squad registrations though. For example, the EPL has a squad limit of 25 players over 21, of which eight must be home grown. There is also a limit on loans now - six in and six out - introduced to try and limit clubs like Chelsea hoarding young talent.

 

[kickazz]

Agree with all the "no" justifications listed so far. There are good reasons for having this in other sports / competitions, but I don't really see it applying in the AFL. Progressive reduction in list sizes deals with most issues.

The only exception I can think of is perhaps for specialist positions like Rucks - teams need to have a few on their lists to ensure they have backups, but that could lead to situations where a good player (that would easily be first choice at other clubs) consistently misses out on games. But even then, I'm leaning strongly toward no.

 

[Howard Littlejohn]

In soccer, players can be loaned to other clubs temporarily. Would this work in the AFL? Imagine a star player from one team temporarily joining another due to injuries or form slumps. What implications would it have?

No. Mid-season moves like trades, drafts, loans, etc are all bullshit. One of the stronger features of our game used to be that your list was your list. The MSD does more than enough to ruin that, don't add more.

 

[Nugett]

No. In response to any other copying of global sports…

No to send off’s
No to super goals
No to throwing your balls out of your pocket after kicking a winner
No to having a mulligan after a mis kick
No to players having to run around the ground with their pants down because the team didn’t kick a goal in a quarter
No to Time Outs
No to having players preach about saying prayers, taking vitamins and being a general idiot
Lastly No to having to catch a Golden Snitch to end the game

 

[Sherrinator]

We pretty much have VFL clubs loaning players in mid season draft??

 

[Rob R]

In soccer, players can be loaned to other clubs temporarily. Would this work in the AFL? Imagine a star player from one team temporarily joining another due to injuries or form slumps. What implications would it have?

Why would we want to copy anything from the corrupt boring farce that is Euopean football where only a few teams ever have a chance of winning. Like FA, this would just benefit the rich.

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