Now than ever the AFL needs Joey

[Grim Reaper]

After reading this story there is no doubt that Joey Johns on the answer for the Ca Swannies!

AFL searches for local heroes
By Caroline Wilson
June 28, 2005


Every club in the AFL will be forced to recruit a Sydney teenager next year under a radical proposal aimed at boosting the flagging fortunes of Australian Rules in Sydney.

And in an attempt to expand the game beyond its traditional strongholds, the 16 clubs will be given the option of procuring an international player who would be brought to Australia and given the opportunity of a sporting scholarship at one of the nation's most exclusive schools.

The AFL Commission has already approved the proposal in the belief that Australian football in Sydney desperately requires a local hero. Not one NSW teenager was taken by a club in this year's national draft, and only three have emerged from greater Sydney over the past six years.

The move comes as the AFL is looking to increase its money from the next five years of broadcast rights while struggling to cement a significant place in the Sydney market. The first hour of the prime time Swans-Collingwood game on Saturday night finished fifth in the ratings, beaten by SBS.

The league's game development general manager, David Matthews, conceded the proposal was a radical attempt to speed up development of the game in NSW.

He said the scheme was based on the successful example of the South African cricketer Makhaya Ntini, who became a Test player after an indigenous quota system was introduced.

"Sydney is the most competitive sporting market in the world," Mr Matthews said last night. "What we are proposing is a more effective way to keep talented kids in the game beyond the experimental stage and create local heroes."

The AFL would contribute between $5000 and $20,000 each year to each youngster, who would be targeted, supported and developed by his chosen club, while remaining in Sydney and regularly attending the AFL NSW Academy.

Mr Matthews said that the international apprenticeship pool would mean clubs concentrated on countries including South Africa, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Denmark, all of which boast thriving - if relatively minor - competitions.