I don't think the points system really works but that is just my opinion.
My issue is that the Sydney Uni NEAFL Programme, which I support as the third elite pathway in Sydney, is a semi-professional sporting programme. I've heard it has a budget of around the $400,000 mark which is the case puts it right up there with VFL clubs and the like. We should be thankful for Sydney Uni funding this programme because we need that third pathway.
But there is a wider issue of the health of the wider game and that means that Sydney Uni can't just let their NEAFL program trickle down to dominate at the SFL level. The Xav Richards example shows what can happen there albeit an extreme example.
The simple response would seem to be to having a quarantined NEAFL Squad with a top up system that draws across the league rather than a system that promotes talent banking at the Sydney Uni Div 1 level.
Sydney Uni need to work out how to make this work too. Can they sustain a Div 1 team as well as the NEAFL side - I would say that very few of the NEAFL players would have come to the club in its Prem League guise so the answer is yes but if the answer is No then Sydney Uni will simply need to field their second team in Div 2. This won't affect their NEAFL side as it is quarantined.
And I might also say that the use of non Academy top ups from the local SFL sides could be a good thing for Sydney football and if done properly could improve relations between Uni and the district clubs as clubs like North Shore should be pleased to see their players getting a chance at NEAFL level and the only place they can get it in Sydney is at Uni
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