AFL Sydney has received a request from North Shore to review By-law 9.6 (F) that governs the movement of players between their 2 x Men’s Division 3 teams. Currently, the By-law states that where a Club has two teams in the same competition any player who plays five (5) or more matches for one team is not permitted to then play for the other team.
Due to a large influx of new players to the Club on the eve of the season, North Shore found themselves in a position where in order to give these players the opportunity to play football and support the growth of the game, they would need to enter a second Division 3 team. Although late timing, AFL Sydney accepted the team nomination as we want to encourage and facilitate growth, plus the addition of an extra team was a positive outcome for the competition as it eliminated a bye, meaning more games for all teams.
North Shore have raised concerns regarding their ability to continue fielding 2 teams for the remainder of the season. As is the case for all Clubs, North Shore’s player availability in all grades across the season has resulted in players being moved up and down between divisions, including from their Red Division 3 team up into their other Division 3 team and back down. As a number of Division 3 players have now played 5 or more games in one of the two Division 3 teams, the pool of players that the Club has available to select from for either team is being reduced as the season progresses, placing the Club at risk of forfeiting games.
AFL Sydney is currently considering increasing the games limit under By-law 9.6 (F) to assist North Shore with being able to field their 2 x Division 3 teams for the remainder of the season. The reasons AFL Sydney are considering this include:
to reduce the likelihood of the competition and participants being negatively affected by forfeits, or worst case scenario the withdrawal of a team;the By-law has not been invoked for over 5 seasons meaning it has not been seen in practice during this time; the By-law has not been subjected to the standard review process over the last 5 seasons; again due to its inactivity over this time;given the late team nomination, this was not a scenario envisaged when the 2019 By-laws were finalised and issued, therefore consideration had not been given to the application of this particular By-law;we want to encourage club growth and as the competition continues to expand, it is likely there will be more instances where Clubs will need to field two teams in the one division
We are conscious of competition integrity and this is certainly something we are seriously considering as part of the decision making process. It should be noted that we are not considering changing the By-laws relating to the movement of players between divisions.
AFL Sydney has not made a decision on this matter at this stage and would like to give all Clubs in the Division 3 competition the opportunity to provide feedback for us to consider as part of our decision making process. If you would like to provide feedback please send it through by the end of Wednesday June 26.
At the end of the season, AFL Sydney will review By-law 9.6 (F), which will include looking at how other leagues regulate the movement of players under this scenario. All Clubs will have the opportunity to provide input into how this By-law should look as part of the standard post season By-law review process.
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