Yank Man wrote:So another great signing for Adelaide Footy League, Trengove to PAOC. The chatter above makes you wonder if the salary cap was graded in divisions 1-7 just how many more stars would play in the city versus the country. Playing with mates, family connections and returning to junior clubs are all great reasons for the current signings, but if the city money was close to the country money then I’m sure only the mercenaries would be left, and they would get found out pretty quick. Just my opinion for what it’s worth.
IIRC, (and there are others on here with better memories then me) there was extensive discussion at an SAAFL delegates meeting about a graded salary cap and the clubs, overwhelmingly, voted to have the flat structure. My foggy memory also recalls it was PNU that proposed it at the time.
That’s not to say it can’t be changed. It just needs one club to put up a motion.
The other memory was the CFB reason for the salary cap was that the country leagues were very concerned that their clubs were going to go broke paying monstrous sums of money to mercenaries every year and would eventually go broke. Just before it started, there were a few blokes from a (say) D5 club went up the freeway for a $thousand per game each! No one would play for this inner country club (despite the lure of playing in one of the 4 leagues better than the SAAFL.)
Here’s a legitimate question: despite the fact (according to the 2 oracles that know football better than all of us plebs so it must be right) that all of the country football leagues are better than the CH9AFL, have there been any country football clubs shut down for financial reasons since the introduction of the points system / salary cap? If not, then maybe those CFB people have achieved their objective.
Just remember we were one of the very last to agree to the points system.