I have to admit I am a bit suspicious of Carlton being handed by the AFL the Northern Knights as the team they are allocated for this new zoning situation.

Anyone with basic knowledge of the TAC Cup knows that the Northern Knights aren't exactly a football factory.

http://www.foxsportspulse.com/assoc_pag ... sID=107202


You need Calder Cannons, Geelong Falcons or the Dandenong Stingrays.

The response will probably be it is up to your club to develop it as a strong club, but really you need links to the private schools - and most of the private schools are in Eastern Ranges, Sandringham Dragons region.

Why did Essendon* get the Calder Cannons? Surely that is one of the stronger clubs and maybe Footscray/Western Bulldogs should get it instead.

I hope every club will have unfettered access to players across all zones in the future. This looks like another AFL loophole to assist certain clubs otherwise.


http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-05-22/a ... l-18-clubs

I'm with you on this one tap. We have definitely received another short straw from our man Mike again.
This to me is the least possible development zone from the complete list. We are just the AFL's puppets (there is a better word but I'm not going to use it).

Surrey, look at the top notch players that have come from the Northern Knights over the history of their club.

Adam Simpson and Brent Harvey are the only two bona-fide A graders in their whole history.

This club (Northern Knights) seems to have more of a link to North Melbourne- so why has Carlton been given this zone?

I presume it is due to the Preston link but seriously that is a feeble reason if one is given a dud zone.

Why do the Bulldogs get two TAC Cup clubs allocated to them?

Yet again, it looks like favourites are chosen and some clubs are treated well, and others left to their own devices. I am worried that the AFL will insist Carlton recruits players from the Northern Knights and get little access to the better zones.

Look at the number of greats that have come from the Calder Cannons...bona-fide A graders.
Ryan O'Keefe,
Eddie Betts
Jude Bolton
Paul Chapman
James Kelly
Dane Swan
Jason Johnson

That is over 3 times the amount of A graders than the Northern Knights over their history.

And Essendon* get access to this zone in preference to other clubs...?
I smell something a bit fishy about all of this.

2016 TAC Cup
Northern Knights 2.0 4.6 5.10 7.11 (53)
Sandringham Dragons 6.5 7.6 14.9 22.11 (143)

https://reg.sportingpulse.com/olr_v5/rp ... &pg=1&a=MR

results from round 1 of the 2016 TAC Cup...

That is some walloping to our nominated club by the AFL.

And Carlton is going to develop this zone?



The AFL makes Carlton pay equalisation money (despite the fact it has 20,000 and 30,000 less members than Collingwood, Richmond and Hawthorn) and then it also gives money to North, Melbourne etc, and then it gives a dud recruiting zone to Carlton....if there is one thing a bit odd you accept it, but it is starting to add up now.

Where is Carlton management refusing to take on the Northern Knights as their zone. Tell the AFL you will not accept zoning of recruiting areas. Anything but the Northern Knights.

This zoning system is based on targeting multicultural and aboriginal players, often from disadvantaged families who wouldn't otherwise have an opportunity to play football or progress through football pathways. Access to the best private schools and to traditional footy factories wouldn't be an advantage in this situation at all. In fact, access to a non-traditional area could be seen as advantageous.

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@cecil_anderson

I hope you are right...but I have my suspicions. I was reading the article in the AFL Football Record and it mentions that
"AFL clubs have been given funding over the summer to establish club-branded talent academies throughout Victoria and the NT."

If you have a look at the list Carlton is the only club to get just one region.
Richmond get Bendigo and the Murray Bushrangers for example.
Hawthorn gets Eastern Rangers and Gippsland Power - two strong zones.

At the very least, these other AFL clubs can build strong relationships with people/clubs in these zones that Carlton cannot do.


This is at the very least a way other clubs can strengthen themselves with the backing of the AFL.



This is ALSO maybe the way the AFL can start towards zoning, therefore having it in line with the Swans zone, GWS zone etc...and my guess is 5-10 years down the track Carlton will have to bid for a player in the Calder zone which Essendon* can choose not to or to match the bid. This type of scenario opens up a whole new layer of favouritism if it eventuates this way.

We should have been handed our traditional area in Central Victoria ... Maryborough, Bendigo etc.

_________________
I am as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!!!

Much ado about nothing.

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dane's trolling again

Also as a club we've made a long term investment in the old Preston VFL team. And presumably we want to 'own' the northern suburbs. So it makes all sorts of sense for us to be linked with the Northern Knights.

Some good players, yeah (although Jason Johnson doesn't even qualify as that). But great players? Really?

Is that list really far more impressive than players like Chris Johnson, Anthony Rocca, Brent Harvey, Lance Whitnall, Nick Stevens, Leigh Montagna, Matthew Kreuzer, Trent Cotchin, Michael Hurley, Marcus Bontempelli?

Look obviously our zone is not going to produce many indigenous recruits, but it will be a hotbed of immigrant families who meet the criteria.

Similarly, the Western Jets' zone was split between North & the Bulldogs because it will be a target rich environment. The best part is it's going to be much easier for us to put boots on the ground to find talent, rather than hoping talent finds us.

My only issue with the current zoning system is we still don't know what's happening with Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Definitely, I have to admit I don't rate these players as A graders. Calder Cannons has been a much better club than the Northern Knights.

Whitnall was never an A grade player. He had one good year where he made the All-Australian, but that doesn't make him an A- grader. He drifted through his career, rarely impacting in a significant way.

Nick Stevens - b grade,
Kreuzer - not even close to being A grade. Never been even selected for All-Australian squad, or come close to the best and fairest.
Cotchin...perhaps he could be viewed as an A grader...but his finals record isn't that great. Chris Johnson was pretty handy as well.
Hurley? done nothing of note.
Bontempelli - starting his career.

I don't think people are getting the full picture. It won't be just for "indigenous talent"....it will be the first step in clubs "owning" zones and being linked into them. They are doing it in response to the NSW/Qld academies.

They will want to set up zones for all recruiting soon. This is just a first step and they think it will add to "equalisation" but as we have seen with PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING THE AFL EQUALISES....it actually make this more unequal the more they interfere.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/breaking-ne ... a1c5a9467b

Well the answer is to uninvest in Preston. If it means Carlton is laboured with this terrible zone and has to bid for players out of the Eastern Ranges or Sandringham Dragons, then now is the time to be pro-active and get rid of the Carlton link to northern Melbourne/Preston. It is unproductive in a football sense.

Equalisation - every "equalisation" step the AFL takes Carlton should be quickly investigating to make sure they don't get screwed over.

Fair enough that you've got your own take on these players. We all have our favourites. But I suspect if you actually linked it to something concrete. Like premierships. Or games played. Or leadership roles. Or best and fairests. Then there wouldn't be much difference.

Premiership players- Calder Cannons

Milburn
Johnson m
Johnson j
Kelly
OKeefe
Chapman
Mahoney
Bolton J
Lonergan
d Swan

double Northern Knights.
Also similar type of figures with recruiting. In some years the Knights have had just one player selected in the draft.
It is a footy wasteland.

Northern Knights - C Johnson, Caracella, Moorcraft, R Shaw, B Johnson

How many of those players are aboriginal or from multicultural backgrounds?

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@cecil_anderson

Bazinga

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"I will rejoice in their anguish, delight in their failure and revel in our success"

We are Carlton, @#$%&! the rest !!!!!!

Pretty sure Adam Simpson and Brent Harvey were premiership players.

Not to mention Andrew Eccles and Heath Shaw.

So by my counting, that's 9 Northern Knights premiership players. Only one less than the 10 you've mentioned from Calder Cannons.