Unless they play as a curtain raiser it won't make much difference from a fan's point of view.

yes it will. Who would you rather watch - Preston at Cramer St or the Carlton 2's at Princes Park????

It will be great if we can go back to the days where the reserves match served as a curtain raiser to the main event. Was always fun to get to the ground early to watch a bit of the reserves before the seniors came out. I fully support bringing the reserves competition back!

This is an appealing idea, but with no increase in lists, it presents its own problems. At the moment, we have a list of 38 + 5 rookies, which meant that if we had a reserves team, we'd need to top up at least 1 or 2 a week. However, we have an injury list of approx. 11 at the moment, which means that half the seconds side would be short-term top-ups. This is the biggest problem, when you have to scour local leagues and the TAC comp for top-ups who may play one week, or, in the case of replacements for people like McLaren or Teague, 6 weeks to a season.

It's a strain on resources, and experienced players, like Morrell or (last year) Harford aren't going to play with us as top-up players. And lots of the youngsters mention their leadership at the 'Ants when asked.

As much as I like the idea of a Carlton reserves side and a clear development pathway for our youngsters, I worry that this is too big a commitment for a club that's resource-poor at the moment.

Bingo.

With maximum list size 44, there's no way this can happen.

Hell, St Kilda's struggling to make a 22, let alone two!

The concentration of list sizes is a double edged sword in that it filters out those who aren't up to senior footy but reduces the ability to develop a plyer over a number of years.

Maybe if there was the list as is but another list of 'designated' reserves that the club had first dibs on at the draft...a sort of sub rookie listed player.

The Swans play stand-alone in the Canberra comp. To top up their numbers they take the best 17-18 year old players from around the state to play for them. They generally often take these kids as 'extra' rookies in the draft the next year if they are much chop.

If AFL clubs had the opportunity to do the same thing (with blokes over the age of 20 or so) then it could be another opportunity to unearth some real talent.

The size of AFL lists is unlikely to increase, because the teams in other states would also need increases, but thought is being given to a return to the system which preceded the AFL/VFL alignments, of having top-up players and access to the TAC Cup teams.

They should never have eliminated the 2nds in the first place - you do not have to be gifted to recognise the problems that have arisen. But now that the 2nds are gone, bringing them back would fatally harm many of the existing VFL teams. Those with marginal finances would be ruined, trying to recreate their lists.
There would have to be a significant change in the VFL and how it is run. The present number of teams would not be viable. Half the number of teams and ........
You get the picture.

Williamstown is financially strong enough to stand alone, but the Northern Bullants would struggle, something AFL Victoria chief executive officer Peter Schwab is desperate to avoid.

The determination of Collingwood and Carlton to go it alone will bring the proposed restructure forward from 2008 to next year. A bone of contention will be the number of under-18 top-up players allowed.

That number is restricted to two a team, but will come under pressure to be increased to as many as six so AFL clubs get the chance to view teenagers playing against men.

What would this mean in terms of playing list etc? Would they start using "top-up" players for the reserves team??