Weekly Times |A STANDOFF between the Picola and District Football League and AFL Victoria is brewing in the wake of the league’s clubs voting against the governing body’s proposed equalisation measures.
Last week clubs from both divisions of the league voted against accepting the proposed measures, including a salary cap and player points system designed to curb player payments statewide.
AFL Victoria has since warned there will be a penalty — as yet undetermined — for leagues who do not adopt the measures to ensure other leagues are not at a “competitive disadvantage”.
The measures, known officially as the club sustainability program, are due to come into effect next year.
It is understood two of the Picola and District league’s 17 clubs — which are based in Victoria and New South Wales — were absent from last week’s presidents’ meeting where the vote was held.
Picola league president Shane Railton said four clubs “had some support” for the initiatives, and one of those was conditional on all of the clubs being allocated the same number of points within the points system.
AFL Victoria’s proposed points system will allocate a value to each player based on their playing history, and senior teams will have a limit on the figure the fielded players’ values can add up to for a match.
“Clubs have rejected any advances to be involved with the club sustainability program,” Railton said.
Railton said that at a recent meeting with AFL Victoria representatives he was told players from any league that refused to adopt the final measures would be valued at zero points if they were recruited to another league.
AFL Victoria community football manager Brett Connell, in a statement, said the working party would work with leagues to address their concerns “to ensure the system is adopted statewide”.
“No decision has been made on what provisions will be implemented if a particular league chooses not to adopt the program,” Connell said.
“The working party does acknowledge, however, that if such an outcome occurs, it must have in place appropriate provisions so clubs in leagues who do adopt the program aren’t at a competitive disadvantage to those in leagues who do not.”