Netball to get more say in restructure

ON-FIELD netball performance could become part of the overall club assessment if AFL Barwon’s restructure is eventually rolled out.

There will be no change to league structures until at least 2020 after AFL Barwon this week delayed its controversial blueprint for at least 12 months.

The lack of weighting given to clubs’ netball sections was one of the key concerns clubs raised with AFL Barwon.

In the club assessment document, movement between leagues is heavily dependent on the fortunes of the footy team.

Had the restructure gone ahead as planned, there could have been a case at the end of this season where St Albans was relegated to the BFL based on its football ladder position — even if its netball side played off in a grand final.

There is a netball component in the club assessment document, but it mainly focuses on the number of teams clubs field each week, rather than the performance of their sides.

“Three years ago, when we had the first (document), we couldn’t control the netball, but we’re trialling salary caps and points systems this year to be implemented next season, so we’ll have a bit more control around that,” AFL Barwon region manager

said. “If that helps equalise competitions a bit, we could possibly look at weighting in the criteria, but back then, with clubs having the ability to basically go out and purchase a team, that’s the reason the weighting wasn’t originally considered.

“But now we’ve got points and salary caps coming in next year, that (on-field weighting for netball) is a possibility. I’m not saying it’s a certainty, but it’s something we’ll look at with the clubs.

“It’s something we will discuss with clubs. I’m not saying that will be the outcome but we’ll look at it.”