AFL QUEENSLAND MOVING FAST TO ENSURE COAST FOOTBALLERS GET A GAME

AFL Queensland has moved to ensure Gold Coast footballers do not fall into a black hole following the resumption of state league football.

Gold Coast QAFL clubs have voiced concern about potentially losing players because of a rule stating they cannot drop players down by more than one division without the permission of the competition manager.

The cancellation of the 2020 NEAFL season has meant many players from the Southport Sharks and Redland have joined Gold Coast QAFL clubs for the quick-fire season that will feature eight regularseason games.

The flow-on effect means some players who would usually play senior football are pushed to the reserves, where footballers are then forced out of the side.

AFLQ restructured a lot of competitions at the end of 2019, resulting in a Division 1 competition without Gold Coast teams and a Division 2 North and South league, with the latter boasting a huge number of clubs from the Coast and Northern Rivers.

The move has left clubs scrambling to figure out how to provide players missing out on a spot in the reserves team an avenue to play football.

AFLQ operations manager Barry Gibson said the issue had been recognised, with a letter to clubs confirming players would be granted permission to play two divisions down if they contacted the competition manager.

“We currently have a rule and it’s to protect the integrity of the competition,” he said.

“We wrote to clubs on the Gold Coast and said we recognise there is no Division 1 club on the Gold Coast and that, in accordance with the rules, if they wanted to seek permission for a player who had not been selected in the QAFL to go back and play in Division 2 with a Gold Coast club, we would consider that.

“They can’t have played senior football and gone back. They can’t have played at Broadbeach in the seniors one week and then go to Burleigh the next.”

Broadbeach QAFL coach Craig O’Brien said the club was stacked with talent, including 12 NEAFL players, their usual senior squad and a host of players who had finished their colts careers.

He said the Cats had a relationship with Division 2 clubs Burleigh and Carrara and needed players to go there and play football instead of staying on the sidelines.

Surfers Paradise will be unaffected because it has spent recent years bringing through many juniors.

Labrador and Palm Beach Currumbin have also stated they will be unaffected.