SUPPORT has come from both ends of the spectrum for the introduction of a player points system across the state.
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Ballarat and Central Highlands league reigning premiers have joined wooden-spooners from 2013 in calls to implement a structure that aims to steady rising player payments and help give a larger section of clubs a better chance at success.
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Ballarat premiers North Ballarat City president Stephen Darbin said the club had long been supporters of the initiative.
“I think it puts the focus back on developing your own and spending time on promoting juniors and getting the junior structures right,” Darbin said.
After a winless 2013 campaign which saw his club finish at the bottom of the Ballarat league ladder, Sebastopol president Chris Parker agrees.
“You can see the difference the draft has made in the AFL and a salary cap has already been proven to be unenforceable in country footy, so a points system has got to be the next best thing,” Parker said.
In a similar boat to the Kookaburras is the struggling Smythesdale, which has gone almost three seasons without a senior victory.
Bulldogs president Nick Gray can see benefits for the entire Central Highlands league, which he believes could strengthen even further with measures to even out the competition.
“I think a lot of people in the club would like to see it go that way,” Gray said.
Long-term giant Hepburn, which has won five flags in the past 10 years, is also a supporter.
“We are definitely for it,” president Jason Dooley said.
Earlier this month, AFL Goldfields regional general manager Rod Ward told The Courier a system – which would rank players on past history and require them to fit under a set cap – could be in place across Victoria by 2015.