CLUBS SAY NEW SYSTEM’S HAD LITTLE IMPACT
RIDDELL District Football League clubs believe the player points cap has had little impact on their 2016 campaigns to date.
The league set a general cap of 42 points for this season, as part of a statewide move by AFL Victoria aimed at limiting the impact of spiralling player payments, with extra points allowances granted for seven clubs based on various exceptional circumstances.
The general cap will be lowered to 41 points next season, before moving to 40 points in 2018.
While the cap has put the squeeze on some clubs this season, there is still support for the long-term plan.
Diggers Rest coach Shaun Sims said he had not always been able to pick his best side in 2016, due to a 44-point cap, but added that it had delivered benefits.
“What we’re trying to do at Diggers is try and develop guys, too,” Sims said.
“We’ve got some younger had been that pressure for spots was high.
“The boys know the system and that’s just the way it is now,” Nolan said.
“It just creates pressure on spots, which is healthy. People have to perform, whether they’ve been at the club for three months, one year or three years. Everyone needs to perform or they’re out of the side.”
Nolan said player retention would be key for the Magpies and other clubs on high points in coming years.
“We’ve got this plan in place over the next three or four years that we hold everyone at the club and we rebuild and keep going for next year, and the year after, and then everyone drops their points,” he said.
“So going forward longterm, it will reward the clubs that can keep their lists, and that’s what I’m aiming to do.”
The RDFL will also introduce a player salary cap of $120,000 for the first time next year, in conjunction with the player points cap.
