Tom Couch

i just heard them say Tom Couch is playing for Melbourne tomorrow, good luck to him as he is a nice lad but i wonder how bad Melbourne are given the fact he couldn't break in two SANFL teams

Wasn't he dropped from Glenelg reserves team. Pretty sure he may have played for Marion

From Localfootysa...

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/afl/couch-goes-from-suburban-footy-to-afl/story-e6freckc-1226424604865

Maybe its just my imagination, but the difference between the top sides and the bottom sides in the AFL seems to have been magnified this season?

One expected GWS and Gold Coast to have a poor season, but to see the likes of the Melbourne FC slugging it out with them and playing to a similar standard is a little surprising IMO.

For my 2c worth, its time the AFL went to two divisions of 10 teams, giving us a good display of footy each week from the best sides and a secondary grand final for the also rans of the AFL.

You'll still have crap teams though, especially adding two more . The AFL needs less teams not more . It needs to understand the state leagues are vital and that in turn will improve the quality. Start by increasing the draft age to 20 and a special 18 year old pick. State leagues will be better as the players will have a couple of years in the comp and then once drafted will be ready to play having played against the bigger bodies. Less investment for the AFL club too re weights etc.

waddayamean wrote:You'll still have crap teams though, especially adding two more . The AFL needs less teams not more . It needs to understand the state leagues are vital and that in turn will improve the quality. Start by increasing the draft age to 20 and a special 18 year old pick. State leagues will be better as the players will have a couple of years in the comp and then once drafted will be ready to play having played against the bigger bodies. Less investment for the AFL club too re weights etc.

Totally agree. The problem is, the AFL think in terms of dollars, not sense.

waddayamean wrote:You'll still have crap teams though, especially adding two more . The AFL needs less teams not more . It needs to understand the state leagues are vital and that in turn will improve the quality. Start by increasing the draft age to 20 and a special 18 year old pick. State leagues will be better as the players will have a couple of years in the comp and then once drafted will be ready to play having played against the bigger bodies. Less investment for the AFL club too re weights etc.

There are too many teams/clubs in Melbourne/Victoria, Nth Melbourne should have gone to the Gold Coast when they had the chance, Hawthorn should move to Tasmaina and Footscray to Darwin.

MightyEagles wrote:There are too many teams/clubs in Melbourne/Victoria, Nth Melbourne should have gone to the Gold Coast when they had the chance, Hawthorn should move to Tasmaina and Footscray to Darwin.

Why should Hawthorn move to Tasmania? They are probably the most financially secure club in the AFL, behind Collingwood. They're doing just fine. If moving to Tasmania was such a financial bonus, why aren't other struggling clubs exploring the option?

The way I see it, the immediate problem facing the AFL is there are too many clubs in the Gold Coast and Western Sydney. AFL attempts to steal the game away from Rugby League isn't working as well as they have been hoping.

GWS are already saying their location is a real problem and a move is inevitable, and the set up to house all the players is costing the club a small fortune. Brisbane Bears were a failure at the Gold Coast, so why the AFL thinks any other team will be successfaul there, God only knows.

The bottom line is, even the most struggling Melbourne based clubs are doing it better than the Gold Coast and GWS. The AFL are bankrolling those two clubs, and losing bid time.

MightyEagles wrote:

waddayamean wrote:You'll still have crap teams though, especially adding two more . The AFL needs less teams not more . It needs to understand the state leagues are vital and that in turn will improve the quality. Start by increasing the draft age to 20 and a special 18 year old pick. State leagues will be better as the players will have a couple of years in the comp and then once drafted will be ready to play having played against the bigger bodies. Less investment for the AFL club too re weights etc.

There are too many teams/clubs in Melbourne/Victoria, Nth Melbourne should have gone to the Gold Coast when they had the chance, Hawthorn should move to Tasmaina and Footscray to Darwin.

Remember that it was Fitzroy in the early 1990s that explored the option of Tasmania as a new 'home', followed by St Kilda in the early 2000s. I believe Hawthorn began to play here because of already established Tasmanian membership numbers, and of course, the sponsorship arrangement with the Tasmanian government. North has begun playing games in Hobart because of our state's North/South divide. Apparently, a few key socialites in the South weren't too happy with the government sponsoring a team that would only play in Launceston. The reality is the AFL won't give us a stand alone team until we fix our State League system (badly needed IMO) and basically ask everyone in the state to abandon their already adopted chosen AFL team (in my small town alone, I have seen West Coast and Freo supporters, Adelaide and Port supporters, Sydney and Brisbane supporters as well as all the Victorian clubs). The AFL already has a huge grip here and I can understand their reasons for not committing to a brand new Tassie side. Our population counts against us somewhat too.

When it's the VFL who initiated expansion of THEIR league, what do you expect? This argument has been done to death. It is what it is. I like the idea of increasing the draft age (I guess similar to the NCAA college system), but if you can leave school, join the professional workforce and vote at the age of 18, then some people will argue that becoming an AFL player is a profession like being an accountant or sparky or whatever.

Less than 10,000 watching GWS today getting SLAUGHTERED for the second week in a row, a great promotion for the game.

testy wrote:

Less than 10,000 watching GWS today getting SLAUGHTERED for the second week in a row, a great promotion for the game.

I agree it's no fun to watch, but unfortunately for the Giants, whilst other clubs have complained about their cash bucket and high draft picks, they simply have not had the backing of a very strong state league behind them like the Crows, Power, Eagles or Dockers. The Suns you could probably include in that bracket as Aussie Rules has been around that area for a number of years.

If they can snare a few more key signings (which they will have to in order to replace Cornes, Brogan, McDonald & Power - all due to be assistant coaches) and keep this crop of kids together, then they may reap some very good rewards indeed.

While these loses may keep the crowds away, the AFL won't let them fall over and continue to prop them up. A Vic club will die or merge before the GWS will.

howthewestwaswon wrote:While these loses may keep the crowds away, the AFL won't let them fall over and continue to prop them up. A Vic club will die or merge before the GWS will.

Yes and largely to stroke Demitriou's ego! I wondered how many on the AFL board had bothered to spend some time at the Penrith Leagues club and look at what the competition was like before they walked onto thier turf! - The Panthers club in Penrith makes the Adelaide Casino look like a pissant operation. I am sure the likes of Penrith and Paramatta were only to happy to welcome the AFL into their territory and get them started!

so does anyone know how Tom Couch went ?

If you are so keen to talk about tom couch why not start a thread then? Oh hang on.......

bayman wrote:so does anyone know how Tom Couch went ?

13 touches and 9 tackles...

http://www.afl.com.au/tabid/16931/Default.aspx#fixtureid=7787&tab=Stats

thanks BP