Priorities: AFL, VFL or individual?

It’s hard not to sympathise with the attitude of Melbourne FC regarding Casey Scorpions’ signing of Brendan Fevola. And yet, as AussieRulesBlog has previously noted, football may very well be Fevola’s best route back from the brink.

The Demons’ public objections centre on development of their young forward prospects being jeopardised. No doubt they have other, less public, objections such as the potential for Fevola to influence their youngsters — and who could blame them, again.

There isn’t an easy answer here: the best interests of Melbourne FC and its youthful recruits versus the interests of Casey and of Fevola.

As we’ve also previously noted, despite their many differences, there are synergies between Fevola’s situation and that of Ben Cousins two years ago. It would be a hard judge who would deny that Cousins’ involvement with the Tigers, as both player and mentor, did not benefit both parties.

It would be more than churlish to deny such an opportunity to Fevola.

Whatever the merits of giving Fevola another chance, this disagreement brings into stark contrast the difficulties of VFL clubs, many the remnants of the old VFA, being tied to AFL clubs. In return for their dollars, the AFL clubs expect preferential treatment.

Already a number of AFL clubs have decided they are better served fielding their own, fully-integrated VFL teams. This must be making the administrators of current VFL clubs pretty nervous. Frankston appears to be almost a basket case. Port Melbourne, the most likely to continue to survive in the long term as a standalone, faces the rapid gentrification of the suburb that might be the death of a thousand cuts for the proud Burroughs.

The AFL, as custodians of the game, have some real difficulties here and we don’t envy them the task one little bit. The quality of the VFL as a feeder and development competition to the elite AFL level is, arguably, pretty poor. But the obvious alternatives are financially and logistically difficult and may leave the middle tiers of the game in a parlous state.

We await developments.