THE NORTHERN Football League will introduce a player points system in all three of its senior competitions in 2016.
Each NFL club will have a maximum of 50 player points to select their senior team in each match of the 2016 season.
The league will also introduce a salary cap in 2017. The NFL’s proposed salary cap figures are:
Division 1 – $200,000 per club
Division 2 – $115,000 per club
Division 3 – $80,000 per club
The salary cap figures have been submitted to AFL Victoria and are to be ratified by the Community Club Sustainability Program sub-committee prior to the 2017 season.
Both the player points system and salary cap will be implemented as part of AFL Victoria’s Community Club Sustainability Program. The program addresses equalisation concerns and escalating player payments in community football.
Each NFL club’s total player points will likely be reduced to 47 points in 2017, then to 45 points in 2018.
The figures for the 2017 and 2018 seasons are provisional only and will be confirmed once a review of the player points system takes place at the conclusion of the 2016 season.
The player points system is broken into six categories, with each registered players’ points determined by their playing history and achievements. The system is structured in a way to promote player retention and loyalty.
One point is the lowest allocation any player can have, while six points is the maximum – which is assigned to any player who has played a minimum of one AFL game in any of the previous three seasons and isn’t playing at his “home club”.
All 2015 registered players who remain with their club in 2016 will receive a one-off two-point reduction for next season.
The NFL has worked closely with all its senior clubs and AFL Victoria ahead of the introduction of the Community Club Sustainability Program.
NFL chief executive Peter McDougall said NFL clubs supported the implementation of the program.
“The feedback from NFL clubs has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive, with an acceptance that a program must be implemented to enhance the sustainability of all community football clubs,” McDougall said.
“The 2016 season will be a learning phase for both the league and our clubs and we will all work together closely to ensure the implementation of the points system is a success.”
OVERVIEW OF THE PLAYER POINTS SYSTEM
• Each senior club in the Northern Football League will have a maximum of 50 points to select their team in each match of the 2016 season.
• A “home player” is defined as a player who played 40 or more games at the aligned junior club at the under-17 level or younger.
• Six points: A player who has played at least one AFL game in the past three years and is not a “home player”.
• Five points: A player who has played a minimum of five senior State League Tier 1 (VFL, WAFL, SANFL) games in the past three years and is not a “home player”.
• Four points: A player who has played at least five TAC Cup matches, or five senior NEAFL or TASFL games in the past three years; or a player classed as a premium community player and is not a “home player”.
• Three points: A senior community player or transferred junior player who is not a “home player”.
• Two points: A development community player who is not a “home player”.
• One point: A home player.
• Once a player’s points allocation has been determined, a reduction of one point will apply for each ‘season of service’ to that player’s community club (minimum five senior or reserves games per season), even if not in consecutive years, until the player reaches one point.
• A one-off two-point reduction will be applied to all 2015 registered players who remain with their club in 2016.
