Monday's Questions and Answers (12.10.2026)

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Mark Duffield (1:04)

Yeah, it's time for some questions and answers this morning. Paul Heath is with me in the studio.

Paul Heath (1:08)

Heater Duff, Noddy was first off the rank this morning with a very good one, saying, since free agency started, the Eagles have had five players join. Xavier Ellis, Jaden Hunt, Matt Flynn and Jack Graham.

Freemantle have had Daniel Pierce, Colin Sylvia, Reece Conker. In addition to this, Freemantle and West Coast have struggled to attract players from interstate, e.g. Brian Myers might consider a move in Victoria but shut down a move west. It's even more difficult to attract WA players back home.

Competitive disadvantage is so much greater than travel. Is there anything in your mind, Duff, that the AFL could do to help competitive disadvantage in the movement of players to help all clubs?

Mark Duffield (1:42)

It's a good question. We're a long way away, and that counts against us. We do get, I think, we do get the go-home factor. The temptation is to go after any player who wants to come home, and that's a trap that we can fall into. You can end up with guys clogging your list as opposed to guys that are actually helping you out.

It's a good question. I mean, look, there are certain advantages from being over here. We have a significant home ground advantage, and we do get the go-home factor because West Australians, because we're so far away, we tend to be quite parochial, and our players do miss their families, and they want to come back here. I do think that the Melbourne clubs have a significant advantage because they're in Melbourne, and I do think that the Northern State clubs have a significant advantage because the AFL has a conflict of interest in terms of making sure they look after them.

You know, like, look at Brisbane, the Six Flags, the eight Grand Finals in this century, and are Brisbane the best-run club in the AFL? I wouldn't have thought so, but they have that inherent advantage. You know, they got the merging of Fitzroy with Brisbane. They got the benefit to that. They changed the father-son rules to allow them to get Jonathan Brown, and then, obviously, the Academy stuff with the three gunfather-sons coming on top of that has created the super list this time around as well. So, they have advantages. I think that the traditional footy states like Western Australia and South Australia are ones that do have disadvantages, but sometimes you can turn that to your advantage if you focus on another thing. So, be strong in the draft, which is what free mantel's done. And don't worry too much about free agents. If one lands in your lap, well and good, but don't make that the be all and end all. You know, do your drafting well, do your play development well. And I think that's probably the answer. Not he makes a valid point, but I guess with the crisis, as Confucius would say, with the crisis comes the opportunity.

Paul Heath (4:04)

Yeah, and as you say, WA and South Australia are the ones that are left over. And I think maybe South Australian fans are feeling even more hard done by with who they can attract back to their state, and they're closer to Victoria.

Mark Duffield (4:14)

Which, yeah, the two established football states are the wheels that don't squeak.

And the AFL is very good at oiling the wheels that do squeak. Yeah. You know, so the northern states get oil, they will help out Melbourne clubs, because they see that as the kind of like the engine room of their football economy. We are very important, but they kind of look at us and go, and I'm sure they'll do it the same way with South Australia. They'll be all right. Yeah. Yeah.