By Colin MacGillivray

As Wimmera-region football clubs and leagues adjust to new AFL-mandated age policies restricting the participation of juniors in the sport, a separate set of rules for the bordering Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara Football League, KNTFL, in South Australia has created confusion.

In March the AFL’s National Community Football Policy introduced three-year age catchments for junior players, meaning players more than three years below a competition’s age limit are unable to participate unless granted an exemption in ‘exceptional and compelling circumstances’.

The change was driven by an updated risk assessment by AFL-affiliated insurer Marsh Advantage Insurance.

But frustrated officials from Wimmera-based clubs noted the KNTFL was not following the same age restrictions, citing examples of 15-year-olds playing senior football.

Some club leaders expressed concern a different set of rules might lead players living near the Victoria-South Australia border to transfer to the KNTFL in search of more playing opportunities.

AFL Wimmera Mallee region manager Ange Ballinger said the discrepancy in rules was due to the fact the KNTFL was overseen by the South Australian National Football League, SANFL, not the AFL.

“The SANFL do not fully affiliate with the AFL national policies,” she said.

“They have different arrangements and agreements with what part of the national policy they pick up and what they don’t. That inconsistency certainly hasn’t helped me as a region manager with leagues that border South Australia.”

Mrs Ballinger said the SANFL had chosen to offer blanket age-group exemptions to leagues, rather than requiring case-by-case applications.

But she said this could heighten a league’s liability if a younger player was seriously injured in competition.

“I’m not an expert in their system, but my understanding is that having a blanket exemption provides much more exposure to risk than it does where we have an exemption process where an individual is assessed,” she said.

“That’s the level of risk the SANFL is happy to accept, whereas those who are affiliated with AFL national policies abide by those.

“Our leagues and associations affiliate directly with AFL Victoria, which affiliates directly with the AFL national policies.”

For more on how Ararat and District Junior Football Association is adjusting to the new age restrictions, see next week’s The Weekly Advertiser.

The entire May 1, 2024 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!