WA Football

The following recommendations have been accepted by the WAFC Football Affairs Committee leading into the 2012 AAMI WAFL Premiership season.

Amend WAFL rules to allow for:

1. An annual 3% increase in the WAFL Salary Cap, commencing in 2012 to $217,000
2. A $10k maximum for 1 veteran player (100 games plus with the same WAFL Club)to be paid outside of the salary cap for 2012 on a trial basis as there is widespread support for loyal players to be retained
3. A fixed fine for late lodgement of salary cap documents plus a daily non compliance fine of $50 per day
4. Weekly League match prizes of up to $750 to be introduced in 2012.
5. The WAFL to access player contracts and player payment values at the time of signing to be introduced in 2012.

Recommendations for later implementation include:

1. Increasing the theoretical payments for AFL players by 60%. This will be implemented in 2013 but the increased figures will be calculated in the 2012 season in order to assess the impact on every Club and to allow Clubs to prepare for 2013.
2. That this theoretical payment be paid by Clubs into a WAFC Pool for later redistribution across all clubs. The shadow payment will be calculated in 2012 and a decision made for 2013 implementation.

The WAFC Football Affairs Committee also reviewed the WAFL League competitiveness paper developed at the end of the 2010 season to determine what measures could be undertaken to promote further an even WAFL League competition.

The following outcomes were reached:

1. All WAFL Clubs will be permitted to pay a maximum $10,000 travel allowance to players, with a maximum of $2000 to any one player, for players who have exceptional travel requirements. Clubs will be asked to justify these payments and indicate which players will be eligible as part of their salary cap submissions. This travel allowance is not compulsory for clubs to pay.

1. Peel Thunder is granted up to 12 points above the 130 limit for the inclusion of an interstate player, plus an extra $12,000 allowance in the salary cap to accommodate this player. An increase in the number of interstate players will also be allowed if required. This allowance will be in place for two seasons, 2012 and 2013, with the expectation that Peel’s points value returns to 130 in 2014.
   

The ability to recruit an experienced player was seen as the single biggest influence on performance for Peel Thunder Football Club, which formed the basis for allowing an increase in points.

These considerations were not taken lightly as they both have financial implications. In a financially tight football environment, any increase in player payments needs to be carefully implemented by the Club.

It should also be noted that Peel has a debt with the WAFC that must be repaid. The monitoring of Peel’s annual finances and their ongoing repayment of debt will continue to be a focus of the WAFC Finance Department.