Wodonga Raiders president Mark Johnston questions facet of player points

AFL North East Border has outlined the points clubs will carry next year.

Five clubs will have the base of 40, while the other half has been granted extra points.

North Albury and Corowa-Rutherglen have the maximum of 46, while Wodonga has 44, with Wangaratta Rovers and Myrtleford on 42.

There's a number of factors involved in the decision making process, including a low population base and lack of success over a three or five-year period.

Wodonga has the league's longest current finals drought of 13 years in 2022, while Corowa-Rutherglen and North will rack up eight and seven years respectively next year.

Although last season's finals were cancelled, due to COVID, Rovers had qualified for the first time in seven years.

Johnston didn't refer to specific clubs, but, privately, others are questioning Rovers and Myrtleford's points.

"Obviously clubs that have been down for a long time deserve the extra points, but the issue is then when do you decide they've been down for a long time or they've started the comeback," he posed.

'I think there should be some consideration to the league as a whole re ladder positions in the current year, as to whether extra points are allocated."

Rovers' president Wally Pasquali told The Border Mail yesterday when the club was missing a host of recruits this year, due to COVID, they struggled, while Myrtleford president Ian Wales has spoken publicly about needing to recruit players, given the town is the smallest in the league with around 3000 people.

The statewide player points system was introduced in 2016 to equalise competitions and stop extravagant club spending.

"The average winning margin has come down slightly and we've seen new clubs rise into the top five," AFLNEB region manager Zac Guilfoyle suggested.

O and M general manager Craig Millar is hoping for the league's first uninterrupted season since 2019.

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"The dust is starting to settle with the salary cap and points improving equalisation, but there's still some tweaks that can be made."

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