The issue the AFL are "worried" about amid coronavirus crisis

The prospect of a national second tier is one of the biggest issues facing the AFL currently, according to SEN Chief Sports Reporter Sam Edmund.

The VFL, alongside the various other state-based competitions are currently also in hiatus alongside the AFL season.

How the likes of the SANFL in South Australia, WAFL in Western Australia and the NEAFL across New South Wales and Queensland look when the coronavirus crisis ends is the topic of much debate and Edmund forecast some sort of change was on the horizon.

“This is as hotly debated and worried about as any issue surrounding COVID-19 at the moment,” Edmund said on Crunchtime.

“Just what does the second tier look like – I keep coming back to that quote from Gillon McLachlan a week ago when he makes specific mention of building a bottom-up model.

“If that speaks to anything, it’s a second-tier model."

Player agent Liam Pickering said uniting all states under one national second-tier competition would be the ideal model.

“The ideal scenario would be a national second-tier competition,” he said.

“Where it’s difficult is the interstate teams, the WA commission own the West Coast Eagles and they’ve got their own team. Where can the Crows recruit from and Port Adelaide have their own history too.

“The NEAFL have their own competition but it’s sort of a ho-hum competition compared to the VFL and the SANFL.

“I’m not sure all the clubs are getting true and equal development in their lists because injuries play a fairly big part in it.

“The money is at the very top and not at the lower level which is a problem.”