Football and the AFL

The AFL and private schools

"Geelong Grammar's got a bigger salary cap than Collingwood," quipped one AFL official, explaining how so much talent had been herded into the boarding houses and immaculate fields.

Whereas the rugby codes, from the outset, were divided along class lines – traditional rugby union was the domain of the upper crust from private schools in NSW and Queensland, while upstart rugby league was the blue-collar game – Australian Rules owed its strength to the fact that it was played and watched by all-comers, by the sons of investment bankers and tradies, by lawyers and labourers, suits and singlets.

Footy remains the glue that binds disparate stratas in the southern states.

Yet the drift towards private-schooled footballers in this egalitarian code is undeniable. According to the APS' figures, just over a quarter – 25.6 per cent – of the players drafted to AFL clubs in 2017 came from the 11 schools who make up the APS, which also supplied four of the first five picked. That's just 11 schools from one state, out of 2755 Australian schools that run to year 12 (2018).

The 11 schools are cradles of the country's owners and decision-makers: Melbourne Grammar, Scotch College, Geelong Grammar, Xavier College, Wesley College, St Kevin's College, Haileybury College, Caulfield Grammar, Brighton Grammar, Geelong College and Carey Grammar.

In 2018, the percentage drafted from these elite 11 schools was 24.3 per cent and, on the basis of the AFL website's phantom draft, the APS, AGS and schools with that stature in Adelaide and Perth are forecast to account for at least 17 of the first 30 next week. The definition of "elite" precludes the likes of established and well-regarded Catholic colleges such as St Joseph's Geelong, St Patrick's in Ballarat and Whitefriars (Donvale), whose alumni account for 31 current AFL players.

"The trend has sort of come through the last five to six years and it's increasing every year," said Luke Soulos, the executive officer for APS sport since 2003, of the private schools' share.