Academies can fight 'go-home' factor: Brown Australian football David Polkinghorne Former Brisbane Lions captain Jonathan Brown. Victorian clubs want them shut down, but former Brisbane Lions captain Jonathan Brown insists the AFL must bolster the controversial academies to help the northern clubs battle the "go-home factor". 
Brown also thinks Greater Western Sydney, the Sydney Swans, Brisbane Lions and the Gold Coast Suns should be allowed to initially sign draftees on three- year deals, instead of the standard two, to help fight homesickness.
The three-time premiership hero was in Canberra on Sunday for a junior coaching clinic with the Queanbeyan Tigers and he took the opportunity to spruik the academies as a key cog in northern clubs holding on to their top talent.
His call comes the day after former Greater Western Sydney young guns Adam Treloar and Tom Boyd both impressed for their new clubs, Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs respectively.
Treloar kicked two goals and had 26 touches for the Pies, while Boyd kicked three, took seven marks and had nine hitouts.
Homesickness is very much a concern for the Giants, with promising forward Cam McCarthy currently home on leave in Perth after battling to cope with being away from home in his first AFL season.
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire has been the most vocal critical of the academies and last year claimed the northern academies would "destroy the game".
They allow the four northern teams to develop talent from their areas from a young age, but the AFL made it harder for the Queensland and NSW teams to draft their academy players last year. But rather than restrict the academies, Brown thinks the AFL should be encouraging them to enable the teams based in the rugby states to develop their own talent and not have to rely on drafting Victorian kids, and then have them return home.
He said the Giants were always going to lose some players because they had so much talent.
"The most important thing is the academies, so we need to really keep supporting the academies and make sure that is the advantage the northern states clubs get over the traditional football states," Brown said.
"If they put too many restrictions on the academy it will kill the northern states clubs, will just put them behind the eight ball.
"The academies for all four northern teams are the lifeblood of providing talent, but also retaining because you need local product to get less of this go-home factor."
Originally from Warrnambool in country Victoria, Brown attracted big offers to return to his home state when he was at the Lions.
But he had the dual lure of playing for the same club as his father, Brian, and enjoying tremendous success in his adopted state.
"I certainly got big offers, but I enjoyed it up north and my father Brian played for the Lions as well so I probably had that family connection, which does help," Brown said.