Amid uproar from Victorian clubs over the Giants having priority access to the region’s players, Kelly pointed out that the benefits of academy programs go well beyond the few footballers who are drafted.

He applauded the Giants for investing in the area.

“Those academies cost money, they cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to run and the kids are all getting a better level of coaching and stuff they’re not getting at their local footy clubs,” Kelly said.

“Everyone benefits.”

The cost of development is significant with a former Giants board member estimating he’d invested $2 million into the Giants and Swans academies in recent years and plans to make that $10 million before too long.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan declared on Friday the Riverina zone won’t be reviewed this year. 

But the rise of the Giants, highlighted by last week’s thrashing of Hawthorn, is worrying Melbourne clubs who note the drafting of four players from the Riverina last November – and the prospect of more to come. 

Kelly, who has previously worked as a Giants academy coach but has no role with the club now, believes the concern is misguided.

The former Swans captain and 1995 Brownlow Medallist said the Giants have re-energised a football heartland.

“It makes the other clubs who never got over the border think there is some good blokes around here,” he said.

“For boys in our area, the opportunities of getting drafted are a lot more than when the Giants weren’t here.”

The Giants don’t believe they were gifted a virtual ‘draft factory’.

“There’s an enormous heritage there of playing Australian football but in terms of pure numbers (of players being drafted in recent decades) that hasn’t been the case and you can’t expect it to happen without any investment or support,” GWS general manager of communications, James Avery said.

Paul Kelly points to players like Dougal Howard (Port Adelaide), Harry Cunningham (Sydney Swans), Jock Cornell (Geelong) and Max King (Melbourne) as proof that the academy benefits more than one club. 

Temora coach Christin Macri is another who has previously worked with the Giants academy.

He strongly supports Kelly’s view.

“Without the academy some of these players mightn’t be playing AFL,” Macri said.

“What do we want? Surely we want numbers playing footy and the system’s there to make sure they do.

“You go into any Giants academy training and there's 30 kids at all different ages getting some good training and training with the best kids in the region.

“That's so good for their whole development and the development of footy in the area.”

Macri and Kelly believes it’s a case of sour grapes from the Victorian clubs who signed off on all the Giants’ concessions and are only now complaining because they’re a threat. 

And Macri dismissed suggestions GWS didn’t deserve access to Jacob Hopper, who finished his schooling in Ballarat.

“Jacob went away to Victoria and that further developed his football,” Macri said.

“But Jacob's been in that (Giants) program since he was a boy.

“There's all the kids in the 13s, 14s, 15s academy groups and without the academies, we might lose some of those kids.”

Steve Mahar, the regional manager for AFL Southern NSW/ACT, believes it’s premature to question the development systems underpinning the Giants and said the importance of having an AFL team for fans to identify with and have access to can’t be underestimated. 

He even sees an upside in the current furore over the zones.

“It’s a real positive and the discussion is good because it’s showing that the system is working,” Mahar said.

“It’s great for NSW to be leading the charge in player development and nurturing players.”