View Full Version : "Draft champions"....I've heard it all before!!!!
Blue Boyz
26 Nov 2005, 18:03
The old catch cry used to be March champions, now we have Draft champions.
Today's BigFooty is full of supporters patting themselves on the back on how well their club has drafted and how their selections will fill in their club's shortfall in midfielders, talls, defenders etc, etc, and how so and so was a "steal" at their respective selection number, all before these players have even had one official training run let alone had a full preseason prep.
And before the year is out how many of these same supporters will be adding some of today's selections to their list of the 'greatest draft duds' of all time and criticising their respective club's (or other clubs) recruiting staff for having no idea of what they are doing as some of today "Draft champions" have failed to fulfill the clubs' pre PSD expectations.
Why are there some many failures? Despite the AFL's best efforts to put in a place a process to help identify the best young football in the country, the PSD is a still a lottery, not helped by the young age of the draftees.
How can we stop this waste of young talent? IMHO one of the main reasons why there is a significant number of these youngsters who fail to live up to expectations is that many of the draftees are either too physically and psychologically immature to be drafted and would be better served by being recruited at least one or two years later.
I can hear the argument that someone like Tim Watson would be deprived of 2 or 3 years football but for every kid that is ready to play off the bat like Timmy, there are dozens that will be lost to the AFL and fall by the wayside because the draft system fits only one size and doesn't cater for footballers who mature and grow at different speeds and ages.
Country, suburban and interstate football leagues are full of these type of "dropouts" or players that weren't even considered good or big enough at 16 pr 17 years of age to play in the TAC comp. but now could be AFL footballers if they were given a chance but literally the door is shut on them once they pass the magic age of 18.
I know they can nominate for the PSD but AFL clubs have generally stopped looking once players have graduated out of the TAC and to me this is such a waste of football talent.
Any comments??
vinnie_vegas69
26 Nov 2005, 18:09
There's nothing wrong with the draft system, just the idiots on this board.
Maybe, but you cant hold back some just cos a few are immature brats, Someone like Hurn deserves to be playing AFL, he is might mature, just read his response about getting drafted.. Its hard but theres no need to change it yet imo.
Blue Boyz
26 Nov 2005, 18:14
There's nothing wrong with the draft system, just the idiots on this board.
Maybe I'm the problem and I should stop reading what these imbeciles are posting about their club's new "champions". :)
Luckily every club got just what they needed again.
There's nothing wrong with the draft system, just the idiots on this board.
That's a sweeping statement, I agree 100% with the latter part but disagree with the first part. Nothing's perfect!
Maybe I'm the problem and I should stop reading what these imbiciles are posting about their club's new champions :)
You're ok mate pity the same can't be said about some of the imbecilic wannabe recruiters that post on here anyway where else can you get a free read of people making fools of themselves?
The old catch cry used to be March champions, now we have Draft champions.
Today's BigFooty is full of supporters patting themselves on the back on how well their club has drafted and how their selections will fill in their club's shortfall in midfielders, talls, defenders etc, etc, and how so and so was a "steal" at their respective selection number, all before these players have even had one official training run let alone had a full preseason prep.
And before the year is out how many of these same supporters will be adding some of today's selections to their list of the 'greatest draft duds' of all time and criticising their respective club's (or other clubs) recruiting staff for having no idea of what they are doing as some of today "Draft champions" have failed to fulfill the clubs' pre PSD expectations.
Why are there some many failures? Despite the AFL's best efforts to put in a place a process to help identify the best young football in the country, the PSD is a still a lottery, not helped by the young age of the draftees.
How can we stop this waste of young talent? IMHO one of the main reasons why there is a significant number of these youngsters who fail to live up to expectations is that many of the draftees are either too physically and psychologically immature to be drafted and would be better served by being recruited at least one or two years later.
I can hear the argument that someone like Tim Watson would be deprived of 2 or 3 years football but for every kid that is ready to play off the bat like Timmy, there are dozens that will be lost to the AFL and fall by the wayside because the draft system fits only one size and doesn't cater for footballers who mature and grow at different speeds and ages.
Country, suburban and interstate football leagues are full of these type of "dropouts" or players that weren't even considered good or big enough at 16 pr 17 years of age to play in the TAC comp. but now could be AFL footballers if they were given a chance but literally the door is shut on them once they pass the magic age of 18.
I know they can nominate for the PSD but AFL clubs have generally stopped looking once players have graduated out of the TAC and to me this is such a waste of football talent.
Any comments??
Bingo
Excellent post :thumbsu:
beatnik
27 Nov 2005, 00:16
good post blue boyz
i agree that some of the wannabe recruiters get a bit carried away and have 20/20 vision in hindsight but i tend to think that it's a healthy sign for the code if there is such an interest in developing young players
there's no harm wrong with speculating on potential stars of the future and if it gives AFL fans like us something to crap on about over the summer then that's fine with me - i think it also gives clubs who are in a lean patch some relevance in the market place while they rebuild
look at hawthorn and the Bullies - they are following the template set by St Kilda for investing in youth and selling themselves as the next 'up-and-comers' and good on 'em
the fans come out to support their teams even though they are getting pumped because they want to see this talent on the rise - the franklins, rougheads, griffens, cooneys etc
as i said, i think it is good for low-finished teams to have some hope on the horizon
peace
I know they can nominate for the PSD but AFL clubs have generally stopped looking once players have graduated out of the TAC and to me this is such a waste of football talent.
Any comments??
This is an excellent point - only very few clubs have got the resources or philosophy that there is talent outside of the TAC Cup. I know Collingwood has a guy whose job is to look at the VFL and other "mature age" leagues, but how many opportunities will that open up for the countless hundreds of potential AFL players who are plying their trade outside the "system"?
mediumsizered
27 Nov 2005, 11:59
good post blue boyz
i agree that some of the wannabe recruiters get a bit carried away and have 20/20 vision in hindsight but i tend to think that it's a healthy sign for the code if there is such an interest in developing young players
there's no harm wrong with speculating on potential stars of the future and if it gives AFL fans like us something to crap on about over the summer then that's fine with me - i think it also gives clubs who are in a lean patch some relevance in the market place while they rebuild
look at hawthorn and the Bullies - they are following the template set by St Kilda for investing in youth and selling themselves as the next 'up-and-comers' and good on 'em
the fans come out to support their teams even though they are getting pumped because they want to see this talent on the rise - the franklins, rougheads, griffens, cooneys etc
as i said, i think it is good for low-finished teams to have some hope on the horizon
peace
Well said Beatnik. I was certainly going to the Carlton games in the latter part of the season to watch the likes of Bentick, Simpson, Carazzo, Fisher and Walker in action, because there wasn't much else to enthuse about. With the addition of four more young blokes from the draft and the hoped further development of Russell, Blackwell, Hartlett and O'Hailpin, I will be looking forward to next season with great enthusiasm, while at the same time being realistic about how much improvement to expect. Every win will be a bonus, the more important outcome will be these young blokes gaining AFL experience.
This is an excellent point - only very few clubs have got the resources or philosophy that there is talent outside of the TAC Cup. I know Collingwood has a guy whose job is to look at the VFL and other "mature age" leagues, but how many opportunities will that open up for the countless hundreds of potential AFL players who are plying their trade outside the "system"?
An elite TAC midfielder might run 10-11km in a game. Barry Hall runs that as a key forward. An elite AFL player nudges 18-19km in a game.
Getting to those sort of stamina levels while at that same time adding bulk, improving pace and skills and learning the game takes 3-4 years for most players.
If you take a 21 year old and give him a 3 year apprenticeship the return is pretty low. Maybe 5-6 good years of footy? Pretty big investment for the return.
Also guys who go into the VFL / SANFL etc tend to stall in their development. Most of them need to work, don't have access to nutritionists, weights coaches etc. They don't train 10-12 times a week like those on the AFL lists.
So in most cases the guy that is passed over at 18 is not very much improved at all at 21 (exceptions of course). Very few guys who are not in an AFL system are going to have the time or inclination to improve their kicking for example.
The 18 year olds that get drafted improve rapidly under the full-time coaching of the AFL. The 18 year olds who are undrafted started off behind and fall further behind as part-time footballers. It takes a lot of commitment and effort to even keep up with their AFL peers let alone edge in front of them.
Why are there some many failures? Despite the AFL's best efforts to put in a place a process to help identify the best young football in the country, the PSD is a still a lottery, not helped by the young age of the draftees.
How can we stop this waste of young talent? IMHO one of the main reasons why there is a significant number of these youngsters who fail to live up to expectations is that many of the draftees are either too physically and psychologically immature to be drafted and would be better served by being recruited at least one or two years later.
There are not "so many failures" and "a waste of young talent" as you suggest.
This is where your expectations are as unrealistic as those BigFooty posters you are criticising for their optimism.
Professional sport only allows the cream to rise to the top. At each stage of the process whether it is under-10s footy, under-18s footy or senior AFL more than half the guys are not going to be able to go up a level.
If each club succesfully recruited 5 high quality AFL players a year they'd have a list of 50 Buckleys and Careys inside 10 years. There simply aren't that many good players in the league let alone at one club.
The draft / trade / rookie list period is about recruiting 10-12 guys in the hope of finding 2-3 good ones. 5 good players every two years and a 10 year cycle gives you a premiership team.
2.5 good players x 16 teams means about 40 players making the grade in nay year which means that with 120 or so guys in the 3 drafts that 2/3rs will fail. And about half of those will be guys who might play footy but are a bit rubbish.
This will continue to be true no matter what 'system' you advocate. The very nature of elite sport is that the great majority of people will fail. Only a small handfull will succeed.
Expecting anymore than 20 good players in any year is where the mistake lies.
H Dolphin
27 Nov 2005, 14:55
Luckily every club got just what they needed again.
..and couldn't believe how the player they picked up with their first selection was still there because they ahd rated him top 3.
gandaal
27 Nov 2005, 15:04
..and couldn't believe how the player they picked up with their first selection was still there because they ahd rated him top 3.
Yep. Carlton rated Edwards the best player in the draft and we couldn't believe he was still there at 36. Astonishing :eek: