- Aug 22, 2014
- 13,664
- 49,624
- AFL Club
- Carlton
The draft is ineffective for equalization for the same reasons as the salary cap. The issues are structural and no amount of picks will fix what's wrong with carlton and various cellar dwellers before us.
Disagree. You've only gotta look at the rise of St Kilda, Melbourne and the Bulldogs to see that canny drafting can yield results. Hawthorn are still the pinnacle, but that won't last forever. The Saints are building a strong, competitive culture off the back of a few close wins and not much else. Jesse Hogan alone is giving the Dees something to aspire to, and they're starting to show signs of being much more competitive. Doggies are playing finals, and are even a chance for top 4!
Is more draft picks going to guarantee a rise up the ladder - of course not! It needs to be supported by a competent recruiting team, and a strong development group amongst the coaching staff. However you can't argue that getting more talented players into a club has zero impact on their improvement.
We don't need free agency but the players wanted it. They are the ones who forced its introduction.
I get how it happened - just wondering what it's supposed to achieve. Players already have a high degree of control over where they play (Tom Boyd/Ryan Griffen, Brisbane 5, Paddy Ryder etc.), so why introduce a system that rewards the team they're leaving, at no cost to the destination club?
We already have the potential for the AFL to mediate trades if required. Scrap FA and exercise those rights a little more if destination clubs are trying to ream the lower teams with unfair trades.