Mr MysteryGuest
Norm Smith Medallist
- Apr 4, 2015
- 8,292
- 8,568
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
Will we go with a 38/6 structure, or a 39/5 structure?
I've been assuming that we'd stick with 38/6, the same structure we used this year. Cat A rookies no longer need to be upgraded before being selected, so having the extra players on the rookie list makes sense from a TPP perspective.
We recently lost McGovern, who was traded with 2 years still to run on his contract. We didn't trade in any highly paid players, and we haven't re-signed any high value players since before he announced his departure. That means that the bulk of the money he was due to be paid in 2019 & 2020 hasn't been reallocated elsewhere. It's quite possible that his departure has created a temporary "war chest", which could allow us to go with a 39/5 list structure (I think 40/4 is unlikely).
Why is this important? A 39/5 list structure would mean that we could re-sign Cheney and make 4 "live" selections (inside the top-21) in the National Draft, whereas a 38/6 list structure means Cheney has to go if we are to use all 4 draft picks (or we could re-sign Cheney and make 3 selections).
Thoughts?
Do we need to consider how many picks we’ll need to take next year?
I think we’ll start to transition the list by moving on our older depth players as our draftees move up the order.
I can see Jacobs, Douglas and Mackay retiring next year. Otten and Cheney if he stays on the list, could retire/ be listed. Davis is on a 1 year deal.
We could have up to 5-6 players go, and I think the only rookie who might move on to the main list is Murphy. We have no 3rd or 4th next year as it stands, so I doubt we’ll want to go deep into that draft.
Will we continue to go short on the main for the next few years? Surely salary cap is not a concern in the immediate future. Are we even sure we won’t end up using pick 73? Right now the only advantage of having extra rookies is the flexibility of delisting then after 1 year.