News AFL overhauls Academy and FS bid matching, discussing draft lockout

[Obeanie1]

This is your 2nd terrible season. We got crappy assistance at the end of our 3rd terrible season.

You may get a couple of late picks that you must trade at the end of next year if you have another shocking year.

You should be hoping we get something good this year which will open the door for the Eagles at the end of 2025 if you’re still woeful.

Would rather an open draft and no bullsh!t meddeling by the AFL equalisation squad who feel they need to take over the draft and reallocate talent how THEY see it should be allocated.

I wonder how many fat AFLsalaries are being paid the keep this rort going. Get rid of it. Get rid of the management costs and give that to clubs to spend on the soft cap.

If Collingwood want to draft Nic Daicos they trade for pick 1. Let teams trade from three years of picks to land their gun father sons.

 

[Obeanie1]

It’s completely ****ed

Not for every club though.

Some are doing very well out of current arrangements.

 

[Wild Bill]

Would rather an open draft and no bullsh!t meddeling by the AFL equalisation squad who feel they need to take over the draft and reallocate talent how THEY see it should be allocated.

I wonder how many fat AFLsalaries are being paid the keep this rort going. Get rid of it. Get rid of the management costs and give that to clubs to spend on the soft cap.

If Collingwood want to draft Nic Daicos they trade for pick 1. Let teams trade from three years of picks to land their gun father sons.

100% - Walter is the perfect pick for us this year!!

 

[rye]

people need to calm down on this north 'priority package' having potential for compromising the draft

the only people who are insistent they will be receiving some kind of monster draft assistance lifeline are north supporters themselves

 

[I Love Lamb]

People focus on the effect early in the draft but its the later 1st round and early 2nd round picks that suffer the most.

This draft potentially could end up:

1. Reid - WC
2. Walter - academy bid matched Suns
3. McKercher - North
4. Curtin - Priority Pick North
5. Sanders - NGA bid matched North
6. Read - NGA bid matched Suns
7. Dursma - Hawks
8. Watson - whoever traded for the Suns pick
9. Rogers - NGA bid matched by Suns
10. O'Sullivan - Swans

With Croft and a Hawks father sons McCabe falling before 20.

So 7 top 20 players off the table for the rest of the comp.

THEN we have free agency compo for Himmelburg and possibley another.

So we can expect Eagles original pick 19 the 1st pick of the second round to start around pick 28. Geeez.

And I will point out in this scenario the recently labelled "Worse Team in AFL History" receive zero assistance. Nadda

Id like the AFL to justify how this actually works in equalisation?

Classic big footy phantom draft where picks (Dees pick 4) evaporate and ease to exist.

 

[Ants]

If North get pick 3 and Sanders this will be the biggest disgrace in draft history I’ve ever seen. How can the league allow this? They’ve put themself in this hole. Just be irresponsible with poor list management and you’ll be rewarded.

See Port Adelaide standing up to the AFL. More clubs must follow. If I was a Hawthorn fan in a deep rebuild I would genuinely be fuming.

Good luck to any other club apart from GC and North rebuilding through this draft.

I said this will be the most compromised non expansion draft in history, well it’s going to be as close as those expansion drafts.

The draft being compromised isn't an issue. It's always going to be compromised. You'll have teams targeting or avoiding players because of go-home. You'll have your Henry of the world slipping down the order because he's suspected to want to go to Geelong. You'll have teams not bidding on a player because they want to keep a good relationship with another club.

If the compromises are small, or fair and consistent, it's not a problem. The issue is the AFL is rubbish at running anything. It's also that the goals aren't all aligned with fairness. Getting more NSW and Qld kids playing AFL is good for the game, and the academy systems are performing wonderfully at this. However, they also are bad for the other 14 clubs. The AFL is happy to stay with that, so it ain't going (and on balance from a neutral point of view, that's probably a fair call).

But free-agency, priority picks and father-son should all be fair. The problem is the AFL hasn't done so.

Father Son
This is fair for most clubs, in that the opportunity is the same. The issue is for some of the clubs joining the AFL later, where frankly the AFL completely stuffed up the rules. Which was stupid as it shouldn't have been hard to do at all.

Free Agency
Would be very simple to fix.

• Make the team receiving the player have to pay out of their own draft hand in points. The discount they get goes from 0% (premiers) to 100% (bottom 4 clubs). This will disincintivise most teams from paying extra salary to avoid trades, and mean that teams at the top can't use FA to stay there forever. It also means the draft is less compromised for every team not involved in the deal.
• Have a minimum contract term for Band 1 compensaion.

Priority Picks
These were incredibly effective at helping teams rebuild and relatively fair as long as the rules stayed the same over time. Which they didn't. The AFL needs to boost rebuilds, while not encouraging tanking, and reducing the need for 'extra' assistance. The solution would be:

• Teams finishing bottom 6 get 'extra' picks #19-#24. So the second round starts at #25.
• It is unlikely a team finishing #9 to #12 is going to tank just to get pick #24 extra, as they'll likely be pushing for finals.
• This gives teams finishing low extra quality players while not compromising the first round.
• Additionally, teams finishing bottom 4 should be given 2 extra list spots for 2 years (cumulative). This allows them to take a few more chances in the draft lottery.

Of course, its too late for those fixes to work for North. So, they should be given pick #11 as a priority pick like GCS got for 2020. Pick #11 doesn't hit the worst performing clubs, but is a valuable pick for North. Also, right amongst the tall options.

 

[Wild Bill]

people need to calm down on this north 'priority package' having potential for compromising the draft

the only people who are insistent they will be receiving some kind of monster draft assistance lifeline are north supporters themselves

Settle down - we are hopefully we get something decent this year. The AFL may help or not but there is nothing wrong with being hopefully.

There are reports that we are in the frame to get a better offer than last year. But we are well aware we can get shafted - again.

 

[botts]

Scrap the academy system. It corrupt that 4 team never really have to rebuild and can add first round after first round. Equalisation doesn’t work it the system isn’t equal

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Coming from a club that's going to benefit from a spine of JUH/Darcy/Croft for the next decade, I think the academies and current bidding systems are a joke.

But ditching the father son entirely removes one of the magical things about this game. Clubs shouldn't get a discount for bidding on a F/S and be able to pay for a highly rated youngster with a bunch of third round picks they traded down for, but a balance can be found without eroding the proud history and traditions of the game.

Father-sons should just get added to the list after the draft like players are during the SSP.

Because clubs have to take them in the draft and this whole debacle around bids and matching bids has to be facilitated in front of the cameras people then consider that the draft is compromised when in reality no one could ever have taken Nick Daicos other than Collingwood, Darcy other than the Dogs, and so on.

 

[Kwality]

People focus on the effect early in the draft but its the later 1st round and early 2nd round picks that suffer the most.

This draft potentially could end up:

1. Reid - WC
2. Walter - academy bid matched Suns
3. McKercher - North
4. Curtin - Priority Pick North
5. Sanders - NGA bid matched North
6. Read - NGA bid matched Suns
7. Dursma - Hawks
8. Watson - whoever traded for the Suns pick
9. Rogers - NGA bid matched by Suns
10. O'Sullivan - Swans

With Croft and a Hawks father sons McCabe falling before 20.

So 7 top 20 players off the table for the rest of the comp.

THEN we have free agency compo for Himmelburg and possibley another.

So we can expect Eagles original pick 19 the 1st pick of the second round to start around pick 28. Geeez.

And I will point out in this scenario the recently labelled "Worse Team in AFL History" receive zero assistance. Nadda

Id like the AFL to justify how this actually works in equalisation?

Toss in the Eagles trading first pick ....

 

[Obeanie1]

Father-sons should just get added to the list after the draft like players are during the SSP.

Because clubs have to take them in the draft and this whole debacle around bids and matching bids has to be facilitated in front of the cameras people then consider that the draft is compromised when in reality no one could ever have taken Nick Daicos other than Collingwood, Darcy other than the Dogs, and so on.

Bollox.

Its called a national draft.

If you want to get a gun father son pay the market rate.

Let the market determine value and cough up. With no discounts.

 

[Obeanie1]

Classic big footy phantom draft where picks (Dees pick 4) evaporate and ease to exist.

I knew i forgot someone.

 

[Bestbird]

Bollox.

Its called a national draft.

If you want to get a gun father son pay the market rate.

Let the market determine value and cough up. With no discounts.

The points ranking is more of a problem with all the teams using a few 3 round draft picks to acquire a player bid in the top 4 pick wise.

 

[Kreuuuzeurns]

The points ranking is more of a problem with all the teams using a few 3 round draft picks to acquire a player bid in the top 4 pick wise.

Should need to use a pick within the same round of the bid, or within 18 picks.

Maximum of three picks can be used for a bid.

Reduce to 10% discount or no discount.

 

[GoEaglesGoSGIO]

If North get pick 3 and Sanders this will be the biggest disgrace in draft history I’ve ever seen. How can the league allow this? They’ve put themself in this hole. Just be irresponsible with poor list management and you’ll be rewarded.

See Port Adelaide standing up to the AFL. More clubs must follow. If I was a Hawthorn fan in a deep rebuild I would genuinely be fuming.

Good luck to any other club apart from GC and North rebuilding through this draft.

I said this will be the most compromised non expansion draft in history, well it’s going to be as close as those expansion drafts.

Seems odd that this is the circuit breaker re: North

Gold Coast lists of academy players coming up is nothing short of insane. By 2026 it will be the best young team ever assembled for sure

 

[Mofra]

He’s been in our academy since he was 14

For some reason they haven’t officially announced nga eligible players for us this year (not just him but all our former nga players)
But this guy is indigenous and should still be part of our academy

I agree. He should be part of your NGA.

And of he makes it to pick 40 or later, like every other NGA kid, congratulations he's yours. Just as the rules are currently written.

 

[vozzon]

I agree. He should be part of your NGA.

And of he makes it to pick 40 or later, like every other NGA kid, congratulations he's yours. Just as the rules are currently written.

Are the AFL trying to get North an exemption to that rule on top of allowing him to be in there NGA . Confused as to why it gets brought up as if hes highly rated he wont get there.

 

[Mofra]

Are the AFL trying to get North an exemption to that rule on top of allowing him to be in there NGA . Confused as to why it gets brought up as if hes highly rated he wont get there.

Yes. They're seeking priority access.

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Bollox.

Its called a national draft.

If you want to get a gun father son pay the market rate.

Let the market determine value and cough up. With no discounts.

You've been sucked in by a marketing charade.

 

[Young Gun #6]

So could North end up with theoretically the 2,3,4 and 5th best players in the draft?

Pick 2 their own
Pick 3 McKay compo
Pick 4 priority pick
Pick 5 NGA player being matched

?

 

[Boner Spirit]

North Melbourne is the Piers Morgan of the AFL world.

And hawthorn are jeremy clarkson

 

[botts]

So could North end up with theoretically the 2,3,4 and 5th best players in the draft?

Pick 2 their own
Pick 3 McKay compo
Pick 4 priority pick
Pick 5 NGA player being matched

?

And pick 18

 

[Dockeroo]

Father-sons should just get added to the list after the draft like players are during the SSP.

Because clubs have to take them in the draft and this whole debacle around bids and matching bids has to be facilitated in front of the cameras people then consider that the draft is compromised when in reality no one could ever have taken Nick Daicos other than Collingwood, Darcy other than the Dogs, and so on.

Huh?
We are all talking about how the integrity of access to talent is compromised and how it’s unfair that teams can get elite talents like Daicos by using late second round and third round picks and your solution is……

Let them list him for free?
Great contribution.

 

[bigmikles089]

There are reports that we are in the frame to get a better offer than last year. But we are well aware we can get shafted - again.

And by shafted, you mean treated the same as any non-academy based football club? (The academies are another irk of mine but that's another discussion).

I seriously can't fathom how there could have been any expectation for a significant win-loss improvement from last year and for this expectation to be used to justify a top 10 talent in Sanders being walked through the door and the NGA rules being made obsolete. Wardlaw and Sheezel have both demonstrated an ability to play AFL at a high level, along with a number of other recent draftees on your list.

There needs to be a degree of accountability when it comes to list management decisions - have some pride and have the North Melbourne Football Club build the playing list for the North Melbourne Football Club (refer to Adelaide's list build over recent years), don't just rattle the tin outside AFL house and say it's still not enough. The package you received last year to assist with trading seemed equitable and acted as a vehicle to assist more established AFL talent through the door, however to just remove a top 10 talent from the draft pool because there hasn't been an instant turnaround is ludicrous.

The following philosophy needs to be adopted when looking at any tampering with the first round of the draft, including a reassessment of the Northern Academies - The assistance package has been designed to make North Melbourne more competitive sooner whilst also not penalising other clubs' draft positions, with the League keen to protect the integrity of this year's draft order.

 

[The Nostradamus]

People focus on the effect early in the draft but its the later 1st round and early 2nd round picks that suffer the most.

This draft potentially could end up:

1. Reid - WC
2. Walter - academy bid matched Suns
3. McKercher - North
4. Curtin - Priority Pick North
5. Sanders - NGA bid matched North
6. Read - NGA bid matched Suns
7. Dursma - Hawks
8. Watson - whoever traded for the Suns pick
9. Rogers - NGA bid matched by Suns
10. O'Sullivan - Swans

With Croft and a Hawks father sons McCabe falling before 20.

So 7 top 20 players off the table for the rest of the comp.

THEN we have free agency compo for Himmelburg and possibley another.

So we can expect Eagles original pick 19 the 1st pick of the second round to start around pick 28. Geeez.

And I will point out in this scenario the recently labelled "Worse Team in AFL History" receive zero assistance. Nadda

Id like the AFL to justify how this actually works in equalisation?

There won’t be a bid for sanders he will be prelisted like the suns did with Alex Davies as part of their assistance a few years ago