Just read this article from www.realfooty.com.au and then tell me what you think?
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Draft debacle looms
By JAKE NIALL
The AFL is poised to change the contentious draft concession rules as the likelihood grows that an unprecedented three clubs will receive priority picks in the October draft.
On present ladder positions and win-loss ratios, Fremantle, West Coast and St Kilda should all qualify for the AFL's priority picks, which are awarded to any club that wins five games or fewer.
Effectively, this would result in the bottom three clubs sharing the first six selections in the draft - and the 13th-placed club, on present trends, would not have a draft pick until number seven.
While the AFL has stated that it will not change its poor performer's rule, there is a groundswell of clubs calling for the special assistance (rule seven) system to be granted only to clubs that perform badly over two years or more.
The clubs have observed the unfairness of the bottom three clubs sharing the first six choices and each having access to two of the best half-dozen players in the country, while the 12th and 13th clubs have only picks seven and eight respectively.
AFL football operations manager Andrew Demetriou yesterday indicated that a less generous draft concession rule - such as one that averages a team's wins over two season - was under serious consideration.
Geelong is among several clubs that object to the present system and the Cats have made a formal submission calling for draft assistance to be averaged over two seasons.
Geelong chief executive Brian Cook said yesterday that it was quite possible that the 13th-placed club would not have a draft pick until number seven.
Cook made the point that West Coast had been a finalist for 10 seasons and had a ``reasonable list'', but had been hit hard by injuries.
``I think we've got a small concern in that,'' he said. ``I don't think we've ever had three teams eligible for concessions.''
Demetriou heads up the AFL's draft review working party,which is set to recommend that the priority choices - which clubs such as Melbourne, Fremantle, Collingwood and St Kilda have received in recent years - be changed from next year.
Demetriou said that any new system would not take effect until 2002 and that clubs would ``start from scratch'' next year. In effect, this would probably mean no club will be eligible for concessions in 2002 because they would need another year of poor performances to qualify.
Fremantle, thus, will receive a priority pick unless it wins another six matches this year, with both the Saints and Eagles needing a further four wins (or another three wins and a draw) tomiss out on the draft reward.
If St Kilda fails to win only three games or fewer in the last 11 rounds, it will receive the bounty of a second full year of draft concessions, having earned the first two draft picks (Nick Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke) last year by winning only two games. Fremantle had qualified for a priority pick in 1999 (selections two and four), along with bottom-placed Collingwood.
Kangaroos' chief executive Greg Miller suggested that the new system might give draft assistance to a team that was poor over three years. He said a team such as the Saints would be blessed to receive priority picks two years running. ``We'd be most jealous.''
Carlton, which has not received any concessions since the draft was introduced, would also like the assistance to be averaged.
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Personally I am happy that it appears that WC will finally get some good draft picks and a few of them as well. But I can understand the argument of some clubs concerning clubs that always get these concessions and never improve under them. Is the draft overrated? Will a youngster picked up at #4 be just as good as one picked up at #19? I do think it is unfair however that some clubs first pick will be #7 when usually it would be #4. What does everyone else think?
Vis
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Draft debacle looms
By JAKE NIALL
The AFL is poised to change the contentious draft concession rules as the likelihood grows that an unprecedented three clubs will receive priority picks in the October draft.
On present ladder positions and win-loss ratios, Fremantle, West Coast and St Kilda should all qualify for the AFL's priority picks, which are awarded to any club that wins five games or fewer.
Effectively, this would result in the bottom three clubs sharing the first six selections in the draft - and the 13th-placed club, on present trends, would not have a draft pick until number seven.
While the AFL has stated that it will not change its poor performer's rule, there is a groundswell of clubs calling for the special assistance (rule seven) system to be granted only to clubs that perform badly over two years or more.
The clubs have observed the unfairness of the bottom three clubs sharing the first six choices and each having access to two of the best half-dozen players in the country, while the 12th and 13th clubs have only picks seven and eight respectively.
AFL football operations manager Andrew Demetriou yesterday indicated that a less generous draft concession rule - such as one that averages a team's wins over two season - was under serious consideration.
Geelong is among several clubs that object to the present system and the Cats have made a formal submission calling for draft assistance to be averaged over two seasons.
Geelong chief executive Brian Cook said yesterday that it was quite possible that the 13th-placed club would not have a draft pick until number seven.
Cook made the point that West Coast had been a finalist for 10 seasons and had a ``reasonable list'', but had been hit hard by injuries.
``I think we've got a small concern in that,'' he said. ``I don't think we've ever had three teams eligible for concessions.''
Demetriou heads up the AFL's draft review working party,which is set to recommend that the priority choices - which clubs such as Melbourne, Fremantle, Collingwood and St Kilda have received in recent years - be changed from next year.
Demetriou said that any new system would not take effect until 2002 and that clubs would ``start from scratch'' next year. In effect, this would probably mean no club will be eligible for concessions in 2002 because they would need another year of poor performances to qualify.
Fremantle, thus, will receive a priority pick unless it wins another six matches this year, with both the Saints and Eagles needing a further four wins (or another three wins and a draw) tomiss out on the draft reward.
If St Kilda fails to win only three games or fewer in the last 11 rounds, it will receive the bounty of a second full year of draft concessions, having earned the first two draft picks (Nick Riewoldt and Justin Koschitzke) last year by winning only two games. Fremantle had qualified for a priority pick in 1999 (selections two and four), along with bottom-placed Collingwood.
Kangaroos' chief executive Greg Miller suggested that the new system might give draft assistance to a team that was poor over three years. He said a team such as the Saints would be blessed to receive priority picks two years running. ``We'd be most jealous.''
Carlton, which has not received any concessions since the draft was introduced, would also like the assistance to be averaged.
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Personally I am happy that it appears that WC will finally get some good draft picks and a few of them as well. But I can understand the argument of some clubs concerning clubs that always get these concessions and never improve under them. Is the draft overrated? Will a youngster picked up at #4 be just as good as one picked up at #19? I do think it is unfair however that some clubs first pick will be #7 when usually it would be #4. What does everyone else think?
Vis
