Opinion Has Matt Rowell killed the raising of the draft age argument?

[The 747]

Matt Rowell got an injury very easily. Perhaps due to his young age

How exactly do you draw that conclusion? He dislocated his shoulder by landing on his elbow. It is not like he has skinny little kid arms either.

 

[GC2015]

Matt Rowell got an injury very easily. Perhaps due to his young age

A 29-year-old Gary Ablett Jr in his prime did his shoulder in an almost identical way back in 2014. It had nothing to do with Rowell's age.

 

[Baird]

Rowell, Rozee, Walsh, Duursma, Stephenson, Mcgrath

 

[Walshawk]

Only allow 18 year olds in the first round. It means those that are not elite or AFL ready can concentrate on year 12 and have another year to develop.

 

[piesaregreat]

AFL may raise the age but will drop it the first time a 18 year old kid chooses some other sport

 

[Scotland]

People get the draft age thing all wrong.

In the NBA they banned players being drafted straight out of high school (which would have held back Kobe Bryant, LeBron James a year) and in order to be eligible for the draft you need to be 19 that year and one year removed from high school. So you can go to college for a year, or go overseas, whatever. If you look at the 2019 draft the top 5 were 19, 20, 19, 22, 19 with Zion Williamson at #1 the most physically 19 year old you will ever see. Teams have historically draft guys anywhere from 18-22 and body of work over a college career is a factor.

Compare that to the AFL, how far down the draft order do you have to go to find the first player picked who isn't 18? With DFAs, mid season draft, pre-season supplemental selection period there are ample opportunities to sign state league players and AFL discards. Every year people say that draft picks are overrated vs established players, and every year clubs hold on tightly to early picks and use them exclusively on 18 year olds from the NAB League and WAFL/SANFL colts.

You don't have to draft the youngest players on offer, and if you do you don't have to play them. The whole system is set up around players being picked at 18 and finishing their development at AFL level which is nuts. If the NAB League was made into an U/20 or U/21 comp I still think that clubs would be drawn to drafting bottom aged players because they want to be clever and project how player will turn out, and they want to get 15+ years out of them.

 

[Obeanie1]

Maybe he just put it back on the agenda.

18 year old thrown into the meat grinder too early?

 

[BigFatNorthFan]

Does one person winning the lottery prove that buying lottery tickets is a great idea? No. I'm not saying the draft age should be raised but making a call based on a single player is silly.

 

[eastfreo75]

A few months ago there was a portion of the footy public who thought it was a fantastic idea to raise the draft age to 19. Matt Rowell turned 19 on Wednesday and may actually be leading the Brownlow medal count right now.

Is the raising of the draft age argument dead now?

Yes

 

[jackess]

The latest lockdowns makes it even harder for a decent draft to go ahead. Cancel this years draft apart for mature agers (anyone who’s nominated in a previous year) and raise the draft age to 19 for next year onwards.

Also change the draft order to factor in more than just the past season. Create a ladder from the past 3 seasons and use the reverse order.

 

[Covertackle]

Maybe he just put it back on the agenda.

18 year old thrown into the meat grinder too early?

Matt Rowell. He can only play one way. Too slow. Cant put him on the wing for experience and speedy class for a year. He is a slow inside mid who relies on the ability to absorb contact while winning the ball and exiting traffic. He is 178cm and 75kg. I believed it was inevitable, and said so. Hes too small and young to be playing that way with a long term career in mind. Suns and everyone else were calling him a 'BULL' a 'BEAST' etc, when he was no such thing.

Had Rowell had 12 months of playing vs men at a lower level, had a good weights regime and added 10kg, he would have been more prepared to realise the contact and stresses vs bigger bodies. His style of play was always going to see him bruised. He would have been more prepared with at least 1 season vs men and 10kg on his frame.

 

[Covertackle]

….and considering Rowell was the golden child of the; 'keep the draft age as Rowell proves 18yo's can compete' argument, he now is evidence that 18 may not be the best age to begin to compete against the AFL elite?

19yo makes much more sense. Im all for kids engaging in a 'plan B' for a year before the draft. Begin Uni, a trade, play some club footy vs adults, all is better preparation for a footy future, AND for life. After all, the average draftee only has a few AFL games, but also has got 50-70 years of life to consider and prepare for. That 1 year after school while waiting for the draft, beginning A Uni or trade course, will do more for most of them, than the few AFL games they will play. Many will add 5-10% body weight (muscle) without trying too hard as well.

Might sort out some of the potential trouble makers who will get a pot or alcohol habit and expose themselves before anyone invests in them? At the least, many will learn from some life lessons they wouldn't get in a protected AFL environment.

 

[Sassermon]

Matt Rowell. He can only play one way. Too slow. Cant put him on the wing for experience and speedy class for a year. He is a slow inside mid who relies on the ability to absorb contact while winning the ball and exiting traffic. He is 178cm and 75kg. I believed it was inevitable, and said so. Hes too small and young to be playing that way with a long term career in mind. Suns and everyone else were calling him a 'BULL' a 'BEAST' etc, when he was no such thing.

Had Rowell had 12 months of playing vs men at a lower level, had a good weights regime and added 10kg, he would have been more prepared to realise the contact and stresses vs bigger bodies. His style of play was always going to see him bruised. He would have been more prepared with at least 1 season vs men and 10kg on his frame.

I'm not convinced that playing style or condition has anything to do with this sort if injury. It's not as if he went for a bump and came off second best, he hit the ground in a way that meant the shoulder joint is what has to give way. That kind of impact often causes a dislocation with players in peak physical condition in the prime of their careers as the shoulder joint is weaker than the elbow and the ground. While there may be a lot of arguments that support raising the draft age, this one, I dont believe is one of them.

 

[Covertackle]

I'm not convinced that playing style or condition has anything to do with this sort if injury. It's not as if he went for a bump and came off second best, he hit the ground in a way that meant the shoulder joint is what has to give way. That kind of impact often causes a dislocation with players in peak physical condition in the prime of their careers as the shoulder joint is weaker than the elbow and the ground. While there may be a lot of arguments that support raising the draft age, this one, I dont believe is one of them.

I get what you are saying. Though I doubt it would have happened in u18s as the force generated by mature men is greater pound for pound than what a teen can generate. He has dropped with more force than he was used to.