I posted this on the Richmond board but I feel that it is an issue that also effects the MFC.
We should do more to protect our intersts going forward. Leigh Matthews makes a good point when he says that we should be protected from northern raiders poaching our uncontracted players. But what about priority picks. Surely we should try and do something to make the AFL reconsider. This year could bring us to our knees while a club with no history and no long term supporters is given the cream of the crop. We should do something.
Consider the following:
1. RFC and the MFC will most likely finish with under 5 wins this year but will only recieve pick 4/6 at best and then pick 27/28, 44/45 in the second and third rounds. This is a far cry from the deal Carlton got a couple of years ago when they recieved pick 1, pick 3 and pick 20 just to get them started - and they didn't even finish on the bottom. This draft enabled them to secure Judd and effectively change their club.
2. Our lowly position leaves us vulnerable to losing players who may want to play finals sooner and who are getting tired of playing at a club which has had very little short term success. The lack of quality draft picks coming in will compound the players feelings of a bleak future further increasing the liklihood of players seeking alternative clubs to achieve success.
3. The AFL claims it cannot afford to allow GC17 to fail but what about the survival of the RFC and the MFC. If the RFC/MFC has another lean decade it could be catastrophic.
Surely there is a case for the AFL protecting us from northern raiders and bringing back the priority pick system for clubs who severely under achieve. At the very least they could delay these picks, giving us priority picks (if we urn them) in a future draft.
At any rate I think that if the RFC and the MFC fans/clubs unite on this issue and demand some action we are more likely to protect our clubs than if we sit back and just accept the Gold Coast and West Sydney have a right to the vast majority of the best talent in Australia over the next two years.
We should do more to protect our intersts going forward. Leigh Matthews makes a good point when he says that we should be protected from northern raiders poaching our uncontracted players. But what about priority picks. Surely we should try and do something to make the AFL reconsider. This year could bring us to our knees while a club with no history and no long term supporters is given the cream of the crop. We should do something.
Consider the following:
1. RFC and the MFC will most likely finish with under 5 wins this year but will only recieve pick 4/6 at best and then pick 27/28, 44/45 in the second and third rounds. This is a far cry from the deal Carlton got a couple of years ago when they recieved pick 1, pick 3 and pick 20 just to get them started - and they didn't even finish on the bottom. This draft enabled them to secure Judd and effectively change their club.
2. Our lowly position leaves us vulnerable to losing players who may want to play finals sooner and who are getting tired of playing at a club which has had very little short term success. The lack of quality draft picks coming in will compound the players feelings of a bleak future further increasing the liklihood of players seeking alternative clubs to achieve success.
3. The AFL claims it cannot afford to allow GC17 to fail but what about the survival of the RFC and the MFC. If the RFC/MFC has another lean decade it could be catastrophic.
Surely there is a case for the AFL protecting us from northern raiders and bringing back the priority pick system for clubs who severely under achieve. At the very least they could delay these picks, giving us priority picks (if we urn them) in a future draft.
At any rate I think that if the RFC and the MFC fans/clubs unite on this issue and demand some action we are more likely to protect our clubs than if we sit back and just accept the Gold Coast and West Sydney have a right to the vast majority of the best talent in Australia over the next two years.
