Mega Thread Non-Freo AFL Discussion 2025

[Lach72]

We know what they'll get for TDK though?

Also, with what St Kilda were offering, we always knew this was going to be pick 19

Sure…and knowing makes it better how? My point stands…19 for a crab like Silvagni

 

[malpaso]

Compensation picks being based on contract value is insane. Muppet levels by the AFL.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Compensation picks being based on contract value is insane. Muppet levels by the AFL.

How else would you do it?

 

[malpaso]

How else would you do it?

The players age, position, rating. Common freaking sense. The contract value allows clubs to manipulate it and there should be a ceiling on the picks.

 

[Tonga Bob]

So you’re saying we didn’t get 5 million extra like Tassie are getting, and we couldn’t use our whole salary cap so couldn’t sign any players, then they gave us pick 1 in 1996 but only after they’d removed the best 12 16 year old players and given them to the clubs that gave us their second hand duds, so we missed out on Matthew Lloyd etc, but then gave Gold Coast, GWS and Tassie pre listing rights to 17 year olds and also the ability to trade other pre listing rights to get good players with their massively expanded salary cap, while also giving them every second draft pick for two drafts, and Tassie can also sign father sons, while they made it really difficult for us to do the same?

Colour me shocked!

Also, Freo why you so shit and not like GWS and making GF early?

I am saying nothing of the sort, and you'd be a fool and a communist to think otherwise.

 

[Taylor]

The players age, position, rating. Common freaking sense. The contract value allows clubs to manipulate it and there should be a ceiling on the picks.

I think the market value of the player is the most consistent and unbiased way to do it, the most dispassionate. It's clean. It's not like judging a diving competition at the olympics

 

[malpaso]

I think the market value of the player is the most consistent and unbiased way to do it, the most dispassionate. It's clean. It's not like judging a diving competition at the olympics

Wrong, it's open to manipulation. Take the NFL for example. Compensation is handed out much later and the picks handed out do not enter the top 3 rounds and are not based on contractual terms of their new team.
How hard is it for a league to 'rate' a player amongst their peers positionally? Answer: Not hard, the ratings and stats are everywhere.

 

[Taylor]

Wrong, it's open to manipulation. Take the NFL for example. Compensation is handed out much later and the picks handed out do not enter the top 3 rounds and are not based on contractual terms of their new team.
How hard is it for a league to 'rate' a player amongst their peers positionally? Answer: Not hard, the ratings and stats are everywhere.

The ratings have their flaws. They had McPharlin way down about 200th in defenders, meanwhile he was the #1 least wanted opponent for key forwards at the time.

Having a player leaving your club as a free agent so you plonk him on half back to get lots of cheap possessions and metres gained, boosting his rating for a better pick in compensation is just overly complicated.

Money and years are clean and easy to understand, while we have a system that doesn't tell you what the compensation pick is until you decide to match or not I think it needs to be easy to guess.

 

[malpaso]

The ratings have their flaws. They had McPharlin way down about 200th in defenders, meanwhile he was the #1 least wanted opponent for key forwards at the time.

Having a player leaving your club as a free agent so you plonk him on half back to get lots of cheap possessions and metres gained, boosting his rating for a better pick in compensation is just overly complicated.

Money and years are clean and easy to understand, while we have a system that doesn't tell you what the compensation pick is until you decide to match or not I think it needs to be easy to guess.

Did the Blues want to pay him 850K? Do the Blues rate pick 19 better than Silvagni?

Why isn't the compensation based on the current team's valuation? That would seem more logical if using that metric.

 

[Snuffaluphagus]

Wrong, it's open to manipulation. Take the NFL for example. Compensation is handed out much later and the picks handed out do not enter the top 3 rounds and are not based on contractual terms of their new team.
How hard is it for a league to 'rate' a player amongst their peers positionally? Answer: Not hard, the ratings and stats are everywhere.

The AFL rating a player would be terrible and far far harder to justify.

I like your games played added to the formula, would help move Silvagni back a band or two to where he belongs.

The other thing should be actually addressing the increase in the cap properly for band allocations. 900k should be band 3 these days

 

[Ge3ks]

I think the market value of the player is the most consistent and unbiased way to do it, the most dispassionate. It's clean. It's not like judging a diving competition at the olympics

 

[Taylor]

Did the Blues want to pay him 850K? Do the Blues rate pick 19 better than Silvagni?

Why isn't the compensation based on the current team's valuation? That would seem more logical if using that metric.

It assumes the player takes what is the better offer, as that is market value. The Blues deciding the pick is better than the player is just part of the game.

If compensation picks don't even start in the first round that's a different story and something worth exploring.

 

[Taylor]

You need only look at how winning a flag somehow makes role players "worth more" to the talking head experts in the media. The same people who end up working and being influenced at AFL House.

 

[malpaso]

Market value is currently based on how stupid the team's footy department is.

 

[Purple Suit]

Compensation picks being based on contract value is insane. Muppet levels by the AFL.

I think that is fine, they do use age apparently, they just don't move the scale quick enough to go with the wage increases. They also desperately need to remove compensation for clubs who have already acquired free agents in the past and they are still on their list. This 1 year crap is a farce as Hawks got Battle and now get compo for Worpel. A fair system so only the teams in the negative get compo would be much better, teams in the positive don't get anything.

 

[Nodgey]

Have they changed the rules now to prohibit clubs from immediately smoothing out the payments over more years after signing someone someone for bucketloads? i.e. a Daniher rule?

 

[Piggy Smalls]

Free agency really benefiting the successful clubs. Player A goes from competing club to West Coast, North Essendon or some other club needing pay overs to meet salary cap rules. Competing club gets disproportionate compensation compared to what theyd have gotten in a trade, as trade prices are based on what the seller was paying/doing with them whilst FA is based on what the buyer is paying.

 

[malpaso]

Free agency really benefiting the successful clubs. Player A goes from competing club to West Coast, North Essendon or some other club needing pay overs to meet salary cap rules. Competing club gets disproportionate compensation compared to what theyd have gotten in a trade, as trade prices are based on what the seller was paying/doing with them whilst FA is based on what the buyer is paying.

Exactly. It's all kind of stupid. It corrupts the draft, corrupts list management and over-values players.
A compensation pick should address what the team lost by not having that player, not what they are bringing to their new team (which could be a completely different role). The pick should definitely not enter the first round.

 

[Tbonefreo]

Jack Steele

9

Jack Steele

Age

30

Ht

187cm

Wt

90kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

20.9

5star

K

8.7

3star

HB

12.2

5star

M

3.7

4star

T

6.8

5star

CL

3.6

5star

D

21.3

5star

K

10.0

4star

HB

11.3

5star

M

4.0

4star

T

5.8

5star

CL

4.6

5star

D

16.8

4star

K

5.0

2star

HB

11.8

5star

M

2.6

3star

T

6.4

5star

CL

3.6

5star

seems to grow another leg against us. Worth looking into?

 

[Silencer83]

The whole system of there being compensation in free agency is stupid to me anyway.

I am not aware of any other sport where a free agent leaves and the club they are leaving gets more than the list/roster spot and the cap space to sign someone themselves.

 

[largebus]

The whole system of there being compensation in free agency is stupid to me anyway.

I am not aware of any other sport where a free agent leaves and the club they are leaving gets more than the list/roster spot and the cap space to sign someone themselves.

NFL and MLB do and the AFL loves to rip off US sports.
The value of such picks tends to be much lower in those leagues. NFL it's end of 3rd to 7th rounds (so in the 90s down to 260s), MLB it's end of 1st round (in the 30s)

 

[AstonSouffle]

I heard a conspiracy theory about the WAFC. Apparently, they are so concerned about the Perth Bears starting in 2027, and how bad WCE are, that attendance at Eagles games could really start to drop off, as the next generation of AFL fans in WA are becoming Freo fans and the age demographic of the Eagles is starting to become a problem. The issue is if the Eagles drop off, then the payments the Eagles make to the WAFC will be paused or stopped, which creates funding problems for the WAFC in the medium to long term. Any funding shortfalls would have to be made up by the WA government. The WAFC is a bit of a boys' club, so if they have to take more money from the WA government, it would invite more scrutiny from the WA government which they do not want.

The WAFC authorised the Eagles to increase their spending and are allowing them to go over the soft cap spending limit (understanding that this would mean reduced payments to the WAFC, but the WAFC believes the reduced money from the Eagles will be offset by the Dockers who are now in the premiership window). The Eagles were able to dangle a "too good to refuse" deal, which caused Merriman to resign from Freo. The Eagles have also struggled to keep their players injury-free in recent times which is why they targetted him.

In effect, the WAFC undermined our club to help the Eagles because they do not want scrutiny and they care more about the Eagles being successful than Freo.

This should get read out on Hard Ball Gets, there's not enough out there that highlights the clown show which is the WAFC.

 

[Silencer83]

NFL and MLB do and the AFL loves to rip off US sports.
The value of such picks tends to be much lower in those leagues. NFL it's end of 3rd to 7th rounds (so in the 90s down to 260s), MLB it's end of 1st round (in the 30s)

Well there you go I was not aware of that.

 

[largebus]

Well there you go I was not aware of that.

NFL only get them if they lose more FAs than they gain, but it's generally better to sign an FA than get a pick (notable exception below) MLB teams only if the FA earns more than a certain threshold. So really the AFL just took it and bastardised it.

Tom Brady was a compensation pick, at 199th overall. The equivalent in the AFL would be a pick in the 60s.

 

[Yeti]

There should be no compensation. It's called Free Agency.

The club that player is leaving gets the benefit of the free salary cap. If they dont want that, match the bid and welcome the player back or make a trade.