Over the past 10 seasons North Melbourne's average ladder position is 11th (if they finish bottom this year will become 12th).
In comparison to the two teams that have received priority picks since the rule change, Brisbane's average ladder position in the 10 years prior to 2016 was 13th and Gold Coasts average was 14th since inception. In terms of finals appearances North appeared 4 finals series during this time, Brisbane 1 and Gold Coast 0.
In my opinion North are not yet at the point of needing priority assistance, 2-3 ladder positions doesn't seem like that much, though over a period of 10 years its pretty significant. Further to this both Gold Coast and Brisbane had their lists pillaged by other clubs during the inception of free agency (it could be argued North have been similarly impacted by compensation and academy picks). North have had two big cleanouts of players during this time that could of played on, opting for potential future success over club stability.
The youth on North's list is not that bad, the bigger issue is the inability to get high profile players to the club. They have the money within the cap to pay talent that can fix the list but cant convince players to join, while players are walking into Geelong for a fraction of the pay that North are offering. North are then forced to go after mid tier players that have potential but will likely just clog the list.
If based on the picks of the 2000's, North's performance over the last 2 year's certainly would entitle them to a priority pick, unfortunately Melbourne, Carlton and other clubs rorted the system and it can no longer be used. Inequity in player movements between the clubs is far a bigger issue for North than potentially getting an extra pick.
Free agency compensation picks have been another huge issue during this time. Clubs gaining a player were benefited, clubs loosing a player were for some reason compensated, but what went missing through all of this was that clubs developing their own players were constantly penalised by being shoved down the the draft order. Much the same with academy picks (and to a lesser extent father son picks which are more a tradition but have helped successful teams such as dogs, pies, cats)
It seems to me North need more assistance with their off-field than on field. Look at what the Bulldogs have been able to do with good off-field management in recent times, not so long ago the club was struggling. I'm all for better draft picks for the lower teams so they can bounce back quicker, but this seems to be fairly irrelevant when players can just jump ship to the successful teams on a whim.
In comparison to the two teams that have received priority picks since the rule change, Brisbane's average ladder position in the 10 years prior to 2016 was 13th and Gold Coasts average was 14th since inception. In terms of finals appearances North appeared 4 finals series during this time, Brisbane 1 and Gold Coast 0.
In my opinion North are not yet at the point of needing priority assistance, 2-3 ladder positions doesn't seem like that much, though over a period of 10 years its pretty significant. Further to this both Gold Coast and Brisbane had their lists pillaged by other clubs during the inception of free agency (it could be argued North have been similarly impacted by compensation and academy picks). North have had two big cleanouts of players during this time that could of played on, opting for potential future success over club stability.
The youth on North's list is not that bad, the bigger issue is the inability to get high profile players to the club. They have the money within the cap to pay talent that can fix the list but cant convince players to join, while players are walking into Geelong for a fraction of the pay that North are offering. North are then forced to go after mid tier players that have potential but will likely just clog the list.
If based on the picks of the 2000's, North's performance over the last 2 year's certainly would entitle them to a priority pick, unfortunately Melbourne, Carlton and other clubs rorted the system and it can no longer be used. Inequity in player movements between the clubs is far a bigger issue for North than potentially getting an extra pick.
Free agency compensation picks have been another huge issue during this time. Clubs gaining a player were benefited, clubs loosing a player were for some reason compensated, but what went missing through all of this was that clubs developing their own players were constantly penalised by being shoved down the the draft order. Much the same with academy picks (and to a lesser extent father son picks which are more a tradition but have helped successful teams such as dogs, pies, cats)
It seems to me North need more assistance with their off-field than on field. Look at what the Bulldogs have been able to do with good off-field management in recent times, not so long ago the club was struggling. I'm all for better draft picks for the lower teams so they can bounce back quicker, but this seems to be fairly irrelevant when players can just jump ship to the successful teams on a whim.
