Opinion Priority Picks - Moving Forward

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TheKITC

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Mar 7, 2009
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It was raised yesterday by the Purple Headed Warrior in Damien Barrett, who said emphatically that the AFL will 'at this stage' give Gold Coast a mid first round pick rather than one at the very top end, due to push back from other clubs and other factors.

There is some school of thought that for true fairness in the AFL draft (I know right? Pigs will fly and all that...) that the first round should be untouchable. Period. This includes academy selections, father sons and compensation of any form. The AFL neither subscribe to that, nor could ever be considered fair, consistent and/or clear by anyone with any sense of a brain IMHO.

With this in mind and coming from it knowing what the AFL is like, I actually think a mid first round is a best case for any priority pick going forward, working with what we have to deal with in the AFL and taking into account all parties' interests. This scenario doesn't 'rob' the worst sides in the comp of their 'earnt' picks which they clearly need, but slides back the better sides, ie. finals or finals close sides by a pick who theoretically need it less. I quite like it, again considering the goal-posts in which we have to work within.

Let's for instance assume we are speaking about only one struggling team; I think pick 1 as a priority and taking the first two players of a draft year is too much of a free kick. Pick 19 is neither (usually) a quality enough pick to assist the ailing team enough nor good enough to entice an established player that would help the ailing teams fortunes. Pick 9 however is a pick that would satisfy both of those things potentially. Looking at Carlton for instance recently, Harry McKay (10), Charlie Curnow (12) and Patrick Cripps (13) were all found around that mark. Dependent on your opinion of these players I guess, but most would agree these are the caliber and type of players who you can really build your club around and help kickstart that climb up the ladder, along with the player taken at 1.

It's also a good enough pick to entice players like Jaegar O'Meara or be the core pick in a trade for someone like Lachie Neale for example in recent trade history. These players would give an ailing club instant support and impact, should they wish to go down this route and said player wants to come.

Another benefit is that it gives the team some flexibility and ability to manoeuvre in the draft as they see fit, taking their destiny in their own hands if they so wish. For instance, they may believe that two bites in the mid-late first round is going to be more beneficial, so they package up pick 9 with a pick/player combo and orchestrate a trade with Team B for picks 14 and 15. Or they do what Port Adelaide was able to do last off-season (to great effect) if they've identified a player they love earlier. Pick 9 would give them some currency and maneuverability to trade up in the draft. This also alleviates the pressure on a club from their stakeholders who may be howled down if they were to trade pick 1 away. It takes some of that pressure off because trading pick 9 is a lot more palatable for some than coughing up a top pick.

I must admit, I'm no fan of the AFL arbitrarily deciding what is good for some clubs and not for others and certainly dislike how they do not reveal what their methodologies are around awarding priority picks and compensation. Regardless, this is the landscape that we operate in and I think this is as good a result and perhaps can be found udner the circumstances.

Thoughts?
 

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Mar 13, 2006
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Abolish it forever.

Giving GC a priority pick is rewarding them for their shithoue trading over the years.
Example 1 - their trade with Brisbane last year.
Example 2 - the eagles trade the year before.
Example 3 - Weller trade

For all their arguments about being totally hopeless - well guess what... congrats here’s Pick 1 which some clubs have never had in their entire history.
 

JohnnyFontane90

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Honestly if gold coast don't get one this year then they might as well just get rid of it completely.
 
what does a priority pick do for GCS?

a priority pick does not give GCS any of the following needed to make them better:
-a ready made player(s) that will make an immediate difference
-better football department personnel
-better facilities
-other revenue streams to sustain higher football department spending / player services.

The AFL would be better off giving them a cash injection + additional yearly contribution. i.e. $100m + $10m every year thereafter.
-Work on land banking strategy. There is plenty of easily acquirable land (large plots + unsubdivided) near the vicinity of Metricon.
-Once the additional land has been acquired, work with Council to develop a master plan for a entertainment/commercial/residential precinct.
-Advocate for external funding for said precinct.
-Build external income streams from there.
-Use part of the contribution to upgrade the existing dog s**t facilities + hire additional quality personnel.
 

Gypsy King

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Pick 11 is too much. The AFL cannot put all other clubs out this much. Very unfair. GC had quality playing reserves on the weekend. They traded away quality like Jarrod Lyon. Why reward them for such idiocy? Pick 11 is too much. Why should others pay the price for GC trading away fully developed talent for peanuts?
 
Jun 23, 2008
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what does a priority pick do for GCS?

a priority pick does not give GCS any of the following needed to make them better:
-a ready made player(s) that will make an immediate difference
-better football department personnel
-better facilities
-other revenue streams to sustain higher football department spending / player services.

The AFL would be better off giving them a cash injection + additional yearly contribution. i.e. $100m + $10m every year thereafter.
-Work on land banking strategy. There is plenty of easily acquirable land (large plots + unsubdivided) near the vicinity of Metricon.
-Once the additional land has been acquired, work with Council to develop a master plan for a entertainment/commercial/residential precinct.
-Advocate for external funding for said precinct.
-Build external income streams from there.
-Use part of the contribution to upgrade the existing dog s**t facilities + hire additional quality personnel.

Didn't GC's facilities receive a $20M upgrade in 2017?
 

blitzer

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Aug 27, 2006
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I'm against priority picks in general. Why should everyone else's planning be sabotaged because Gold Coast suck? Lets not pretend that they will cease to be a viable football club if they don't get handed a freebie pick. Hell they won more than Carlton did last year. They are every chance to improve naturally given enough time.
 

big_e

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Apr 28, 2008
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Abolish it forever.

Giving GC a priority pick is rewarding them for their s**thoue trading over the years.
Example 1 - their trade with Brisbane last year.
Example 2 - the eagles trade the year before.
Example 3 - Weller trade

For all their arguments about being totally hopeless - well guess what... congrats here’s Pick 1 which some clubs have never had in their entire history.
Very similar circumstances which netted the Eagles the priority pick which got them Chris Judd. Which the club is still benefiting from almost 20 years later. So if you get it right, it can be a huge positive.

Bottom line is Gold Coast need help, and a priority pick won't be the silver bullet, I'd grit my teeth and give them pick 2.
 

daniel_4tw

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Aug 25, 2009
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Gold Coast had the opportunity to trade picks 2 and 3 last year. Crows and Port were desperate to get those picks and Gold Coast could have traded it for mature players and improve their team.

They chose to go down the route of youth and use the picks instead.

Which is completely fine. It’s their choice what they do with their picks.

But Gold Coast chose to take short term pain for long term gain. Why should they be rewarded for this and every other club punished.
 

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Sep 28, 2011
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Priority picks should always be pick 11 (the 10 clubs who didn't make finals should be looked after) and a rule put in place that the PP must be traded for a player.
The issue with having to trade it is other clubs know that so they will low ball you on it. Creates a false economy.

Yeah, instead of a draft pick I would I would prefer some extra cap space to bring in a few good 30+ veterans to the club. While we are languishing down the bottom, we aren't an attractive proposition.

We need to be more competitive now and push out of the bottom 4, otherwise this cycle will just repeat itself.
 

Johnny Bananas

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Sep 10, 2010
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We've had this discussion many times in other threads. Half the league has benefited from beginning of first round priority picks that they deserved even less than Gold Coast. Every last one of those picks was due to their own incompetence, and any other charge you can level at Gold Coast for being where they are currently. And suddenly only now it's a problem?

If priority picks are such a torture for other clubs, then let's make every club who has benefited from them in the past pay back the draft points they received. After all, people are up in arms about one draft being compromised, and these clubs compromised several drafts, not just one.
 
Mar 13, 2006
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Very similar circumstances which netted the Eagles the priority pick which got them Chris Judd. Which the club is still benefiting from almost 20 years later. So if you get it right, it can be a huge positive.

Bottom line is Gold Coast need help, and a priority pick won't be the silver bullet, I'd grit my teeth and give them pick 2.
If there was no PP, we would of still got Judd... just no Sampi.
Regardless saying we are still reaping the benefits of Judd 20 years down the track is a bit of a stretch.

Agreed GC needs help. There’s just other ways which isn’t as sexy but IMO will be much more effective.
 
Mar 13, 2006
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We've had this discussion many times in other threads. Half the league has benefited from beginning of first round priority picks that they deserved even less than Gold Coast. Every last one of those picks was due to their own incompetence, and any other charge you can level at Gold Coast for being where they are currently. And suddenly only now it's a problem?

If priority picks are such a torture for other clubs, then let's make every club who has benefited from them in the past pay back the draft points they received. After all, people are up in arms about one draft being compromised, and these clubs compromised several drafts, not just one.
I think people are just over compromised drafts in general with PP of the 00s, expansion drafts of this decade, crap FS rules, etc.

Again, is there anything wrong with:
Pick 1 - last place
Pick 18 - Premiers?
Especially with the introduction of future trading.
 

coniglio_number1

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Sep 16, 2011
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The last time a team got pick 1&2 as priority it didn’t exactly give them a massive leg up.

Scully and Trengove never took Melbourne to the promised land
 

big_e

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If there was no PP, we would of still got Judd... just no Sampi.
Regardless saying we are still reaping the benefits of Judd 20 years down the track is a bit of a stretch.

Agreed GC needs help. There’s just other ways which isn’t as sexy but IMO will be much more effective.
Such as?
 
Priority picks are papering over the cracks, except the paper is single ply toilet paper.

Gold Coast has a rot in it. Giving them gun players will not help. Remove priority picks completely.
 
Oct 1, 2006
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They shouldn't penalise Melbourne. Give GCS 3 PPs, so they end up with picks 1, 3, 4, 5.

Melbourne will be fine. Get full years out of Lever and May and they are every chance at finals again. If anything they should be trading for Hill.
 

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