Opinion Should the team ask for a Priority Pick 2025 edition.

[kranky al]

if the club and Pyke had any balls start having this convo through the media. If the AFL think it’s fair enough to do so then let’s do it.

Schedule an interview between Pyke and Rhino where Pyke is asked will we ask for assistance and why do we think we deserve it.

Point out our recent history and how it compares to recent clubs who have been helped. Also point out how compromised the draft is due to the AFL propping up the northern state clubs with the added benefit of adding whoever they like to their academies (not just indigenous) and then also point out Swann and the Lions received an assistance package and that maybe Swann forgot about that when commenting.

Finish off by saying if we don’t receive assistance with our recent record over the past 4 years then it’s hard to see how any club in the future, financially stable or not can ask for assistance due to the fact that financial stability offers no advantage when you can’t pay players more, the soft cap is reduced to help poor clubs and the main mechanism to rebuild (the draft) is a joke,

See if they have the balls to reply publicly to that.

The VFL has never shown any embarrassment by applying double standards.

What makes you think they will now?

 

[kranky al]

Why don't we just go down the blackmail route and threaten to release the Jeppstein files if we don't get the Norf package

Jepp fuel can’t melt Dayne Beams

 

[damo27]

Im 100% waiting for this.

People talking like pick 2 is a given (me included but it doesn't feel right)

Reckon something will happen and we won't get pick 2

If nobody wants Oscar, we won't get anything

 

[ThePuma #9]

The VFL has never shown any embarrassment by applying double standards.

What makes you think they will now?

I don't think they have any standards let alone doubled ones but if they want to sell a narrative through the media and almost try to embarrass into not asking then lets seek clarification via the media and see what their next move is.

At the very least it may lead to other concessions such as pre draft academy access, WAFL access or additional list spots.

Any help would be better than none.

 

[kranky al]

I don't think they have any standards let alone doubled ones but if they want to sell a narrative through the media and almost try to embarrass into not asking then lets seek clarification via the media and see what their next move is.

At the very least it may lead to other concessions such as pre draft academy access, WAFL access or additional list spots.

Any help would be better than none.

Oh I’m all for asking we should have asked two years ago.

Each time they give their mealy mouthed reply we have something to throw at them next time.

 

[Astro7]

Is there actually anyone outside W.A. that thinks we should get a priority pick?

 

[ThePuma #9]

Is there actually anyone outside W.A. that thinks we should get a priority pick?

 

[Ilkka Sinisalo]

Adelaide weren’t great in 2020 but how are our situations remotely comparable?

Yeah, the AFL's arguments against giving the Eagles a priority pick have been made in laughably bad faith. Adelaide had one very bad year in a season which was heavy compromised by COVID; on either side of that season they won 10 and 7 matches. They were never as dreadful as the Eagles have been, and certainly not for as long.

While I understand that injuries are part of the game and every club suffers from them, the Eagles have lost two All-Australians due to concussion retirements plus another concussion retirement who was best 22 and a grand final player, a former first round pick whose final match was at age 20. Shuey and Naitanui had to retire early due to injury, Oscar Allen missed one full season and a lot of this one through injury; Waterman has struggled to stay on the park; Yeo pretty much has had one close to injury-free season since 2020. I'm sure there are others, but the Eagles have been in a pretty unique situation losing so many of their best players prematurely to injury. No question, the drafting has not been good enough but Eagles also have a disastrous WAFL arrangement that hinders development of young players.

There's also the issue that other clubs which were not in as deep a pit were given concessions so why shouldn't the Eagles be? The arguments I've heard have been very flimsy. They're a wealthy club? Cool, there's still a salary cap so the fact that the club earns big profits doesn't help put a good product on the ground. The draft is too compromised already? Well, the AFL have nobody to blame but themselves for that, and the compromised draft is only going to make it harder to do what they are arguing that the Eagles should do - build through the draft. Sure, let's gift Matt Rowell and a stack of elite academy picks to Gold Coast and they still have never made finals, but the Eagles don't deserve any concessions because they've just been badly run? Uh huh. Let's give an already very strong Brisbane side the Ashcroft brothers and Jaspa Fletcher. Don't tell me "oh just build through the draft" when there's no chance to pick the Ashcrofts, or Nick Daicos, or Sam Darcy, or Jed Walter, and or Zeke Uwland, and so on.

I don't think they need to give the Eagles the first overall pick like they did with Gold Coast, but why not something like the North concessions where they late first round picks that they were required to trade. All these pundits have been watching the Eagles the past few weeks and saying they need to get more help for Harley Reid, that he's too young to carry a midfield all by himself. Well, you're not going to get any A-graders wanting to sign on to a team that has been terrible for four years, so count that out. Giving the Eagles late first-round picks they could use to trade for established but aging and maybe somewhat overpriced midfielders would be a great way to give him more support. Otherwise if they use the picks they already have in hand for late 20s to early 30s midfielders they'll just get slammed for trading for players who don't fit into their premiership window (instead of drafting more 18 year olds to get belted by mature-bodied players in the WAFL).

 

[footy_basis]

The VFL has never shown any embarrassment by applying double standards.

What makes you think they will now?

As he said, Pyke doesn't have the cahonas.

 

[Jeremy McLovin]

Another thing to point out is that we've already done everything they could suggest to improve ourselves.

Split picks to bring in more first rounders? 2022, we got panned for it.

Just take the high level talent? 2023, got panned for it.

Bring in mature players to support the youth? 2024, got panned for it.

Not like that idiots! Got free agents so you don't give up draft capital! Also 2024. He's currently suspended and as a result we're getting panned for it.

At this point they just need to admit it's got nothing to do with purely on field stuff, they just gave assistance to North because they were worried they would fold. That's why they keep bringing up the finances as if it has an on field impact. They know it doesn't but it's the off field they were worried about. No matter how bad we are we'll last.

 

[kranky al]

Another thing to point out is that we've already done everything they could suggest to improve ourselves.

Split picks to bring in more first rounders? 2022, we got panned for it.

Just take the high level talent? 2023, got panned for it.

Bring in mature players to support the youth? 2024, got panned for it.

Not like that idiots! Got free agents so you don't give up draft capital! Also 2024. He's currently suspended and as a result we're getting panned for it.

At this point they just need to admit it's got nothing to do with purely on field stuff, they just gave assistance to North because they were worried they would fold. That's why they keep bringing up the finances as if it has an on field impact. They know it doesn't but it's the off field they were worried about. No matter how bad we are we'll last.

Strong new username to retiree correlation.

 

[Ilkka Sinisalo]

As he said, Pyke doesn't have the cahonas.

Well I sure hope that’s not the case, because if so then he needs to resign. The job of the club president is to advocate for the club as best he or she can, and if your club finishes far and away in the cellar and has been historically bad for four years, then you aren’t doing your job if you aren’t coming to the table with evidence of what the league has previously done for clubs which weren’t as bad as the Eagles are now to help those clubs right the ship. If the AFL don’t like it, so what? We are already the laughingstock of the league; how will they make things any worse?

 

[amazingjoshy]

The one argument i can't cop that keeps getting thrown up by imbeciles is that we shouldn't get any assistance because we're a rich club

How or why does that have any influence at all over PPs?

 

[Broken_Chairs]

I know the NM package is easy to point to as precedence because it's the most most recent example.

Though i'd rather our package targets our specific needs and issues.

What do we need?

• Ability to attract top quality coaches - increasing our soft-cap would assist with that.
• Ability to access local NGA talent - priority access or additional list spots would help
• A 2nds team that isn't a basket case would be nice - not sure how the AFL can help with that, additional list spots maybe?
• Top end talent - we're the shittest team and we have the fewest top 10 picks in the league. Not sure how the top 20 pick comparison fares, but probably not much better.
• Injury ravaged senior players - this is some systemic shit, how can the travel burden be reduced.
• More leaders and senior players 26+ - we've focused here for a while now, but what levers can be pulled to assist us attract more older talent. Graham and Baker have been excellent, and in the same breath we lose Gov, Barrass, Sheed, Oscar?

 

[bzparkes]

imbeciles

You nailed it in this one word right here.

 

[Broken_Chairs]

The one argument i can't cop that keeps getting thrown up by imbeciles is that we shouldn't get any assistance because we're a rich club

How or why does that have any influence at all over PPs?

I guess it comes back the people's perception around the purpose of an assistance package, e.g. is it to

1. To assist any club through a sustained period of significantly poor on-field performance.
2. To assist a club that is struggling off-field and on-field to be a viable football club.

Clearly we all assume the purpose is no.1, but the views of some of these media folk point to no.2, that it's an "equalisation measure".

Either that or they're too stupid to consider the implications of the tax on breaching soft-cap.

 

[ep2018]

Though i'd rather our package targets our specific needs and issues.

The assistance North got where they had a second and third rounder that needed to be traded, I believe they had Logue and the other freo bloke on their trade radar at the time, I'm guessing the AFL tailored their assistance to those trades. We have a couple of NGA and a father son. Would be cool if we could grab them without them costing us picks. We can then use the picks we save to take players in the draft, or to trade up with them. At the very least this is what the AFL should be allowing us. Bumping up the Oscar compo to band 1 if needs be, that would be good too.

 

[Broken_Chairs]

The assistance North got where they had a second and third rounder that needed to be traded, I believe they had Logue and the other freo bloke on their trade radar at the time, I'm guessing the AFL tailored their assistance to those trades. We have a couple of NGA and a father son. Would be cool if we could grab them without them costing us picks. We can then use the picks we save to take players in the draft, or to trade up with them. At the very least this is what the AFL should be allowing us. Bumping up the Oscar compo to band 1 if needs be, that would be good too.

I think that first package NM got made sense for their needs - they had a million top 10 picks but no seniors around them. So two picks to trade in a couple of older blokes made sense.

The second package was a bit whatever - 3x end of first rounders over 2 years + some rookie spots for a team drowning in first rounders. Cool. Would be good for us though.

 

[Deplorable trumpster]

We are not going to get anything this year. That is clear. But what we should be doing is forcing them to make concrete detailed statements justifying not helping us and making it clear what the criteria is to qualify for assistance. We need to try and make them make the policy clear so we can box them in to give assistance next year.

As you can see by their public statements they are trying everything to deflect and not make the policy clear and instead redirect/reframe the discussion with stupid non - applicable comparisons between us and Adelaide in 2020 or Brisbane in 2016.

It really gets under my skin when i see people using PR tactics like Dillon was such as reframing with false comparisons to make a bad thing seem less bad or an unfair thing seem less unfair. So slimy. Just make your decision, stand up like a man and tell people what it is and defend it in language people can understand rather than use deceptive language and deflect. If you are not willing to defend your decision with language then maybe it is a bad decision and you should rethink it.

 

[BSD]

"We". I'm sure the AFL didn't help at all there...

2024 flag side:

Andrews, (late) academy
W Ashcroft, F/S
Hipwood, academy after using pick 2 on Schache
Fletcher, F/S
Dunkley, traded for the year they selected W Ashcroft
Zorko, zone selection (GC, traded to Bris)
Cameron, traded for first round PP
Daniher, signed with iffy FA deal to get Essendon band 1 compo

+

L Ashcroft, F/S after winning flag
Marshall, academy after winning flag

Cool so we'll just pick kids from the academy we don't have, use a PP the AFL won't give us, and operate under FA and F/S rules that have changed to our disadvantage before we've had a chance to benefit. Genius.

Why do the injectors keep getting away with iffy FA deals, they did the same with that Norf spud MacKay.
I hope the same rules apply when a deal is constructed for Oscar to go to Brisbane and West Coast to get band 1 compo.

 

[BSD]

We are not going to get anything this year. That is clear. But what we should be doing is forcing them to make concrete detailed statements justifying not helping us and making it clear what the criteria is to qualify for assistance. We need to try and make them make the policy clear so we can box them in to give assistance next year.

As you can see by their public statements they are trying everything to deflect and not make the policy clear and instead redirect/reframe the discussion with stupid non - applicable comparisons between us and Adelaide in 2020 or Brisbane in 2016.

It really gets under my skin when i see people using PR tactics like Dillon was such as reframing with false comparisons to make a bad thing seem less bad or an unfair thing seem less unfair. So slimy. Just make your decision, stand up like a man and tell people what it is and defend it in language people can understand rather than use deceptive language and deflect. If you are not willing to defend your decision with language then maybe it is a bad decision and you should rethink it.

There is only one solution if we are getting unfairly treated in comparison to other clubs and that is to "Sue The Bastards".

 

[Cuzz09]

The whole draft thing is a mess anyway

We got Harley with pick 1 then our next pick which should've been 19 was 30 odd.

Stupid system and I think the first round at a minimum should be ladder positions reversed and you can't trade them or split them.

if teams want a father son that badly, use their 1st rounder

Then go for your life with the leftovers.

 

[Happy Mastenator]

The one argument i can't cop that keeps getting thrown up by imbeciles is that we shouldn't get any assistance because we're a rich club

How or why does that have any influence at all over PPs?

When the AFL has brought in rules specfically to stop teams taking advantage of being rich. We just spunk cash but can't actually use that in anyway to help our team once we hit the salary cap, and the soft cap.

 

[Knifey Spoony]

At the end of this year's draft, the two teams who will most likely have the best crop of 2025 youngsters will be us snd Gold Coast. Both teams should have three first round picks, with two taken in the top 5. West coast, one of the worst teams in history, have earned access to this talent by finishing last, trading out an AA FB last season and probably losing our captain, a key forward in his prime albeit with injury concerns. Gold Coast, about to play finals, earned access by their geographical location granting an academy (yes they have lost players, I don't know if they had enough points without that).

Things will never be equal, and that is okay, but surely we deserve some assistance all things considered.

 

[UseR2006]

We're asking. Pyke confirms.

We’ll ask AFL for draft help, Eagles boss confirms

West Coast chief executive Don Pyke has revealed the club will seek draft assistance from the league amid their horror four-year run. See the latest here!

thewest.com.au

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