Should there be a mid season draft?

[EagleOz]

St Kilda coach Scott Watters has called for a mid season draft after he has run out of fit Ruckmen to play.
This is a debate that has been spoken about for a while now. So what does everyone else think?
Should there be a mid season draft?

i think that instead of having byes over 3 rounds, every team have the same week off mid year where there will be a mid season trading period.

 

[Jade]

Absolutely not in my opinion.

Attrition is part of the game, and managing your list (personnel and keeping them fit) is part of the test of an AFL season.

Holding a mid-season draft and/or trade period just strikes me as patching up holes where you have either made poor decisions, or been incredibly unlucky.

Clubs will load up on running players and keep the bare minimum of talls and rucks, and simply draft the necessary top-ups in the midseason.

I am dead against it.

 

[Slattery_20]

A list with only 1 proven ruckmen, an unproven part timer, and a scrawny 1st year wasn't enough?
Well shit, that's surprising. Couldn't see that coming, at all.

There must've been half a dozen mature ruckmen or part-timers who were traded last year (Jenkins, Hudson, Brogan, Maric, Renouf, Clark), another 4-5 drafted (Sellar, Campbell, Stephenson, McAuley, Pattinson even Setantrum) and they didn't want a part of any of them.

They've made their bed.

 

[Igloo]

I don't want to see it. Free Agency is already going to be taking away from club loyalty, something fans love to see. If this came in, it would just make it worse

 

[Bulldog1954]

Absolutely not in my opinion.

Attrition is part of the game, and managing your list (personnel and keeping them fit) is part of the test of an AFL season.

Holding a mid-season draft and/or trade period just strikes me as patching up holes where you have either made poor decisions, or been incredibly unlucky.

Clubs will load up on running players and keep the bare minimum of talls and rucks, and simply draft the necessary top-ups in the midseason.

I am dead against it.

Agreed, definitely dont like the idea particularly of a mid season trading period. It would just end up teams who are out of the finals and / or tanking trading older players to finals clubs for one last crack, e.g - a club not going to play finals like us trading a Gilbee type

 

[Black Diamond]

I'd support a mid-season draft, but under no circumstances would I want to see a mid-season trade period. I also wouldn't expand list sizes to accommodate it. Clubs can leave a few spots open until June and look to the state leagues.

 

[Old Skool]

No draft but a week long trade period.

 

[Donakebab]

So teams with poor list management should get a second stab? Nah, just do it right the first time round. Also dislike the fact this would shaft magoos too.

 

[Riders of Rohan]

Wouldn't mind it if it was just the one player and can only be drafted from state leagues. No trading or anything.

 

[STC]

I don't support midseason trading but why can't we have some sort of way for clubs to pick up in form players in state leagues to replace injured players or fill holes? It would make for a much more competitive second half of the season for some teams.

 

[Lifetime ban]

Not in favour of a mid season draft. What I think may work would be a retainer system. Before the season starts, after the pre-season draft, clubs nominate 5 players (1 forward, mid, defender, ruck and 1 utility or other combination depending on their own reasons), playing in other leagues as retained players. They would pay each player a nominal sum, say $200 per week (included in salary cap) each week of the season, to make themselves available at short notice to come in as a replacement player, should the club suffer extreme injury problems. They would also be required to compensate the retained players club to the amount of $1000 per game because of the disruption losing a player at short notice could cause, (included in salary cap), as well as match payments of $5000 per game (also in the salary cap) to compensate players for the massive short term disruption to their lives, particularly if they come from interstate. I see that as a way to make clubs think twice about using those players, however they can bring them in whenever they want if they need to. The retainer takes a bite of $22,000 out of their salary cap straight up, and if they were to use 3 players for example in a total of 4 games each, that's another $60,000, or a total of $88,000 off their salary caps.

I like this idea, because it gives clubs coverage, but makes them pay for it at the same time.

 

[Slattery_20]

I don't support midseason trading but why can't we have some sort of way for clubs to pick up in form players in state leagues to replace injured players or fill holes? It would make for a much more competitive second half of the season for some teams.

You could do it a lot easier by just letting the clubs hold one or two, rookie spots open through part of the season. I think now there's a rule (there was a year or two ago) where they can have a spot open until mid-way through pre-season.

I'm a big fan of dropping the minimum, and increasing the maximum, number of players on a list.

Although whatever the rules were, Pelchen would've tried to outsmart himself and ended up in a hole like this.

 

[Tazwegian]

Absolutely not in my opinion.

Attrition is part of the game, and managing your list (personnel and keeping them fit) is part of the test of an AFL season.

Managing your list could include trading mid season though... Why should injuries play such a massive roll in who wins the competition? Injuries often happen out of bad luck more than poor list management. I support a mid season draft and/or trade period.

 

[scaryness]

I would prefer a mid season trade week rather than a mid season draft, however I would also prefer if the AFL just left the game alone for at least one year...

 

[Slattery_20]

Managing your list could include trading mid season though... Why should injuries play such a massive roll in who wins the competition? Injuries often happen out of bad luck more than poor list management. I support a mid season draft and/or trade period.

Injuries are bad luck.
But hardly unheard of.
1 injury in one area is pretty likely to occur some point across a season.

Contingencies (or lack of) is list management.
If St Kilda took, say, 2 or more ruckmen into the year, this wouldn't even be on the agenda.
They didn't.

We are not talking about a horror run, where a side has injury after injury and lose their 1st, 2nd & 3rd option in a certain area.

We're talking about 1 injury and 0 back-up options.
Craziness in the first place, height of stupidity to call for a rule change based on a poor decision.

 

[alfy!]

No, 1000 times no.