Analysis The go home factor, equalisation, draftees requesting trades

[Cleric]

The AFL could do the following.
Extend the minimum contract for draftees to three years.
The team that drafts them can offer them more money in their next two years over the base contract.
For example three years at $120k a year.
The original drafting team can up their 2nd and 3rd years to 250k a year.
If they get traded in those first three years the team that gets them can only give them the minimum payment of 120k for those remaining years.

Let's be honest tho, the AFL and media didn't give a s**t when it was SA or WA clubs losing their players back to Vic. It's now that Vic clubs and the Northern clubs are effected they seem to care now.

The AFL somehow should encourage local kids getting the opportunity initally to get to play in their own state.

 

[Giant Pete]

It’s a nonsense that so many players say they would prefer to stay in their home state.
It’s a massive disadvantage to non-traditional football states.
Those that say “cULtUrE!!”, wake up to yourselves.
It takes at least 20 years to build a culture in a non afl environment… look at the swans.
If the AFL is fairdinkum about equity, they should have multiple measures in place. Eg COLA, longer contracts for draftees, soft cap allowance for coaches… they just need to modify these measures to meet the complexity that exists.

 

[Jhye Clark 13]

The supporters sulking are the ones whose clubs benefitted from cushy zones and could buy any player they wanted because there was no scary cap, and this won flags

Now they haven't tasted success for a while they're complaining that equalisation doesn't work.

Go figure

Be better, no bitter.

Get your house in order off the field, hire good people to important roles at your club and the rest will take care of itself.

Players have come and gone since the league existed. It's less prevalent now that it has been in the past. Overreacting because Geelong has a culture that now attracts talent doesn't change that.

The constant melting these last two weeks has been a blessing.

 

[2006_Eagles]

The AFL could do the following.
Extend the minimum contract for draftees to three years.
The team that drafts them can offer them more money in their next two years over the base contract.
For example three years at $120k a year.
The original drafting team can up their 2nd and 3rd years to 250k a year.
If they get traded in those first three years the team that gets them can only give them the minimum payment of 120k for those remaining years.

Let's be honest tho, the AFL and media didn't give a s**t when it was SA or WA clubs losing their players back to Vic. It's now that Vic clubs and the Northern clubs are effected they seem to care now.

The AFL somehow should encourage local kids getting the opportunity initally to get to play in their own state.

It's getting to the stage where the draft may as well be scrapped and just have an NBL-like free market system

 

[RUNVS]

It's getting to the stage where the draft may as well be scrapped and just have an NBL-like free market system

That is the worry. If half of the top 20 are all insisting on staying in their home state then the draft is effectively no longer an equalisation tool.

 

[HairyO]

Nice work of the AFL making sensible changes after Geelong had finished all their trades.

 

[alex4445]

Personally the drafting, trading and retention systems all need to be looked at as a single change would be nothing more than a bandaid solution.

Player retention for teams down the bottom of the ladder and for teams without access to a sufficient amount of local talent have a natural disadvantage.

When it comes to trades teams just don't have access to the picks required to perform fair trades with most ending up being "best you could hope for".

Drafting for the bottom teams is problematic as most bottom sides need to fill multiple holes in their list while only having a single first round pick which is devalued by academy and father-son bids and prospective draftees not wanting to leave their home states.

So what needs to be done?
1) Reduce father-son and academy discounts to 0% (or 5% if you want to protect against cynical bids) priority access should be the benefit with only a single bid able to be matched per round.
2) Give bottom 4 sides both the 1st 4 and the last 4 picks of the 1st round and the bottom 2 sides the 1st and last picks of the 2nd round. Remove the possibility of priority picks or any other AFL draft based support.
3) Like others have said increase 1st round contracts to 3 years with a pay bump that compensates for potential lost pay in the 3rd year.
4) Players that are drafted to an interstate team receive a loading of 10ish% to their salary (outside of the cap) up until they leave that club or reach free agency.
5) Move to a 2 tiered cap floor system with the yearly floor being 85% and a rolling 4 year floor of 95% to keep the AFLPA happy while allowing bottom sides to build a significant war chest.
6) Probably the most controversial change would be an expansion of the salary cap dump system (if it could even be called that) that allows for the trading of salary cap between clubs. For example a bottom 4 team wants to land a big fish but don't want to use both their first round picks. So having plenty of salary cap banked they trade their end of 1st and start of 2nd round picks as well as 200k of their salary cap for the player they are targeting. This would provide liquidity to the trade market and reduce the issue of players nominating a particular team that does not have the draft capital to make a fair trade.

 

[sydney_gws]

Nice work of the AFL making sensible changes after Geelong had finished all their trades.

What changes have been made?
Also does anybody know why gold coast didn't trade say 7 for 14, Swans 2023r1 and attach 14 to the Bowes trade. Clubs would still be jumping for joy at getting 14 for nothing ( especially hawthorn with all its cap space).

 

[HairyO]

What changes have been made?
Also does anybody know why gold coast didn't trade say 7 for 14, Swans 2023r1 and attach 14 to the Bowes trade. Clubs would still be jumping for joy at getting 14 for nothing ( especially hawthorn with all its cap space).

Formalising salary dumping rules, changing the number of years of draft contracts.

There are a huge number of things GCS could have tried but they really dont seem to have bothered. Their list team are below amateur.

 

[Robroy22]

What changes have been made?
Also does anybody know why gold coast didn't trade say 7 for 14, Swans 2023r1 and attach 14 to the Bowes trade. Clubs would still be jumping for joy at getting 14 for nothing ( especially hawthorn with all its cap space).

Yeah I'd really like to know who suggested 7 in the first place??

 

[Robroy22]

Formalising salary dumping rules, changing the number of years of draft contracts.

There are a huge number of things GCS could have tried but they really dont seem to have bothered. Their list team are below amateur.

I don't think Andrew Mackie thinks that at all....or Robbie D'Orazio

 

[ohmygewd]

What changes have been made?
Also does anybody know why gold coast didn't trade say 7 for 14, Swans 2023r1 and attach 14 to the Bowes trade. Clubs would still be jumping for joy at getting 14 for nothing ( especially hawthorn with all its cap space).

Because GC had picks 5 & 7 and because Bowes contract was so huge, they packaged Bowes and 7 to make attractive enough for other teams to pick up his full contract as well as circumventing the rule of an AFL club trading a contracted player against his will...Bowes had to agree with the trade for it work.

 

[dosser]

Spot on.

When’s the last time a pick 55 demanded out because of ‘home sickness

I think they’d be completely fine if just left to play there.

When port Adelaide (in the most recent instance) is speaking with your manager from the day your drafted asking if your interested in coming home… all you need to do is say ‘I’m homesick’

’

Last year. Jordan Dawson (pick 56) went back to Adelaide due to homesickness.

 

[iameviljez]

Sounds like 3 year contract for draftees is coming in. Not sure if that means just first rounders or not.

It would have to be. Far too many players from p35 onwards don't make it past two years - I can't see clubs wanting to hold players longer, unless there is an increase in list size.

 

[The Kings Ransom]

Last year. Jordan Dawson (pick 56) went back to Adelaide due to homesickness.

I’m talking younger years.
Once they’re established as a ‘good’ player they’re back in the leaving category.

 

[Robroy22]

Because GC had picks 5 & 7 and because Bowes contract was so huge, they packaged Bowes and 7 to make attractive enough for other teams to pick up his full contract as well as circumventing the rule of an AFL club trading a contracted player against his will...Bowes had to agree with the trade for it work.

They didn't need to use 7 to get a team to take his contract on. Hawks would have done it for far less than pick 7. His manager has played a part in all this. Bombers probably would have too.

 

[Vindicater]

Get rid of the rookie list and draft.

Four year deal for all draftees with sliding pay scale.

Only allowed to ask for a trade to state, not team.

 

[Saab NLAW]

You're looking at it completely wrong.

The non-Vic clubs are clearly at a disadvantage when the majority of players, in any given trade period, move back to Vic (ie, go home). Irrespective of the club they land at, to deny that most players return "home" in some way, when players do in fact move, is a complete mis-read on things. If it wasn't about "going home", players would be moving in all directions (ie, more or less random), when in fact there is a clear trend, each and every trade period. It's undeniable, and we can revisit again once this trade period is over.

Clearly, there are players that buck the common trend (ie, move away) - this is where better contracts/role, etc kick in as a selling point. In a number of cases, the players are "damaged goods" that just want/need a fresh start. You see far more players in their prime move "back home". Already, we've had Taranto, McStay, Amon confirmed, with Hopper, JHF, Jackson, Rankine and a host of others to follow this trade period. It's been a trend ever since the competition has been national, and the (Vic) clubs know and play on this - hence why they (interstaters) have to pay overs to retain talent.

The "non-football" states are even more exposed. GWS (as an example) - Hopper, Taranto, Bruhn and Hill (this being a neutral move) gone this year, after Cameron, Corr, Langdon and Caldwell 2 years ago (Williams bucked the trend). Just because not every Vic club gained equally from each movement, doesn't mean GWS (and the others) aren't disadvantaged proportionally.

Separate issue, but this is why the academies are so important, longer term. Eventually, hopefully all clubs can trade for players coming home. It's not really a card the NSW/QLD teams can play at the moment.

Brisbane fan complaining about not being able to attract players...

Righteo

 

[wimpy]

Get rid of the rookie list and draft.

Four year deal for all draftees with sliding pay scale.

Only allowed to ask for a trade to state, not team.

Totally disagree with four year contract, it's unfair to draftees who get drafted interstate. Also why should Father/sons and NGAs be previleged to stay in their home state (maybe not Ashcroft) and play for the team they most probably barracked for and have trained with. Agree with getting rid of the rookie draft and agree with can't request trade to a specific club, only can nominate state. It's a good talking point.

 

[JGreezy]

Totally disagree with four year contract, it's unfair to draftees who get drafted interstate. Also why should Father/sons and NGAs be previleged to stay in their home state (maybe not Ashcroft) and play for the team they most probably barracked for and have trained with. Agree with getting rid of the rookie draft and agree with can't request trade to a specific club, only can nominate state. It's a good talking point.

Unfair? They get to play in the AFL.

All AFL sides are based in nice, liveable cities. They get a lot of the year off to return home and spend time with family.

 

[beatnik]

Brisbane fan complaining about not being able to attract players...

Righteo

So you’re new to the AFL then?

 

[Elmer_Judd]

Conor McKenna off to Geelong apparently. But he is Irish, so there should be no grounds for complaints imo.

 

[Wooshaaaa]

Totally disagree with four year contract, it's unfair to draftees who get drafted interstate. Also why should Father/sons and NGAs be previleged to stay in their home state (maybe not Ashcroft) and play for the team they most probably barracked for and have trained with. Agree with getting rid of the rookie draft and agree with can't request trade to a specific club, only can nominate state. It's a good talking point.

Yes they should.

It's a national comp.

As for father sons. Ashcroft lives in Melbourne and chose to nominate Brisbane for father/son. The NGAs exist bc the interstate clubs don't have 2/3 generations of history to pluck father sons from.


They should also introduce a draft lottery like the NBA does for the teams who don't make playoffs/finals. Then the players vying for the draft won't know what picks each team has. This would stop the players being able to flag there preference.

As for the new draftees the AFL should do as per the NBA CBA.

ROOKIE SCALE CONTRACT
A Rookie Scale Contract is the initial Uniform Player Contract between a team and its first round draft pick. The contract must be for 2 years, with a team option for both the 3rd and 4th years. A player’s compensation under a Rookie Scale Contract is determined by the rookie salary scale.

The team option for the player’s 3rd and 4th years can be exercised from the day after the applicable season ends through the next October 31.

Extensions of Rookie Scale Contracts are discussed below.

On Pixel 6 Pro using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Saab NLAW]

So you’re new to the AFL then?

LOL, what a complete joke

Brisbane lost players because they were poorly run, just like every other club in the competition.

What a bizarre coincidence that once Brisbane have got their act together, they have been able to attract great players

You're just a victim, get over yourself

 

[JPetro83]

amazing how the go home factor only happens in the AFL... go overseas to the N BA or NFL and world Football it is unheard of. truly pathetic.