Every year once the Grand Final has been run and won, we all turn our attention to our teams list changes. The AFL has invested quite a bit in turning the trade and draft into a commodity for the AFL. Once your team is out of running for the flag this is what you have to look forward too. However there are a few features of this as it currently runs that is very problematic. First of all the trade period ultimately ends up quite boring for a lot the time because Free-agency and trade periods open and then nothing happens for long periods while negotiations etc go on and deals wait for that one deal that has created a log jam to go through. Then once the trade period closes there are about 5-6 weeks of nothing (well there are a few podcasts about the upcoming draft but that's really about it) then you have the draft which for all the excitement the AFL has built into it with live trading and presentation, can't get around the fact that most people don't know who the most of the draftees are beyond perhaps some of the father-sons.
So how do you improve some of these deficiencies. The crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has presented the AFL with an opportunity to look at a lot of things in the organisation and has an interesting case study in the trade period for the AFLW where pretty much all the big trades where done in the first week with a steady stream, leaving the second week for all the smaller trades that typically wait for the big trades to get done. In one of the review videos there was a comment about list managers having four months to talk to each other about these moves during lock down so a lot of the deals were done before the trade period. This got me thinking about revamping and reordering the off-season, and whilst I'm sure this won't happen I thought I'd through this idea out for discussion.
The Grand Final happens on the last Saturday in September. Instead of starting trade and free agency at the end of the week October can be about the next generation. We could have the National Carnival and / Draft Combines happening through this period and perhaps we could get some content out getting to know the potential draftees, including seeing them play. Build the excitement for the draft. During this period clubs are free to negotiate with each other and players to their hearts content behind closed doors, but nothing can be lodged until the relevant periods open. However, delistments can occur.
Then on the Monday after the Melbourne Cup Carnival finishes Free Agency (including the first period for delisted free agents) opens up for 1 week, finishing on the following Sunday night with all compensation (if you want to keep that) announced at 9am Monday morning (a week after the opening) ahead of a 10am opening for a 10 day trade period which lasts until say 8pm the following Wednesday (10 days later). The draft would then take place the following Thursday and Friday nights (effectively a 20 day period of trading, free agency and drafting. If you wanted a second delisted free agency period perhaps you could have one run between the the national draft and the 1st of December. You could then have 1st December as the set date for clubs to return to training including the first day for all new draftees.
I hope that all makes sense and would love your thoughts.
So how do you improve some of these deficiencies. The crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has presented the AFL with an opportunity to look at a lot of things in the organisation and has an interesting case study in the trade period for the AFLW where pretty much all the big trades where done in the first week with a steady stream, leaving the second week for all the smaller trades that typically wait for the big trades to get done. In one of the review videos there was a comment about list managers having four months to talk to each other about these moves during lock down so a lot of the deals were done before the trade period. This got me thinking about revamping and reordering the off-season, and whilst I'm sure this won't happen I thought I'd through this idea out for discussion.
The Grand Final happens on the last Saturday in September. Instead of starting trade and free agency at the end of the week October can be about the next generation. We could have the National Carnival and / Draft Combines happening through this period and perhaps we could get some content out getting to know the potential draftees, including seeing them play. Build the excitement for the draft. During this period clubs are free to negotiate with each other and players to their hearts content behind closed doors, but nothing can be lodged until the relevant periods open. However, delistments can occur.
Then on the Monday after the Melbourne Cup Carnival finishes Free Agency (including the first period for delisted free agents) opens up for 1 week, finishing on the following Sunday night with all compensation (if you want to keep that) announced at 9am Monday morning (a week after the opening) ahead of a 10am opening for a 10 day trade period which lasts until say 8pm the following Wednesday (10 days later). The draft would then take place the following Thursday and Friday nights (effectively a 20 day period of trading, free agency and drafting. If you wanted a second delisted free agency period perhaps you could have one run between the the national draft and the 1st of December. You could then have 1st December as the set date for clubs to return to training including the first day for all new draftees.
I hope that all makes sense and would love your thoughts.
