Chapter 1: What are the recent reforms to the AFL Draft bidding system?
The long overdue reforms to the draft bidding system have now been unveiled. Having dithered for too long and then pretended to make alterations, the AFL has finally addressed one of the greatest flaws in equalisation. If done right, it would upset most. Too harsh, too soft, too hasty, too late. The reactions? They've spanned the almost certain return of tanking to putting the V back in AFL.
Although Koshi rolls this out every time he's unhappy, so it doesn't land like it once did. During the procrastination process, the AFL opened Pandora's box, letting each club's self-interest shape the debates. But this is why we have the independent commission, to do what is in the best interests of the game. We have watched gaps become schisms in the latter.
because equalisation has been so badly compromised. This is cause and effect. In a delicately balanced competition, any advantage granted has a drastic impact, and we had allowed far too many liberties. The defining quality of multiple draft nights was the capacity to turn junk bonds into blue-chip assets.
to match pick five for a father-son with 40, 42, 43 and 46, to match four academy picks in the first round and still have surplus for another first round choice. It has been an insult to our intelligence. Until there was a system where clubs couldn't afford to bid match without trading out an established asset, the system would never be rebalanced.
To get what you want for the future, you have to make your list weaker in the now. The sliding scale of discounts and loadings, depending on where you finish on the ladder, would appear to achieve this. The implementation of the compensation picks, if you slide within the top five picks, is open to manipulation and frankly unnecessary.
I'm an advocate for an uncompromised draft and a future AFL administration will do this, but I'd imagine it's at least a generation away. In the meantime, these changes are both necessary and long overdue. And the more criticism they draw, the more likely they are to have hit the mark. No more junk bonds for blue chip assets. You can't undo the past, but you can rectify the future.
Once you got past the option of having an uncompromised draft because, you know, you're dealing with father-sons, NGAs, Northern Academies. So once that was established that they would remain, then it was about what was fair value. So that was the debate. It's about fair value. And still the clubs, and obviously Port have got a good player in the draft and so have Carlton in this year's draft.
And so that was very topical for them. But they've still got access to those players. And under this system, they'll still get them.
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Chapter 2: How have self-interests affected the AFL's decision-making process?
And so the only thing will be that they won't be able to pick farm and get players for 32, 33, 34. They're going to have to pay closer, you know, use their first pick and perhaps the second pick to get it done.
If Cody Walker is bid on at pick one, what will Carlton need to get him?
If it was today and where the ladder is, they're pick three, they would need three and 27. We knew at the time, even in Brisbane, that that was very generous, that you could do that. And so part of that is, in that scenario, you've got to make the call to get Levi done. If you had pick 18, if you'd won the premiership, you've got to trade down to get pick 11. How do you do that?
You've probably got to lose a player. So then you make the call, do I want to lose a player? to get a really good player, or do I just let him go through in the draft? So that's the philosophy. You can only use two picks.
Greg Swann with us on 360 last night. So you have to make your list weaker to get the player that you want. We've been a long time getting here, but at least it's a step in the right direction.
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