'Sweeping changes' to Academy and Father/Son bidding system

[ernie koala]

Deja vu all over again. In the COLA flap the only informed and disinterested people to speak were Mitch Morton and Andrejs Everitt. Neither ex-player had any reason to take the Swans' corner and both thought the only problem with COLA was that it wasn't enough.


Extraordinary how the southern clubs held a secret meeting with the AFL to fix up the northern clubs. Like a bunch of consigliere dividing up the spoils. Will leave a bad taste for a long time.

Love your vocabulary SOH.

[Meg]

Extraordinary how the southern clubs held a secret meeting with the AFL to fix up the northern clubs. Like a bunch of consigliere dividing up the spoils. Will leave a bad taste for a long time.

Excellent description.

n. pl. con?si?glie?ri (-r)

An adviser or counselor, especially to a capo or leader of an organized crime syndicate.

[Doctor]

Deja vu all over again. In the COLA flap the only informed and disinterested people to speak were Mitch Morton and Andrejs Everitt. Neither ex-player had any reason to take the Swans' corner and both thought the only problem with COLA was that it wasn't enough.


Extraordinary how the southern clubs held a secret meeting with the AFL to fix up the northern clubs. Like a bunch of consigliere dividing up the spoils. Will leave a bad taste for a long time.

Good point. You'd like to think that the AFL, in conducting their "review" would talk to disinterested parties along with, or even instead of, those with huge COI. It is supposed to be a review rather than a witch hunt. Or is it?

[Meg]

And more floating of ideas for change in the academy draft bidding.

"SHIFTING the father-son and academy bidding process closer to the NAB AFL Draft is an option for the AFL as it considers how best to strengthen the contentious system.

Currently the bidding for father-son prospects and nominated players from the northern clubs' academies is slated for October 6, the Monday morning before the trade period starts and almost eight weeks before the draft.

Holding it nearer to the draft, when clubs have a more accurate feel for how the order will pan out and have access to psychology reports of all players from the Draft Combine, could encourage such bids to more closely reflect how the market rates the player."

Father-son, academy bidding could make a move - AFL.com.au

[ernie koala]

Father-son, academy bidding could make a move - AFL.com.au.

It's getting more complicated by the minute.

Going on the above article, it looks like a high probability we will have to bundle some picks to secure Heeney, then next year Mills.

I like the idea of live pick trading during the draft, and trading of future picks, as they do in the NFL etc, it makes for an intriguing draft day.

You need very clever, quick thinking, well researched recruiters. They need to have all possible scenarios covered.

[Ludwig]

AFL Equalisation Committee meets to discuss the issues:

197708-eddie-mcguire.jpg

or maybe he's just calling his best mate to join him:

mcguire-koch.jpg

Good to see they're both wearing their Collingwood ties. Kochie's tie doesn't have as many stripes as Eddie's because he hasn't earned them yet.

But Eddie will show him what's required:

kiss-my-ass1.jpg

[ugg]

Father-son, academy bidding could make a move - AFL.com.au.

I like the idea of live pick trading during the draft, and trading of future picks, as they do in the NFL etc, it makes for an intriguing draft day.

They would need to extend the time taken to make each pick then. Currently it's a couple of minutes(?) with a possible request for extra time whereas in the NBA which is being used as the comparison, they get 5 minutes for each pick.

[Meg]

Ludwig, very naughty, trolling Matt80. Also very funny!

[Ludwig]

Father-son, academy bidding could make a move - AFL.com.au.

It's getting more complicated by the minute.

Firstly, the Father/Son and the academy draft processes may look similar, but are really quite different in substance. The FS selection requires no investment alternative for the club, so it's just the historical and emotional attachment to a given club, and can rightly be pegged at something close to fair value.

For a club to support an academy it becomes a matter of value for money and weighing up alternative investments. The northern clubs agreed to the current draft process, being similar to the FS system, because they have the flexibility to invest in the system in proportion to what they think they can get out of the system. If they get nothing, then they will invest nothing. There is no incentive for a club to develop players for another club.

There really is no solution to this if the AFL is going down the path of reducing the incentives to the academy clubs. It will just end up with the AFL picking up the tab for the academies, with the likelihood of fewer juniors choosing to go down the AFL development route. The player pool will be smaller and the northern clubs will bleed players to clubs back in their home towns.

Despite the enormous amount of on field success the Swans have had in recent years, they still have membership and game attendance closer to a mid-table club from Victoria, at best. As for the other 3 northern clubs, they will really be up against it unless they can develop and retain a reasonable amount of home grown talent and have on field success as well. I don't know how the AFL hope to achieve this if they are already planning to cut into the one meager program that might go some way to achieving this.

The AFL can play it as they like, but it is clear that the growth of the game in NSW and Queensland will be proportional to the amount of incentives given to the northern clubs. And the other clubs will just have to accept that or they can kiss their $200 million investment goodbye.

As for the current lot of players coming through the academies, it is not only the investment of the clubs and their sponsors at stake, but also that of the hundreds of parents who paid for their kids to join these academies with the hope, however slim, that their son may one day play for the local AFL team. Is the AFL going to let them down as well? Do they deserve to be compensated for having been misled?

[troyjones2525]

Firstly, the Father/Son and the academy draft processes may look similar, but are really quite different in substance. The FS selection requires no investment alternative for the club, so it's just the historical and emotional attachment to a given club, and can rightly be pegged at something close to fair value.

For a club to support an academy it becomes a matter of value for money and weighing up alternative investments. The northern clubs agreed to the current draft process, being similar to the FS system, because they have the flexibility to invest in the system in proportion to what they think they can get out of the system. If they get nothing, then they will invest nothing. There is no incentive for a club to develop players for another club.

There really is no solution to this if the AFL is going down the path of reducing the incentives to the academy clubs. It will just end up with the AFL picking up the tab for the academies, with the likelihood of fewer juniors choosing to go down the AFL development route. The player pool will be smaller and the northern clubs will bleed players to clubs back in their home towns.

Despite the enormous amount of on field success the Swans have had in recent years, they still have membership and game attendance closer to a mid-table club from Victoria, at best. As for the other 3 northern clubs, they will really be up against it unless they can develop and retain a reasonable amount of home grown talent and have on field success as well. I don't know how the AFL hope to achieve this if they are already planning to cut into the one meager program that might go some way to achieving this.

The AFL can play it as they like, but it is clear that the growth of the game in NSW and Queensland will be proportional to the amount of incentives given to the northern clubs. And the other clubs will just have to accept that or they can kiss their $200 million investment goodbye.

As for the current lot of players coming through the academies, it is not only the investment of the clubs and their sponsors at stake, but also that of the hundreds of parents who paid for their kids to join these academies with the hope, however slim, that their son may one day play for the local AFL team. Is the AFL going to let them down as well? Do they deserve to be compensated for having been misled?

100% agree with everything said here. Too bad there isn't someone with some logic and some balls at the AFL at the minute to see that this is the case!

[Meg]

This article is not specifically about the academies but covers the current stoush. Note the full interview with Pridham to be published on Saturday.

"Calling on the AFL to assert its authority, Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham says new CEO Gillon McLachlan must show the competition who is boss.

"I think the AFL should be less consultative and just make a decision," Pridham told Fairfax Media.

"Because I think the risk is, by being too consultative, everyone is peddling their own agendas. Us included. And the noise that creates, what I think it does is it means the squeaky door gets oiled first.

"The AFL should have views on things and they should be strong. We're relying on them to run the game and we can't have a perception that they're running the game for Victorian clubs, or one particular club. They've got to run it for the good of the entire competition."

Read Andrew Pridham's exclusive interview with Samantha Lane in Saturday's Age

Read more: Show us who's boss, Swans chairman Andrew Pridham tells Gillon McLachlan

[Reggi]

A Pridham spot on either Mclachlan should clearly define what he wants and show some leadership or just evaporate into the non entity he has been so far.

The AFL's proposal today is just too preposterous for words really. "I think my pick 8 is worth you 16 and 37" live on TV seriously.

Idiotic. They just look more more out of control

[barry]

The draft as an equalization tool is poor anyway. The salary cap drives equalization. Especially now that we have freed up trades with free agency.

The NRL is arguably more even than AFL and it doesn't have a Draft.

The Draft is really a way of getting young players into clubs in a fair way. Of the best 18 players, each clubs gets 1. Of the best 36 players, each club gets 2. Of those, if you dad played for a club you can too. If you live in NSW you can stay in NSW. The draft ranks picks by finishing order but that is just for convenience. Plenty of late picks work out better than early picks.

Victorians are obssessed with picks. What good did they ever do for Melbourne?

[i'm-uninformed2]

As someone who was lucky enough to know Colless to a degree and had a huge wrap on him, in my mind he was a great leader of this club and as pivotal in names like Lockett, Roos and Ireland in us becoming the club we are today - and the enduring image of him giving the middle finger to Eddie still kills me.

So I don't say this to say one is better than the other - but (and I don't know him from a bar of soap) Pridham rocks.

Show us who's boss, Swans chairman Andrew Pridham tells Gillon McLachlan

[rojo]