List changes and trade bait

[ernie koala]

I agree with you re: trading picks from future years, as they do in the NFL.

Not sure about the 6th bottom team getting pick 1, and the bottom team getting pick 6. Though it would certainly give incentive.

I think lottery ballot for the bottom teams selection spot is the best way to avoid tanking.

Their incentive then becomes to win some games over similarly places teams, and give their fans hope for the future.

[Ampersand]

This removal of the veteran's allowance reminds me of a Jerry Seinfeld joke about free agency in American sports. Players move around so much from club to club that at the end of the day fans are just supporting a uniform. In essence we'll end up cheering for clothes not players.

[Matt80]

I agree with you re: trading picks from future years, as they do in the NFL.

Not sure about the 6th bottom team getting pick 1, and the bottom team getting pick 6. Though it would certainly give incentive.

I think lottery ballot for the bottom teams selection spot is the best way to avoid tanking.

Their incentive then becomes to win some games over similarly places teams, and give their fans hope for the future.

I think the lottery would be a great next step. I love the NFL.

My four year has moved on from Franklin for the summer and now keeps asking me if we can watch American Football.

He explained to me two days ago that you throw the ball in American Football, while in AFL you do handballs. How cute is that?

[Jewels]

Yet another shortsighted terrible decision to appease the under performing Melbourne clubs.

I've never met a fan of any club that doesn't love having players that have played out their whole career at one club.

IMO, what they should be focusing on, to create a more 'equal competition', is the draw. How to make 23 rounds work for 18 teams.

Yep, one of the dumber moves they've made, and the audacity of naming us and the Cats as teams that have an advantage!!! Isn't the controlling body supposed to be impartial? That doesn't read impartial to me.
Maybe they should try and inroduce rules that enhance cultures and strive to make club environments more like ours and Geelongs rather than tear down successful ones.

I like the idea of every team playing each other once. Then splitting into 3 groups of 6, top , middle and bottom, to fight out for final ladder positions.

Not only is it fairer, but it means there will be meaningful matches across the comp. Rather than the meaningless, dull ,predictable games , in the last 6 weeks

where, for example, 1st plays 15th.

I see this as the only way we could have a fair draw with Rogues suggested lottery as the reward for the lower finishing teams.

This is the sort of thing HQ should be working on, not penalizing successful clubs and rewarding mediocre ones.

[Meg]

Yep, one of the dumber moves they've made, and the audacity of naming us and the Cats as teams that have an advantage!!! Isn't the controlling body supposed to be impartial? That doesn't read impartial to me.
Maybe they should try and inroduce rules that enhance cultures and strive to make club environments more like ours and Geelongs rather than tear down successful ones.

Just to clarify, the quotes I posted are from an article explaining the changes written by Peter Ryan. It was posted on the AFL website but is not an official AFL article.

[Dosser]

DONE DEAL: Jono O'Rourke, pick 43 to Hawthorn in exchange for picks 19 and 40

The poos and wees are building considerably with the addition of a former no.2 draft pick now.

[Ampersand]

Meh. The kid is injury prone and even struggled to break into the seniors. When he did he didn't exactly light the world on fire.

Just as likely to be a first round bust as a trade boon IMHO.

[Ampersand]

You gotta ask yourself, who is O'Rourke pushing out of the Hawks midfield? Or even their defence if they go that way with him?

[caj23]

You gotta ask yourself, who is O'Rourke pushing out of the Hawks midfield? Or even their defence if they go that way with him?

Nobody in 2015, would be surprised if he manages 6 games next year. Clubs also sniffing around Hawks fringe players so hopefully they'll lose a bit of depth as well

[ugg]

You gotta ask yourself, who is O'Rourke pushing out of the Hawks midfield? Or even their defence if they go that way with him?

I suspect they recruited him with the longer time in mind when guys like Mitchell, Burgoyne and Hodge retire.

[chuckie]

X Richards is so far our only rookie that has been elevated to the senior list.
Lloyd,Biggs and Naismith were only elevated due to long term injuries, now that the season is over they go back on the rookie list so I think they can not be traded so they can be free to leave if not elevated.

[Ludwig]

The salary cap is the prime equaliser in the system and the most difficult to tamper with. Free agency should work this way IMO:

1. If a player is under contract, he cannot make any demands on his club, only requests. If the club and player cannot come to trade terms with another club, the player can leave football for the duration of the remaining term of his contract. If football is not for fulfilling the player's requirements, he can find another job, perhaps closer to home.
2. After a drafted player's initial contract expires, a player can choose to leave his initial club and re-enter the draft along with initial draftees. This gives the player a 2nd chance at another club if the first club is not meeting his needs. The player cannot make any contract demands or designate a club or terms of contract.
3. After a certain number of years, say 7, an out of contract player can negotiate a new contract with another club. For such players there should be a special bidding meeting, similar to the FS/Academy process. It might even be combined with or directly follow that meeting, or may follow the normal trade period. These players can nominate a club of choice, total salary and length of contract, which would be the one negotiated. Then a bidding system in draft order allows clubs to match the contract terms. If a one club makes a bid, then the nominated club can outbid by offering up their next draft pick as compensation. The player goes to the highest bidder, just like in the FS bidding system. The club winning the bid then must give that draft pick to the player's former club as compensation. The player gets the terms of contract desired and the original club gets a compensating draft pick. If no club bids, then the player can move to the new club under the terms negotiated and there's no compensation.

In this system a player like Dayne Beams could only request a trade. If one can be reached, fine. If not, Beams can stay out of football for a the remainder of his contract and return afterwards as a free agent under the terms of (3) above.
Nick Malceski could nominate the Suns and $1.5 million over 3 years, go into the bidding system, and whatever pick is used to secure his employment would be given to the Swans as compensation. Let's say that St Kilda bid their draft pick #22 for Mal, the Suns could match it by bidding their next pick at #29, which would go to the Swans.

[Conor_Dillon]

'Josh Kennedy wants to head back to Victoria' rumours have started

[ScottH]

'Josh Kennedy wants to head back to Victoria' rumours have started

Hmm. I've seen them too.
Hope it is just scuttlebutt!!

[lorakf]

X Richards is so far our only rookie that has been elevated to the senior list.
Lloyd,Biggs and Naismith were only elevated due to long term injuries, now that the season is over they go back on the rookie list so I think they can not be traded so they can be free to leave if not elevated.

Unless the rules have changed, rookie listed players that are out of contract can still be traded. That's how we got Mumford in 2009. He was out of contract and wanted to go to Sydney because of the better contract offer. It could not be done until Geelong agreed to trade him, eventually for selection No. 28.