News AFL to overhaul the draft, discuss changes to Academy and FS bid matching

[Lore]

 

[Dangerousfield]

Worse thing is any fixes the AFL dream up won't be seen until the 2025 draft so we've got yet another compromised draft this year.

FFS fix up the rorting that is going on with FA and fix it THIS YEAR! Two year overblown contracts to attract maximum compo is just stupid. Make three years the minimum and don't allow it to be renegotiated after the player gets to the new club Joe Daniher style, it must be like Buddy's contract, set in stone for nine years.

 

[HairyO]

Worse thing is any fixes the AFL dream up won't be seen until the 2025 draft so we've got yet another compromised draft this year.

FFS fix up the rorting that is going on with FA and fix it THIS YEAR! Two year overblown contracts to attract maximum compo is just stupid. Make three years the minimum and don't allow it to be renegotiated after the player gets to the new club Joe Daniher style, it must be like Buddy's contract, set in stone for nine years.

Gives the 2 QLD clubs cheap hits at untouchables.

Then when they dont have any clear options shining through the AFL can make their changes.

Just ditch the discount on matching immediately. Then the following year no matching in the first round, and no compo picks in the first round.

18 kids available without meddling.

 

[Dirty_banchez]

I have a solution for the mess that academies and father-sons make of the draft: You have to pay a premium if you match a bid. Point vales have a GST tax applied. That means it will become impossible to match multiple first round bids.

 

[Yoda_]

Gold Coasts haul is being undersold, they got 4 top picks AND have 2 1/2 firsts this year. It will set them up for a decade.

The clubs figured out the system and completely broke it.

I would be for both bottom 4 teams picks being protected and making sure there is a limit that each pick can be bid on, any change that means if it happened again, GC would at least have no firsts this year, not almost 3.

having hundred of kids each year in your (overall) academy will do that for you

 

[Yoda_]

The Northern Academy iwont have father - son selections for decades is the biggest cop out excuse there is. You literally can hand select hundreds of kids in your 'zone', fast track them in comparison to the select few father/son selections in hope that 1 comes good.

 

[Adnico26Parker]

 

[.Shotties.]

The Northern Academy iwont have father - son selections for decades is the biggest cop out excuse there is. You literally can hand select hundreds of kids in your 'zone', fast track them in comparison to the select few father/son selections in hope that 1 comes good.

Would it kill anyone who whines about this to actually have an idea about how the academies work? 'Hand select hundreds of kids'? What does that even mean?

 

[threenewpadlocks]

The idea of academies or bidding being flawed when it isn't. It's just that the AFL have applied bad maths in points to picks value. What should be a simple solution is being wya overcomplicated

 

[Yoda_]

Would it kill anyone who whines about this to actually have an idea about how the academies work? 'Hand select hundreds of kids'? What does that even mean?

You go to your neighbour hood that falls in your zone, go and grab the most athletic kids who have a fleeting interest in AFL at 12 - 13 - 14 years old, entice them with the dream of playing AFL and then develop them in an AFL environment. Obviously as they get older, mor mature, through the youth age groups they stand out more.




Apparently something like over a quarter of last years under 16 AA team / Academy are already tied to clubs (not all father / sons) which gives you a good indication these ‘academies’ are working to grow the game in QLD.



I am all for growing the game, 100%. Let’s not pretend, like every club in any way possible, that this is not being exploited in any small, minor percentile way to gain an advantage

 

[Yoda_]

I like the fact that club a needs two first rounders if they wish to take two first round academy selections.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Can anyone bullet point the article and what it’s saying

 

[.Shotties.]

You go to your neighbour hood that falls in your zone, go and grab the most athletic kids who have a fleeting interest in AFL at 12 - 13 - 14 years old, entice them with the dream of playing AFL and then develop them in an AFL environment.

That's...not how it works?

Apparently something like over a quarter of last years under 16 AA team / Academy are already tied to clubs (not all father / sons) which gives you a good indication these ‘academies’ are working to grow the game in QLD.

What? Why did you use quotation marks for academies? Why are you using father-son selections in a comment on the growth of football in Queensland?

I am all for growing the game, 100%. Let’s not pretend, like every club in any way possible, that this is not being exploited in any small, minor percentile way to gain an advantage

How are the Northern Academies being exploited and some links to back it up, please.

 

[jdstorm]

The idea of academies or bidding being flawed when it isn't. It's just that the AFL have applied bad maths in points to picks value. What should be a simple solution is being wya overcomplicated

This is crap.

Draft vs academy systems are idealistically and functionally opposed. It’s every team picking from a shared talent pool for equalisation or it’s teams can develop their own players from junior levels who then get redistributed via free agency/salary cap

The current system is all teams are equal but some teams are more equal then others and it’s crap (and thats before factoring in the bad math)

 

[mpal6]

I like the fact that club a needs two first rounders if they wish to take two first round academy selections.

AFL introduced it in AFLW draft last year so it was logical to expect that change in mens drafting as well.

 

[go_the_dockers]

I like the fact that club a needs two first rounders if they wish to take two first round academy selections.

Can anyone bullet point the article and what it’s saying

Nothing in Herald Sun article. Key info below

No mention of first round picks, code sports may have more info.

A bit more info on fox sports, but it is very opened ended. No specifics on how they will enforce it.


AFL clubs will be forced to pay a higher price for star academy and father-son players as part of an overhaul of the draft points system.
And the league is open to pick purchasing where clubs can effectively buy draft picks with salary cap space and trading more than one year in advance.

The league told all 18 clubs in a meeting of football general managers on Tuesday a revamp of the draft points system was in the works as part of a discussion about the trade and draft system.

AFL’s big ‘overhaul’ of draft system, shift to unlock trade standoffs

AFL’s big ‘overhaul’ of draft system explained — and the shift to unlock trade standoffs

www.foxsports.com.au

However under the changes, teams would now need to pay the same price point at which another clubs bids for a player — as in match a first-round bid using a first-round pick — not with a combination of later selections.

“You mentioned the Academy players — Gold Coast got what looks like four absolute superstars (in last year’s draft) for very cheap,” Herald Sun reporter Jay Clark began on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle.

“There will be an overhaul of the draft points system. What that will mean is clubs will have to pay more, they won’t get as big a discount on these Academy stars and the same goes for father-sons.

 

[mpal6]

Make the first round a pure draft. No PP, no F/S, no academy, no discounts. Let the AFL manipulation begin in the second round.

Totally agree. All the angst is about first round draft picks where top talent are slipping away from low ranked teams who are in need of them. Fix that and this whole problem goes away. No PP, no F/S, no academy.

If Academy, Father Son or NGA are taking players on 2nd round onwards and they find some good ones, then good luck to them. At this point everyone has had a go at picking the cream of the crop in a fair manner and clubs are drafting mid-tier players.

This whole hue and cry about what a travesty it is for someone's son to play at another club is a BS argument anyway. If the son is desperate to play for father's club he can ask for a trade and come back later regardless. Players go where they want to go these days. This is working even in non-father son scenarios these days, GWS drafted Tanner Bruhn, he did his 2 years and packed his bags to go back to Geelong.

 

[Membling]

You go to your neighbour hood that falls in your zone, go and grab the most athletic kids who have a fleeting interest in AFL at 12 - 13 - 14 years old, entice them with the dream of playing AFL and then develop them in an AFL environment. Obviously as they get older, mor mature, through the youth age groups they stand out more.


I am all for growing the game, 100%. Let’s not pretend, like every club in any way possible, that this is not being exploited in any small, minor percentile way to gain an advantage

Ah yes, the NRL heartland where the northern clubs can hand pick the best players. Never had issues keeping athletic kids like Mitchell Woods, Narven Willett or Tom Trbojevic for NRL.

If the AFL had a plan for actual expansion of the game in the northern states without leaning heavily on the clubs for running of it more than happy to relinquish the advantages. But they won't or they will obliterate the headway that has been made.

 

[Buget]

I actually think that F/S should be scrapped. I like the romance of it, but in 2024, in a full professional sport romance doesn’t matter. If a player really wants to play for the club that their father played for, there is the trade system.

As for academies, they have their place to holistically grow the game. When a proper reserves competition is established, teams will need more players to fill out 2 teams. This is where academy equalisation can happen, as train-on squads for all teams can be set up. However, even this a flawed, as it will go against any equalisation afforded by the draft.

 

[Sphynx]

This is crap.

Draft vs academy systems are idealistically and functionally opposed. It’s every team picking from a shared talent pool for equalisation or it’s teams can develop their own players from junior levels who then get redistributed via free agency/salary cap

The current system is all teams are equal but some teams are more equal then others and it’s crap (and thats before factoring in the bad math)

Another solution for Northern Academies may be, you can't double dip on the main pool if you match a bid in that round.

I.E the McDonald/Campbell situation.



In regards to the changes.

Pick purchasing is probably going to have the single biggest impact on the comp since FA was introduced, I'd argue it's going to have an even bigger impact.

Bottom 4 sides will have a massive impact on the premiership race depending on who they sell their cap space to. North selling Sydney $800k per year over 2-3 years, will have a massive impact on the premiership race (as an example)

You will probably find FA's move almost exclusively to top 8 sides, as they are the ones who are going to be buying cap space regularly to try and push them over the top.

It should absolutely super charge rebuilds though. A big chunk of the first round should be multiple picks from bottom 4-6 clubs moving forward, which is the way it should be.


I can see some immediately loopholes around pick purchasing being exploited with FA compo however.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

This is crap.

Draft vs academy systems are idealistically and functionally opposed. It’s every team picking from a shared talent pool for equalisation or it’s teams can develop their own players from junior levels who then get redistributed via free agency/salary cap

The current system is all teams are equal but some teams are more equal then others and it’s crap (and thats before factoring in the bad math)

But the clubs aren't some amorphous body that exist to robotically win football games. They're cultural institutions. My support for the Dogs would be less if we didn't have so many father-sons continuing on the legacy. I would hope that if there was a Footscray-born-and-raised-and-supporting Vietnamese kid, that everyone would agree that it would be good for everyone if he were to play for the Dogs.

The issue is with the bad currency conversions and bad maths of draft picks that allow for manipulation. If a team wins the flag but has a top 10 talent like the above, I don't see what the broad issue is of them being able to pay their entire draft hand of 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick to upgrade thier pick 18 to 10 or whatever. The issue is that the current maths and conversions allows them to upgrade that pick 18 to pick 5 and not merely pick 10 or whatever.

 

[Muddiemoose]

Nothing in Herald Sun article. Key info below

No mention of first round picks, code sports may have more info.

A bit more info on fox sports, but it is very opened ended. No specifics on how they will enforce it.


AFL clubs will be forced to pay a higher price for star academy and father-son players as part of an overhaul of the draft points system.
And the league is open to pick purchasing where clubs can effectively buy draft picks with salary cap space and trading more than one year in advance.

The league told all 18 clubs in a meeting of football general managers on Tuesday a revamp of the draft points system was in the works as part of a discussion about the trade and draft system.

AFL’s big ‘overhaul’ of draft system, shift to unlock trade standoffs

AFL’s big ‘overhaul’ of draft system explained — and the shift to unlock trade standoffs

www.foxsports.com.au

However under the changes, teams would now need to pay the same price point at which another clubs bids for a player — as in match a first-round bid using a first-round pick — not with a combination of later selections.

“You mentioned the Academy players — Gold Coast got what looks like four absolute superstars (in last year’s draft) for very cheap,” Herald Sun reporter Jay Clark began on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle.

“There will be an overhaul of the draft points system. What that will mean is clubs will have to pay more, they won’t get as big a discount on these Academy stars and the same goes for father-sons.

“However under the changes, teams would now need to pay the same price point at which another clubs bids for a player — as in match a first-round bid using a first-round pick — not with a combination of later selections.”

Wonder what would happen if a player is bid on late in a round or even as the final pick in a round and the team that the specific player is linked to has already used a much earlier pick to draft a player

Eg Richmond have pick 3 and use it but say Carlton use pick 19 to bid on a father son selection

 

[H00t]

“However under the changes, teams would now need to pay the same price point at which another clubs bids for a player — as in match a first-round bid using a first-round pick — not with a combination of later selections.”

Wonder what would happen if a player is bid on late in a round or even as the final pick in a round and the team that the specific player is linked to has already used a much earlier pick to draft a player

Eg Richmond have pick 3 and use it but say Carlton use pick 19 to bid on a father son selection

That would require some forethought by the AFL. They will realise after the first year it happens though and quickly change the rules thereafter.

It does always amaze me though that the AFL wants to do come up with crazy solutions to simple problems.

Just change the points curve so teams won’t gain points by trading backwards. Could even go as far as upping the curve so far that trading back would lose points based on current trades but balance it out with a higher discount.

Avoids the nonsense of trying to work around what round a player might go in.

 

[Muddiemoose]

That would require some forethought by the AFL. They will realise after the first year it happens though and quickly change the rules thereafter.

It does always amaze me though that the AFL wants to do come up with crazy solutions to simple problems.

Just change the points curve so teams won’t gain points by trading backwards. Could even go as far as upping the curve so far that trading back would lose points based on current trades but balance it out with a higher discount.

Avoids the nonsense of trying to work around what round a player might go in.

Yeah I think that’s just far to much common sense for the AFL

Only other solution if the AFL wanted to tweek the model suggested is that to match a bid on a player you must use at least one pick within 18 picks so it’s still essentially the same round

Will be interesting if they used the reported model if we teams with academy and F/S picks load up on the late picks in the respective rounds they think the bid would come at

 

[go_the_dockers]

“However under the changes, teams would now need to pay the same price point at which another clubs bids for a player — as in match a first-round bid using a first-round pick — not with a combination of later selections.”

Wonder what would happen if a player is bid on late in a round or even as the final pick in a round and the team that the specific player is linked to has already used a much earlier pick to draft a player

Eg Richmond have pick 3 and use it but say Carlton use pick 19 to bid on a father son selection

There is zero detail. My guess would be a late 1st round pick, could be matched with an 2nd round pick plus a 3rd round pick but not 2 3rd round picks.

 

[Buget]

“However under the changes, teams would now need to pay the same price point at which another clubs bids for a player — as in match a first-round bid using a first-round pick — not with a combination of later selections.”

Wonder what would happen if a player is bid on late in a round or even as the final pick in a round and the team that the specific player is linked to has already used a much earlier pick to draft a player

Eg Richmond have pick 3 and use it but say Carlton use pick 19 to bid on a father son selection

Probably find that with your example Richmond will need to split that pick into a lower top 10 and a later 1st round pick.

But a dare say the AFL will add some sort of watering down to allow Richmond to keep pick 3 and their FS.