Academy Watch

[Miller1971]

Why don't Queensland clubs just produce top 10 draft picks that play 200+ AFL games then? Surely that's a no brainer?

Jaspa Fletcher played seniors at 16, Jed Walter, Zeke Uwland, Dan Annable, Leo Lombard, Dylan Patterson all the same. Walter I think at 15 actually.

So they just need to get the 200 game bit next!

 

[Bob Neil]

Secondly, you could argue the very best prospects ought to go straight into the league after finishing school. What purpose would it serve having Harley Reid spend another year out of the league when he was don't arguing grown men left and right in his rookie year?

I acknowledge that pushing the draft age back by a year would penalize those exceptional few who are ready for the league straight out of school. However for the majority of draftees who make little impact (and many don’t even play) in year one there’s no downside but for the majority of kids at an elite level but who don’t get drafted it’s a big upside as they can focus on their schooling without sacrificing their footy dream.

Moreover with careers extending longer into their 30s the Reids and Daicoses of the world still have 15+ year careers ahead of them to maximise their feats and earnings.

I think the needs of the many outweighs the needs of the few and pushing back by a year would be a net benefit.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

I acknowledge that pushing the draft age back by a year would penalize those exceptional few who are ready for the league straight out of school. However for the majority of draftees who make little impact (and many don’t even play) in year one there’s no downside but for the majority of kids at an elite level but who don’t get drafted it’s a big upside as they can focus on their schooling without sacrificing their footy dream.

Moreover with careers extending longer into their 30s the Reids and Daicoses of the world still have 15+ year careers ahead of them to maximise their feats and earnings.

I think the needs of the many outweighs the needs of the few and pushing back by a year would be a net benefit.

What's your view on the compromise idea, first round only for school leavers and the rest is 19 and older?

 

[Bob Neil]

What's your view on the compromise idea, first round only for school leavers and the rest is 19 and older?

I like the creativity but the problem I see is that you only know who is first round in hindsight and meanwhile all of the kids have spent their final year at school striving for the draft which compromises their education.

 

[Miller1971]

I guess the simple answer would be you need to have completed school to be draft eligible?

 

[Nathan Barley]

There are two issues with making that happen.

Firstly, it'll devalue one entire draft by making all the top age kids wait another year. They'd probably have to cancel the draft in that year and make the order of the next one based on two seasons rather than one.

Secondly, you could argue the very best prospects ought to go straight into the league after finishing school. What purpose would it serve having Harley Reid spend another year out of the league when he was don't arguing grown men left and right in his rookie year?

The compromise solution I've heard bandied about would be to allow kids who finished Year 12 that year to be drafted in the first round, but not in any subsequent picks. Then the best prospects are getting into the league early on, and there's plenty of scope to get drafted as an overager too in the rest of the draft. I don't know if that will make kids focus on their studies more, but at least it might be less pressure.

Maybe Harley Reid would do better at school or learn a trade, something to fall back on post footy which could come quickly with injuries

Might also be a more well rounded person coming into the AFL and be able to handle it better

 

[Not a Psycho]

Flip side to this conversation is that young players lose the structure that they need if they're drafted a year later.
Any 19 year old will develop better at an AFL club than at a lower level. Our lower level pathways really aren't at a comparable level/don't have the funding to be a viable alternative like the collegiate pathways in the US.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Flip side to this conversation is that young players lose the structure that they need if they're drafted a year later.
Any 19 year old will develop better at an AFL club than at a lower level. Our lower level pathways really aren't at a comparable level/don't have the funding to be a viable alternative like the collegiate pathways in the US.

So what's the difference between being 17 or 18? Just school?

The coates league and junior leagues would change to be under 19s

 

[Not a Psycho]

So what's the difference between being 17 or 18? Just school?

The coates league and junior leagues would change to be under 19s

Strange strawman to build. Nobody's advocating for a reduction in the draft age.
If you can't recognise the importance of structure, especially for adolescents, there's not much point forcing a dialogue.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Strange strawman to build. Nobody's advocating for a reduction in the draft age.
If you can't recognise the importance of structure, especially for adolescents, there's not much point forcing a dialogue.

I didn't mean it that way. I meant what's the difference between now when most are 17 in their final year or if they were 18 for that year?

All the comps just run an extra year and possible start a year later. No change in structure they just don't have school and probably have uni or a part time job instead

 

[Not a Psycho]

I didn't mean it that way. I meant what's the difference between now when most are 17 in their final year or if they were 18 for that year?

All the comps just run an extra year and possible start a year later. No change in structure they just don't have school and probably have uni or a part time job instead

Appreciate you didn't mean it that way. A prospect goes from 12+ years of routine through schooling to trying to find a balance between work/uni and footy.
Unless you can ensure they're going into a program that is going to help ease that transition and more importantly spend a comparable amount on developing that talent. The best option is still going to be the 18yo drafted by an AFL club.
Further to your point, with the proper structures in place there's nothing to stop you from going younger à la soccer. To go older though you'd need much more developed talent pathways.

 

[Nathan Barley]

Appreciate you didn't mean it that way. A prospect goes from 12+ years of routine through schooling to trying to find a balance between work/uni and footy.
Unless you can ensure they're going into a program that is going to help ease that transition and more importantly spend a comparable amount on developing that talent. The best option is still going to be the 18yo drafted by an AFL club.
Further to your point, with the proper structures in place there's nothing to stop you from going younger à la soccer. To go older though you'd need much more developed talent pathways.

Why do you need a more developed pathway? You just have the same pathway extended for another year

 

[Not a Psycho]

Why do you need a more developed pathway? You just have the same pathway extended for another year

Because one pathway (AFL) spends six figures on a 19yo player, while the other pathway may as well be non-existent by comparison.
If you want to keep players out of that system there needs to be a viable alternative.