Equalisation - the facts and the premiership merry-go-round

[Pessimistic]

if people are worried about the lack of overall talent then get rid of interchange.

Each week 72 players who aren't in their teams best 18 play 85-90% gametime.

since the expansion teams shook through, the overall draft numbers are similar to before, despite there being 12% more players

I suppose you assume the shortfall is made up by players playing for longer on average, so the pool is not being diluted at all

 

[Crankyhawk]

Malthouse on SEN yesterday having a sook at free agency helping top teams. Kept using hawthorn as the example - even though we lose more than we gained, he doesn't say anything about Sydney, Geelong, north...

 

[Kwality]

Malthouse on SEN yesterday having a sook at free agency helping top teams. Kept using hawthorn as the example - even though we lose more than we gained, he doesn't say anything about Sydney, Geelong, north...

Its just another example of by how far the Hawks currently outperform the rest of the comp ...

 

[Kwality]

since the expansion teams shook through, the overall draft numbers are similar to before, despite there being 12% more players

I suppose you assume the shortfall is made up by players playing for longer on average, so the pool is not being diluted at all

Do you really think the expansion teams have 'shook thru' yet?

 

[Pessimistic]

Do you really think the expansion teams have 'shook thru' yet?

Their compromised drafts have, and draft numbers have not increased by 12% yearly

 

[threesixpio]

Bump - the Doggies winning reopens this discussion in a big way for me. All those whinging about destination clubs and free agency need to look no further than a well run smaller club who have rebuilt magnificently

 

[Kwality]

Bump - the Doggies winning reopens this discussion in a big way for me. All those whinging about destination clubs and free agency need to look no further than a well run smaller club who have rebuilt magnificently

Given free agency was never an equalisation tool & had nothing to do with the rise of the Dogs.

 

[BK Eaglesfan]

Interesting the premiers per decade stats at the start of this thread. All things being equal premiership droughts should now be longer, as you have a 1 in 18 chance of winning one as opposed to 1 in 12 pre 1987, yet with 50% more clubs we have basically the same number of winners.

I always felt the draft as an equalisation measure was flawed and could actually hinder lower end teams catching up. Obviously the club's own choices play a massive part here, but given the inexact science of the draft and the sheer size of an AFL football team (as opposed to say basketball where 1 outstanding and proven college graduate instantly improves your starting five compared to an 18 year old kid going from underage football to being one of 22) it takes sustained misery AND great decisions AND luck at the draft to even start moving forward.

Take the draft away and simply allow free player movement and if you have a team winning four games for the year, you can make drastic changes to a list to try and catch up. This is where the salary cap I believe is a far more useful tool.

 

[Gigantor]

Bump - the Doggies winning reopens this discussion in a big way for me. All those whinging about destination clubs and free agency need to look no further than a well run smaller club who have rebuilt magnificently

I think the dogs' success forces a complete re-think on pretty much everything: the draft, trading, rookies, how to rebuild, how long it should take, prospects of any team at the wrong end of the ladder, etc, etc

New maxim: two years is an eternity in the AFL.

 

[threesixpio]

I think the dogs' success forces a complete re-think on pretty much everything: the draft, trading, rookies, how to rebuild, how long it should take, prospects of any team at the wrong end of the ladder, etc, etc

New maxim: two years is an eternity in the AFL.

Been a while since you've quoted me. There's a little more irony this time though Gigantor... I like it