St Kilda President Andrew Bassat tees off on the AFL draft system, specifically father/son and the Northern Academies

[BurnUp]

The Father-Son rule is the most idiotic thing in world sport.

It has absolutely zero place in modern sport. Makes no sense whatsoever.


To be honest, it staggers me that anybody would give even the remotest **** if a son plays for the team his father played for decades ago. I mean, wtf gives a shit about that? What's the relevance?

Clubs wear different jumpers than they used to, they train at different grounds to what they used to, and they play at different grounds to what they used to.

Yet we for some reason, think it's important that a son gets to (not forced to, mind you) choose if they want to play for the same club that his dad used to???


Let me ask this...would people be so supportive of this shit rule if clubs were forced to select Father-Sons in the Draft? Even they were rubbish, what if you had to pay overs for them? Cause you know, it's apparently important that a kid gets to play where his dad did and all.

Keep crying loser.

Father Son is a great rule and unique to the code. No amount of your crying will change that.

Maybe stop taking everything so seriously. Some of you melts can't help yourselves haha.

 

[BurnUp]

Wow, I hope all these F/S haters one day know what it means to feel joy...far out

This.

But let's face it, these people don't know how to live life without a stick up their arse.

 

[BurnUp]

The first round should be untouchable. No draft tamping at all. No compo picks, no priority picks, and no f/s picks. Just a pure draft. Let the shenanigans begin in the second round.

Nah, that's stupid and boring.

Father son is great.

 

[Dogflogger]

Nah, that's stupid and boring.

Father son is great.

Do you make a new account every day?

 

[magpielicious]

Not sure why you all get so upset. The AFL is an entertainment brand. There is nothing equitable. The only thing the AFL cannot control is the number of fans that support each club. Everything else is manipulated.

 

[fusion]

??

Essendon, St Kilda, Bulldogs, and Carlton don't get a Home GF.

THe Bulldogs literally just played a 'Home' final at Hawthorn's Home ground didn't they?

I like it how you left North off that list. That's how far we are off making finals!

Brisbane played 4 games at the MCG this year, compared to North's one - it's a foreign ground to us. I think someone made the observation that Taylor Swift played the MCG more times this year than some Victorian clubs.

The whole system is unequal, yet the Saints president comes across as feeling they've been victims. But I do agree that discounts for FS should go though. A club can still have the rights to the player, but a 10-20% points discount is ridiculous, let alone playing three picks in the 30s for a top 5 player.

 

[Dogflogger]

Not sure why you all get so upset. The AFL is an entertainment brand. There is nothing equitable. The only thing the AFL cannot control is the number of fans that support each club. Everything else is manipulated.

It's also a not for profit organization and also Australia's only home grown sport, It's not WWE. I think you know why people are complaining.

 

[McIvor]

Lol if Giants get band 1 for Perryman and Saints only get band 2 for Battle.

 

[McIvor]

Brisbane played 4 games at the MCG this year, compared to North's one - it's a foreign ground to us. I think someone made the observation that Taylor Swift played the MCG more times this year than some Victorian clubs.

Pretty facetious to say Lions got 4 games at the MCG when two were finals including the GF which has to be played there.

 

[BurnUp]

Billings instead of Bont
McCartin instead of Petracca

Any amount of woe is us isn't going to solve the above issues. Not to mention giving contracts to stop gaps like Hanneberry etc.

Yet drafted Billings and McCartin over Petracca and Bont.

Imagine what Windhager and Owens were thinking when this weird whinging President was having this pathetic rant?

Could only imagine every Commissioner was like as they walked off.

Don't forget allowing Goddard to walk to Essendon for unders because they refused to pay him 800k.

They got their band 1 compo pick. So what did they do with their first rounders? Traded one for Tom Hickey, and the other for Tom Lee.

Father/Son picks have nothing to do with their repeat failures.

 

[rugmop]

Would this imbecile from St Kilda have opened his gob in the highly unlikely event that St Kilda had been premiers?

I think it simply splendid that he is pissed off. There should be more of it.

 

[bluespooner]

Bring back zones. Geelong would never lose a game again.

He's got a point. All this bundling of picks / points etc has got silly. Academies are important, but should be administered by the AFL on behalf of the game in general. And people suggesting hypocrisy don't get it. You don't have to be outside the system to disagree with it.

Hawthorn always had geelong's measure when zones were the basis of recruitment.

 

[fusion]

Pretty facetious to say Lions got 4 games at the MCG when two were finals including the GF which has to be played there.

I'm not potting your club, but my owns irrelevance to the finals in a reply to a post that listed Vic clubs (but not North) based at Marvel who "dont get a home final at the G". So your club still had double the H&A games than a Victorian based club, because no one wants to watch us lose by 10+ goals each week.

You just won the flag, enjoy it!

 

[Romeoh1]

Actually reckon he’s got a point.

 

[mpal6]

Don't forget allowing Goddard to walk to Essendon for unders because they refused to pay him 800k.

They got their band 1 compo pick. So what did they do with their first rounders? Traded one for Tom Hickey, and the other for Tom Lee.

Father/Son picks have nothing to do with their repeat failures.

They were happy to pick off our carcass during our dark days back in mid-2010s. Billy Longer was drafted pick 8 and we had to trade him for mid 20s 2 years later to St Kilda along with bunch of other draftees who left the club. Saints didn't say poor Lions, let me pay you more in compo.

There was no handouts at that point and we climbed off that hole thanks to Fagan, Noble and some change in culture and direction at our club overall. I have no shame in cashing on some father son luck and blessings now considering how far back we came from just 10 years ago.

 

[Elixuh]

St Kilda need some marquee prime time games which is an advantage they don’t see enough of.

The AFL should schedule a Thursday night round zero blockbuster clash to open the season up at the Gabba next year when we unveil the flag and our new Ashcroft.

 

[bluespooner]

We were competitive long before we gained access to father sons. Our two academy players who have played consistently across our good seasons from 2019 have been Harris Andrews (pick 61) and Eric Hipwood (pick 14). I would argue our success has been largely down to good drafting, trading and FA.

Any club can draft well. It is always going to be more difficult for small clubs in a saturated market, like St Kilda, to convince players why they should choose the Saints over the 9 other teams in the region.

Brisbane managed to rort free agency as well with the re-negotiating of Daniher's contract after one season.

 

[Hollow Knight]

Man, this Bassat dude sounds like a total weirdo, and socially awkward as hell. Listen to this utter cringe…

“I had a great time after half time (at the Grand Final) when it was pretty clear Brisbane was going to win.”

“Every single commissioner I found (there) … the conversation went to the effect of (Bassat): ‘I’ve got a great idea – how about you give the best player in the draft to Brisbane this year!’

“And they would start walking away (and I’d say): ‘Oh, don’t charge them for it’.

How many Commissioners walking away from him did it take for him to realise how much of a knob he was being?

Then add in the petty way they have treated Josh Battle

26

Josh Battle

Age

26

Ht

193cm

Wt

93kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

12.9

3star

K

9.0

3star

HB

3.9

3star

M

5.0

5star

T

2.4

4star

MG

196.8

3star

D

11.0

3star

K

7.3

3star

HB

3.8

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

1.8

3star

MG

142.8

3star

D

10.8

3star

K

6.2

3star

HB

4.6

4star

M

3.4

4star

T

2.0

4star

MG

175.6

3star

. Is this the best operator the Saints could come up with?

 

[Nvent]

Don't forget allowing Goddard to walk to Essendon for unders because they refused to pay him 800k.

They got their band 1 compo pick. So what did they do with their first rounders? Traded one for Tom Hickey, and the other for Tom Lee.

Father/Son picks have nothing to do with their repeat failures.

In the middle of hugely compromised drafts that occurred.

 

[Elixuh]

Brisbane managed to rort free agency as well with the re-negotiating of Daniher's contract after one season.

That was a good one wasn’t it. Ticked off by the AFL though. The good times keep rolling.

 

[TheEscapeClub]

I don't think "innumerate" means what you think it means.

I do disagree about fairness of process, because there's historical bias built in. More historically successful and well run teams are more likely to have 100 gamers which gives them more tickets in the raffle. This means everyone doesn't have the same chance so it's not purely random; it's random based on a given history.

But overall, sure, that's a reasonable point. What you're saying then is it's fine if the premier gets discounted access to the #1 pick because it was random that they got it. I disagree with that, and I think it's enough of a negative outcome that I would dismantle the entire system.



What does the father/son-club connection have to do with it, though? Clubs can still draft sons of old players if they want to keep bloodlines at their club. Man City managed to keep the ancestral club connection with the Haalands without needing a special rule for it.

What we're talking about here is giving clubs discounted access to sons. That's completely unnecessary if clubs value the connection as much as everyone implies they do. It's just an unnecessary source of future inequality.



As a Saints supporter, of course it's unfair that I ended up supporting a shit team, and there's literally zero I can do to make them better. As a dispassionate observer, no, there's always going to be a distribution of flags.

But the point of having equalisation is to minimise the variance, and give every club a decent shot every 10 years or so. I can't see any argument that father-son helps that process. But if you don't want equalisation, that's fine, just say so and there's no argument against that.

Some clubs have had a heap of f/s picks, some have been guns while most have been average to terrible.

St Kilda have still had access to f/s but have also had multiple priority picks and top 5 picks.

Try following the Melbourne Storm.

 

[Teflon]

Good on him.

F/S entitlements are a rort. Not only do you skip the draft which is meant to equalise the comp, you don't even have to pay the full price (in points). Bundling up junk picks for a Top 3 player is ridiculous.

The advantages they give clubs are excessive.

Correct
It ain’t hard pay full price
For anyone whingeing about St Kilda stuff ups - the prez stated we’ve been our own worst enemy
Doesn’t change the fact the system is cooked

 

[Teflon]

Every club has access to F/S selections.

And so they should but pay fair price
Junk picks to get top 3 draft players is BS
While keeping your 1st round picks…. It goes against what the supposed equalisation of a draft system was meant to do
Academies …. Just allow clubs access and stop the rorts
Most compromised major sports core getting around

 

[Teflon]

Gee he goes all Brighton when he pronounces ‘designed’.

As opposed to all Dingley ?

 

[TheEscapeClub]

My god there are some dumb campaigners on here

You will all be screaming blue murder once the 3 Riewoldt boys come through

Why? It'd be awesome.