Just need to get rid of the points discount. If you want the son enough, just pay what he's worth - you still get first dibs.
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Opinion What unpopular AFL opinions do you have? - Part 2
- Thread starter Mordecai
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Father son makes no sense in a modern, national competition. And when it interferes with a draft process that is designed to get the best kids to the worst teams, it makes things harder for clubs at the bottom to improve.
- Apr 24, 2020
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Academies are a far bigger advantage IMO. Next year GC will get a bunch of really talented players in their academy with the same discounts and points etc used for F/S. It isn't often or every year that F/S picks are made by the same team.
It's not so much whether they are for the same team every year.
In 2022, Brisbane get picks 2 and 12 despite playing in a prelim.
In 2021, the Bulldogs play in a grand final and get pick 2. And there's an alternate universe where North could have picked up Nick Daicos at pick 1 ahead of Horne-Francis, given the possibility of Horne-Francis going home. (And yes, Daicos could have wanted a trade to Collingwood after two years, but that's a chance we may have been willing to take.)
in 2020, Ugle-Hagan gets to the Dogs at pick 1, despite them playing finals.
The draft is an equalisation measure. The whole point of it is to get the best kids into the worst teams, because that's how they improve. Academy and father-son selections make that harder.
- Apr 24, 2020
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You're talking about what is often one or two players per year per draft per year with F/S though.
If you wanted to talk about teams underpaying for F/S selections I would agree with you but they are only playing to the rules that the AFL has set. If the rules were different those teams would use a different strategy to get their picks.
High draft picks aren't a guarantee of anything, including holding on to that player as NM and Brisbane have found out.
Depending on the draft year, pick 1 isn't necessarily better than picks 2-5 etc.
Is it unfair? Probably sometimes, but most teams have the same chance as any of the others.
Is it the most unfair thing in the game today? Far from it.
Academies are obviously a bit more complicated and likely a bigger/more consistent issue than F/S selections. The high rated F/S has to want to go to that club, which happens more often than not but not always.
The draft is only one of the equalisation measures put in place, and the draft is still a massive gamble. I say this as someone who likes Cam Rayner, the energy he brings etc but at the moment it looks like we would have been far better off taking Brayshaw with pick one amongst probably a couple of others that are rated above him at this stage. If we had a midfield of Brayshaw, Dunkley and Neale right now we would be a much tougher proposition in the midfield.
One selection in regards to F/S is not going to make or break a team. We were very lucky this year with our two F/S selections and they will hopefully be great contributors to Brisbane for the next 10+ years but it won't make one iota of difference to our chances of premierships in the future if we don't do all the other things really well outside of the draft to keep competitive in the future.
Fyfe went at #20 and his draft profile had him picked as being a good third tall. One recruiter at the Dockers believed he had the tools that could make him an elite mid when he put on some size. So it isn't about the picks, so much as it is, talent identification, coaching, correct staff support etc.
Free Agency has created a bigger issue for equalization than F/S ever will and at least so far academies ever have. The reigning premiers got Tom Lynch who was considered the best player to hit FA that year. Geelong got Jeremy Cameron via FA after a grand final loss. FA only favours big clubs or clubs that are already loaded with talent. Outside of Ablett who was paid who knows how much outside of the salary cap to go to the Suns I don't recall one elite FA player who went to a struggling club.
L_W_P
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Geelong had to trade for Cameron.
The issue with F/S and the Academy players is that it dilutes the pool.
While a specific club might only get 1 good player, the knock on effect to other teams is huge. If there are say 3 F/S players and 3 NGA players in the top 20 then the team with picks 15-18 are potentially being pushed back to 21-24 in terms of talent.
Sure, they didn't have access to those players under the rules but that's the point.
I agree that the points system is busted as well.
No way should teams be matching top 3, top 5, top 10 etc with a bunch of picks in the 30s. Offer any list manager in the comp 5 picks between 25-40 in exchange got pick 1 and they'd laugh you out of the room.
The issue with F/S and the Academy players is that it dilutes the pool.
While a specific club might only get 1 good player, the knock on effect to other teams is huge. If there are say 3 F/S players and 3 NGA players in the top 20 then the team with picks 15-18 are potentially being pushed back to 21-24 in terms of talent.
Sure, they didn't have access to those players under the rules but that's the point.
I agree that the points system is busted as well.
No way should teams be matching top 3, top 5, top 10 etc with a bunch of picks in the 30s. Offer any list manager in the comp 5 picks between 25-40 in exchange got pick 1 and they'd laugh you out of the room.
- Apr 24, 2020
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List managers are exploiting the rules as is their job. I would imagine that the AFL when coming up with the points system overlooked clubs being able to get a bunch of relatively shit picks to get the points for a top prospect. Clubs will often trade away their good picks for a particular draft with some academy or F/S prospects to get the dozen or so low picks to make up their point. So clubs are still trading out their better picks anyway.
I don't think Lance Franklin is all that good.
Agreed, he’s better than that.
I don't think so.
Not a hill I'm prepared to die on or anything, but for the past 6-7 years or whatever, I've always kind of seen him as a decent player that used to be good.
Grand Uncle Horace
Shake down the thunder
The four Northern Academies are vital to growing the game in QLD and NSW.
A tiny proportion of kids going through the Academies make it to lists but the other kids enrich the standard of local comps.
It is not the role of the NSW/QLD clubs to hothouse the development of Vic kids who are then nicked by Vic Clubs.
I don’t even like the GoCo but I celebrate their effort in developing at least three kids who look like being stars of the comp.
I support TAS coming in. It should have happened thirty years ago. Instead the AFL, Hawks and NMFC have near broken junior and senior footy there.
I strongly oppose Commonwealth aid to nob, wealthy, private schools that has subsidised their cricket and footy scholarships and undermined local footy clubs.
There are too many Melbourne clubs. When TAS come in they should be the 18th team with one Melbourne team dropping it out or merging with another.
A tiny proportion of kids going through the Academies make it to lists but the other kids enrich the standard of local comps.
It is not the role of the NSW/QLD clubs to hothouse the development of Vic kids who are then nicked by Vic Clubs.
I don’t even like the GoCo but I celebrate their effort in developing at least three kids who look like being stars of the comp.
I support TAS coming in. It should have happened thirty years ago. Instead the AFL, Hawks and NMFC have near broken junior and senior footy there.
I strongly oppose Commonwealth aid to nob, wealthy, private schools that has subsidised their cricket and footy scholarships and undermined local footy clubs.
There are too many Melbourne clubs. When TAS come in they should be the 18th team with one Melbourne team dropping it out or merging with another.
Speaking of unpopular opinions...
Up until probably 10-15 years ago, I couldn't have given the slightest shit about the 'growth of the game'. It actually made me angry that it was out ahead of the integrity of the competition and I strongly believed that it compromised the purity of the game.
Now though, I'm in my 40s and don't barrack for a specific club, I don't really care all that much about the integrity of the competition but instead basically just care about being entertained throughout the year.
And as such, I'm up for clubs moving, getting handouts, academies or whatever to try to keep the comp as even over the course of a season as possible.
- Apr 6, 2015
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The 17-6 fixture is the only way to get some sort of equalisation in the home and away fixture as long as the each home is swapped year to year.
- Nov 10, 2022
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Guarunteed it would be implemented in a flawed way. Possibly even less equal than now
- Apr 6, 2015
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Wouldn't shock me in the slightest if the AFL botched it. The only issue is it doesn't allow four teams to make the 8 from if they're in 7th-12th position after round 17. And stadium scheduling is probably a bit more difficult but still, would help clean up so much of the issues.
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- Feb 13, 2011
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The big thing is teams should be asking for more when trading picks with clubs only intereested in points.
- Aug 6, 2021
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- Aug 6, 2021
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Can’t imagine this is an unpopular opinion.
- Apr 24, 2020
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And then potentially hurt themselves when they have F/S or academy picks to match points on?
I don’t see it. I don’t have evidence to base this on but I am sure that clubs know when other clubs will bid on prospects etc and there is a loose gentlemen’s agreement about bidding on players because the next season the boot might be in the other foot.
But isn't that like only 3 goals per game?
- Aug 6, 2021
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Which is significantly more than those in his era
Buddy averaged 3.01
J Cameron 2.56
Kennedy 2.47
J Riewoldt 2.27
Hawkins 2.26
- Aug 6, 2021
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0.5 goals per game is a fair bit more than marginal
Yeah, but is it 'great of the game' type difference?
I'm not so sure.
Curious...that 3 goals per goals per game...what was his average in the first 5 years, versus the last 5 years?
- Aug 6, 2021
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You’re seriously arguing that one of only six men to kick 1000 goals is not a great
Give me a spell
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