bornadog
23-06-2016, 10:26 AM
Link (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/opinion/patrick-smith/afl-mulls-midseason-trading-and-extra-draft/news-story/52048bb94c30099c654a142bab347a3d)
The AFL has discussed the pros and cons of a mid-season trading period as the league tries to envision how the game will operate in the future.
The radical suggestion came up at a powerful AFL think tank which also considered a nationwide mid-season draft as well as league clubs drafting from their state leagues.
It is believed the idea was greeted enthusiastically by those at the think tank — AFL general manager football operations Mark Evans, the league’s general counsel Andrew Dillon salary cap boss Ken Woods, integrity officer Brett Clothier and as many as eight club list managers.
The think tank was convened to discuss what football might look like in 10 to 15 years. Football has previously had mid-season drafts: the last was in 1993 when Sydney picked Matthew Ahmat from Norwood at No 1 and Damian Bourke (Geelong) was picked at No 4 by Brisbane. Ahmat played two games for Sydney and Bourke 22 for the Lions.
The most successful mid-season pick was Daryn Cresswell, selection 39 in the 1992 selection, He played 244 games after joining the Swans from North Hobart. Overall, however, it was not a consistent provider of good, long-term talent and was abolished.
The think tank panel looked at two trading scenarios. Champion fullback Brian Lake moved from the Bulldogs to Hawthorn at the end of the season 2012. Lake then played in the Hawthorn hat-trick of premierships from 2013 to 2015.
Evans told The Australian yesterday: “So we looked at the possibility that Lake could have crossed in a trade to Hawthorn in the middle of 2012. It would have made sense.”
Hawthorn lost that year’s grand final to Sydney by just 10 points. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, won only five games for the year.
It would have been opportune for both clubs to trade Lake mid-season. The Hawks would have had their big and tough defender and the Bulldogs given the opportunity to enrich their playing stock by picking up players from Hawthorn’s deep and talented list. The think tank was undecided whether the draft be player for player only or include draft picks.
The timing, of course, would have be exquisite for the Bulldogs. Hawthorn, knowing they needed a big defender to combat opposition power forwards would have had to be very generous to ensure they got their man. An offer too good to refuse.
The other case study the AFL looked at was Port Adelaide’s plight this year. Port have been forced to juggle the likes of Justin Westhoff, Jackson Trengove and Charlie Dixon through the ruck given the suspension of Patrick Ryder and poor form and injury that combined to crash Matthew Lobbe’s season. Ryder, formerly with Essendon, was suspended for the season by the Court of Arbitration for sport which found in favour of WADA’s appeal over the Essendon peptide regime of 2012. Lobbe is still at least a month away from returning.
The AFL think tank looked at the possibility of Port trading mid-season with St Kilda who have three players over 200cm tall. Port are in ninth spot but, without a recognised ruckman for most of the season, they are floundering and face a huge task to make the final eight.
St Kilda are in 12th spot and three games off the pace of eighth placed Adelaide. Their finals hopes are shot. It would have been very appealing to Port had they been able to secure one of St Kilda’s young talls via a trade halfway through the season. The Saints would have had the option of picking up a talented Port player. It was considered a win-win option for both clubs.
The trade idea has much more going for it than anything similar to the old national mid-season draft which failed to provide long-term solutions.
The think tank felt that while the trade was not without its own issues it would give failing clubs a chance to reposition themselves and sides still in the hunt for a premiership an opportunity to plug any weak spot. The AFL discussed but did not decide on whether a club would need to hold space in the salary cap and whether the treatment under the cap would be short-term or spread out over the course of the contract period.
Evans said: “Obviously it means our weaker clubs would be trading away an asset but they would get a player or possibly a draft pick in return.”
If draft picks were included then the higher team would have an extra player and the lower-placed side be left one short with half-a-season to play.
But the opportunity of mid-season trade obviously creates interest in the middle of a long season. It would be a much talked about event for supporters and it can serve sides at both ends of the ladder. It is believed to have caught the interest of senior AFL executives
The AFL has discussed the pros and cons of a mid-season trading period as the league tries to envision how the game will operate in the future.
The radical suggestion came up at a powerful AFL think tank which also considered a nationwide mid-season draft as well as league clubs drafting from their state leagues.
It is believed the idea was greeted enthusiastically by those at the think tank — AFL general manager football operations Mark Evans, the league’s general counsel Andrew Dillon salary cap boss Ken Woods, integrity officer Brett Clothier and as many as eight club list managers.
The think tank was convened to discuss what football might look like in 10 to 15 years. Football has previously had mid-season drafts: the last was in 1993 when Sydney picked Matthew Ahmat from Norwood at No 1 and Damian Bourke (Geelong) was picked at No 4 by Brisbane. Ahmat played two games for Sydney and Bourke 22 for the Lions.
The most successful mid-season pick was Daryn Cresswell, selection 39 in the 1992 selection, He played 244 games after joining the Swans from North Hobart. Overall, however, it was not a consistent provider of good, long-term talent and was abolished.
The think tank panel looked at two trading scenarios. Champion fullback Brian Lake moved from the Bulldogs to Hawthorn at the end of the season 2012. Lake then played in the Hawthorn hat-trick of premierships from 2013 to 2015.
Evans told The Australian yesterday: “So we looked at the possibility that Lake could have crossed in a trade to Hawthorn in the middle of 2012. It would have made sense.”
Hawthorn lost that year’s grand final to Sydney by just 10 points. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, won only five games for the year.
It would have been opportune for both clubs to trade Lake mid-season. The Hawks would have had their big and tough defender and the Bulldogs given the opportunity to enrich their playing stock by picking up players from Hawthorn’s deep and talented list. The think tank was undecided whether the draft be player for player only or include draft picks.
The timing, of course, would have be exquisite for the Bulldogs. Hawthorn, knowing they needed a big defender to combat opposition power forwards would have had to be very generous to ensure they got their man. An offer too good to refuse.
The other case study the AFL looked at was Port Adelaide’s plight this year. Port have been forced to juggle the likes of Justin Westhoff, Jackson Trengove and Charlie Dixon through the ruck given the suspension of Patrick Ryder and poor form and injury that combined to crash Matthew Lobbe’s season. Ryder, formerly with Essendon, was suspended for the season by the Court of Arbitration for sport which found in favour of WADA’s appeal over the Essendon peptide regime of 2012. Lobbe is still at least a month away from returning.
The AFL think tank looked at the possibility of Port trading mid-season with St Kilda who have three players over 200cm tall. Port are in ninth spot but, without a recognised ruckman for most of the season, they are floundering and face a huge task to make the final eight.
St Kilda are in 12th spot and three games off the pace of eighth placed Adelaide. Their finals hopes are shot. It would have been very appealing to Port had they been able to secure one of St Kilda’s young talls via a trade halfway through the season. The Saints would have had the option of picking up a talented Port player. It was considered a win-win option for both clubs.
The trade idea has much more going for it than anything similar to the old national mid-season draft which failed to provide long-term solutions.
The think tank felt that while the trade was not without its own issues it would give failing clubs a chance to reposition themselves and sides still in the hunt for a premiership an opportunity to plug any weak spot. The AFL discussed but did not decide on whether a club would need to hold space in the salary cap and whether the treatment under the cap would be short-term or spread out over the course of the contract period.
Evans said: “Obviously it means our weaker clubs would be trading away an asset but they would get a player or possibly a draft pick in return.”
If draft picks were included then the higher team would have an extra player and the lower-placed side be left one short with half-a-season to play.
But the opportunity of mid-season trade obviously creates interest in the middle of a long season. It would be a much talked about event for supporters and it can serve sides at both ends of the ladder. It is believed to have caught the interest of senior AFL executives