“The AFL has settled on a maximum discount of 20 per cent for academy and father-son players in the first round. After that, the discount will be fixed at 197 points - the discount for pick 18.“
I don’t mind the idea of QLD/NSW players being developed and staying in their home state but the discount is absolutely ridiculous. The Northern clubs when questioned on the academies always trot out that they pay ‘market rate’ for their players but they don’t.
For Walter at pick 3 the other night they used picks 26, 30 and 32 (and got pick 49 back for good measure) nobody actually believes that is market value. Even with the AFL’s flawed points system that only equates to around pick 6 anyway with the 20% discount.
Make it flat 5% discount for both F/S and Northern Academies and force the clubs going in to actually hold a first round pick prior to the draft starting or forfeit the player if a bid comes in the first round.
Why do the other 14 (and realistically, 16) clubs get penalised because GC/GWS have to have academies?
F/S is such a tiny potential pool of players compared to the northern academies.
Get rid of the discount for the NSW & QLD academies. Leave it for F/S.
I wrote a year or two ago, that the points discount is perhaps 50%, due to:
Opposition teams delay bidding out of courtesy or lack of research.
As you said, the points curve is all wrong, and everybody knows it.
The system fails to capture pick dilution that occurs during the draft. Imagine Essendon had a father-son bid this week at pick 1. So we submit say picks 31 + 33 + 35 + 37 or something to match. We get the 20% discount. Then the rest of the draft plays out. And at the end of the night, it’s clear that we never actually had picks 31 + 33 + 35 + 37…those picks would have actually ended up being 36 + 38 + 40 + 42…and they never should have been treated as having the value they were submitted for.
I know AFL HQ are corrupted by marketing interests…but I also think they’re simply dumb as dog ■■■■…a lot of the problems that emerge, they never saw coming.
The 16s AA is generally filled with academy players these days be design, not to discredit those kids but it’s highly unlikely that many of them where in the best side of the 16s champs.
talking to a cats fan today and he was saying that this kid played for Falcons last year then country footy this year, possibly another one Scarlett kept his eye on.
Here I was thinking that Liam Duggan might have been a solid, lowish cost Free Agency option next year for us. Probably unlikely now as he’s just been made captain!
That ship has probably sailed with Langford now a permanent fwd and we’ve just picked up Caddy (who’d be Stringer replacement). Perkins is also going to be playing out of fwd line more so
