Comments on: Draftees heading interstate can be a lottery

By: Freud of Football

Freud of Football — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:12:33 +0000

This is a good example of one area that the AFL really needs to lift it’s game.

Players in the draft generally come from “bigger clubs”, that is, any country boy in SA/WA plays for their zoned team in the SANFL or WAFL and they get the dosh even though they might only play a few (or in your case, no) games for that club.

If the AFL was serious about grassroots football they’d feed the clubs at the bottom of the chain who create these players, not the representative sides where they get seen by the scouts but the sides that developed them into the players that they are.

By: Freud of Football

Freud of Football — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:36:47 +0000

It wasn’t a big risk that failed, it was that Ayres.

No-one wanted him in Adelaide from day one and that he managed to go and get Wayne Carey, past his prime for a #2 draft pick shows why he’s no longer employed by an AFL club, he was a crap coach who used his playing career to the max.

By: CraigB

CraigB — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 07:03:28 +0000

they did get the pick that the then on traded to get W Carey. big risk that failed

By: davelee

davelee — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:05:38 +0000

Pippinu,
I dont think there actually is any mental strength tests per se at the draft camp. I always thought clubs just interviewed the players to get a feel of who they are and that kind of thing.

Anyway in regards to mental strength is that got a correlation to homesickness. And if you look at players like Chris Judd, Scott Thompson, Tyson Stenglen they are all pretty mentally strong young men yet they still found it important to head home.

Home is always a lure. Just look at A-League players returning to Australia.

And then there’s things like girlfriends, just take a look at Kennelly who I believe has an Australian girlfriend.

By: Gibbo

Gibbo — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:57:38 +0000

what an opportunity – 18 years of age, out of the parents house, across the country, a healthy pay cheque… sure, homesickness will always be there, but it shouldnt be too hard for the clubs to put measures in place to ensure each draftee is setting out on a once in a lifetime adventure. i’m just not sure how smart alot of these clubs operate.

By: Michael C

Michael C — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:40:16 +0000

Just a btw – Reading about 21 yr old Trent Dennis-Lane from WA, he’s of Burmese descent, and, in the article in RealFooty, he points out that Andrew Embley has Burmese heritage too.

re clubs of origin, I still love the NAB cup with the $1000 (is it a full G or $500?) going to the nominated junior club of a player who kicks a ’super goal’. I love that.

By: macavity

macavity — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:37:47 +0000

*rugby league loving big smoke

By: bever fever

bever fever — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:21:19 +0000

” Billion dollar cheques “. Freud, I’ve told you a million times to stop exaggerating.

By: Michael C

Michael C — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:20:24 +0000

AT North Melbourne we had our 1999 premiership including Scottt Welsh (SA), Byron Pickett (SA) and Peter Bell (WA),

as it turned out, Bell went home to Perth, Scott Welsh went home to Adelaide…..and then returned to Vic to the Doggies, and Pickett went home to Port Lincoln I think it was (and Port Power) only again, to later return to Vic and the Dees.

Thus we lost 3 of our gun youngish stars to the ‘go home factor’ and yet 2 of them ended up back in Victoria later on (perhaps, this won’t happen so much in the future with our new facilities???)

I’m amazed so far that we’ve held on to Daniel Wells for so long.

By: ren

ren — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:14:37 +0000

i remember when jeff farmer was drafted by melbourne his WAFL club south freo got all the money despite him never playing a game there- why because he was in their WAFL zone- so what happened to jeffs club- the once mighty tambellup demons are no more- with no money it became too difficult to compete against the bigger Albany clubs, the first setback was in 1997 when the club went into recess for a season- the players went to the neighbouring kojonup team who won their first and only premiership to date, the next season tambellup was back and needless to say the premiership flag was black and red that season (Kojunup picked up another spoon). After a few more gf appearances the shire of 500 could no longer putt together a team to compete against the larger teams of Albany and Mt Barker.

It ma have happened anyway but the money that should of been recieved for the development of jeff farmer could have put off the death of the demons for good or at least allowed us to win a few more flags and maybe produce another wizard.

Another notable AFL player to have played footy at Tambellup is MArk WIlliams while another two local boys went to victorian clubs but couldnt cope with the big city lifestyle

By: AndyRoo

AndyRoo — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:58:46 +0000

in Futbal the clubs only get 3k. That’s got to be a bitter pill to swallow for clubs like South Melbourne or Marconi.

By: Pippinu

Pippinu — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:51:08 +0000

I thought that in recent years, clubs had become a lot better about testing the mental preparedness of young athletes about to enter the draft.

By: Freud of Football

Freud of Football — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:05:45 +0000

I might add that b*stard Kane Johnson who demanded (not requested, demanded) that he go back to Victoria, this on the back of two premierships with the Crows as a kid and he was regularly racking up 25+ touches a game – Call me bitter but I’m glad he never tasted success with Richmond.

It’s a huge problem with the current draft/trade system, clubs hold out for the best deals because players initially have no power, once they slip through to the draft they still have no power but the clubs get nothing in return for their investment and Jason Torney + some draft picks weren’t a fair trade in the Johnson saga, the Crows simply had no other choice, take it or receive nothing.

What also really gets under my skin is the way the grassroots clubs are treated. My best friend’s brother is currently playing AFL and I spoke with him about it last time we met and he told me the clubs (in this case, also the club I played for as a junior) gets peanuts, the places responsible for shaping men into AFL athletes get a few scraps while the AFL laugh all the way to the bank to cash their billion dollar cheques.