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James Frawley is expected to sign for back-to-back premiers Hawthorn in the biggest move of the offseason, after Hawthorn, Geelong and Fremantle all made plays for the former All Australian.
This move has raised eyebrows, and is a cause of concern for Melbourne coach Paul Roos and St Kilda coach Alan Richardson, who are both struggling to come to terms with the idea of losing their most influential players.
There are two major issues with free agency.
Firstly, a player can choose to go wherever he wants. In theory it’s a good rule, as it gives the player the ability to move where it suits family, lifestyle and other non-footballing factors.
But more and more players are leaving lowly clubs to chase success with a premiership contender.
Where does this leave the lower clubs? Sure they may be compensated with a draft pick, but that player will take time to develop, while sides at the top sustain their success with other clubs’ players.
It could lead to a merry-go-round if struggling sides have to sacrifice their best talent after eight years to a side in their premiership window. If this was to happen every couple of years sides like Melbourne and St Kilda (who lost Brendan Goddard via free agency) may struggle to find their way back to the top of the ladder and in contention again.
It would appear from the outside that free agency allows the strong to get even stronger.
The second issue to arise is that of compensation; who should determine a departed player’s worth? It is an argument that will rage forever and there will never be a clear answer. Coaches have had their say, with Damian Hardwick wanting a style akin to that in the NFL where top clubs can only recruit a free agent if they lose one themselves.
However as it stands a pick is given to a club directly after their pick in the round the AFL deem the player is worth, or at the end of Round 1 or 2 in the draft. A player’s ‘worth’ is primarily determined by the terms of his new contract, with his age also a consideration.
Each club in turn is potentially disadvantaged by this as they are then pushed down the draft order. This is not something that the clubs are happy about, with some even calling for no compensation to be given at all. Geelong coach Chris Scott is a critic of the scheme but has stated that Geelong will have to explore all options, as they are available to everyone.
So should Melbourne receive a first-round pick straight after their current pick (2) for losing Frawley? He is clearly a quality player but is he worth pick three?
Hawthorn only received pick 19 for two-time premiership forward Franklin last season. Clearly seen as one of the best players in the recent era, a pick so low compared to that being considered for Frawley is wide of the mark.
The AFL however have argued that they are still examining the results of free agency and will reserve judgment at this time.
AFL general manager of football operations made a point that of the 17 free agents so far to have moved clubs under the scheme only a couple of clubs have picked up more than one free agent.
Free agency gives players options, which is what they fought hard for, but is it making equalisation a tougher task than it should be?
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