Melbourne president Jim Stynes says the AFL has caused players to lie to family and friends with their recruiting policies for the expansion clubs.
Stynes said the league should never have allowed Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney to be able to sign players from existing clubs a year in advance of their inaugural AFL seasons.
“The way these two teams have got to build has just caused a lot of deception in the game,” Stynes told a pre-match function at the MCG on Sunday.
“To date, players were able to go about their business and if things weren’t working out, then they were able to go to other clubs.
“But I just think the AFL should never have allowed teams to recruit a year before they actually played.
“What it’s doing is it’s causing players basically to lie – to lie to their families, their friends, their mates.”
Stynes said the situation also caused undue pressure on players such as young Demons star Tom Scully, a GWS target, who has had to deny speculation he has already signed with the Giants for 2012.
“Tom’s had to get out there and defend himself. He’s only a 19-year-old, really he’s just a young man, he’s copping all this stuff,” Stynes said.
“He’s assured me he hasn’t signed anything, no-one around him has signed anything.
“But he now has to put up with that for the rest of the year until he does.
“It’s not the way we wanted to go and I think that particular rule needs to be reviewed into the future, so players and their teammates can play knowing there’s honesty there.”
The_Wookie
Roar Guru
finding players willing to leave australia to live in NZ to play will be damn near impossible.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
It has been banned for ages, only GC and GWS are allowed to do this. Although, as you say, a certain amount of "sounding out" no doubt goes on.
Republican
Guest
Agree wholeheartedly with JS. This is not new of course as both League and Union have been deceiving their faithful in this respect for years. Just wait until our AFL decide to grow their brand 'off shore' to NZ, at the mercenary expedience of the codes Australian heartlands in waiting. This will bring a whole new meaning to the word 'deception'.
Australian Football, Australians Game
Guest
I believe it's a good thing. The team leading up to there debut gets noticed and it promotes the club, and then it gives the club good players so they can compete with every team as well as the new tams produce quality players -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
Admittedly it does make things difficult but if the AFL were to ban such negotiations they would still go on, under the table.