The Australian Football League (AFL) commission can put an end to the topic of tanking by scraping the current draft system and implementing a lottery version famously employed by the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Following the recent comments made by former Melbourne and now Carlton midfielder Brock McLean, the AFL has announced an investigation into the remarks and how the integrity of the game has been called into question.
They will gather some information and then we, the audience, will sit back in our chairs and listen assiduously to the same old drivel that rears its head annually.
Enough is enough and I direct two words straight at the commission: Just act.
Here’s what should happen at league headquarters. For the upcoming draft, leave it the way it is. In the meantime, study the NBA draft system and then adopt it.
As a basketball player, fan and analyst, I have for years held this opinion.
The current AFL draft system is discernibly flawed. When the number one, two and three picks are known to clubs locked in based on the position standings, then theories and questions will creep in more and more as the season goes on.
The NBA lottery draft varies and although your team may end the season with the worst record, the third selection may be what you end up with. This system revolves around standings (wins/loss record), chance, numbers and ping-pong balls.
The association introduced the lottery many years ago. They did this because of this very issue of teams tanking to secure the number one pick.
Sure there are conspiracy theorists out there that claim the lottery system is rigged, but in the end you just need to ask who they support, what pick in the draft they have and you’ll soon discover a pattern.
Let’s cut the BS. Assemble the board members. Target the issue of tanking. Adapt. Implement the AFL version of the NBA lottery draft. And then let’s identify another matter to whine about.
While Andy and his boardroom warriors are at, maybe they could also scrap the father-son rule…
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Beautiful to see from Charlie Clarke.
Hamish Brayshaw goes WHACK!
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