- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
We are in the midst of two weeks of mayhem as the AFL free agency and trading periods hurtle along. Normally the rumour, innuendo and speculation outweighs the actual transactions by a ratio of 50 to 1 – but this year there has been plenty of action.
Love – trading of future draft picks
Until this year, a club’s ability to be imaginative in regards to trading was limited to its current draft picks which made for inflexibility and lots of talk but not much action. Now that clubs can trade future draft picks, those who can see a small opening can act on that by trading future picks.
The concept works very well in American sports, and the controls put in place by the AFL Commission (clubs can only trade one year in the future, and clubs must make at least two first round selections over a four-year period) ensure that teams cannot make a mockery of this right.
Hate – underhanded tactics
I get that this is now a business, but some of the reported actions that have taken place this week leave a lot to be desired. Take the story floating around about Adam Treloar allegedly having surgery at the request of both Collingwood and his management. If Treloar played for Collingwood, then this isn’t even a story but the fact remains that he is still under contract at Greater Western Sydney.
No-one knows if the Treloar story is true, but it is interesting to note that Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley was quick to throw a barb at opposition teams as to how they are dragging their feet in moving deals along.
Bravo to Geelong and Adelaide handling the Dangerfield trade. Professional, respectful to the player and win/win for each club #kudos
— Nathan Buckley (@ncb_cfc) October 13, 2015
Some clubs might be doing things slowly, but they are at least acting with some integrity.
Love – the concept of free agency
The AFL has gotten plenty wrong, but free agency is something it has nailed. The topic of compensation needs some reviewing but take a look at the players who have left via free agency thus far: Matt Suckling, Scott Selwood, Matthew Leuenberger and Dawson Simpson. One is a three-time premiership player wanting a new challenge, one is a former club champion who has struggled with injury and the pace of the game, one is a highly rated ruckman who has been overtaken and one has gradually slipped further down the food chain at his club.
All four get a chance to start again – in the case of Selwood and Leuenberger, as restricted free agents and highly-paid players their former clubs chose not to match the offers tabled by Geelong and Essendon respectively but they were given the chance. As for Suckling and Simpson, both had limited futures so chose to move on and probably did so on good terms.
The system just works, apart from the compensation…
Hate – free-agent compensation
Of all the rules the AFL has in place, this is probably the nonsensical. When considering whether to let a player walk as a free agent, clubs can ask the AFL for an indication of the compensation they would receive but the AFL make clear that this is not definitive. Alarm bells are ringing already!
The AFL has declared that its compensation is based on a formula. Seems fair enough, but would it be reasonable to expect that this formula be fully transparent? Would have thought so, but it’s not. The size and length of the contract and age of the players are key determining factors within this ‘formula’, but those are an example of how short-sighted the whole process is.
Suckling, Leuenberger and Selwood were all deemed worthy of an end-of-Round 2 compensation selection. Suckling is 27 years old and has played 102 games; Leuenberger is 27 and has played 108, and Selwood is 25 and has played 135 games. Not far from similar players based purely on some components of this magical formula. But rewind 12 months and James Frawley was 26 years old and had played 139 games. Sounds like the three who have moved this year, so an end of second round pick would seem fair.
Hang on, what? The Demons were compensated with pick 3?
Love – trading done right
Now, Crows fans might want to stop reading here but the trade of Patrick Dangerfield is an example of trading done the right way. The chances are Dangerfield had decided he was moving well before it was announced. But credit to him, it never impacted his play and he won a best and fairest as he played his best ever year, dealing with the tragedy of Phil Walsh as well as anyone possibly could have done. His performances on-field made him arguably the second-best player in the competition for season 2015.
He leaves Adelaide with a heavy heart but universally admired, and moves onto an interesting new challenge with a Geelong team that seems in a state of uncertainty.
The Crows were never going to get value for a top 5 player, but that won’t stop the AFL world from dissecting the deal. They managed to get one first round draft pick as well as a second round pick, and young utility Dean Gore who has rose to prominence and to some will play with a stigma hanging over his head. Perhaps he is distantly related to former US presidential candidate Al Gore or NFL running back Frank Gore, but the fact remains he has played as many AFL games as both those guys and all eyes are on Gore in 2016.
Both Adelaide and Dangerfield handled a terribly tough season as well as they possibly could have done, and that has carried over into this trade. Credit where it is due, the AFL definitely is a business but this was business done the right way.
Hate – current market rates
I get that the players put on the show and that they should get every dollar they possibly can out of a short career. But 2015 is definitely the time to be an AFL player. Cam McCarthy has played one good season and there are reports of the Fremantle Dockers being willing to pay up to $500k/year for him.
Jeremy Howe has mastered the art of taking a big mark, but has done very little to prove he is a bona-fide AFL player. That is not stopping Gold Coast, North Melbourne and Collingwood fighting over him and driving his price up by the minute.
Finally, James Aish has had one good season of footy followed by one terrible season and yet he has clubs climbing over themselves to sign him up. As a former top 10 draft pick, Aish will likely be a productive player throughout his career but clubs only need to take a look at players like Cale Morton, Mitch Thorp and Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls before selling the house on potential.
Love – Ross Lyon’s boldness
Some would say giving up a couple of middling draft picks for one of the more naturally talented players in today’s game is a no-brainer and an absolute steal. But when the player is Harley Bennell and the club is Fremantle, then you take a closer look.
Michael Johnson has been suspended for possession of cocaine. Ryan Crowley tested positive to a banned substance and was suspended for 12 months. This is a club that has been the epitome of mediocrity, and is coached by a man who has made a very successful coaching career in defensive dominance.
That has worked when the stakes are low but fail dismally once the heat goes on. He has realised that he cannot win a flag with the current list and has taken on a player who has a reputation for coasting, skipping training session, allegedly inhaling an illicit drug and being involved in numerous drunken altercations. If Lyon can get through to Bennell, he has a player who could lead Fremantle to their first premiership.
If he can’t, then it might become the most intriguing train wreck of the modern era.
Lyon may be staking his coaching career on the riskiest move he has made, and for that he deserves all the credit in the world.
Hate – hyperbole surrounding players
Lachie Henderson is not a versatile star, he is a tall guy who has played a handful of elite games.
Jeremy Howe is not a high-flying superstar, he has a freakish ability to jump high.
Cam McCarthy has significant potential, but if he moves to Fremantle the weight of expectation will sit squarely on his shoulders.
As an industry the AFL should sit back and take a deep breath from time to time, but not until the trading period is over!
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.