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Loyalty or fairness: The solution to the player movement conundrum

The Demons leave the field after losing the Round 4 AFL match between the Melbourne Demons and Fremantle Dockers at the MCG in Melbourne, Saturday, April 15, 2017. (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Roar Pro
11th March, 2018
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From AFLX to the match review panel, the AFL has become an industry engulfed in constant change and progression.

A twilight grand final looks inevitable, as does the removal of the centre bounce. All that remains to be seen is when these changes occur.

Amongst the plethora of changes and proposals, one issue continues to divide the football public: mid-season player movement. With Sam Naismith’s season ending before it began, the Swans have inadvertently become central to this discussion.

Callum Sinclair and Darcy Cameron are the only other ruck options, although the recently retired Kurt Tippet remains on the list and is technically eligible to play.

Are the Swans at an unfair disadvantage, having lost two talls before Round 1? Or should adversity merely be accepted as part of sport, ultimately making triumph so much sweeter?

These questions are difficult and subjective to answer, which is what makes mid-season movement such a contentious issue. Some will point to the Western Bulldogs 2016 premiership as an example of success in the face of injury; a tale made better by the difficulties faced.

Others will suggest that a failure to allow the Swans to replace Naismith contradicts the measures put in place to equalise the competition.

Perhaps the biggest worry among fans is the so-called ‘Americanisation’ of the sport. Player movement to the level demonstrated in US sport is not something to strive for; Chucky Brown played for 12 different NBA franchises, John O’Sullivan played for 11 NFL teams and Octavio Dotel played for 13 MLB sides.

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These are statistics that no AFL fan wants to see in their beloved game.

Player movement is also excessive in European football, with Manchester City spending £217.3 million in the 2017 summer transfer window. While Premier League spending was at a record high in the recent January (mid-season) transfer window, with £430 million spent, the majority of activity occurs during the off-season.

In fact, Premier League Clubs spent a combined £1.47 billion during the last summer window.

So while fears of increased player movement in the AFL are rational, a mid-season window will never see as much movement as an off-season one.

Last year, 31 trades were made along with three free agency moves, in addition to delisted players finding new homes through the draft and free agency.

Therefore, it would be logical to assume that the number of mid-season moves would be a small fraction of a number which is already minute when put in a global context. Perhaps this is all a big fuss about nothing.

Even so, the idea of an AFL player switching alliances mid-season would take a lot of getting used to. In reality, it would probably only be a small number fringe players changing clubs, but it still doesn’t sit right.

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Jackson Trengove

(Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

What we need is a compromise, allowing clubs to replace injured or retired players, but preserving the loyalty of players for an entire campaign, and Williamstown coach Andy Collins has the perfect answer.

In the wake of Ben Griffiths’ unexpected retirement, Collins suggested following a more-bearable American model, which would allow clubs to recruit players from state-leagues to cover long-term injuries and retirements.

“Once the AFL have drafted players and overlooked others, as soon as they’re 19 or 20 they should all, to me, be free agents. If a club wants to pick them up, they should be able to without having to go through the draft system”, he said.

“The ramifications for a stand-alone VFL club? We’ll bear it. To lose our best player, but for them to potentially play AFL footy, it’s great for morale and it’s great for our brand”.

This proposal would allow more players like Kane Lambert to rise to the top level while giving others a second chance at AFL. Matt Dea, for example, has now played 27 senior games at Essendon, having been recruited through a similar avenue.

Collins’ idea is the best of both worlds. It stops players from changing colours mid-season, keeping the AFL safely away from the player movement levels demonstrated in the Northern Hemisphere, while also allowing clubs to cover for unexpected losses.

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Allowing clubs to top-up their lists can help them maintain a push for finals action, which would ensure that loyalty, fairness and competitive football are all equally preserved.

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