The majority of players in state leagues like the VFL, WAFL, SANFL and NEAFL will never get to fulfil their AFL dreams, but Channel Seven commentator Brian Taylor has come up with a concept that will allow many more of these state league stars to get onto AFL lists.
In recent years there have been many success stories of mature-age players coming from state league competitions and making their mark in the AFL. Luke Ryan, Tim Kelly, Kane Lambert and Bayley Fritsch are some recent examples of players who have transitioned from state leagues into the AFL, and all are now regulars for their respective clubs.
Recently on Channel Seven’s Talking Footy Brian Taylor brought up the idea of the AFL giving a draft pick to each club to pick a mature-age player from one of the main four state leagues – the VFL, WAFL, SANFL and NEAFL. Either this or each club must have a spot on their list for a mature-age recruit each season.
In Taylors words, “I reckon there’s another 50 at the moment playing around Australia that could play at this level (AFL) no problems”.
Taylor speaks some sense. Many AFL starts have come from state leagues, including 2015 Brownlow medalist Matt Priddis, along with others like Michael Barlow, Hayden Ballantyne and Michael Hibberd.
(AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)
Taylor continued, saying, “There are so many great stories and good players that are missing out on our game because what the recruiters do is they say, ‘Oh, do we want that 23-year-old or do we want to develop the 18-year-old?’.
“You’ll always go the 18-year-old. But the 23-year-old that you can play is missing out.”
Adding to the discussion was Hawks and Suns player Campbell Brown, who said that there’s certainty in picking a player who already has three or four years of experience compared to speculatively choosing a rookie.
It will mean clubs will have to research more into these state leagues and look for the right type of player they’re looking for. We know from looking at some of these state league success stories that most of these mature-age recruits can make it at AFL level. Lions defender Matt Eagles came from a TV show The Recruit and still managed to work his way up the ranks through the NEAFL to make his debut at 29.
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This season 16 players have already been drafted out of state leagues as mature-age players and have made their AFL debuts. This is evidence it can work. Draft a mature-age player who has performed at the state league level and you can be sure that they’ll appreciate the opportunity so much more after so many of them missed out on being drafted as 18-year-old.
The AFL should really investigate this, and opening a position on every club’s list every year for mature-age recruits from these state leagues looks to be the best option. It gives these players a chance that they may have missed before and it gives clubs the chance to scout and look at more state league players that they would have otherwise missed out on.
To paraphrase Taylor, not only is it good for the AFL, but it helps the state competitions, which get some great stories and great buzz from seeing one of their own elevated to the national league. It’s good for everyone involved.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
It was unfortunate timing on Ryan for Freo. If Shane Yarran leaving the club had played out a few months earlier It'd be odds on Freo would've picked him up in the '16 draft.
dontknowmuchaboutfootball
Guest
*Liam Ryan
GOB
Guest
Damn shame Tim Kelly was not one of Freo's mature-aged gems.
Perry Bridge
Guest
Agreed. Just because a kid was playing against men as a teenager doesn't mean that every Anthony Banik will be the next Tim Watson. I do suspect that the move of more AFL clubs to having stand alone reserves sides might see more guys held onto, or given second chances. I look at North where they have former Lion Michael Close playing in the VFL.
Wayne
Roar Guru
Clubs are always on the look out for their next 250+ gamer. Mature age players, like when Spur got drafted to Freo then is a regular every week.
Aligee
Roar Rookie
I can only go on what I have seen, I have seen a PSA player drafted in the 40's ( private school football in Perth ) who I rated about the 4th or 5th best player in the team, make no mistake this kid was/is a good footballer and had been in all the development and rep squads since about 12 but was also in those teams because he developed physically earlier than many other kids, by 18 many other kids had caught him or nearly caught him physically but had never been in any rep squads because of slower physical development. My bet is as fully developed players half a dozen kids in his school team would make better AFL players.
dontknowmuchaboutfootball
Guest
No new positions or extra draft picks are needed. Every year pretty much all clubs finish their drafting with another 2 rounds of picks available to them. For mature age 2nd tier players to be selected, all that is really needed is for list managers / recruiting teams to actually start rating the potential of those players and to invest the same amount of time and resources into assessing them as they do the 17/18 year olds who are heading into the draft. Personally, though, I hope that doesn't happen. I like Freo being able to scoop the cream without any competition from other teams.
MG
Roar Rookie
Good idea
Aransan
Roar Rookie
If the AFL clubs were already doing it, Mat Guelfi wouldn't have been taken by Essendon with pick 76. My guess is that one of the WA clubs had planned to take him as a rookie. Rather than giving struggling clubs extra high picks, perhaps give them priority on drafting 20+y.o. players using their late picks.
TomC
Roar Guru
It's a good idea, but there'd need to be processes in place to make sure the teams with weaker lower leagues aren't further disadvantaged.
Kris
Guest
"The majority of players in state leagues like the VFL, WAFL, SANFL and NEAFL will never get to fulfil their AFL dreams" A significant number of them have already had a chance. "This season 16 players have already been drafted out of state leagues as mature-age players and have made their AFL debuts." So the proof the AFL clubs aren't doing it, is that they do it?
Cat
Roar Guru
Can add Mark Blicavs to the list of 'thinking outside the box'.
Perry Bridge
Guest
Via the draft and early picks - you get to sell 'hope' to the supporters/members. However - rushing those kids through is often counter productive. The other thing to remember is stories like Mike Pyke and Mason Cox show what can be done with mature age guys who haven't even played the game - but have solid 'attributes'.
Merv43
Guest
Why not do something completely different and allow each AFL club access to 1 mature aged recruit on June 30 each year It may • open up a pathway for a mature age recruit who has, seemingly, missed the boat • help clubs who have been decimated by injury You could argue that the mature age recruit has missed intensive pre-season training but if the same individual new this pathway was open then it would be up to them to keep their body up to scratch
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
I'm not sure any "special picks" are required (aren't they just called "rookie picks" right now?). What the players bring are reward enough, if the clubs don't see it and don't take advantage then it's more fool them. Freo has been mining the more mature recruit seam for years and has got plenty of gems out of it.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
The idea of potential is very seductive, it's a great blank future space where we get to project in all our best case scenarios and is hard to resist with the draft, given it's all about the future really and we're primed for it.
christy olsen
Roar Rookie
Probably the best argument for taking the mature-age rookies seriously is the failure rate of players taken in the national draft. It's true that most of the best players in the game were taken in the first round of the national draft. That's not surprising. What is always surprising to me is to look back through the first round picks of the past decade. Hardly any of the names are recognisable. Maybe ten percent. What is supposed to be the spigot of talent for AFL clubs is really just a high-risk hedge fund. So much value is given to high draft picks, yet very few of them end up giving much ROI. The best older players of the state leagues would be a much safer bet. In fact there's a lot of the same talent in the AFL already, not just the state leagues. I think AFL lists are flush with 23-yr-olds who are not stars, but are solid, consistent players who contribute every week. Imagine if a club traded all it's draft picks one year for that type of player? Everyone would laugh because it seems folly to trade a, say, No.12 draft pick for a 50-100-gamer who is not a household name and was a second round pick when he was 18. But if that player knows what he's doing, has not been injured much, and has the potential for improvement, then it's actually worth more than the draft pick. I remember I was disappointed when StK gave up their No. 5 pick for Jake Carlisle. After all, Carlisle was picked 24th in 2009. But, in reality, it was a good idea. He is already a very high caliber player. Whoever that lost draft pick might have been, he might never have developed or have left by now.