Good evening all.

This has been a thought of mine for a few years now and I would love to hear your thoughts. I believe the minimum age of draftees should be raised to at least 20 years old. The constant pressure put on new draftees to raise a club from the depths of the ladder is ridiculous and the people who suffer the most are us the fans. First we receive a dismal year on the field for two or three years that can test the patience of any supporter and then we are confined to waiting for the development years to be over so we can see some success.I'm not just talking about Melbourne I'm talking about every team and fan. Whilst there have been plenty of 18 year olds who have had a fair impact on a team in their first year they are even more who need time to develop their bodies and sometimes minds to become an afl player. The positives of raising the age are for club,player and fan.

The club:

Imagine being able to know exactly what type of playing you are drafting in terms of effort,playing position,skill and off field behaviour.Coaches can plan the year ahead with confidence of what their new draftees role will be in the club. In terms of the art of drafting kids whilst it is never going to be made fool proof drafting players would be made a lot easier. How many times have we all heard about tambling being drafted before buddy and Judd not being number 1.Also how much does it kill a fan when their 1st draft pick is destroyed by injuries and never gets going and is finally delisted Mitch Thorpe comes to mind. At 20 years old every would have know how good judd was and that his shoulders would hold up. The key position draftees are the biggest problem. How can anyone possibly know if a kid at 18 who is 195cm is going to fill out and be a man made mountain and how their body will hold up against men? I know at age 20 they are not finished getting bigger but its two years on you might have a bit more knowledge.

The player:

every one would love being drafted at 18 no doubt. The chance to live your dream at such a young age would be unbelievable. But the average life span of a player in the AFL is about 4 years. So for most the dream is gone before it starts. At a older age players would be more comfortable in their first working environment and more confident to play footy at the highest level. Whilst young they would still be men amongst men. When drafted players have usually finished high school. Their long term plans for employment or education after football are the last thought on most players minds. At 20 a future draftee would have to have at least be working or at university to support themselves and I can speak for myself when I say once I started working at 18 I matured a which can only help out the players in and out of football.

The fan:

Pretty simple.At the mighty dee's we know what is possible with this list. With some luck and natural progression and hard work we could be top 4 (Touch wood) in a few years. The pain we have gone through in the last 5 years could have been reduced to maybe 2-3 if draftee's were older. Jack Watts has taken time to mature and still is but he is a certain to be in are best 22 every week because he deserves to be. But at age 20 many of the draftees could easily play round 1 as they are ready to go. I am a big fan of NFL and new draftees can have an immediate impact. This takes away those painful years of seeing players play for the sake of development and not because they are good enough to get their spot in the side. Teams can turn their fortune around in a couple of years and not 5. How many rebuilding phases have the tigers gone through with no success? It will kill me if our list doesn't deliver and then we rebuild again and again and again.

I know its long but this is my thinking. Cheers.

I think the minimum draft age should be abolished.

The problem with raising the minimum age is competition from other sports.

I think in an ideal world it would be best if players (at least most) were drafted at an older age

However, one problem is that at the moment most players are drafted in year 12 at school. If you wait another year (or two) then many talented players will have started a career or tertiary education and you run the risk that they may be lost to football as football is a full time professional job and you can't do both (at least not easily)

The Americans have their College system where they can study and play in a top class nursery competition with top coaches. Can't see we could afford this type of system.

Just some thoughts....

I think in an ideal world it would be best if players (at least most) were drafted at an older age

However, one problem is that at the moment most players are drafted in year 12 at school. If you wait another year (or two) then many talented players will have started a career or tertiary education and you run the risk that they may be lost to football as football is a full time professional job and you can't do both (at least not easily)

The Americans have their College system where they can study and play in a top class nursery competition with top coaches. Can't see we could afford this type of system.

Just some thoughts....

your right I dont think it could ever happen but it was "in a perfect world" kind of thought.

The other thing is that they are always carping on about the players maximising their earning potential in what is usually a relatively short career. This would only serve to reduce their earning potential. That's not to say that they won't still end up rich, but as we saw with old mate, every coupla hundred k counts. I think from a fans perspective this is a good idea, although, no matter how frustrating it is, I do kinda like watching the development of these kids from boy to man. Watching Jack Watts this year go from kid to snarling man has been nothing short of absolutely dee-lightful

The "' one-size-fits-all " approach re minimum draft ages is a nonsense . Tim Watson ,with thighs like John Nicholls,was playing senior football at 15. Robert Walls and Rene Kink at 16. A Footscray player, Ron James, played for Williamstown in a Grand Final in the mid 1980's at 14 ! Nuggety Jack Viney could probably play senior footy next year but will be held back by these inflexible restraints. On the other hand, other body types,think Jolley,Jamar even Hawkins and Watts seem to be LATE maturers .