Jump to content

Priority Pick System Under Review

Featured Replies

 

I was waiting for this....Wet Coke get Jack Darling...ours ends up at GW$....Bailey told the truth.

He was the scapegoat...It is never good to be on welfare.

Will be interesting to see what HQ does about this...Free Agency will only make the gap wider...

 

The article says "Dean Bailey said he had coached for good draft picks". I don't think he actually said. Am I wrong?

No Dean coached within the rules of HQ. That's what makes it interesting.

I think it's something that definitely needs to be addressed. Having the top draft pick for finishing last is one thing, but adding an extra high pick is a bit much if you ask me. That being said, it was perfectly fine when we had the priority selection. After all, we wouldn't have one of our captains if we didn't get the priority pick. It's completely different when it's other teams that are benefitting from being bad...

This is really all about GWS topping up after 2 poor seasons and an inablitly to lure top line players to the club due to poor performance and conditions. The AFL will manipulate the rules any way they can to make this club work, wait for the relocation (Bears/Lions) after the current media deal is up.

A bit of revisionist history eh Mr Anderson ? There is nothing new or earth shattering in any of this, its purely the spin that the AFL now need to give it in order to set it up to suit whatever lop sided changes it needs to make ( in its view) to continue their little experiments in wonderland.

Bullsh!t factor ......10+

 

I think the Priority Pick System is based on a healthy communal system. The Problem with it is IMO, is the certainty of being able to control the clubs ladder position, to grab player 'X'... When the Clubs become overly competative in a race to the bottom, it;s like becoming cannibalistic. Anti communal.

IF, the clubs whom miss out on the finals the Pre' Year go into a pool to be drawn lucky dip style, including the club with the priority pick, this would stop the certainty & IMO, stop as much rorting. Especially the obvious rorting, & player position experimenting.

I think the Priority Pick System is based on a healthy communal system. The Problem with it is IMO, is the certainty of being able to control the clubs ladder position, to grab player 'X'... When the Clubs become overly competative in a race to the bottom, it;s like becoming cannibalistic. Anti communal.

IF, the clubs whom miss out on the finals the Pre' Year go into a pool to be drawn lucky dip style, including the club with the priority pick, this would stop the certainty & IMO, stop as much rorting. Especially the obvious rorting, & player position experimenting.

You can guarantee there will be no lottery system until GWS and Gold Coast are up and running then the AFL will have a brilliant new idea of a lottery type system to stop tanking.


The only way to do it is to have discretion at which teams get a priority pick.

We won 12 games in 3 years. 13 and we miss out. Did we deserve one? Hell yes.

If port are [censored] again this year, despite trying to win games the whole time, then yes, they deserve a pick. It not rocket science.

Just set up a group of talking head boffins, let the media influence them, and bobs your fathers brother.

Always award a pick at the start of round 2 is the way to go IMO. This should be helpful - in theory if you finish last and are the only team to qualify you've had 3 picks by the time al the other teams have had one. i.e. 1 (1st pick R1 for finishing last), 19 (prio pick), 20 (1st pick R2) - but it's not worth tanking for pick 19.

Always award a pick at the start of round 2 is the way to go IMO. This should be helpful - in theory if you finish last and are the only team to qualify you've had 3 picks by the time al the other teams have had one. i.e. 1 (1st pick R1 for finishing last), 19 (prio pick), 20 (1st pick R2) - but it's not worth tanking for pick 19.

that sounds a better idea

what about mid-round (ie before the finalists) so 1, 11, 19 or is the 11 too appealing for tanking?

11 is still worthy of a tank, I think.

Abolish the whole system- we don't need it anymore!

A lottery system with weighted representation is the only way to stop blatant tanking. Any other system has a stated advantage, however small which will invite tanking.


The article says "Dean Bailey said he had coached for good draft picks". I don't think he actually said. Am I wrong?

No you're not. This is Jon Ralph's personal crusade. Wish he would STFU & concentrate on trying to write a decent article about footy.

It would be fairer for Port if they retained it as-is for one more year - Port is the team most hurt by the compromised drafts and deserve a #1 pick if they win less than 5 this year. However it would be a disaster if GC won less than 5 and also qualified - altho I'm pretty confident they will win 5+. Personaly I'd go one more year as-is and then change to start of 2nd round for less than 5 wins - no matter how many years in a row.

One possible enhancement - This is a pretty tradeable pick - maybe they could make it like the GWS mini-draft pick but force it to be traded for a player (not picks), then other clubs could bid for it with seasoned players - it's more likely to deliver a ready-to-go player to the struggling club.

Always award a pick at the start of round 2 is the way to go IMO. This should be helpful - in theory if you finish last and are the only team to qualify you've had 3 picks by the time al the other teams have had one. i.e. 1 (1st pick R1 for finishing last), 19 (prio pick), 20 (1st pick R2) - but it's not worth tanking for pick 19.

If we had have done it that way from 2008, we'd still have another 2 Years of rebuild going on.

IMO it's close to right, except for the guarantee of pick for position.

11 is still worthy of a tank, I think.

Abolish the whole system- we don't need it anymore!

That would work in an Open worldwide competition where any New team could enter with relevant funding.

BUT, in a small closed 'Pond', there is only a certain No of fish, so to control the growth rate of the fish, so they don't devour the others, it's an ongoing controlling progression.

  • Author

Always award a pick at the start of round 2 is the way to go IMO. This should be helpful - in theory if you finish last and are the only team to qualify you've had 3 picks by the time al the other teams have had one. i.e. 1 (1st pick R1 for finishing last), 19 (prio pick), 20 (1st pick R2) - but it's not worth tanking for pick 19.

I don't think this would work, even for a pick 11 let alone a 19. Picks 10 - 20 are littered with failures and average AFL players whereas you're close to guaranteed a gun with pick 1 - 4.

I don't think the mini-lottery would work either as clubs on the fringe of the bottom group would still tank for it.

If the priority pick stays, I think the only viable solution is for the AFL to form a sub-committee which reviews struggling clubs each season and awards the pick at its discretion. I don't see another way.


If the priority pick stays, I think the only viable solution is for the AFL to form a sub-committee which reviews struggling clubs each season and awards the pick at its discretion. I don't see another way.

You could be right there. But how fair is it? I wouldn't always trust HQ. The lottery is at least random. 50/50 on this one...
  • Author

You could be right there. But how fair is it? I wouldn't always trust HQ. The lottery is at least random. 50/50 on this one...

Well that's the problem isn't it. I wouldn't either given what's transpired over the past year.

One way could be to select a committee of 7, with say 6 respected, eminent football people (one from each of NSW, SA, Qld and WA and two from Vic) with the 7th member a chairperson from a judicial/footy background to cast the deciding vote if it's locked at 3-3.

This two seasons of four wins or less line they go with should also be scrapped. A strong case can be made that three seasons stuck on 5 wins or 4 seasons on 6 wins (or any other variant around that mark) also warrants a club receiving assistance.

There's got to be a priority pick mechanism for helping struggling clubs or it just becomes the English Premier League with haves and have-nots and a season full of dead rubber matches. It's already headed that way.

They just need to get their heads out of their backsides and come up with a system that has some semblance of fairness about it.

Do away with priority picks completely. Give them extra rookie picks and let's see if they can unearth a nugget.

 

I haven't thought this through too thoroughly

but if the intent is to even the comp up....

how about just banning the 8 finalists from the first round of the draft

I don't think teams would tank a finals appearance to retain a late first round pick.....or would they?

thoughts

  • Author

I haven't thought this through too thoroughly

but if the intent is to even the comp up....

how about just banning the 8 finalists from the first round of the draft

I don't think teams would tank a finals appearance to retain a late first round pick.....or would they?

thoughts

A step better than the lottery system but still problematic. The fact that no 5th-8th side has looked remotely capable of winning the flag since the introduction of the final 8 system would lead to inevitable conjecture about late season results.


Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Featured Content

  • FEATURE: 1925

    A hundred years ago today, on 2 May 1925, Melbourne kicked off the new season with a 47 point victory over St Kilda to take top place on the VFL ladder after the opening round of the new season.  Top place was a relatively unknown position for the team then known as the “Fuchsias.” They had finished last in 1923 and rose by only one place in the following year although the final home and away round heralded a promise of things to come when they surprised the eventual premiers Essendon. That victory set the stage for more improvement and it came rapidly. In this series, I will tell the story of how the 1925 season unfolded for the Melbourne Football Club and how it made the VFL finals for the first time in a decade on the way to the ultimate triumph a year later.

      • Love
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 0 replies
    Demonland
  • PREVIEW: West Coast

    Saturday’s election night game in Perth between the West Coast Eagles and Melbourne represents 18th vs 15th which makes it a tough decision as to which party to favour. The Eagles have yet to break the ice under their new coach in Andrew McQualter who is the second understudy in a row to confront Demon Coach Simon Goodwin who was also winless until a fortnight ago. On that basis, many punters might be considering to go with the donkey vote but I’ve been assigned with the task of helping readers to come to a considered opinion on this matter of vital importance across the nation. It was almost a year ago that I wrote a preview here of the Demons’ away game against the Eagles (under the name William from Waalitj because it was Indigenous Round).  I issued a warning that it was a danger game, based on my local knowledge that the home team were no longer easybeats and that they possessed a wunderkind generational player in Harley Reid who was capable of producing stellar performances playing among men a decade and more older than he.  At the time, the Eagles already had two wins off the back of a couple of the young man’s masterclasses and they had recently given the Bombers a scare straight after their Anzac Day blockbuster draw against the then reigning premiers.

      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 1 reply
    Demonland
  • NON-MFC: Round 08

    Round 08 of the 2025 AFL Season kicks off on Thursday with a must-win game for the Bombers to stay in touch with the top eight, while the struggling Roos seek a morale-boosting upset. Friday sees the Saints desperate for a win as well if they are to stay in finals contention and their opponents the Dockers will be eager to crack in to the Top 8 with a win on the road. Saturday kicks off with a pivotal clash for both sides asthe Bulldogs look to solidify their top-eight spot, while Port seeks to shake their pretender tag. Then the Crows will be looking to steady their topsy turvy season against a resurgent Blues looking to make it 4 wins on the trot. On Election Night a Blockbuster will see the ladder-leading Pies take on the Cats, who are keen to bounce back after a narrow loss. On Sunday the Sydney Derby promises fireworks as the Giants aim to cement their top-eight status, while the Swans fight to keep their season alive. The Hawks, celebrating their centenary, will be looking to easily account for the Tigers who are desperate to halt their slide. The Round concludes on Sunday Night with a top end of the table QClash with significant ladder implications; both Queensland teams are in scintillating form. Who are you tipping this week and what are the best results for the Demons?

    • 148 replies
    Demonland
  • PREGAME: West Coast

    The Demons hit the road in Round 8, heading to Perth to face the West Coast Eagles at Optus Stadium. With momentum building, the Dees will be aiming for a third straight victory to keep their season revival on course. Who comes in and who goes out?

      • Thanks
    • 563 replies
    Demonland
  • REPORT: Richmond

    The fans who turned up to the MCG for Melbourne’s Anzac Day Eve clash against Richmond would have been disappointed if they turned up to see a great spectacle. As much as this was a night for the 71,635 in attendance to commemorate heroes of the nation’s past wars, it was also a time for the Melbourne Football Club to consolidate upon its first win after a horrific start to the 2025 season. On this basis, despite the fact that it was an uninspiring and dour struggle for most of its 100 minutes, the night will be one for the fans to remember. They certainly got value out of the pre match activity honouring those who fought for their country. The MCG and the lights of the city as backdrop was made for nights such as these and, in my view, we received a more inspirational ceremony of Anzac culture than others both here and elsewhere around the country. 

      • Love
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 0 replies
    Demonland
  • CASEY: Richmond

    The match up of teams competing in our great Aussie game at its second highest level is a rarity for a work day Thursday morning but the blustery conditions that met the players at a windswept Casey Fields was something far more commonplace.They turned the opening stanza between the Casey Demons and a somewhat depleted Richmond VFL into a mess of fumbling unforced errors, spilt marks and wasted opportunities for both sides but they did set up a significant win for the home team which is exactly what transpired on this Anzac Day round opener. Casey opened up strong against the breeze with the first goal to Aidan Johnson, the Tigers quickly responded and the game degenerated into a defensive slog and the teams were level when the first siren sounded.

      • Clap
      • Thanks
      • Like
    • 0 replies
    Demonland