Melbourne asks for draft assistance

[Redleg 37,931]

Glad they asked.

Think the answer will be no.

Certainly will not get 1. At best it would be 4 but more likely, first pick of second round.

I would rather a few picks that they made us trade for established players and then we use our normal picks for the draft.

It won't happen.

Can see the reasons given by Evans. You have Roos as Coach. Hogan had 4 possies in the VFL Sunday and he will win the Coleman next year. You lost Chip but you will draft a star who will win the Brownlow next year. Toumpas and Salem will be 2 of the greatest players to play the game. You will get Stretch and my mate tells me he will be better than Flower. I spoke to Watts and he told me he has been laying low so far and will play like a pitbull next year. You have got a new sponsor in Gatorade next year and it will make the boys kick straight. Your ruck coach tells me Spencer will be better than Sandilands next year. Etc etc etc.

[Whispering_Jack 28,048]

Logical that we apply.

IMO the AFL will award us some form of draft assistance because we not only merit it in our abysmal record over a long period of time but also because there is another club that is going to be asking for assistance very soon. St. Kilda has won only four games this year but look at the quality of player they are about to lose. In their worst case scenario they might win even less next year. If we get a refusal this year, the Saints will have to go empty handed next year. I'm not sure the AFL will want that.

[Ted Lasso 17,055]

Pick 1 on the condition we make every effort to trade it would be good

trade pick 1 for a good deal

use pick 3 and 4 on young talent

[leucopogon 1,472]

may as well ask the "bringing the game into disrepute" finding to be rescinded while we're at it, I'm begining to think that we didn't tank

[beelzebub 22,272]

priority pick may not be until the START of round 2. That may be politcally palpable

[Adzman 2,085]

Priority pick could come at the end of the round like we had in 2008. Even so it is a handy pick to trade.

[mauriesy 6,844]

The usual argument will be that we don't deserve one because we've stuffed up previous picks, our trouble is all of our own making, and it's 'pity'.

However, 'deserve' is not the same as 'need'. By any stretch of the imagination, we need a priority pick.

Gold Coast and GWS have had the equivalent of about 15-20 each, and reduced the quality of other struggling teams' picks at the same time.

[leucopogon 1,472]

priority pick may not be until the START of round 2. That may be politcally palpable

Such a pick would have very limited trade value and how many pick 20-somethings have we ever got right? May as well not get one

[Ted Lasso 17,055]

I'm happy with pick 21 and assurances that the compensation for Frawley will be Band 1.

I think that would keep the AFL community pretty happy and give us a good chance to make up some ground, pick 21 should net us a good player

[Redleg 37,931]

I would imagine the submission would have taken a few days to prepare. Interesting it is lodged the day after our worst performance.

[Wiseblood 24,636]

Pick 1 on the condition we make every effort to trade it would be good

trade pick 1 for a good deal

use pick 3 and 4 on young talent

Pick 1 won't happen. Best scenario is end of Rd. 1, and even then I don't think we get one.

Can't hurt to ask though. If Chip goes (and why wouldn't you?) then we have 2 and 3 and then 3 early picks in Rd. 2 that we can work with.

[Earl Hood 5,807]

I heard the guys on SEN announce it, first response was no way of course. Rohan Connelly was adamant that we didn't deserve one. You should only get one if you are a serial poor performer he claimed. At that point I think the Ox nearly fell off his chair, eight years isn't enough pain it seems. The tanking allegations were brought up as usual, now 4 years ago. It is interesting how everyone argues against it based on we don't deserve it, we wasted our chances, we tanked etc, no one wants to look at solutions. Fact is we are a cot case, that is a liability to the AFL brand so it is in everyone's interests to get us competitive again. We need draft help and that could come in the form of an end of first round pick,; in fact struggling clubs need more shots at good picks as the draft is a lottery, you can't be sure exactly who will make it, only that the odds are better that a top 20 pick will make it versus a third rounder.

I believe we need draft assistance to help restore our list to a competitive position.

[Gorgoroth 12,351]

Disgusting.

This club keeps holding out their bloody hat and asking for help/more.

For once maybe stand on your bloody own and work hard and get yourself off the deck, we are like half the population today who think the "deserve" help and hand outs.

FFS this club is the pits.

[DemonOX 8,550]

_{Good thing if you can call it that is at least we asked.}

_{U don't know if u don't ask.}

_{Probably will say no but then will give us a ridiculous good pick for losing Frawley which we would never have got on the open market..}

_{Roos will trade what ever he can for who ever he can to get the list changing in order to improve our on field performance (that shouldn't be to hard).}

[John Crow Batty 8,291]

Could a priority pick be traded for a little elan to share amongst the current players? They are the ones that need help.

[Ron Burgundy 8,584]

The number of first round draft picks that the Suns and GWS have had relative to us would be bordering on ridiculous. And, notwithstanding that, GWS still managed to take our former number one draft pick.

That we've been managed very poorly over a long period of time doesn't discount or obviate the need to help us right now.

Clearly the club is now being better managed, but it's also clear that our list is very impaired relative to all other lists in the competition due to the woeful mismanagement of past administrations.

I'm actually surprised it's a controversial suggestion.

Give it to us. Or salary relief like the Swans, Lions, GWS and the Suns (something which people conveniently overlook).

[Ted Lasso 17,055]

Pick 1 won't happen. Best scenario is end of Rd. 1, and even then I don't think we get one.

Can't hurt to ask though. If Chip goes (and why wouldn't you?) then we have 2 and 3 and then 3 early picks in Rd. 2 that we can work with.

I agree, it won't happen but if you take the tanking stuff out of it and look purely at the here and now we have an extremely powerful case for pick 1.

[Coup Cooper 610]

Versus 2014?

I think you've forgotten how bad we were.,

[beelzebub 22,272]

Such a pick would have very limited trade value and how many pick 20-somethings have we ever got right? May as well not get one

on its own ...maybe as part of some kind of package it ups the value somewhat. Better than nothing

[olisik 4,060]

Hope we applied for start of 1st round AND start of 2nd round.

[Cards13 9,117]

The AFL have compromised the draft for how many years of our horrible performances so we have missed out on some serious talent now at Suns and GWS, the least they can do is give us the PP, surely we can't f this one up.... SURELY?!

[manny100 1,042]

See Wikipedia for history of the PP. Interesting the secret AFL formula considers % and wins. We far exceed the 2006 - 2012 formula for a PP after the first pick. As has been said in this thread if we do not get one then there will never be a PP again. The only club hoping we get one will be the Saints.

Ironically under different circumstances swapping forwards and backs as we did against GWS, ie Garland, Dunn and Frawley would have caused a tanking uproar and investigations. In a MEDIA LED 'witch hunt' environment as we had in those days the Saints 'now' trading of players to obtain draft picks to draft kids which in turn will knowingly effect on field performance which will no doubt eventually lead to a good case for a PP could be construed as tanking. Fortunately those days are behind the AFL.

The FA compensation should be considered separately to the PP. Although in reality losing Frawley (if he goes) should help the PP case as we will be replacing quality with an unknown, untried kid.

[P-man 13,276]

The least they can do is say we've bankrolled a super coach and helped to cherry pick a gun CEO, and its time you stood up for yourself as a club and develop talent organically like the Bulldogs, Richmond et al instead of this quick fix begging mentality you've developed. Then your future successes may actually be worth something.

Then slam the door in our face.

[s-t-i-n-g-a 439]

Roos made some comments in his press conference that showed they had been thinking about this.

[Wormburner 674]

We are the laughing stock of this competition....

Cue, Benny Hill music please.