No, imo the draft and salary cap so far have been completely cancelled out by free agency.

My point is that we won't have a fair system until compo picks have been abolished. Without compo picks the Hawks would have been given nothing for Buddy , which is fair given the talent raid they have had since fa started, and we would have retained frawley instead of being gifted a supreme talent like brayshaw. I'm not complaining about getting brayshaw, but if we are serious about a fair and equitable competition then free agency compo picks must go.

Still not sure if trolling or just crazy.

I just remembered that I had a grind through all this about 18 months ago and took the time to write out my thoughts.

It is a bit long-winded (what, me?) but I was trying to cover everything thoroughly.

https://wanderinggoffy.wordpress.com/2014/08/23/drifting-apart-the-troubles-of-afl-free-agency/

No, imo the draft and salary cap so far have been completely cancelled out by free agency.

How have we done in Free Agency?

Sylvia for the pick that got us Vince.

Moloney and Rivers for the pick that got us Kent.

Frawley for the pick that got us Brayshaw.

But putting Vince, Kent, and Brayshaw to one side - would we be better off with those players?

Sylvia, Rivers and Moloney are gone as of right now and Frawley was pushed out of our backline by McDonald and co.

We haven't gone after FAs very heavily yet because of the way the compensation is worked out but right now - I have got to tell you - FA has been good to the worst run club of the last decade.

I don't think this half-pregnant FA is bad for the lowly teams, it just needs to be tweaked in a few areas.

Trade veto abolishment, RFA re-think, Prelim final teams out of FA for the next year, and those are the ones off the top of my head...

How have we done in Free Agency?

Sylvia for the pick that got us Vince.

Moloney and Rivers for the pick that got us Kent.

Frawley for the pick that got us Brayshaw.

But putting Vince, Kent, and Brayshaw to one side - would we be better off with those players?

Sylvia, Rivers and Moloney are gone as of right now and Frawley was pushed out of our backline by McDonald and co.

We haven't gone after FAs very heavily yet because of the way the compensation is worked out but right now - I have got to tell you - FA has been good to the worst run club of the last decade.

I don't think this half-pregnant FA is bad for the lowly teams, it just needs to be tweaked in a few areas.

Trade veto abolishment, RFA re-think, Prelim final teams out of FA for the next year, and those are the ones off the top of my head...

Seriously? The same bloke that is going to be playing a key role in the backline in this year's GF, in the very next season after he left us?

Wow.

How have we done in Free Agency?

Sylvia for the pick that got us Vince.

Moloney and Rivers for the pick that got us Kent.

Frawley for the pick that got us Brayshaw.

But putting Vince, Kent, and Brayshaw to one side - would we be better off with those players?

Sylvia, Rivers and Moloney are gone as of right now and Frawley was pushed out of our backline by McDonald and co.

We haven't gone after FAs very heavily yet because of the way the compensation is worked out but right now - I have got to tell you - FA has been good to the worst run club of the last decade.

I don't think this half-pregnant FA is bad for the lowly teams, it just needs to be tweaked in a few areas.

Trade veto abolishment, RFA re-think, Prelim final teams out of FA for the next year, and those are the ones off the top of my head...

Trade veto abolishment is the big one, the players have too much power at the minute and it undermines a clubs ability to plan for the future. Brisbane is a good case study for this.

Trade veto abolishment is the big one, the players have too much power at the minute and it undermines a clubs ability to plan for the future. Brisbane is a good case study for this.

Brisbane is also a good case study for pulling your head out of your arse and telling your captain that he is not Jon Brown and that demanding the new generation be treated like a throwback to an earlier generation is not healthy.

They need to get their club right, and old school brutal, clique-based, talk-to-me-when-you-have-earned-it, footy clubs are a thing of the past. Especially when the one trying to administer a culture like that changes from Jon Brown to Tom Rockliff. Good player is Tom, but a commanding presence that demands respect he is not - he should have taken a different tact.

Well run clubs can work in any environment and badly run ones look for excuses - the Lions have only themselves to blame, as we do.

Brisbane is also a good case study for pulling your head out of your arse and telling your captain that he is not Jon Brown and that demanding the new generation be treated like a throwback to an earlier generation is not healthy.

They need to get their club right, and old school brutal, clique-based, talk-to-me-when-you-have-earned-it, footy clubs are a thing of the past. Especially when the one trying to administer a culture like that changes from Jon Brown to Tom Rockliff. Good player is Tom, but a commanding presence that demands respect he is not - he should have taken a different tact.

Well run clubs can work in any environment and badly run ones look for excuses - the Lions have only themselves to blame, as we do.

Agreed, but none of that takes away from the fact that players can walk at will and in doing so the clubs have very little power to create or build change in their playing stocks. Get rid of the veto and it would be fine, it works in various codes in the US where free agency is also a player in the market. The players need to accept they cant have both.

How have we done in Free Agency?

Sylvia for the pick that got us Vince.

Moloney and Rivers for the pick that got us Kent.

Frawley for the pick that got us Brayshaw.

But putting Vince, Kent, and Brayshaw to one side - would we be better off with those players?

Sylvia, Rivers and Moloney are gone as of right now and Frawley was pushed out of our backline by McDonald and co.

We haven't gone after FAs very heavily yet because of the way the compensation is worked out but right now - I have got to tell you - FA has been good to the worst run club of the last decade.

I don't think this half-pregnant FA is bad for the lowly teams, it just needs to be tweaked in a few areas.

Trade veto abolishment, RFA re-think, Prelim final teams out of FA for the next year, and those are the ones off the top of my head...

Your last point is the clincher and the one that most needs to be considered

I still think most people don't understand free agency and are confusing petulant young players choosing a destination with free agency.

I still think most people don't understand free agency and are confusing petulant young players choosing a destination with free agency.

I completely understand the situation. Which is why I believe if they want free agency moving forward they need to remove the 'agree to a trade' part for non-free agents moving forward. I think at most the player can nominate a state they want to move to, from there it is up to the club to work out a trade based on the clubs in that state. Obviously there would need to be provisions agreed to relating to contract amounts and length but by removing the agreement part would mean they can't just nominate a club and hold their club to ransom.

That way once they get to free agent status they are entitled to go wherever they like.

...and what percentage of Clubs are paying within their salary caps? Every one....

Frawley was pushed out of our backline by McDonald and co.

That is just wrong....Frawley put up the white flag in Round 2 last year...(visibly)

and checked out..

He was moved forward so the younger players got used to life without him

That is just wrong....Frawley put up the white flag in Round 2 last year...(visibly)

and checked out..

He was moved forward so the younger players got used to life without him

I am not getting into a semantic battle, wyl, whatever the interpretation of his body language - the MFC moved past Frawley as a key defender BEFORE he left, which was my point that you overlooked or missed entirely.

I am not getting into a semantic battle, wyl, whatever the interpretation of his body language - the MFC moved past Frawley as a key defender BEFORE he left, which was my point that you overlooked or missed entirely.

It's not semantics..Chip FORCED the hand of the club..He was not overlooked...We hoped Mcdonald could do the job..His form did not push Frawley out

My point being Frawley was able to play the system. By moving him forward (which i agreed with) did weaken our back line on numerous occasions, highlighting yet another level that FA weakens the lesser club even more.

Frawley is playing a lot better now (Qualifying Final aside) than he did at MFC for years...

Attitude plays a big part

With GWS and Gold Coast receiving the draft concessions it was always going to mean the top teams would stay up for an extended period of time. We had our chance to get talent in prior to the effected drafts but as we all know we stuffed it and West Coast got it right. With free agency the top teams have been able to add top end talent and also attract young players through the draft. I still think teams should lose the pick for a free agent, so for Frawley Hawthorn should loss first round pick

Free agency has definitely benefited top clubs in the premiership clock & perhaps even kept them there longer... Eg buddy to Swans & frawley to Hawks..... The appeal for players to move & taste premiership success is a key driver but we're 18 team comp & not all players can play in a premiership......

My fear is lower clubs will pay overs to attract free agents to an unsuccessful club....

FA has done just that for the competition.

Ryan Griffen might enjoy Chopper Read's excellent story of one of his associates who was repeatedly bashed and then driven to the lost dogs home in North Melbourne for lack of an appropriate home address.

Dal Santo ,Ball,Goddard are all cheapschits who took cash and sacrificed class.

Frawley is a gormless twit like his idiotic keno schilling half wit uncle.

You can't buy class, credibility or integrity.

Free agency has definitely benefited top clubs in the premiership clock & perhaps even kept them there longer... Eg buddy to Swans & frawley to Hawks..... The appeal for players to move & taste premiership success is a key driver but we're 18 team comp & not all players can play in a premiership......

My fear is lower clubs will pay overs to attract free agents to an unsuccessful club....

At the moment as long as the AFL can use their secret formula for FA agency to overcompensate lowly clubs who lose good players to FA it is having a reduced effect on equalisation. They are using the FA compensation as replacement for the old priority pick to try and throw a lifeline to the battling clubs. But it is messy and the Commission is to blame and really they need a backbone.

Edited September 30, 201510 yr by Earl Hood

Can't blame Frawley .. Club was a basket case pre Roos saw an opportunity to maybes win a flag can't blame him

Top 4 teams should have a limit on picking free agents and trade for players, at the moment Sydney can only pick up players to the value of 450000, this should apply to all top 4 teams, and compo should only go to bottom 2 teams on the ladder, even if they pick up free agents that should not effect what they get in compo, that would even out the competition

I am not getting into a semantic battle, wyl, whatever the interpretation of his body language - the MFC moved past Frawley as a key defender BEFORE he left, which was my point that you overlooked or missed entirely.

he was useless at Melbourne. He's had a couple of good games at the Hawks (and some shockers).