Well... no, actually, it's not the ex-rookie Max King, it's the NAB AFL Academy member Max King from the Sandringham Dragons (who also has a twin brother who is also a handy footballer) -  Which Academy prospects are training at your club?

Also training with the Demons is Hudson Garoni.

Means little though because the players in question will have to be picked in the national draft.

THAT Max is indeed a handy player. Wish it meant a little more other than the pick in the national draft.

What's the point of these academies if we don't get priority access to the players like the northern state clubs do?

Edited December 8, 20177 yr by Dr. Gonzo

On Friday, December 08, 2017 at 8:49 PM, Dr. Gonzo said:

What's the point of these academies if we don't get priority access to the players like the northern state clubs do?

I actually though that with the academies all the clubs did get a level of priority access with some sort of discounted draft points bidding system similar to the new father son rules.  Whether it is as generous as it applies for the northern states I'm not too sure (actually I tend to doubt it).

Such a catch 22 situation with these academies.  If it actually encourages clubs to get out there and grow the game at a grass roots level, then that has to be a good thing, but it also has huge potential to grow imbalances within the game through going back to the days where some teams (i.e. Hawthorn) were significantly advantaged above others through the allocation of the most productive zones.  There seems to be an almost default position to be critical of the AFL, but on face value, I think the bidding system for academy/zone players is on face value a reasonable compromise.

I'd also like to throw out another idea as some food for thought.  I really do think that one of the big things the AFL has going for it is the tribalism of it's supporters growing up and supporting it's team for life and in the past for kids to aspire to play for the team they supported.  The loyalty factor is something that was once and still is to a certain extent an attractive part of our code and I think the more it becomes diluted through more fluid player movements, it will become easier for the public to become disaffected with the code as a whole.  Which brings me back to the aspect of kids playing for the team they supported, which has been almost completely lost through the  introduction of the draft.  I have wondered recently if the AFL could introduce an additional kind of recuitment/draft points category where players kids who were club members from a certain age could be drafted at a discounted rate to the club they supported.  It would obviously need some kind of normalisation for the number of members/junior members of a club overall so as not to unfairly favour the power clubs, but could also serve as an incentive for people to buy memberships and clubs to genuinely engage with their supporter/membership base.  Just think of a few of the players it might have netted the MFC out of the current AFL playing ranks!

On 08/12/2017 at 5:21 PM, Deemania since 56 said:

THAT Max is indeed a handy player. Wish it meant a little more other than the pick in the national draft.

Balic trained at the club as part of the AFL Academy and is now with us. Bit early to know if anything comes of that but it can be of a small use down the track. Treloar knew Buckley from his time coaching Vic Country under 16's and then signed with the Pies. Any chance to impress on the future generations is important.

Richmond last year had a 3 prong trade week class and Port and Essendon copied that approach this year. At some stage we might see a club attempt a Miami Heat style free agency mega haul where they convince a group of players to sign together. If that's the case you need to impress players in every way possible. 

Lever is probably an example where cash and the hope for success were big drawing cards but the previous relationships with Melbourne recruiters who allegedly were keen on him in his draft year was probably a handy little extra.

On 08/12/2017 at 9:49 PM, Dr. Gonzo said:

What's the point of these academies if we don't get priority access to the players like the northern state clubs do?

The best way to describe the AFL Academy is like an advance class for a group of gifted school kids. They take the best 30 or so kids and give them extra development to try and produce some high end draft picks. Not every one of them ends up drafted but most of them do and a lot of them are in the top 30. All the clubs really have to do is host them to train for a couple of weeks.

I think it's a different question to that of the Northern State academies and Indigenous/multi cultural academies which should operate to fix holes in the current junior pathway outside of the TAC, WAFL and SANFL systems. To continue the school metaphor in those cases the idea is that clubs are going out and finding kids who weren't even getting to the 'schools', which is a lot harder than the AFL Academy where it's a special class for the top kids already succeeding in the junior programs.

 

14 hours ago, DeeSpencer said:

Balic trained at the club as part of the AFL Academy and is now with us. Bit early to know if anything comes of that but it can be of a small use down the track. Treloar knew Buckley from his time coaching Vic Country under 16's and then signed with the Pies. Any chance to impress on the future generations is important.

Richmond last year had a 3 prong trade week class and Port and Essendon copied that approach this year. At some stage we might see a club attempt a Miami Heat style free agency mega haul where they convince a group of players to sign together. If that's the case you need to impress players in every way possible. 

Lever is probably an example where cash and the hope for success were big drawing cards but the previous relationships with Melbourne recruiters who allegedly were keen on him in his draft year was probably a handy little extra.

The best way to describe the AFL Academy is like an advance class for a group of gifted school kids. They take the best 30 or so kids and give them extra development to try and produce some high end draft picks. Not every one of them ends up drafted but most of them do and a lot of them are in the top 30. All the clubs really have to do is host them to train for a couple of weeks.

I think it's a different question to that of the Northern State academies and Indigenous/multi cultural academies which should operate to fix holes in the current junior pathway outside of the TAC, WAFL and SANFL systems. To continue the school metaphor in those cases the idea is that clubs are going out and finding kids who weren't even getting to the 'schools', which is a lot harder than the AFL Academy where it's a special class for the top kids already succeeding in the junior programs.

 

The Northern State academies were also created to compensate GWS and Gold Coast for the perceived unfairness of older clubs having access to father-son prospects which the Giants and the Suns won't have for the foreseeable future.  

On 10/12/2017 at 11:12 AM, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

I actually though that with the academies all the clubs did get a level of priority access with some sort of discounted draft points bidding system similar to the new father son rules.  Whether it is as generous as it applies for the northern states I'm not too sure (actually I tend to doubt it).

Such a catch 22 situation with these academies.  If it actually encourages clubs to get out there and grow the game at a grass roots level, then that has to be a good thing, but it also has huge potential to grow imbalances within the game through going back to the days where some teams (i.e. Hawthorn) were significantly advantaged above others through the allocation of the most productive zones.  There seems to be an almost default position to be critical of the AFL, but on face value, I think the bidding system for academy/zone players is on face value a reasonable compromise.

The discount only applies to indigenous and "multicultural" players. Last time i checked the definition of multicultural is so broad that my kids would qualify because even though I was born and raised in Australia and followed footy my whole life, my wife didn't migrate to Australia until she was 15.

The academies are ridiculous and antithetical to a fair competition.

Edited December 11, 20177 yr by Dr. Gonzo

6 hours ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

The Northern State academies were also created to compensate GWS and Gold Coast for the perceived unfairness of older clubs having access to father-son prospects which the Giants and the Suns won't have for the foreseeable future.  

Swans and Lions have access to father sons in addition to the academies. It's another way of the AFL attempting rk ensure the northern clubs are perennial finalists.

30 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Swans and Lions have access to father sons in addition to the academies. It's another way of the AFL attempting rk ensure the northern clubs are perennial finalists.

As well as compensating for the lack of father-son options, I seem to recall that all four NSW and Qld clubs are allowed academies to encourage locals with a view to boosting the stock of draftable NSW and Qld kids. This is not just about getting more locals into the side for the sake of it but also to hep overcome the "go home" factor which has been really problematic for the northern states.

3 hours ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

As well as compensating for the lack of father-son options, I seem to recall that all four NSW and Qld clubs are allowed academies to encourage locals with a view to boosting the stock of draftable NSW and Qld kids. This is not just about getting more locals into the side for the sake of it but also to hep overcome the "go home" factor which has been really problematic for the northern states.

I know the arguments, but in a supposed professional competition anything that is detrimental to the pillars of equalisation (specifically the draft and salary cap) should not be encouraged