Are Academies and Father Son’s Undermining the AFL Draft?

[@TrueFootyAFL]

The dopamine rush I just got from seeing a FootyA2Z upload...

[@angusheasly2674]

100% agree - 20% discount is unfair. I think that compromise in the draft is inevitable at this point, as to replace the draft system with any other system would doom poor-performing clubs. I think more consistency in how the AFL decides compensation picks and removal of any discounts would be an excellent starting point.

[@kossend1]

Agreed. They should outline and circulate their guidelines of what circumstances will lead to compensation, so there's transparency around it. They should still have remit to apply discretion but they need to be more transparent in how it happens.

[@chrisbarraza7700]

What team do you follow?

[@angusheasly2674]

@@chrisbarraza7700 Bombers. Why do you ask?

[@user-me22]

i did not understand anything about how the draft works so this was quite informative to me.

[@nath-wp7xp]

Today’s first round draft just reinforced how broken the system is. Embarrassing how the wooden spoon’s pick #19 has now slipped to #30 because of these ridiculous bidding opportunities.

[@dougm3125]

West Coast still getting roughly the 19th best player they could though. A high percentage of academy players would not be draft standard without their local academy.

[@cale4981]

@@dougm3125 A lot of the first round was also priority picks, compensation, and father son. Had there even been a couple less of those, WCE could’ve selected their own NGA, which was taken two picks before their next selection

[@miljoy91]

The 20% discount is ridiculous. Should be binned for all bids, but certainly those in the 1st round. The advantage is in having the ability to match the bid at all.

[@HorizonOfHope]

Part of the reason for the draft’s lack of equalisation is that there are simply too many clubs. And the AFL is *still* expanding. Realistically, a legitimate game-changing superstar is rare. Only half of drafts generally have one. Your best chance is to have many picks, rather than having necessarily high picks. But lots of picks means nothing when, due to there being so many clubs, your third and fourth pick are in the 50s and later.

[@HeywoodJablowme7]

It's why port adelaide are following the Geelong model of not really bothering with drafting young kids and instead target established players only.

[@27teapots]

Such an insightful and thought provoking video. An excellent piece of sports journalism.

[@DW-rs1pr]

The academy picks make so much sense. These players wouldnt even play afl if it wasnt for the academy's. Id be open to other team having academy bids if they put funding into local leagues so they can make draft picks. Thatd be a fair trade.

[@PhillipBryant-n1h]

To simplify the draft. It goes on the length of time without a flag. So until flag is won Freo would have first pick followed by GWS then Gold Coast. Then you have the traditional winners which would be saints then Carlton. Father son still apply and clubs can always trade up.

[@travstrib]

Unreal content again. One of my favourite channels

[@haydencribbon9165]

Top notch work - appreciate the effort that went into this!

[@HolyWoodProducti0ns]

excellent video... will be very interesting to see how the gold coast bids play out tonight

[@thatgnaralooguy]

They stole it!

[@thegaz-man]

The NGA really brought vibes of country zoning for me - the exact reason why the idea of the draft was first raised (in the 1960s) was imbalances in zone quality. Really glad they're not a major factor anymore. I'd argue NA needs a similar limit (maybe after pick 19?). These clubs have been around for at least a decade, enough time to establish themselves without gimmicks. Father-sons should stay, but I agree that the discount needs to go, but only after we get Tyler Welsh next year

[@sfn187]

Compensation and priority picks compromise the draft more than academies. Gold Coast would have spent so much money and time developing those four players so for them not to be rewarded in some way would be unfair, and it's not like they will have 4 academy players go in the first round every year. I do think it is unfair that you can't match a bid on NGA prospects until pick 40 though. Father-son is pretty lucked based and they aren't all like Gary Ablett. Should even itself out over time. Meanwhile, NM has been rewarded with priority picks because they made poor list decisions. Compensation is also ridiculous, create a good enough environment and culture that will have players wanting to stay, instead of leaving to another club. Sometimes players are going to want to leave no matter what but that's just tough luck.

[@harrybaruhas5576]

The AFL relies on tribalism, father/son rule fuels that tribalism. Tribalism fuels rivalry, a key ingredient for TV ratings, crowds and viewers. So the draft protects this TRIBALISM. Who wouldn't want the son of a champion player to play in the fathers team. As a Richmond supporter, looking forward to seeing young Dusty and Cotch play together. In my opinion, the randomness of pick swaps for free agency needs to be abolished, maybe no pick given or make it a standard pick EG: end of round 1. Call me bias but McKay from North is no pick 3. Remove the discount on moving up the order picks. open bidding sounds good. Don't know enough about NGA and NA so i'ld leave that commentary to Eddie. ofcourse insightful video...Loved It

[@HeywoodJablowme7]

Mckay is pick 3 not based on his talent but because the afl formula is based on where his contract places him in the pecking order. The years and money they gave him put him as a first round pick and since north finished 17th that gave them pick 3. If essendon offered him a lesser deal, it would have changed his compensation pick to North. This isn't north's or even the afls doing, this is 100% essendons actions.

[@harrybaruhas5576]

@@HeywoodJablowme7 agree, with you and understand the system. Don't like the system. It should be, in part a "talent" based system and not effect they draft and the spirit of LIST equalization for the competition

[@donaldmacisaac8479]

good stuff as usual lads

[@SOmoeononononon]

Looking so forward to this video

[@TheLaughingMagpie]

Top current players who don’t or haven’t played for their father’s team(s) Noah Anderson (Hawthorn, St Kilda), Brayden Maynard (Melbourne), Josh Dunkley (Sydney), Brody Mihocek (Essendon), Edward Allan (Hawthorn, Fremantle), Jake Kelly (Collingwood), Nick Blakey (Brisbane, North Melbourne)

[@miljoy91]

Brayshaw (x2), Spargo, Josh Kelly (all North 😢)

[@PatrickVS101]

@@miljoy91 ah well... five first rounders this year for North

[@klokar21]

Maynards dad did not play 100 games for melbourne so he had to go where he was drafted to.

[@HeywoodJablowme7]

Blakey was an academy pick for Sydney that's how they got him. Blakey had a choice of three possible clubs, North Melbourne and the Brisbane Lions through the father-son rule, and the Sydney Swans as a member of the Swans' Development Academy. A further sign that the system is ridiculous.

[@Mhjeffrey027running]

Dean Anderson (Father of Noah) also didn't play enough games to qualify at either Hawthorn or St.Kilda. It should also be noted that a bid on Dunkley on draft night was NOT matched by Sydney.

[@danishskiwarehouse]

Brilliant work. Thank you very much!

[@samuelheydon7347]

Probably would have been worth mentioning how nepotism is playing out with the father son rule. Sydney have run sessions for sons of former players and other clubs are making requests to the league to do the same. It’s directly incentivising development opportunities based on family name at the younger levels.

[@Furyshunter]

The northern acadamies and nga should both be open for the first round. Gold goast getting 3 academy players in the first round is the biggest joke in afl history

[@jaydenatkin7241]

I think 2 ways it can be made more fair for the wider competition as well as still incentivise clubs to invest in the academies is teams who have priority access to the Northern Academies should only be allowed to nominate 2 players per draft that they can match bids for at any point and then all others follow the NGA top 40 limitations, this stops GC from taking 4 first round picks again in future but also still gives them a worth while reward for putting in the resources to develop those players. I also think F/S matched bids should not be discounted but even penalised depending on the placement of the bid. For example if a F/S kid is rated top 10 and is tied to the reigning premiers its obviously not fair that the club gets access to them at a discount rate, clubs should be forced to pay for example 120% of the draft points value instead for a kid rated that highly. It means the club still gets the ability to get that player but it at least gives them something to think about and weigh up.

[@kyalking1313]

I like the father/son rule I’m fine with that I do think the discount is too much though it should be 10% maybe 12% max. Don’t get me started about Academy’s and NGA’s there both stupid they should both be scrapped in favour of something more realistic and less compromising to the draft like pick purchasing!

[@NHLfreak87]

Coming from an NHL background, when I first started watching the AFL six years ago, I really struggled to take it seriously because of the giant patchwork of rules that the draft was, and I still don't like it. I'm so used to the rule being that if you're the worst, you get the first pick, and seeing my Adelaide lose out on the 1st overall pick to a grand finalist just validated it even more. I really dislike the recruitment zone and NGA stuff, and would like to see a comp where you can't match a team's bid for anything. Trade for the pick if you want the player! Team's shouldn't be forced to give up a selection.

[@seanlynch1185]

There should be limitations on how many compromised first rounders a club can get. For example, clubs could be limited to only having access to TWO f/s picks or TWO NA picks in the First Round over any THREE year period. (So if a club takes 2 compromised picks in one year in the first round then they are ineligible to take any more compromised picks in the first round for the next 2 drafts).

[@clumeroo]

I've complained for years that the Father-son rule is just another biased way to perpetuate inequality in our game. This was a great explainer

[@sniperfi4532]

Personally I think there needs to be gives and takes when it comes to the draft. For instance if a club wants an academy player they should be able to go to the afl pre draft and say we want this academy player and afl takes away some of their draft picks so the afl can distribute those draft picks amongst other clubs. The club gets their academy player without the hassle of the draft but now they won’t be able to pick a draftee as easily as before. Free agency should be changed to players that want to leave a club before contract ended. They get to leave the club early but they are forced to take the highest bidders offer. Father son rule should work the same as the academy fix I mentioned earlier. Also afl should have the right to sack a clubs board if they have underperformed for a while because it’s getting really old seeing north and west coast constantly sitting on the bottom and just being handed these compensation packages.

[@snowman01]

There's *one* key problem with player movement. 70% of players are Victorian and most want to come home eventually which is an issue when less than 60% of clubs are Victorian.

[@benjaminrowley]

Great video

[@HeywoodJablowme7]

1 immediate thing that could be done to slightly fix things is have the NGA and northern academies be ONLY rum by the afl and not clubs. It removes the cost/investment factor of clubs who wouldnt do make the effort if they get no reward, still allows the players a pathway to the top level and actually gives lower finishing clubs the ability to draft actual top talent when it's available. Father/Son rule should be abolished completely. In this era how many sons will actually play their entire career at the 1 club? Daniher had a choice of 2 clubs and ended up at Brisbane where his family never played. You can't have all these modern mechanisms for player drafting then have this one ancient rule cos of "tradition". Free agency should be scrapped as well as its intended purpose has never worked. The theory was top players would go to lower clubs on better money to help them move up..... never happens. Average players in top teams go down on better coin like Ellis from the tigers but when do ELITE players at top clubs leave to help lower clubs? The opposite always happens. Tom lynch walked into 2 flags, dangerfield moved to forever finalists Geelong. Gary Ablett jnr is the only elite player to do it and he was a unique situation. Biggest final thing is CONTRACTS SHOULD BE HONOURED! JHF exposed the complete lack of usefulness the contracts are actually worth, if a player wants to leave they will. Clubs can't afford to have players sit out for a year otherwise, lose their value as trade bait and then leave for nothing. Rookie contracts have since been bumped up from 2 year minimums to 3 years but he still left after 1 year.... so why won't other players do the same? The afl knows their system is a mess and its going to get worse with the inevitable introduction of mid season player trades being the next useless addition which will see AGAIN top players leave lower clubs in search of premiership glory that year. What player will leave a top club mid season just to play at a lower club? This will only go one way.

[@benjigp9305]

The northern academies used to be run by the AFL. But that was stopped after they produced no meaningful talent and was handed over to the clubs.

[@HeywoodJablowme7]

@@benjigp9305 when did they stop it and hand it over to clubs?

[@RS-qy8pk]

Should have limit of two players that a club can recruit eithers as a father/son, NGA or academies.

[@ikrobbiefox8835]

northern academies would complain as they directly invest in the talent and should have the right to reep the rewards

[@scova1559]

Since 2006 only two interstate premiers.... Why draw the line there? Who won the 6 flags before then I wonder 🤔

[@XtotheK]

Whilst I agree that the Father/Son rule is indeed unique and highly 'romantic', it is by far the most unequal advantage giver to any team. Genetics isn't fair (especially if you are a St Kilda supporter) and that some teams just keep seeming to get more and more talented players by essentially luck, it means teams that actually need them won't realistically have access to them. As far as I am concerned, it also forces (if the player so desires to play for them) a young player to carry extra weight of expectations on their shoulders. If they were drafted by another team, at a position that truly reflects their value/potential, that is far less likely to be the case.

[@DianneFilipenko]

Would love to know your predictions for tonight's draft

[@TheBillABCTV]

Footy A2Z I would like the AFL have AFL U16's comp, AFL U18's comp for all clubs to have juniors. The junior sides would be separate from the draft. What do you think?

[@Ozach9476]

scrap everything and just have s straight draft. no compensation. just a straight draft

[@harrybaruhas5576]

Great Idea!!! but that would be too "FAIR"....LOL

[@MisterAWasTaken]

I would like to see a system where a club pays a 10% tax rather than receives a 20% discount, and where at least one of the matching pocks must come from THE SAME ROUND (or at lease something within (10-15 picks down).

[@donny8619]

Father/son rule is very period based. The reason Collingwood have a lot of f/s picks in their team right Is because they hail from a period where Collingwood had a lot of club greats. Not every f/s picks are like Nick and josh or Darcy Moore. Have people forgotten that literally last year the pies dropped both Tyler and Callum Brown who were both f/s picks under the same father? Or have they intentionally left it out to suit their argument better.

[@jeremybean-hodges6397]

The major issue isn't that the likes of Collingwood, Geelong and Brisbane do so well out of it - it's the 20% discount on bid matching, as well as the over-valuation of later picks in points matching.

[@cowaylon1681]

Doesn't matter whether it's a Daicos or a Brown, they get first dibs and huge discounts on a player that other clubs don't, which totally defeats the purpose of the draft.

[@jeremybean-hodges6397]

@@cowaylon1681 but they should. I don’t think it’s right for Daicos etc to be playing for another club

[@cowaylon1681]

@@jeremybean-hodges6397 Its funny how when Gold Coast benefit from their academy it's a rort, but when Vic clubs get FS players it's a great tradition.

[@jeremybean-hodges6397]

@@cowaylon1681 the production rate of the academies far outstrips father/son though

[@Mando_CJA]

please comeback

[@eli_0214]

The need of the Northern Academies has been seen in the previous weeks, whereby Sydney has already lost future prospects to other sports, particularly Rugby League as contracts can be granted at an earlier age than the AFL

[@sam47511]

Always thought that the WAFL club Perth would be affiliated with west coast

[@89Djm]

WCE don’t have access to FS via the WAFL.

[@domclegg1225]

great vid. i think you missed a good talking point in that non-vic father sons have a much higher game requirement, which i cant understand the rationale for (pies fan). and the 1st round discount definitely has to go imo

[@ot-slice295]

The WA and SA clubs have a higher game requirement becuase, as mentioned in the video, they can pick sons of fathers from multiple different clubs tied to the AFL club.

[@domclegg1225]

@@ot-slice295 ah, i see. that makes more sense but i still think 200 vs 100 games is somewhat unreasonable

[@thegaz-man]

Pretty sure that requirement expired for the Crows anyway, right? I remember that being a limited-time measure until SA sides had legit father-son prospects.

[@daviddevenny6005]

1st round should be open, nga / fs players from rd 2 can match bids

[@aussieaussie4848]

Simple answer, yes

[@thomas.i.mcgill]

Removing the 20% discount on academy and father-son selections is a reasonable suggestion.

[@callumwilliams2172]

I think the combination of the FS rule and free agency to bigger clubs will leave the league unbalanced for the time being

[@benjaminrowley]

Until the sons of the east cost sa and wa teams reach 18 years old so then they get basically priority to pick them up

[@ronthornton3466]

Afl today is school boy footy.

[@thatgnaralooguy]

Gold Coast seemed to steal it. Three first round picks pretty much for free.

[@Jnoooooo]

GC did the rest of the comp a favour by developing their own players and thus leaving the pool of available players to the other clubs.

[@neiltodd9657]

My major concern is whether or not there is a size limit on the Northern Academies. The idea is fine, so long as QLD and NSW remain small markets. They are supposed to be the compensation for the Suns and the Giants not having father-son players available. But given that Gold Coast have just drafted four NA players in one year - in comparison to St Kilda getting three father-son players in the last 38 drafts (and only David Sierakowski getting past 20 games) - I worry that growing the game will lead to domination by northern teams. At least while the current rules are in place. Would there be scope for the northern teams having two categories of Academy players? Academy A - max one player listed per draft year, who can be bid on in the same way as a father-son player (can match any bid), with the rest being Academy B - bids can be matched any time after pick 40. For the record, I'm in favour of handing out some extra assistance to Gold Coast and Gee-Dubs, it's just a question of finding a fair balance. And apologies if I'm going over old ground here.

[@chasindigo]

Yes

[@jackadderlake5716]

Nick Blakey to Sydney under a special, manufactured coaching 'father/son' eligibility while Sydney are playing finals in 22 of the last 27 years? 🤔

[@eli_0214]

He was an academy pick

[@Adamsadowy]

North Melb & Afl made a mockery of the draft it's a joke - Teams should get 2 picks in a row for the first round and those picks are untouchable ,no father son or academy picks matched

[@HeywoodJablowme7]

Hang on, Port Adelaide stole a pick 1 player by talking to him and his management and family all year while he was at north!! Maybe if he wasn't walked to Port for effectively nothing would the afl have to step in! They should have been investigated after that. The excuse of "all clubs talk to other teams players" is BS, talking to rookie players just starting out should be banned as it's easier to coax a young kid to doing something than a mature player. That BS fiasco forced north to have to give up their OTHER pick 1 just to salvage some value out of it all to get sheezel and wardlaw. The afl should have stepped in and blocked the move from happening. It's amazing, people got no issues with clubs pulling BS tricks like that to raid north of any talent or potential talent they have (jhf and mckay) but soon as afl gives draft picks THEY are making a mockery of the draft! So the solution is north just becomes a feeder club to other clubs, where they have a majority of average players and any decent player they come by gets snagged every year and they never leave the bottom otherwise MOCKERY!!!!!

[@el-violador]

Ok. Long form reply so buckle up buckeroos. Now this is all opinion and is obviously open to interpretation. Also I'm not an expert. There are likely holes I haven't seen yet in my opinions Father/Son: I personally like this rule. Even if it compromises drafts it's fun and has historical value. But... You should pay full price. The discount is a farce especially if you're a strong club. If your father/son prospect isn't worth the bidded pick, don't match it and take someone else. P.S Bryce Gibbs should have been drafted a Crow. They were robbed. Right in front of me. RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! NGA: I'm all for this in its current form. This way the stars go to those in need but long term development players and role players will end up at your club. The club will know the upside of these players better than anyone so it works in my opinion. NA: I am less fussy here with the expansion clubs (especially the perpetually awful Gold Coast. Though this draft is a joke which is why they need to pay full price) but Brisbane and Sydney are to good to continue to get these handouts. Yes the grand final wins aren't on the board but if you made a point system for finals success and ladder position, I'd guess they are up there. In closing personally I'd like a big overhaul of this system as well as free agency compensation and assistance packages. With the assistance packages, giving high picks to a couple of struggling clubs eats into the depth of the drafts for the other struggling clubs who haven't sucked quite as hard (in turn making them need assistance in the future). I'd prefer that clubs get help via list spots (so you have more time to develop key position players who are taking longer. Which works well with my thought on the NGA players) and salary cap (a temporary increase over a certain term to help keep players who might move or land a big fish). Great video guys. Love seeing your work pop up

[@BurningMad]

I definitely agree on the assistance packages. Being able to pay a veteran player outside the cap would allow struggling teams to attract a strong leader by paying them the big bucks. That's better for parity than handing out free picks that don't do much to win games in the short term. On Northern Academies, it's a good point that Brisbane and Sydney are doing well, plus they are able to get F/S picks where GC and GWS can't. But they won't do well forever, Brisbane sucked for many years before Fagan and had a lot of draft picks from interstate leave. Perhaps there should be a restriction on Bris/Syd getting NA players if they finished top 4 that year.

[@Doomburger]

when ya doing a video again

[@rooboy_087]

They should get rid of all of these rules. (I'm a sad North fan who could've had Daicos, Ashcroft and Walter)

[@chrisbarraza7700]

Father-Son is practically only for VFL. How many Father-Son's have there been?

[@MarkBroere-g5l]

At least fix up the points value index so it is somewhat near reality

[@Benny71453]

The northern academies should be scrapped now, by far the biggest advantage in the competition. Especially when kids can just move to those regions even as teenagers and become eligible for that club. The NSW clubs have benefitted greatly from it and now it looks like the suns are going to as well with 4 firsts this year and some more kids to come with their u16 academy also looking like having multiple first round talents in a couple years from now.

[@Adamsadowy]

The draft is compromised , daicos and Ashcroft, this year the gold coast boys , bulldog made a gf and got darcy and uglehagan ect.. The top 20 should be untouchable I'd even say give teams 2picks in a row so last gets pick 1 & 2 ect untill every has had their pick then single picks North Melbourne have absolutely broken the draft this year it's a joke

[@HeywoodJablowme7]

How!!! They lost mckay and got a pick back for him. The 3 first round picks handed to them by the afl came with the caveat that 2 of them would be reviewed next year and possibly taken off them. So north wisely used them now before the afl could take them away. If the afl didn't put that caveat on them they wouldn't have used them. Again that's the afls doing. Maybe if port didn't collude with JHF and get a free pick 1 player for effectively nothing and then north wouldn't have had to get these picks to give them a leg to stand on!

[@chriskelly9476]

Gold Coast got 4 academy players in the top 30 for a bunch of rubbish picks but the wooden spooners weren't allowed to match a bid on their own NGA player at 28. Where is the incentive for clubs to develop these players if other clubs can quite literally just take them from you?...

[@Jnoooooo]

GC developed and took players from outside the standard draft' pool, so all other clubs are better off as a result.

[@chriskelly9476]

@@Jnoooooo outside the standard draft pool? How do you figure that? These matching bids directly impact the draft pool and all other clubs. This is why the first round continued for 29 picks...

[@Jnoooooo]

Scrap the northern academies and you'll have fewer players to choose from in a draft anyway - the great majority of NA developed players would NEVER have played AFL if it wasnt for the academies. They'd be playing league, union, basketball, cricket or some other sport. Aussie rules is NOT the top sport in NSW or Qld so if you want players from those states you need the academies. End of. If you dont like it, feel free to petition your club to leave the national comp and rejoin the VFL.

[@tommygoldstraw1318]

I think the real losers of the current system are the small Victorian teams. Don't have the go-home factor of the bigger vic teams and WA/SA, nor do they have northern academies

[@Jnoooooo]

Why don't they have the go home factor? They're in the same city!

[@kazwilson425]

LOL - all the complaints about Suns getting local players after every VIc club has preyed on the Go Home factor or YEARS!

[@john8443]

Scrap academies once the club's are old enough for father/sons

[@Jnoooooo]

That doesn't address the go home factor that the NSW and Qld clubs face and that the Vic, SA and WA clubs prey on each year.

[@john8443]

@@Jnoooooo Academy players are local.

[@rickzw67]

How the hell did North Melbourne and Gold Coast have so many 1st round picks absolute unfair. The 4 Northern interstate sides should be excluded from the draft, and should have their own draft. Simple.

[@LlywellynOBrien]

I am pretty happy with the status quo, with some tweaking at the edges. The teams that have really suffered in recent yeara have mainly experienced the results of their own decsion making (mainly not realising it was time to rebuild, bad culture orncoaching/board instability). I don't think you could realistically say these wrinkles have seriously warped the eveness of the game. If that happens down the track, i.e. northern states dominating year in year out, deal with it then.

[@scottwhitt9379]

They need some tweaks especially for F/S. For Brisbane, who were in the finals, to jump up and get the best player for a bunch of 3rd and 4th round picks is absurd. I think the club has to have a pick in the round they’re making the claim in. Also, if a Finals club is getting a player instead of a non-finals one, that club should get something. I get the romanticism of father son but I think it has to hurt a bit, can’t be a gift.

[@FootyA2Z]

'I think the club has to have a pick in the round they’re making the claim in' - quite like this idea

[@TheGunmanChannel]

I'm multicultural, i have 7 different European backgrounds, oh, but theyre all white so it doesn't count hey.

[@ikrobbiefox8835]

if u want look at the disparity between white and non-white families, not saying all white people are tip top upper class, but the aim is to open doors for underpriveleged families and by large, these happen to be non-europeans

[@TheGunmanChannel]

@@ikrobbiefox8835 then why not just say what you mean. Non white. Or even more specific, underprivileged. Kinda better than making everything about race hey. There are no shortage of extremely successful people who are not white also

[@ikrobbiefox8835]

@@TheGunmanChannel never denied that there arent rich non-whites, but then i could say theres even more extremely successful white people in australia. if u look at the afl, it is heavily dominated by white players. most of these players came from private schools. 78% of them did in 2023. these are by large filled with white kids who will likely have the opportunity. this is not a bad thing, but the purpose of the nga is to give opportunities to disadvantaged kids who dont have these pathways. yes this is not assisting white kids which everyone already knew, but it isnt giving them a massive disadvantage either, just opening the doors to more talent

[@TheGunmanChannel]

@@ikrobbiefox8835 my main point is just call a spade a spade. It's ok, I'm not even against it, I just don't appreciate being mislead

[@Anthony-rp6rl]

7:20 its called rugby league mate

[@Power_Prawnstar]

The real issue is having the GF at the MCG every year

[@stuartking2335]

Clubs do not contribute money. The ALF owns the clubs… it’s a complete closed shop

[@ericfern8869]

What is this "ALF' of which you speak?

[@TDB2509]

Might be an unpopular opinion but the father-son rule is bullshit. That's just a way of making sure that teams who have been successful before will remain successful even a generation of players later. Idk why it's still a thing

[@Adam-XL]

doesn't ensure a single thing, if it did where are Carlton, Essendon and Hawthorns champion father/son players?

[@TDB2509]

@@Adam-XL Collingwood and Geelong are the two main culprits. Essendon had Dustin Fletcher and Jobe Watson. And out of the 25 Father/son draft picks with the most games, Carlton drafted 3 of them. Hawthorn haven't had any significant ones yet and Richmond don't get many either. It's clearly a bullshit rule

[@klokar21]

You make it look like Hawthorn are hard done by the draft when that could not be further from the truth.

[@MisterAWasTaken]

Lance Franklin for pick 19 still to this day is the greatest injustice of the FA/draft period IMO.

[@palamj2]

Father-Son is a leftover from a time when the game was semi professional. Today it’s just a business and like all businesses things need to change and the scrapping of father-son should be the first thing. The other thing is this stupid compensation pick. The price of the free agency should be that it allows players to move away from non performing clubs. To reward those clubs with compensation is just rewarding mediocrity. North have been mediocre for almost a decade and have had early picks. To keep rewarding their ordinariness is just stupid.

[@Adam-XL]

"keep rewarding" 2022 and 2023 is the first time North has had a sniff of draft assistance in the 40 year history of the draft, while while every team except Geelong and Adelaide have had priority picks in the past, most of the time multiple top 5 picks

[@chrisbarraza7700]

Get rid of the Academy, and watch the Northern states fail. Is everyone that approves with this a Kangas fan/

[@gdbssa]

Father Son is the dumbest thing in the modern day. Completely ruins the draft