Graham Cornes: The AFL is sinking its boot into SANFL, state, suburban and country leagues
The AFL, which can demand so much community understanding and compassion, is completely heartless and ignorant of the pressures of running local state, suburban and country leagues.
Graham Cornes
Don't miss out on the headlines from Graham Cornes. Followed categories will be added to My News.
FOR all the great things the AFL has done, and continues to do, its policy makers make some really dumb decisions.
It is such a professional organization that understands in this 21st century it must lead the social agenda and set an example for a new generation of young Australians. As such it has become more than a sports organization.
Whilst it is intended to be apolitical it has an enormous impact on political and social agenda. In that regard it is not unlike Ireland’s Gaelic Athletic Association, which emerged from the sectarian violence of last century, and now merges with and impacts on the politics of the day.
However the AFL, which has the capacity to show and demand so much community understanding and compassion, is completely heartless and ignorant of the pressures of running local state, suburban and country leagues. The decision to introduce a mid-season draft defies all reason and common sense. And if a mid-year draft is bad enough, they are allowing their clubs to claim players from local leagues now, when the season is just weeks away.
The Sydney Swans this week ripped Hayden McLean out of South Adelaide before the Panthers new recruit had played a game. There had been some significant expense in bringing McLean from Melbourne, where he had played for Sandringham in the VFL, and getting him settled in Adelaide.
When asked about compensation, and the money that had already been paid to the young footballer, the Swans said heartlessly, “You’ll have to get that from the player”.
South Adelaide chairperson Margaret Nyland AM, expressed her exasperation: “Well what are we going to say to the young man? We can’t ask him to re-imburse us.”
Indeed, but the AFL should ensure Sydney does.
No-one should deny a young footballer one more opportunity to make it in the big league. They may have been overlooked in previous drafts but young footballers can continue to dream.
Just occasionally one of them emerges from the gloom of disappointment that comes with having been ignored, unappreciated or rejected and cements a spot in an AFL team.
Continue to dream young man.
However, the statistics are cruel. The AFL used to have a mid-season draft. A few players, like Matthew Febey who joined his twin brother at Melbourne and Daryn Cresswell who played 244 games for Sydney, made it, but overwhelmingly the majority of players taken in the mid-year draft played zero games!
The first draft the Adelaide Crows were allowed to enter was the mid-year draft of 1992 - in the club’s second season. We eagerly participated, selecting Jim West, a Glenelg player who had been at Sydney, Alan Schwartz, from Woodville-West Torrens who had been with Essendon and Andrew Geddes from Strathmerton in country Victoria.
Unfortunately none of them played a game for the Crows although all went on to have productive careers in the SANFL. Other than the fact that it got West and Schwartz back home to Adelaide, it all seemed so pointless. Don’t fill today’s mid-season draft prospects with the same false promises.
Unwittingly however, the experience of James West and Alan Schwartz should be the template by which any mid-season AFL player movement should be established. By all means allow players to move between AFL clubs before a pre-determined cut-off date.
Most other professional sports have a mid-year trade period to cover for injuries or specific needs. But under no circumstances should the AFL clubs be allowed to rip players out of state league clubs in the middle of their season.
There is another solution as well. If the clubs don’t have enough players to cover injury or lack of form, expand the AFL clubs’ playing lists. Abolish the rookie lists, expand the playing roster, treat all players equally, allow players a transfer window to move between clubs, then if you run out of players, bad luck!
The rookie lists are another AFL exploitation of eager young talent. Has anyone else noticed that the young Crows small forward, Lachlan Murphy this year is still only a rookie-listed player with the club?
The young man, coming off the rookie list last year played 11 games for the Crows in 2018 in an impressive debut season. Surely, as a young player, he has earned the right to be a Crows listed player.
It makes an enormous difference to salary and benefits and it is simply miserly penny-pinching on the part of the AFL and its clubs to deprive worthy young talent that opportunity in order to save a few dollars.
For years now the AFL and its clubs have exploited the desperation and sacrifice of young players who can be summarily cast-off with no further benefits. Increase the salary cap and expand the list to cover injuries and loss of form.
`There was once a time, in those days of the VFL, SANFL and WAFL when there was very little difference between the state leagues. The advent of the AFL and the unprecedented media demand for access to the country’s best sporting product has seen an enormous divide open up. The rich get rich and the poor get poorer.
However, with that wealth and profile comes responsibility. The AFL might make its own rules but it can’t be at the expense of our community-based football.
Love it! Very interesting! Looks good to me.
Ultimate Crows Dream Team – Cornesy’s big omission
Inaugural Crows coach Graham Cornes has named his top side of the club’s first 30 years. And some picks could be controversial. Use our handy tool to build your ultimate Crows Dream Team.
Cornes: Why Fagan’s reign at Crows has been successful
While Adelaide hasn’t won a premiership during Andrew Fagan’s tenure, he has led the club through some of its most testing times, writes Graham Cornes.