Denied a priority draft pick, Carlton was handed concessions to find ready made talent
CARLTON and Gold Coast were handed special assistance concessions rather than priority draft picks. But the Blues have worked this ruling for new draft picks rather than mature recruits.
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SO a 19-year-old is now a “mature” recruit?
Teenager Nathan Kreuger’s move from SANFL club South Adelaide to Geelong - via the special-assistance concessions handed to AFL wooden spooner Carlton - is another of those moments when logic seems lost at AFL House.
When the AFL Commission ruled against priority draft picks for Carlton and the league’s true problem child on Australian sport’s quicksand at the Gold Coast, the whiteboard showing the prospective 2018 national draft order was concerning. It read: 1. Carlton (priority), 2. Gold Coast (priority), 3. Carlton, 4. Gold Coast, 5. Gold Coast (compensation pick for losing free agent Tom Lynch).
The conclusion at AFL House was the Blues and Suns, in particular Gold Coast, would be better off with experienced players - “mature” talent - rather than punting on 18-year-old in the draft. There was the risk of these teenagers running to other AFL clubs after serving their initial two-year contracts (as Brisbane knew before the refit under Chris Fagan and David Noble).
A bounty of early draft picks - the first five - and big contract offers would have opened conversations with many managers of star AFL players. But that concept of the AFL “rewarding” Carlton and Gold Coast for repetitive mediocrity (even though this is the premise of the draft) was creating a headache, particularly with other AFL clubs feeling the pain of free agency and players seeking trades while under contract.
The AFL Commission, however, could not ignore the need to refloat Carlton and Gold Coast. The special assistance for the Blues and Suns became:
Gold Coast to have a bigger player list next season with two extra rookie spots.
Gold Coast could pre-list three players - and Carlton two - who had previously nominated or been eligible for the draft or were previously listed with an AFL club.
The immediate image was Norwood midfielder Mitch Grigg. He is 25 - and that meets the image of a “mature recruit” from a State league. And he is prepared for the AFL journey having played 20 national league games with Adelaide from 2013-15.
Instead, the special assistance concessions have drawn the untried teenager Kreuger from the Panthers ... and he is not going to Carlton to boost Brendon Bolton’s list. Rather, he has been traded to Geelong for draft pick No. 42. This does not seem right.
And on Wednesday Carlton traded Shane McAdam from SANFL club Sturt as the second pre-listing call - to close the trade with Adelaide for contracted Crows forward Mitch McGovern.
It is not surprising AFL critics and clubs have raised their eyebrows at how AFL House - after denying Carlton a priority draft pick - created a loophole allowing the Blues to trade talent for extra draft picks. The special assistance rulings were understood to be about finding talent to bolster Carlton’s player list - not its trade strategies.
At least Gold Coast - on first notice - is holding its mature recruits, 22-year-old West Adelaide SANFL utility Chris Burgess and 22-year-old Werribee VFL key forward Josh Corbett.
michelangelo.Rucci@news.com.au