How the AFL’s draft rules dudded Melbourne out of potentially recruiting Mac Andrew and Harley Reid

Mac Andrew should be the shining light in the Demons’ defence, while Harley Reid could be stepping into Christian Petracca’s shoes on Friday night. SAM LANDSBERGER says the Dees have been dudded.

In a season full of whingeing, there is one club that has been dudded the most.

The gold medallist is Melbourne.

Mac Andrew should be the shining light in the Demons’ defence and Harley Reid could be the man stepping into Christian Petracca’s shoes – instead of Trent Rivers – at the Gabba on Friday night.
Lightning could strike a third time next year given 200cm father-son prospect Kalani White is in Gold Coast’s academy and might well choose the Suns over the Demons.

The Dees have been on the wrong side of AFL rule changes twice.

Mac Andrew was in Melbourne’s NGA Academy. Picture: Getty Images

In 2020 the league overreacted to naive outcries over Next Generation Academy star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan landing at the Western Bulldogs at pick No.1 and changed the rules.

Suddenly clubs could not match early bids for NGA prospects and in 2021 Gold Coast drafted Andrew at No.5.

But the Demons developed Andrew from the age of 13. He was at the club’s first ever under-14s NGA training session.

Andrew was talented, but raw and was overlooked for every pathway program until his 18th year when Vic Country finally selected him.

It was Melbourne who moulded him into an AFL prospect, but the league pulled the rug from underneath the Demons, 12 months out from when they expected to draft him.

The knee-jerk reaction also cost St Kilda Cam Mackenzie (drafted by Hawthorn) and Fremantle Jesse Motlop (Carlton).

Rubbing salt into the wounds, that mistake has been realised at AFL House and the league is set to reinstate access to NGA prospects early in the draft.

Can you imagine high-flying Mac combining with May and Lever in what would be a must-watch back six?

Then, there was the desperation to reel in Reid last year.

It was the Dees who came hardest for West Coast’s No.1 pick.

They put forward the most compelling offer – it trumped North Melbourne’s best pitch – with picks 6, 11, 42 and this year’s first-rounder (currently No.10) – on the table.

It was a damn good pitch, but the Demons were handicapped.

Could Harley Reid have been a Demon if the AFL had changed their rules sooner? Picture: Getty Images

They could offer no more for the man who has changed the face of West Coast.

Now the rules are set to change again.

The AFL is about to tick off two years of trading future picks and if that was in place last year there is a strong chance that Reid would be a Demon.

Dees recruiter Jason Taylor loved Reid more than most. Taylor compared his power and influence to that of Dustin Martin and Joel Selwood.

“If you look over the journey, players like Harley Reid are game changers,“ Taylor said.

“We just felt that he’s a really high-end talent, we love his character, the way he goes about his football,” Taylor said.

“He is only one player, but we feel that they can really have an impact on the success of a footy club so we weigh that up and then we weigh up the selections we’ve got there against what we could bring in alternatively.”

Imagine if the Dees could’ve bundled their 2025 picks into their offer?

Based on Taylor’s description it sounded like they would have.

West Coast could’ve used pick 6 on Dan Curtin – the other player they loved last year – and pick 11 on a Koltyn Tholstrup (Dees) or Nate Caddy.

When Geelong completed a live trade at last year’s draft Caddy believed it was West Coast trading up to secure the power forward.

Instead it was Essendon, but his gut feel suggests the Eagles were right into him.

The Eagles then could’ve had pick No.10 in this year’s draft plus potentially Melbourne’s first-rounder in next year’s draft.

That would’ve been a damn good haul.

Reid has starred for the Eagles. Picture: Getty Images

The Dees definitely missed out on Andrew by one year and probably missed out on Reid by one year.

Opening up access to NGA prospects and allowing two years of future trading are not the only changes expected to come in.

You can bank on a reform of the bidding system. No longer will clubs be allowed to match bids with a pile of garbage picks.

Meanwhile the Demons, who have aggressively traded up in the order, put forward picks 6, 11, 42 and their future first-rounder in exchange for Pick 1.

Collingwood paid for Nick Daicos (pick 4) with picks 38, 40, 42 and 44.

The Dogs paid for Ugle-Hagan with picks 29, 33, 41, 42, 52 and 54.

It was akin to emptying a piggy bank of silver coins and walking away with a stack of $100 notes.

The only question now is what parameters the AFL puts in place.

Player movement boss Ned Guy is working through that as part of the competitive balance review.

But make no mistake, if you want to match a bid for a top-10 talent then you are going to need a pick in that vicinity – not a bunch of third-rounders.

You might need a pick in the first round. You might need one within nine selections of the bid.

You might need your first-round pick in the following year’s draft.

But you won’t be allowed to rort the system like clubs have done for years.

Last year Gold Coast shrewdly stockpiled so many picks to pay for its academy stars that it also allowed it to load up in this year’s draft.

The Suns not only brought in Jed Walter (pick No. 2), Ethan Read (No.9), Jake Rogers (No.14) and Will Graham (No.26), but in all the wheeling and dealing they secured multiple future first-round selections.

They hold picks No.7, 8, 20, 27 and 29 – five of the top 30 in this year’s draft.

Originally published as How the AFL’s draft rules dudded Melbourne out of potentially recruiting Mac Andrew and Harley Reid