AFL rules out father-son overhaul for this year’s draft

SYDNEY will land top-three talent Isaac Heeney with a late first-round selection after the AFL opted not to change the controversial draft bidding system.

AIS AFL recruit Isaac Heeney.

SYDNEY will land top-three talent Isaac Heeney with a late first-round selection after the AFL told clubs it would not change the controversial draft bidding system.

It means the Swans could land their academy star with pick No.21, frustrating rivals led by Collingwood president Eddie McGuire.

If Sydney wins the flag and Melbourne wins a priority pick on top of an early compensation selection for free agent James Frawley, Heeney will officially join Sydney with a selection in the early 20s.

The league’s decision also ensures the Magpies will part only with their first pick for father-son sensation Darcy Moore.

If, as expected, Collingwood misses finals, it will be forced to cough up a pick around No. 10 for the 199cm swingman, which talent experts deem about market price.

But the AFL still looks set to overhaul the system in 2015, which will likely see clubs either give up more than one pick or slide down the order in a later round to secure a prized talent.

Heeney joined the Swans academy when he was 12 and recently told the Herald Sun if it wasn’t for the pathway system he would probably have abandoned his AFL dream.

“If I wasn’t in the academy I’d be training in Newcastle, and obviously the coaching staff and the facilities there … well, I’d be nowhere near where I am now,” he said.

Should the AFL activate changes next year it could see the Swans pay a greater price to secure fellow academy star Callum Mills.

Originally published as AFL rules out father-son overhaul for this year’s draft