VFL coach Andy Collins says AFL clubs miss talent at lower levels by redrafting players as rookies
VFL premiership coach Andy Collins says AFL clubs have closed their minds to mature-aged talent and has called on the AFL to increase its list size to up to 50 to create more pathways for players at the lower level.
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VFL premiership coach Andy Collins says the rookie draft is broken, worried a former gold mine for talent is simply being used by clubs to redraft their own players.
Williamstown coach Collins is thrilled 13 VFL players were chosen in AFL drafts this year but believes many more would turn into ready-made AFL players if given the chance.
He said clubs were closing their minds to mature-aged talent and stripping the rookie list of its initial purpose.
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VFL star Michael Gibbons is shattered to again be shunned by AFL clubs despite winning the Liston Trophy and collecting 509 possessions, with clubs worried about his 175cm frame.
Those who have seen Gibbons at close quarters believe he has more upside than Kane Lambert, who followed a similar path to become an AFL star.
But of the 40 rookie picks taken last month, 21 were clubs taking delisted players or redrafting their own players.
The rookie list was once a chance for speculative picks that saw players like Matt Priddis, Josh Gibson, Steven Milne, Dean Cox, Aaron Sandilands and Ben Rutten prosper.
Collins played 212 games at Hawthorn and has spent a decade in elite coaching including stints at AFL clubs St Kilda and Hawthorn.
Collins believes if the AFL increased list sizes to up to 50 it would create more jobs and foster AFL stars.
“The rookie rules have changed but once upon a time those spots were for mature-age or untried kids, but now guys like Michael Rischitelli get picked up. I find that really funny,” he said.
“The amount of TAC Cup kids I have spoken to who just give up footy now.
“It seems to be keeping blokes in jobs rather than giving chances to kids who haven’t had the opportunity.”
Carlton now has two spots on its list for rookies under the AFL’s new rules, but seems likely to overlook Gibbons, clearly the best player in the VFL.
A second AFL reconstruction for co-captain Sam Docherty means the Blues can bring two players onto their list through a rookie dispensation or next year’s mid-season draft.
“Everyone knows the best medium defender in the VFL is (Williamstown’s) Jack Charleston,’’ Collins said.
“He is 25 years of age and Collingwood approached him but didn’t pick him. Give him a chance. Carlton should look at a kid like him rather than a 30-year-old ex-AFL player.
“There are so many talented players screaming out for an opportunity.
“You hear coaches talk about the gap between AFL and VFL but the gap is not that great for most players.
“There is a gap between elite AFL and general AFL players anyway and that’s what makes footy so unique.”
Collins said brilliant defender Luke Tynan, returning next year from Port Melbourne to Casey, was another player who could easily make the grade at AFL level.
Clubs have said that Gibbons doesn’t have enough upside.
But he works from 6am to midday as a carpet layer, then goes to university, then goes to football training, with a 24/7 football lifestyle in an AFL system likely to fast-track his football even more quickly.
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