By Sam McClure
It’s that time of the year. The clubs with no chance of making finals have begun planning for November’s national draft, when the country’s elite talent will be available for selection.
It’s also the time when players and their managers begin sounding out potential suitors as to where they would prefer to play football in their initial two-year contract.
No demands are made and nothing is ever put in writing. It’s not draft tampering. It’s draft conditioning.
The industry is buzzing with rumours and murmurs around Vic Country star Harley Reid, who, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will be called out with pick No.1.
It should be stated that representatives of Reid’s management and West Coast have both denied the player has told the club he doesn’t want to be drafted by the Eagles. Direct conversations like that rarely, if ever, take place.
Vic Country star Harley Reid.Credit: Getty Images
The Scoop has reached out to Reid’s manager, Nick Gieschen, directly.
But representatives from three clubs, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss draft plans, have told this column the teenager has intimated that he would prefer to stay in Victoria.
Whether that means he wants to avoid going interstate, or more specifically if he simply wants to avoid West Coast, is difficult to establish.
But the conditioning of clubs in the build-up to the national draft has been taking place forever and a day. It’s just been happening more in recent times.
Western Bulldogs star Bailey Smith, whose future is being hotly debated at present, told clubs before he was drafted in 2018 that he would prefer not to be drafted interstate.
The Gold Coast Suns, who had three picks before Smith’s name was eventually called out by the Bulldogs, were considering taking him. They ended up drafting two South Australians and a Victorian, in Jack Lukosius, Izak Rankine and Ben King.
Bailey Smith in action this season.Credit: AFL Photos / Getty Images
King, too, made it clear he didn’t want to be drafted outside of Victoria, particularly given his twin brother Max was likely going to be playing in Melbourne.
Fellow franchise club Greater Western Sydney, who had two first-round picks, themselves, were also alerted to Smith’s desire. They took Victorian Jye Caldwell and Jackson Hately, who both ended up returning home after handing in trade requests.
The Giants were also warned off drafting South Australian Chad Wingard when they had the first five selections in the 2011 draft. Wingard was taken by Port Adelaide at pick six. Ironically he’s now playing in Victoria. Three of those players drafted to the Giants – Jonathon Patton, Dom Tyson and Will Hoskin-Elliott – ended up playing for other clubs.
Essendon’s Archie Perkins is another recent example of a player who wanted to stay in Victoria and got his way.
Perkins told Melbourne radio at the time that he had informed non-Victorian clubs of his preference not to be drafted by them.
“Yes, I have. I hope they take that on board,” Perkins said.
But that doesn’t mean clubs have to listen. Sandringham Dragons prodigy Ollie Florent was dealing with the recent death of his father in the build-up to the 2016 draft and he was hopeful of remaining close to family. And although there may have been an initial shock when he moved to Sydney after being taken by the Swans at pick No.11, he has barely missed a game and has fallen in love with his new home, having played in five finals already.
Reid is being talked about in recruiting circles as a generational talent. And, like some of the stars of the game today, Reid has the confidence and the swagger to boot.
The modern-day footballer has also turned into the social mega star. Reid has been trending on social media platforms like Instagram (where he already has more than 24,000 followers) and TikTok for months now and is regularly stopped after under-18 games by eager fans wanting a selfie.
It’s largely unsurprising that players now feel like they should have more say on where they are drafted to.
But, despite their perilous position, West Coast is a rich club with an even richer history of holding on to their star players.
Apart from Chris Judd, the Eagles almost never lose players they want to keep. Andrew Gaff turned down a monster deal at North Melbourne at the end of 2018 to stay at West Coast for less money.
West Coast were also contacted for comment.
Rest Up, Blues
No one at Carlton is taking Saturday’s game against West Coast easily. Yes, it was a 108-point win back in round seven when the Blues met the Eagles at Optus Stadium and, yes, the Blues are back, having won their past four to put them into finals contention.
Carlton won’t flirt with their form. But that doesn’t mean they won’t take extra precautions with key players.
The word out of Princes Park is that Adam Cerra won’t play with a tight hamstring, while reigning Brownlow medallist Patrick Cripps may be managed with general soreness.
Right On Cue
There was serious business being conducted at the Werribee mansion this week when the 18 club CEOs gathered and met with the AFL executive team about key issues in the game, including a discussion around a potential wildcard weekend in the near future.
But bragging rights were on the line beforehand at the billiard table, when AFL CEO-elect Andrew Dillon teamed up with his Old Xaverians teammate Simon Lethlean to take on Fremantle chief Simon Garlick and GWS boss Dave Matthews.
Given Garlick has been sounded out for a senior role at league headquarters, you would’ve thought the former Bulldog would’ve let Dillon win. But The Scoop is reliably informed that the interstaters took the points.
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