Wreck It Ralph: Compromised nature of AFL draft denies Hawks access to premium talent in rebuild

Hawthorn has earned top five picks across the last few years, but as JON RALPH writes, they’ve been pushed outside the highest echelons of the AFL draft due to its “broken” nature.

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 07: Mac Andrew of the Suns in action during the 2024 AFL Round 04 match between the Gold Coast SUNS and GWS GIANTS at Adelaide Hills – Mt Barker on April 07, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Hawthorn built a four-premiership empire by bamboozling their rivals with draft-night surprises and trades for washed-up stars that handed them premium top-10 selections.

As the Hawks attempt another premiership build through the draft, the compromised nature of this once-great equalisation measure is thwarting their plans.

Andrew Dillon boasted recently the AFL was the only code with three pillars of equalisation – a salary cap, draft and football department cap.

He didn’t mention that the draft is utterly broken as a sure-fire method for clubs to rebuild.

Not when there are so many inequities and in-built quirks that mean the worst clubs aren’t guaranteed the best players.

Nowhere near it.

Sam Mitchell’s rebuild at Hawthorn has hit tough times. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

As the league continues a competitive balance review there has never been a more urgent need to fix the father-son and academy bidding system that continues to compromise the draft. Hawthorn has truly bottomed out after a quartet of ladder finishes that read 15th (2020), 14th (2021), 13th (2022) and 16th (2023).

In a draft without father-son and academy selections the Hawks would already be roaring back up the ladder, stocked with premium talent.

Consider for a moment what the compromised draft has done to dilute the strength of those Hawthorn selections.

In the 2020 national draft the Hawks finished fourth-last but had the sixth pick given Jamarra Ugle-Hagan and Braeden Campbell were academy players taken earlier with matched bids.

The fourth player taken was key forward Logan McDonald, but the Hawks picked key back Denver Grainger-Barras as pick 6.

In the 2021 national draft the Hawks finished fifth-last but had the seventh pick after Nick Daicos and Sam Darcy were taken earlier as father-sons.

The fifth player taken was Gold Coast’s Mac Andrew, while the Hawks picked Josh Ward at pick seven.

In the 2022 national draft the Hawks finished sixth-last but father-son Will Ashcroft went to the Lions as the No. 2 pick.

The sixth player taken was Gold Coast’s Bailey Humphrey, while the Hawks took midfielder Cam Mackenzie with the following pick.

Grainger-Barras has struggled to stay on the field for the Hawks. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

In the most recent draft they at least finished third-last but Jed Walter was an academy selection and the Roos got a compensation pick for the departing Ben McKay so they ended up with pick five.

They took Nick Watson, but if they had kept pick 3 they could have taken Zane Duursma or handed the Eagles a trade package for pick 1 (Harley Reid) that gave them a higher chance of securing WA interceptor Daniel Curtin.

On Saturday as the Hawks were decimated by a side stocked with academy talent, Grainger-Barras was again injured and Ward and Mackenzie had 10 possessions between them.

Both Ward and Mackenzie have shown flashes of solid stuff, but the jury is out on whether either have real star power.

And as the Hawks try to finish their build they want a star forward with marking power, an explosive mid and an intercept defender.

Imagine if they had marking forward Logan McDonald, intercept defender Mac Andrew and explosive mid Humphrey instead of “DGB”, Ward and Mackenzie.

With four flags in the bank since 2008, few rivals are getting out the violin but it highlights why recruiting only through the draft is so futile given its compromised nature.

The point is not to eliminate all father-sons and academy players from the competition.

The father-son rule is one of footy’s great traditions and the Suns are building exactly how they should – using homegrown talent fostered with investment into the state’s junior pathways.

Mac Andrew (left) could have been a Hawk. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

It is to highlight that clubs can now be trapped in perennial rebuilds, never able to get the elite game-breaking talent and watching while rivals including Geelong and Sydney top up with elite free agents and value trade plays.

As the AFL works through its new competitive balance review, one of the most urgent priorities should be immediately fixing the bidding system for those father-son and academy players.

Right now clubs get a 20 per cent discount when they bid for those players and can use a vast collection of late off-cut picks to accumulate the points for them.

Instead clubs should be forced to pay a considerable premium to take an elite top-five talent off the board with a father-son or academy bid given how it so royally screws over rebuilding teams.

Two years ago Brisbane effortlessly accumulated the points to match bids for father-son Will Ashcroft (pick 2) and Jaspa Fletcher (pick 12) despite finishing sixth that year.

This year Will’s brother Levi looms as a possible No. 1 pick and will get to Brisbane too.

The Lions will likely finish in the top six, don’t have a second or fourth-rounder (they traded them away) and yet will still find the points to match a bid without undue trouble.

And yet no one will blink an eye.

As part of that review, a likely top-four side taking the best kid in the land should be so challenging they have to trade off a star player to secure the picks and points to even consider it.

Those competitive balance review changes will only kick for next year, so the Lions will not be affected.

But it would force clubs to think twice about bidding for those stars and at the very least dilute their draft hands so clubs like the Hawks could cash in later in those drafts.

The Dogs wanted Ryley Sanders this year, so they gave up picks 10, 17 and a future first-rounder for the Suns No. 4 pick (which drifted back to pick 6).

That is how hard it should be to get a top five pick in the draft.

The league could consider a formula that has clubs paying an extra premium – call it 20 per cent or more – if they play finals and yet are able to bid on an academy or father-son player within the top eight selections.

The Hawks were smashed by a team full of Academy prospects on the Gold Coast in round 5. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

So now the Hawks are trapped in mediocrity, trying to catch up to clubs who have picked the eyes out of recent drafts.

Like Sydney, with academy picks Nick Blakey, Errol Gulden, Braeden Campbell, Isaac Heeney and Cal Mills.

Or the Suns, with academy picks Walter, Will Graham, Ethan Read, Jake Rogers on top of their established stars.

The Hawks have made their share of mistakes, just like a North Melbourne side which still looks five years from a finals berth.

They have also taken a recent father-son in Calsher Dear at pick 56 in last year’s draft.

But both of the Roos and Hawks have had four concerted cracks at the draft and show no signs of improvement on rivals with so many other avenues to improve their lists.

Gillon McLachlan warned off rivals from deep rebuilds last year.

Hawthorn is finding to its peril how wise he was given how neutered it has become for clubs hoping to build towards premiership riches.

Originally published as Wreck It Ralph: Compromised nature of AFL draft denies Hawks access to premium talent in rebuild