State cops a kick in the face with AFL Draft duck
IT was a slap in the face for a proud football state that no Tasmanian was selected in last Friday’s AFL Draft – the first time that has ever happened.
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IT was a slap in the face for a proud football state that no Tasmanian was selected in last Friday’s AFL Draft – the first time that has happened since the inaugural draft in 1986.
It came on the back of 16 Tasmanians starting AFL careers over the previous four years, then a draft drought. Cue the crickets.
One Tasmanian was not surprised by the draft fail.
State senior coach and AFL talent scout for the Adelaide Crows, Brett Geappen, had a handle on the talent coming through in the Class of 2016 — moreover, lack of it.
“In the role I do for the Crows I knew that would be the case — I could have told you six months ago that there wasn’t much talent coming through,” Geappen said.
“We have talented kids and they’re great, but if you compare them against the guys who get picked up in the draft, they’re actually a fair way off.
“That’s the cold hard fact.”
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Geappen is in no doubt who is to blame and it’s not necessarily the people working in Tasmania’s development system right now.
It goes all the way to the top.
“The same people running it now are the same ones running it when Tasmania has had a lot of kids drafted,” Geappen said.
“It all comes back to funding and that’s where the AFL needs to step up.”
The Garlick Report into the future direction of Tasmanian football summed it up when its author Simon Garlick wrote: “Tasmania is a region with a rich history of producing high-end talent.”
Like many things in life, depth of talent in junior football is cyclical.
“You can be unlucky and have a bad year when there’s no talent coming through,” Geappen said.
“Some years we’ve had a lot of kids drafted and other years one or two.
“A lot of it comes back to funding. You can have all the great ideas in the world but if you haven’t got a chunk of money to fix the problems, then it’s a waste of time.
“Even though the people in charge are doing a good job, if you haven’t got the money there’s not a lot you can do about it.”
It does not help that the Tassie Mariners under-18 team only plays a handful of games each year. It would be better for player development and exposure to AFL recruiters for the Mariners to play in the Victorian-based TAC Cup under-18 competition fulltime. It would boost their chances of an AFL career, albeit irritate their home TSL clubs, who would not have their best teenagers available for club games.
In 1986, Tasmania had 14 players drafted, although recruiting back then was more in hope than a science as it is now.
Martin Leslie was taken by Brisbane Bears from Port Adelaide (SANFL in those days) at pick one while Tasmanian Alastair Lynch went to Fitzroy at pick 50 and future Crows star Darren Jarman (North Adelaide) to Melbourne at pick 55.
Geappen was at Tasmanian State League games every weekend this year in his dual capacity.
“When you look at Tassie this year in the under-18s, I think we’ve bottomed out,” he said.
“I think that’s a good thing because hopefully the AFL will wake up and say this is crap for Tassie football, which it obviously is, and do something about it.”
If Geappen were in charge, he would implement “better programs earlier”.
“By the time they get through to the talent pathway at 15 and 16, it’s a bit late,” he said.
“The new North Melbourne Academy will help going forward, but having pathways and more money to run some really good programs from an earlier age and have a clear pathway all the way through can only help.
“The problem now is there are so many challenges from so many different sports.
“If you put an AFL side in Tassie, it’s easily fixed. Every kid can see it and aspire to it, and that’s a clear pathway — you fix it straight away.
“You’ve got cricket, soccer and basketball, and other sports also wanting kids and they are the challenges we face.”
When AFL teams based in the rugby league heartlands have four times more players drafted than South Australia, let alone Tasmania, alarm bells should be ringing at an ear-piercing decibel in football headquarters.
“Sydney, GWS, Brisbane, Gold Coast — to see how effective their academies are is incredible,” Geappen said.
“It proves academies do work and it all comes back to money.
“It would be good for Tassie to get an A-League side because it will make the AFL wake up and think it’s game-on down there because at the moment they don’t seem to care too much.
“We’re miles behind now so they need to do something about it.”
james.bresnehan@news.com.au
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