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THE AFL'S cellar dwellers will no get no extra help in the 2012 draft, with the league ruling no team played poorly enough to warrant a priority pick.

Amid constant talk of tanking in recent years, the AFL scrapped its priority draft pick system and replaced it with a newer version which made it much harder for clubs to gain extra selections.

And the league said on Monday that under their new, secret formula, no clubs would be getting an extra pick this year.

Greater Western Sydney, Gold Coast and Melbourne all won fewer than five games this season, but none will get extra assistance.

"The commission has determined that no club will receive a priority draft selection under the Special Assistance Rule in 2012," AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson said.

"Among other relevant factors, the AFL considered a formula developed to measure each team's performance in recent seasons, including factors such as premiership points, percentage and finals appearances."

Under the outgoing system, a club which earnt 16 premiership points (four wins) or fewer in a season was given an extra pick before the second round of the national draft.

If a club earnt 16 points or fewer in consecutive years they were awarded an extra selection before the draft's first round.

The new formula for 2012 and beyond takes into account premiership points, percentage, finals appearances and injury rates for a club over several seasons.

The new formula made it harder for a club to be granted a priority pick after just one poor season, or that a pick will be given before the first round of a draft.

Anderson said at the time the rule changes were partly aimed at eradicating any suspicion that clubs tanked late in seasons for extra draft picks.

"Providing a club with pick one and two at the start of the draft is a massive free kick to that club," Anderson said, while adding that the league did not believe tanking had occurred.

"There's no doubt there is an unhealthy obsession in some quarters with the whole idea that there could be tanking.

"Part of the rationale is to deal with that.

"There will inevitably be some speculation around poor performance. This should very much reduce the volume of speculation."

Anderson said the league also wanted to move closer to having an uncompromised national draft.

The exact details of the new formula were not made public as the AFL tries to shield clubs from speculation over tanking.