The Trade Period

[Topdog]

Spot on . Not sure the world game is an example we should be throwing up
The AFL parades a fair and even comp, but free agency is making the strong stronger

Why not? We have a salary cap and a draft which does ensure that there is some level of evenness in the competition that soccer doesn't have.

We are 2 years away from our premiership win that was done with no free agent signings, why is it suddenly a big deal? The team with the most big free agent signings is Geelong, they gave a horribly uneven list

[chef]

Yep.

So...where exactly are the swings for a club like ours?

Swings and roundabouts are great if you are Hawthorn and it is nothing but incoming players...it isn't so good if you are a middle of the pack side (or worse) who are always on the downside of a transaction. If you want this approach then the team that holds a players free agency 'rights' so to speak has to be given the opportunity to either pay more $ or offer additional years than any other club to enable them to compete...

We had people on this board complaining about the lack of compensation for Dahl. Imagine if we got NOTHING at all when he left?

Smart drafting and good player development should be a net positive - if players you have spent a tonne of resources on decide to leave after a league mandated period of time and there is a 'free' agency concept (players can move to another club without cost or impact) then a form of compensation MUST be in place.

Obviously being a lower on the food change club we arent going to see as many swings come to our club, but really nothing is going to change that compo picks or not. Its just our lot.

I'd just rather a black and white FA system thats fair on everybody. Like other codes have.

[mjp]

Obviously being a lower on the food change club we arent going to see as many swings come to our club, but really nothing is going to change that compo picks or not. Its just our lot.

I'd just rather a black and white FA system thats fair on everybody. Like other codes have.

So simply reveal the compensation method in the same way the NFL does...if it works for them, it will work for us.

[jeemak]

Why not? We have a salary cap and a draft which does ensure that there is some level of evenness in the competition that soccer doesn't have.

We are 2 years away from our premiership win that was done with no free agent signings, why is it suddenly a big deal? The team with the most big free agent signings is Geelong, they gave a horribly uneven list

What soccer does have is a balanced draw, rather than a fixture contrived to maximise revenue...….which funnily enough, seems to ensure the teams players want to be traded to or move to under free agency get the most exposure and the benefits that come with that.

I'm not entirely convinced that free agency will have a net benefit or otherwise to the clubs that seem to attract the marquee free agents, aside from the buzz or exposure it creates around that club and the subsequent commercial outcomes. The results on-field have been limited.

With trading on the other hand, clubs have lost control over who they can deal with in practical terms and players hold the whip hand nominating clubs that benefit from the inequities within the fixture. This is the case with both elite and high quality players - with the latter being the players most likely to fill needs for teams around the mark or moving up the ladder.

So we find ourselves in a position where salary cap and draft equalisation applies to all (with exception to free agency that sees teams secure players without paying for them, and other clubs being pushed back in the draft order for some reason), and inequities within the fixture benefit the same clubs perennially, with these clubs coincidentally being on the right side of player movement post season.

None of it makes sense, and until the clubs have more recourse to deal with clubs more freely when releasing players or exposure is distributed more evenly, it never will.

[chef]

So simply reveal the compensation method in the same way the NFL does...if it works for them, it will work for us.

Sadly the AFL is never going to be transparent

[Remi Moses]

Why not? We have a salary cap and a draft which does ensure that there is some level of evenness in the competition that soccer doesn't have.

We are 2 years away from our premiership win that was done with no free agent signings, why is it suddenly a big deal? The team with the most big free agent signings is Geelong, they gave a horribly uneven list

Not sure how a system that allows a player leave a basket case to head to a team that won 18 games is good system

[Topdog]

Not sure how a system that allows a player leave a basket case to head to a team that won 18 games is good system

Why should a player be punished and forced to stay at the basketcase for the entirety of his career

[chef]

Not sure how a system that allows a player leave a basket case to head to a team that won 18 games is good system

I guess thats 'free' agency.

And that was happening before too.

[Remi Moses]

Why should a player be punished and forced to stay at the basketcase for the entirety of his career

So a player goes from a bottom placed team to a team that won 18 games and the narrative is how even our comp is ?
Actually not saying he should spend the entirety of his career there , but when you have Top players continually going to top teams you can’t spruik how even our game is .

[Topdog]

So a player goes from a bottom placed team to a team that won 18 games and the narrative is how even our comp is ?
Actually not saying he should spend the entirety of his career there , but when you have Top players continually going to top teams you can’t spruik how even our game is .

Why not? The competition and it's evenness isn't about so called top players, it is about TEAMS.

The league has had a different winner in each of the last 4 seasons, 3 of those did not make the 8 the year before winning the premiership. That is a sign of a healthy league.

Also can we please not use anything to do with gold coast as an example of anything that works or does not work. They are an absolute shambles of a club and seemingly have been since their introduction.

[Topdog]

Also whilst technically allowed to go under free agency Gold Coast traded him and a 2019 3rd round pick for pick 3, Anthony Miles, Corey Ellis and a 2019 3rd round pick.

[Mofra]

So a player goes from a bottom placed team to a team that won 18 games and the narrative is how even our comp is ?
Actually not saying he should spend the entirety of his career there , but when you have Top players continually going to top teams you can’t spruik how even our game is .

It works other ways too. Griffen and Deledio in successive years left struggling teams to go to the top four fancies GWS. We all know what happened next.

[Greystache]

Why not? The competition and it's evenness isn't about so called top players, it is about TEAMS.

The league has had a different winner in each of the last 4 seasons, 3 of those did not make the 8 the year before winning the premiership. That is a sign of a healthy league.

Also can we please not use anything to do with gold coast as an example of anything that works or does not work. They are an absolute shambles of a club and seemingly have been since their introduction.

They didn't?

The last 4 premiers have been Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs, Richmond, and West Coast. Richmond was the only team not to make finals the year before they won it but had played finals the 3 previous seasons. Hawthorn were coming off back to back premierships.

[Twodogs]

They didn't?

The last 4 premiers have been Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs, Richmond, and West Coast. Richmond was the only team not to make finals the year before they won it but had played finals the 3 previous seasons. Hawthorn were coming off back to back premierships.

You're right too. I just accepted what Topdog wrote as being correct.

[Topdog]

They didn't?

The last 4 premiers have been Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs, Richmond, and West Coast. Richmond was the only team not to make finals the year before they won it but had played finals the 3 previous seasons. Hawthorn were coming off back to back premierships.

Apologies, were not top 4 the year before winning the premiership. That happened once in the previous 7 years. Wrote that quickly without double checking. My point still remains, league is healthy.

Brisbane, Freo, Carlton and the Gold Coast have been the teams that have been consistently poor in the last 3 years. Brisbane and Freo have both been active in signing players in the trade period.