I'll start with this.

I think the players should get everything they can whilst they are playing. EVERYTHING. A lot of them (most of them) are done within 3-seasons and kicked to curb with zero skills and zero ability to 'cope' with life...and many with a lifetime's worth of ongoing medical 'stuff'. So I think Free Agency is - overall - a good thing.

But there is a paradox at play and it is a hard one to manage.

The salary cap is there to make sure that not all the best players can 'BE' at the one club. The 'best' players obviously demand a premium payment, the limit on spending means that one club can't pay 'everyone'.

So...why are the lower clubs continually in salary cap 'strife' and unable to 'outbid' top of the ladder teams for prospective free agents?

Well - it's because the clubs down the bottom regularly need to overpay just to RETAIN. So...they are unable to make the bank-busting offers to elite players coming out of contract. So what ends up happening is they can offer 'more' - but only a 'little bit' more (everything is relative!) and when the 'little bit' is weighed up by the player vs the likelihood of win-loss....

So how do clubs avoid this?

1/. Invest in 'stuff'. Brisbane are known for medical. As were the Hawks for so long. Be seen to be doing 'SOMETHING' that is critical to player welfare better than anyone else. And don't tell me about the soft cap...everything is a priority.

2/. You MUST know where you are at. Don't over-rate your list or players - have a externally based player assessment 'score' and don't pay beyond it. Lean on the available technology - yes, you have to apply the 'eye-test' but if you pay too much for ANYONE then it kills your cap (and since players talk, it can also kill culture).

3/. Lean HEAVILY on the AFLPA. Be the bunny for their programs, offer time and resources - enable them to see how well you are doing everything at your club. Use them for surveys about what annoys players, what they like, dislike...and set your program up HEAVILY weighted in their favour. Tell the players you are using the results of the surveys - tell them that if 'this' is what they 'want'...that is what you will give them....but equally, let them know it is on them to make it work!!! Make sure EVERYONE in the industry knows you are constructing a player-centric training/learning environment based on the input of the AFLPA and that you want to create the best 'environment for players' in the league.

4/. Get your coach in front of opposition players as OFTEN as possible. Promote his personality and the 'player friendly' environment he has created. This cannot be over-stated...and it 100% needs to be true because - again, players talk.

5/. Be 100% open and honest with your fans. Members are incredibly loyal - if you tell them you will only pay $x to player y because this is where he is rated across the competition blah blah, they WILL support you in the stay/go decision. Sell hope - until you are able to sell wins.

Free agency can be a weapon. It 100% is for Richmond and Brisbane - and now seems to be for Geelong. It can be for us. Our club is located in an extremely popular location that is VERY close to the city. We have a personable coach - who needs to show a sense of fun a little more often publicly, that's for sure. We have a list that is winning games if not premierships. There is the stadium thing (MCG teams will always rule the roost and Ballarat is not a popular ground) but our training facilities are in the 'pretty good' group and could REALLY be the basis of something 'great'.

I do worry that we don't have a clear view of where our list is at - no delistings one month after the season ended would seem to clearly point at this - and I'm completely in the dark around how player friendly our program is...