‘Disadvantage certain clubs’: Blues hit out after losing battle over AFL draft shake-up
Carlton has criticized the AFL's recent draft rule changes, arguing the new system will unfairly disadvantage clubs seeking to recruit father-son and academy prospects. The revised rules limit clubs to using two draft picks to match bids for priority access players, increasing the cost for teams like Carlton and Port Adelaide. The AFL claims the changes promote fairness by preventing clubs from amassing multiple top-tier talents through accumulated lower picks.
- ▪Carlton and Port Adelaide must now pay a higher draft price for father-son and academy prospects under the AFL's new rules.
- ▪Clubs can only use two draft picks to match a bid for priority access players, up to pick 36, limiting their ability to use multiple lower picks.
- ▪The AFL states the new system prevents clubs from recruiting four first-round caliber players via bid matching, as Gold Coast did in 2023.
- ▪Under the changes, clubs can go into a deficit of up to 412 draft value index points if they cannot fully match a bid.
- ▪The league rejected lobbying from Carlton, Port Adelaide, and Essendon to maintain the previous draft matching system.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Sydney Morning Herald.