Draft luck risks splitting the game

For richer or poorer: For Jack Ziebell, the draft lottery has netted him just one finals appearance in four AFL seasons - a thumping loss to the West Coast Eagles last September. Source: Getty Images

IT'S footy's version of sliding doors.

North Melbourne's Jack Ziebell was drafted with pick No.9 in the 2008 national draft.

Two selections later, his TAC Cup teammate Steele Sidebottom became a Collingwood player.

And according to the AFL Players' Association, that's where their journey from the Murray Bushrangers veers in vastly different directions.

At 22, Sidebottom has played in 13 finals, three Grand Finals and a premiership.

Sidebottom's Magpies are rolling in money, spending a massive $21.2 million on their football department alone last season.

The Pies also raked in a $7.8 million profit and announced a $36 million upgrade of their Westpac Centre headquarters.

Goddard plays it tough with teammates

For Ziebell, the draft lottery has netted him just one finals appearance in four AFL seasons - a thumping loss to the West Coast Eagles last September.

What you missed on TV last night

North's football expenditure in 2012 was just $16.5 million - a difference of almost $5 million a year the Pies can spend on an army of coaches, recruiters, sports science staff, medical staff and player welfare.

AFL rich-poor gap divides ranks

During the course of a career, the cumulative advantage at a rich club compared to a smaller club could be $50 million.

It's a divide the AFLPA says is splitting the game's 850 players into haves and have-nots.

The league's equalisation paper reveals players drafted to the competition's four powerhouse clubs have won 31 per cent more matches than those at the four poorest clubs since 2005.

The clubs are not identified, but are not hard to guess.

Footy's big spenders include Collingwood, West Coast, Hawthorn, Carlton, Essendon, Adelaide and Fremantle.

The perennial strugglers are Port Adelaide, North Melbourne, Melbourne, Western Bulldogs and, until recently, Richmond.

"Over time, the larger four clubs have won overwhelmingly more games than the smaller four clubs, and the difference in games is growing," the AFL discussion paper says.

In the past four years the AFL-designated "big four" have reached the finals 10 times, compared to just three appearances for the small four.

The data reveals cashed-up clubs even score more heavily in matches.

AFLPA chief Matt Finnis said they are trends that have to be reversed.

And the elephant in the room is the restrictions of the salary cap and national draft agreed by players under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.

Finnis said AFL data shows these restrictions may have exhausted their usefulness.

"Players don't get to choose which club they are drafted to," Finnis said.

"If there are economic forces in the game which mean that not all players have an equal chance of optimising their careers, or winning a premiership, then you would expect the players would demand that those issues be addressed.

"Obviously fans will also lose interest pretty quickly if the competition becomes too uneven or predictable.

"Preserving the fairness of the competition is one of the main jobs of the AFL.

"That's why the clubs set up the AFL Commission in the first place - to make the long-term decisions, which will grow the game."

It's a dilemma for debate when clubs and league bosses meet tomorrow to discuss equalisation.

AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou yesterday acknowledged the imbalance needed to be addressed.

"I think everyone in the industry - not just the AFL, but lots of our clubs and even the richer clubs - are worried that the gap is getting greater," Demetriou said.

"That's why we are having the meeting (tomorrow). We'll be going into it with an open mind to hear some suggestions that might be put forward."

Demetriou said he did not have a personal view on a proposal to cap the amount richer clubs can spend on their football department, or a levy on seats at blockbuster home-and-away games.
 

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Draft luck risks splitting the game

Dengan url

http://sowatgitulohai.blogspot.com/2013/03/draft-luck-risks-splitting-game.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Draft luck risks splitting the game

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Draft luck risks splitting the game

sebagai sumbernya