A PROPOSAL for struggling clubs Carlton, Gold Coast and St Kilda to receive priority access to 'mature' state league players instead of more young talent has a supporter in Alastair Clarkson.
Clarkson's Hawthorn only twice drafted players inside the top 20 in the last decade, preferring to trade in top-line talent and rely on its recruiting gurus to uncover gems with later selections.
Ben Stratton, Isaac Smith and Paul Puopolo joined the brown-and-gold cause in 2009 and 2010 after previously being overlooked, while David Mirra was the latest mature-age draft success story last year.
PICKS A PRIORITY Gill sure Blues, Suns will accept offer
At the same time, the Hawks' golden era benefited from priority picks in multiple years, including Luke Hodge (2001), Jarryd Roughead (2004) and Xavier Ellis (2005).
Sydney's 2005 premiership coach Paul Roos put the idea of the AFL changing tack with its priority pick system on the agenda back in April in an interview with AFL.com.au.
Roos' specific concept was for eligible battling teams to receive three players outside of normal list numbers that are aged between 22 and 25 and could provide immediate help.
A Fairfax story this week suggested AFL officials were seriously considering a model where bottom sides would have first dibs on state league footballers.
"We had the benefit of priority picks in the early part of my time at the footy club, which assisted our club to get some access to talent," Clarkson said.
"But so many other mechanisms of player movement and recruiting have changed in the space of the last decade, so there'll be a lot of different views … on how you can inject some talent into your group.
"Roosy's view is just continuing to bring in really talented 18-year-olds isn't the way, and I sort of share that view a little bit as well that some access to mature-age guys is healthy."
Clarkson said the Stratton, Smith and Puopolo selections owed at least in part to Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney joining the AFL and initially hoarding the best teenage talent.
Much of the excitement about the idea has come off the back of the success of Tim Kelly, Liam Ryan, Bayley Fritsch, Zac Langdon, Brody Mihocek and Billy Gowers this season.
The 2010 drafts were also a minefield for mature-agers, with Smith and Puopolo entering AFL ranks alongside the likes of Jeremy Howe, Michael Hibberd, Ed Curnow and Cameron Pedersen.
Michael Hibberd made the All Australian team in 2017. Picture: AFL Photos
Essendon drafted Josh Jenkins the same season, but it wasn't until he was traded to the Crows a year later that his career took off.
The alternative view on mature-age recruits being the answer for clubs struggling to be competitive – an "unhealthy" situation, Clarkson says – was that they worked best in the successful sides.
But the four-time premiership coach disagreed with that take.
"I think it works for any side. We'd have, and I'm sure Gold Coast would have … taken Tim Kelly in a heartbeat," Clarkson said.
"I'm sure 17 other clubs in the competition are sitting asking themselves, 'Why didn't we watch him a bit closer the last couple of years?' because he's turned into a ripper.
"There are players like that everywhere and (Kane) Lambert's been the same for Richmond.
"He's one of the leading players in the competition now, but three or four years ago he was running around in VFL footy and many people thought he didn't have the qualities to be a top-line AFL player."
Kane Lambert has become one of the Tigers' most important players. Picture: AFL Photos
There are examples every year of state league experiments becoming senior regulars, yet what is too often excluded from the conversation is how many don't make the grade.
Finding the right ones, just like with those eligible for the draft for the first time, is what separates the best clubs from the worst.
BEST MATURE-AGE SELECTIONS IN THE LAST DECADE
They must have been playing somewhere when they were drafted and this excludes those who previously played an AFL game
2008: Hayden Ballantyne (Fremantle), Liam Jurrah (Melbourne), Jeff Garlett (Carlton), Robin Nahas (Richmond), Greg Broughton (Fremantle)
2009: Ben Stratton (Hawthorn), Michael Barlow (Fremantle), Alex Silvagni (Fremantle), James Podsiadly (Geelong)
2010: Isaac Smith (Hawthorn), Jeremy Howe (Melbourne), Paul Puopolo (Hawthorn), Michael Hibberd (Essendon), Josh Jenkins (Essendon), Cameron Pedersen (North Melbourne)
2011: Sam Rowe (Carlton), Tory Dickson (Western Bulldogs), Aaron Hall (Gold Coast), Lee Spurr (Fremantle), Shane Biggs (Sydney), Mark Baguley (Essendon), Sam Gibson (North Melbourne)
2012: Mark Hutchings (West Coast), Callum Sinclair (West Coast), Kyle Hartigan (Adelaide), Dane Rampe (Sydney)
2013: Rory Lobb (GWS), Toby Nankervis (Sydney), Aliir Aliir (Sydney), Ben Brown (North Melbourne), Charlie Cameron (Adelaide), Patrick Ambrose (Essendon), Sam Gray (Port Adelaide)
2014: Mitch McGovern (Adelaide), Adam Saad (Gold Coast), Kane Lambert (Richmond)
2015: Harry Himmelberg (GWS), Marcus Adams (Western Bulldogs), Sam Menegola (Geelong), Nathan Broad (Richmond), Tom Papley (Sydney), Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (Essendon),
2016: Ben Long (St Kilda), Tom Stewart (Geelong), Mitch Hannan (Melbourne), Willie Rioli (West Coast), Luke Ryan (Fremantle)
2017: Tim Kelly (Geelong), Liam Ryan (West Coast), Bayley Fritsch (Melbourne), Zac Langdon (GWS), Billy Gowers (Western Bulldogs), Brody Mihocek (Collingwood)
