- New bidding system for father-sons, academies
- Comment: Draft guru Callum Twomey has his say
- How it works: Click here to read the AFL's full explanantion
DESPITE the Western Bulldogs' strong recent run of father-son picks, club president Peter Gordon believes the AFL should lose the traditional rule to ensure the draft is not compromised.
The AFL this week confirmed changes to its bidding system for father-son and academy products, which will be introduced for this year's NAB AFL Draft.
It will see clubs pay closer to market value for each nominated father-son pick and academy product under a points-based system that Gordon believes is fairer for the competition.
But despite the Dogs being significant beneficiaries of the father-son process – they have five players on their list who they drafted as father-sons – Gordon said he would be happy to get rid of the long-standing rule.
"The AFL is to be commended for coming up with a [new bidding] system which accommodates draft fairness whilst preserving the father-son rule and the academy rule," Gordon told AFL.com.au.
"For my own part, I believe so deeply in the importance of the purity of the draft, that if there were no such system I'd be prepared to give up both the father-son rule and the academy draft rule in order to preserve what I regard as the more important principle of the purity of the draft."
The Dogs' biggest father-son win came in 2010, when they secured pair Mitch Wallis and Tom Liberatore as first and second-round picks under the old bidding system.
Two years earlier they had drafted Ayce Cordy with their first selection (No.14 overall), and last year the Dogs picked his younger brother Zaine Cordy. Both are the sons of former Bulldog Brian Cordy, who played 124 games for the club.
In between, in 2012, the Bulldogs were also able to select father-son prospect Lachie Hunter under the rule, which has had more than 10 modifications since being introduced to the game more than 60 years ago.
Darcy MacPherson (the son of former Bulldog Steve) is eligible to join the club under the father-son rule this year, while Michael Romero (son of Jose) is eligible in 2016.
Gordon supports the need for northern clubs to develop and draw young talent to the game ahead of other sports, but shared his concerns the academies – alongside the father-sons – distort to an undiluted draft.
"The academies have now also become a device by which the purity of the draft system is compromised by allowing particular teams associated with particular academies to interrupt the natural flow of the draft and get preferential access to players within those academies," Gordon said.
"That system, like the father-son system, is a compromise to the purity of the draft.
"A pure and even draft system is one of three components of the competitive balance system of the AFL, which I think is the most fundamental tenant of the competition and the future prosperity of the competition."
Gordon is happy to see how the new bidding process works in equalising the draft.
He will also wait for more study to be released before deciding whether to support a concept put forward by some clubs that would see each club be able to have its own recruiting zone and academy.
It has been a discussion point among some clubs as former AFL Commissioner Bill Kelty reviews the talent pathway and second-tier competitions around the country.
