CARLTON'S bid for a priority draft pick has divided the AFL but Hall of Fame member Terry Wallace believes the Blues need assistance.

The Blues are expected to ask for a handout after a dismal season in which they are assured of finishing bottom of the ladder.

Gold Coast, currently 17th on the ladder with just one win since round five, and 15th-placed Brisbane is also likely to seek a priority pick.

Carlton fielded one of the youngest teams in the competition this season and has finished in the bottom six every year since 2013.

Wallace believes the Blues have been down for long enough to justify receiving help but says AFL decision-makers must consider the dangers of such a move.

"There are some clubs that orchestrate themselves to remain down for marginally longer to give themselves the best chance when they do come back up," Wallace told AAP.

"Carlton were prepared to give away Zach Tuohy to get picks, they were prepared to give away Bryce Gibbs to get picks. The obvious fact of that is that is going to make you less competitive in the short term but give you more long-term.

"Should we be rewarding that? Anyone making the decision on whether they got a priority pick or not would have to factor that in."

Wallace, who will coach Victoria in next Friday's EJ Whitten Legends Game, said there was merit in instead providing priority access to mature-aged talent in the state leagues.

He is firmly opposed to the AFL handing out priority picks at the start of the draft order, a scenario which would leave the Blues and Suns - who will also receive compensation for losing Tom Lynch - stockpiling the first five selections.

A more likely scenario would have the sides receiving selections at the end of the first round.

Carlton had 13 first-round picks in its side during Sunday's loss to the Western Bulldogs - almost twice as many as its opponent.

Fremantle, which last played finals in 2015, had just three first-round selections - Adam Cerra, Cam McCarthy and Tommy Sheridan - available for its record 133-point hiding from Geelong.

Sydney chief executive Andrew Ireland said while expansion club Gold Coast had a case for assistance, he wasn't convinced the Blues needed more AFL help.

"I think the Suns do need help but Carlton I'm a little less sympathetic to, purely because they're more of an established club," Ireland told Macquarie Sports Radio.

"They don't have the pressures the Suns have of retaining their players."

Geelong coach Chris Scott is opposed to priority picks while Western Bulldogs counterpart Luke Beveridge warned the AFL against pushing mid-level sides further down the draft order.