GEELONG defender Matthew Scarlett believes the AFL should consider introducing a lottery-style draft system similar to that used in the NBA.

Scarlett, an avid follower of American sport, said the AFL should look at the system to avoid constant tanking talk at the end of each season.

“Towards the end of a year you get all this talk of tanking and all that kind of crap, it takes up so much focus in the media,” Scarlett wrote in his weekly column for gfc.com.au on Thursday.

“If we put the bottom half of the AFL's teams in a lottery, with the bottom sides having more balls and therefore a greater chance of getting the number one pick, I believe it would be a far better system.

“If we changed the system, maybe we wouldn't have all this talk of teams tanking at the end of the year.”

The lottery system used in the NBA has been scoffed at by some, with critics believing tanking still occurs.

However as last month’s NBA draft lottery showed – when the Chicago Bulls obtained the No.1 pick despite going in with just a 1.7 per cent chance of doing so – it can also spring surprises.

While a team’s chance of gaining a higher pick in the draft is enhanced by a poorer season record, the worst season record doesn’t automatically mean the first choice come draft day.

And Scarlett thinks that can only be good for everyone.

“It would give those teams that just missed the finals a chance of a reward,” he said.

“I know the years we've just missed the finals we've never been close to having a top pick; we've always been around the middle of the pack.

“The years that you just miss the final you'd at least like an opportunity to be in that lottery and, like the Chicago Bulls, get lucky and get the first pick.”

Click here to view Matthew Scarlett’s article in full.