The Fremantle Dockers say they were briefed by the league about potential changes to the AFL draft landscape later this year, advocating for the new rules they want to see.
Freo EGM of footy Joe Brierty joined SEN WA Mornings on Tuesday and spoke to the changes the Dockers are predicting.
It comes after AFL executive football boss Laura Kane started a firestorm when telling SEN’s Crunch Time on Saturday that there could yet be changes to the points system of this year’s National Draft.
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It sparked fierce reported denials from multiple clubs, but Brierty says the Dockers were aware.
“I think from a draft and player movement perspective we’ve had a line of sight around some potential changes and maybe coming in later this year in relation to the value of picks and that’s something we’ll get a briefing on from the AFL next week on the timeline and what that may look like,” Brierty said.
“But from our point of view it’s really important to ensure clubs are paying a fair value when they get opportunity or access to players.
“We look at the work our club has done through the NGA (Next Generation Academy) with Jesse Motlop and we’re not able to pick him up from an NGA point of view because obviously he’s inside the top 40 and he goes to Carlton.
“That’s four years of work lost from a football club whereas father-sons are able to slide through the clubs with no real fair value.
“The discounting needs to be a priority to be reviewed.”
Brierty added: “There’s a lack of consistency there at the moment, so a fair bit of work for the AFL to do.”
He also spoke to having ongoing conversations with the AFL regarding travel and fixtures as part of the competitive balance review.
Brierty was then asked by SEN WA Mornings host Mark Duffield: “Do you feel confident that they will remove the threshold from NGA players, that if you have an NGA talent you will be able to get full access to him?”
Brierty responded with another comparison to Carlton’s Motlop, who was part of the Dockers academy before being drafted by the Blues in 2021.
“Initial discussions, yeah. They’ve been positive in terms of moving the NGAs forward to pick one which just makes sense, we want to see representation of our indigenous and multicultural talent,” he said.
“If the clubs are going to put in the investment, they should get back the value and the time they spend with these players. I feel like that’s progressing the right way.”
Fremantle are one of multiple clubs with NGAs, a joint initiative between the AFL and its teams aimed to increase the availability of the game to young people.