Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has taken aim at the AFL for reactive rule changes as the league unveils new rules surrounding the draft bidding system. The AFL confirmed on Wednesday they are pushing ahead with moves that will affect father-son prospects and all academy selections, including northern and next generation academies.
Clubs such as Carlton and Port Adelaide, which will be impacted most at this year's draft, lobbied hard for changes to be delayed until at least 2027. Under the old system, clubs could stockpile numerous late picks to secure a highly-rated youngster high in the draft. But now clubs can only use a maximum of two picks to match a bid, while a discount or loading will be applied based on ladder position.
Grand final teams will cop a 20 per cent loading, preliminary finalists will face 10 per cent, while teams finishing fifth to 10th will have no loading or discount. However, teams placed 11th to 18th will receive a 10 per cent discount. In perhaps the most controversial change, teams with a top-five pick that gets pushed back because of a bid match will now receive an extra pick at the start of the second round.
Highly touted pair Cody Walker (Carlton, father-son) and Dougie Cochrane (Port Adelaide, Next Generation Academy) could be the top two picks in this year's draft, meaning the Blues and Power will have to pay more than they would have previously.
Beveridge's three-minute rant
When asked about the new rules on Wednesday, Beveridge went on a three-minute rant about all the recent changes the league has brought in. Beveridge likened the AFL to being a "punching bag" as they deal with pressures from everywhere to make changes.
"It's a bigger picture consideration for me around the equities in the game rather than just changing a rule for this year," he said. "We were part of the change because we brought Jamarra (Ugle-Hagan) in back then and it was another reaction to pressure from clubs. So what has happened, the AFL are a punching bag at the moment."
"What has been, when you think about the actual game, the rules, whether it's tribunal and appeals ... We're trying to make things perfect in a game that's chaotic. And the unfortunate thing is you guys and girls (the media) are the ones who the AFL are paranoid about because they don't want you to criticise them. But every time you do, they go and change something."
"So it's not this regime's fault. It's the operational regime of the last 15 years that keep changing things. And now we've got a tax act of regulations that's too hard to administer. So compliance is difficult, right?"
Call for simplicity
Beveridge said they need to strip things back completely and make things simpler. He then pivoted to the "ridiculous" situation around the last disposal rule when minor touches or ricochets off a boot are resulting in free kicks.
"We're at a point now where we need a Peter Jackson to go in and do a review of how to strip it all back and make it simple again," he continued. "Because, as I said, the game's chaotic. It's not black and white. And even one of the ridiculous things that's happened recently is what's happened with this between-the-arcs last possession thing."
"I mean, ultimately, if there's confusion as to who it went off, what did we used to do? We used to ball it in. How about we just ball it in again? Because people are going to make mistakes, and it might have come off someone's boot, but, no, we have to bring another layer in, and now we have to reverse it. So we haven't been strong enough to just go, 'yep, mistake was made, move on'."
Independent review needed
Going back to the new draft rules, Beveridge lamented another change on the run and called for an independent review to make the game better. "This is another one where we're making a change on the run. There's eastern seaboard and northern academies that have been going on for the last, you know, 10 years," Beveridge said.
"There's clubs complaining about getting their own. We just have to strip it all back and get it right. The inequities in the draw, in the draft system, in the whole thing, it just needs to be sorted out, and that's just one isolated thing that's happened recently."
"So there's some bigger challenges ahead for city hall, and I just hope they engage someone, like a Peter Jackson, who can go in, in an independent way and say, 'hey, have a think about what we've got to do, and if we have to go back 10 years to make the game better, let's do that'."
Broadcast revenue and ads
Beveridge finished the rant with a shot at the AFL and broadcasters cashing in on more ads during games because there are more goals due to all the changes. "The other thing, too, is, it's you guys (media) again, because of the money in the broadcast, is because we've tried to create more goals in the game, we've turned the game into this ridiculous game of ping pong because we want money from broadcast because there's more ads during the goals," he said.
"And it can't all just be about revenue. It's got to be about the beauty and the nature of the game, and we've got some challenges ahead. So that's me off my soapbox."
