THE AFL Commission has reaffirmed to clubs that changes to bids at the National Draft will come into effect this year, reports SEN\u2019s Sam Edmund.<\/p>\n
While the exact changes are yet to be revealed, clubs will have to pay much more to match father-son and Academy bids compared to what has been the case in previous years.<\/p>\n
With Cody Walker (Carlton father-son) and Dougie Cochrane (Port Adelaide NGA) both a chance to go at Pick 1, both the Blues and Power will have to pay record prices to bring their homegrown talent into the AFL fold.<\/p>\n
Speaking on SEN Breakfast, AFL COO Tom Harley confirmed that the changes are “imminent” following a discussion regarding the matter earlier this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be really imminent,\u201d Harley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout going into the details of the conversations, it was a good discussion. Greg Swann certainly takes carriage of the competitive balance component, of which the bidding rules are a key part of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to thread a pretty fine line with regards to the growth of the game, the historic and romance, if you like, through father-son and clearly competitive balance.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, it\u2019s trying to land that, and progress has been really solid. The club engagement has been really strong, and I suspect that there will be an announcement within the coming weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the approaching changes, Harley confirmed that he loves the father-son rule, admitting that while tightening of the law is required, the concept is here to stay.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always have been (a fan),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we\u2019re talking about an all-star of the game being loved and connected to the game, a key part of that is the thread between fathers and sons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve said this on record a number of times, I was a Bombers\u2019 fan as a kid, had 32 on my back as a kid (Tim Watson).<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I wasn\u2019t playing the game, I\u2019m sure I would have been a Bombers fan through, and Bombers fans absolutely loved seeing Jobe (Watson) play for the Bombers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s here, it\u2019s here to stay, and it\u2019s a great part of our game. But like all things, you look at it, if there\u2019s a point in time where it needs to be tweaked it will.\u201d<\/p>\n
BY SEN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE AFL Commission has reaffirmed to clubs that changes to bids at the National Draft will come into effect this year, reports SEN\u2019s Sam Edmund. While the exact changes are yet to be revealed, clubs will have to pay much more to match father-son and Academy bids compared to what has been the case in […]<\/p>\n