The “imminent” changes coming to AFL father-son ruling

THE AFL Commission has reaffirmed to clubs that changes to bids at the National Draft will come into effect this year, reports SEN’s 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 previous years.

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.

Speaking on SEN Breakfast, AFL COO Tom Harley confirmed that the changes are “imminent” following a discussion regarding the matter earlier this week.

“It’ll be really imminent,” Harley said.

“Without 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.

“Trying 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.

“Ultimately, it’s 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.”

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.

“I always have been (a fan),” he said.

“When we’re 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.

“I’ve said this on record a number of times, I was a Bombers’ fan as a kid, had 32 on my back as a kid (Tim Watson).

“If I wasn’t playing the game, I’m sure I would have been a Bombers fan through, and Bombers fans absolutely loved seeing Jobe (Watson) play for the Bombers.

“It’s here, it’s here to stay, and it’s a great part of our game. But like all things, you look at it, if there’s a point in time where it needs to be tweaked it will.”

BY SEN