Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has proposed the introduction of a mid-season AFL draft enabling injury-stricken teams to bolster their squads.
Buckley’s intriguing pitch would enable non-AFL signed players from state leagues across the nation to declare for a mid-year draft, allowing clubs to better cope with a lack of positional depth.
“I like the (mid-season draft) idea more outside of the current playing pool,” Buckley said Wednesday.
“You’ve got blokes who are killing it at Diamond Valley or in the SANFL, or in the WAFL and they might have just miss out on being drafted or a rookie-listed player.
Collingwood is one of a number of finals contending sides to have struggled with injuries this year. The Pies backline has been hurt by the absence Ben Reid, Alex Fasolo and Nathan Brown for large stretches while the likes of Fremantle and Gold Coast have also suffered key losses to major players.
The mid-season draft wouldn’t require teams to lose players, simply enabling clubs to plug holes created by injury while also strengthening elite senior football with lower grade competitions.
“With the injury profiles we’ve seen at certain clubs … we would have loved a little bit of support in the key back region,” Buckley added.
“If we had a mid-season draft, we may have been able to go there.”
Buckley’s comments follow yesterday’s call by Geelong coach Chris Scott to abolish off-season free agency, claiming it stood against the AFL’s recent efforts to equalise the league.
“I don’t think there are many people, maybe apart from some of the players, that like free agency,” Scott said yesterday. “The easiest solution is to abolish free agency.”
Photo: Michael Dodge/Getty Images
