GC17 Draft Concessions, Mozzies May Return

by Lisa Albergo reporting for AFANA from Chicago

After extensive and exhaustive planning, meetings with AFL clubs and study of club list management processes. the AFL has approved proposed draft and recruiting concessions for the new Gold Coast team. The plan will also allow for compensation over a period of several years to the existing 16 clubs for the potential loss of players to the new club.

The concessions are as follows:
GC17 will be allowed to sign 12 17 year olds born between January-April, 1992

GC17 will be allowed the first pick in each round of the 2010 draft

GC17 will be allowed the first five rookie selections in 2009 and will alternate with the Brisbane Lions for priority Queensland selections starting in 2010. GC17 will receive the first priority selection.

GC17 will have access to a maximum of five Queensland players ahead of the 2010, 2011 and 2012 drafts under the AFL Zone Rules. They will also be allowed a maximum of three Northern Territory players ahead of the 2010 draft under the Zone Rules.

GC17 will be allowed to pre-list a maximum of 10 players who previously nominated for the AFL draft or were previously on an AFL club list. They will be allowed to sign a maximum of 16 uncontracted players.

There will also be an allowance for an expanded list and increased Total Player Payment to allow the team to develop. These allowances will be in place from 2011 through 2014 with a view of gradually phasing them out:

2011 – 48 senior list, nine rookies with $1 million TPP extra allowance
2012 – 46 senior list, nine rookies with $800,000 TPP extra allowance
2013 – 42 senior list, nine rookies with $600,000 TPP extra allowance
2014 – 40 senior list, nine rookies with $400,000 TPP extra allowance
2015 – 38 senior list, nine rookies in line with other AFL clubs

While the Working Group considered an expanded list and allowance for the first three years, the AFL Commission accepted a recommendation from the executive that given the challenge of building a club, the list and allowance should phase out over four years.

Clubs which lose players to not only GC17 but the proposed Sydney team as well will be granted compensation selections after the entry of the second Sydney team into the AFL. Clubs would be allowed to trade those selections and the selections could be used at any time within a five year period with clubs required to notify the AFL of when they would use the compensation selection. Compensation selections would be allowed to be used until the end of the first round of the 2010 and 2011 drafts. The AFL criteria for awarding compensation selections are: the player’s age (greater weighting for younger players), club contract ranking (greater weighting for club key players), on field performance (greater weighting for strong club best and fairest performance) and draft position if less than four years experience. This system would then determine a club's compensation selection - a first round pick, end of first round selection, second round selection, end of second round pick or a third round selection.

The List Management Group was: Andrew Dillon (Chairman, AFL General Manager Legal and Business Affairs), Graeme Allan (Brisbane Lions FC Football Operations Manager), Adrian Anderson (AFL General Manager Football Operations), Derek Hine (Collingwood FC Recruiting Manager), Andrew Ireland (Sydney Swans FC Football Operations Manager), David Matthews (AFL General Manager National and International Development), Tony Peek (AFL Assistant to CEO), Ian Robson (Hawthorn FC CEO), Cameron Schwab (former Fremantle FC CEO), Kevin Sheehan (AFL National Talent Manager), Steven Trigg (Adelaide FC CEO), Stephen Wells (Geelong FC Recruiting Manager).

Source: Patrick Keane, AFL Media Release

Former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy was on hand last weekend to congratulate the Papua New Guinea Mozzies for their six point win over New Zealand for the 2008 International Cup championship. The game was played as a curtain raiser to the Hawthorn-Western Bulldogs Qualifying Finals match and was witnessed by over 80,000 fans at the MCG.

Sheedy, who coached the Bombers for 27 seasons and is an ambassador for Aussie Rules, suggested that the triumphant Mozzies return to Australia to play another curtain raiser against New Zealand on Anzac Day. Sheedy is already planning to arrange a meeting with the AFL to work out a plan for the curtain-raiser game which would precede the annual holiday blockbuster between Collingwood and Essendon.

Source: radioaustralia.net.au