Thoughts on Free Agency

[Ricochet]

But Christensen is just 1 who bucks the trend vs. so many others who don't

Pearce, Chaplin, Rivers, Frawley, Tippett, Dal Santo, Franklin, Sylvia, Mcevoy, Polec  etc. are the guys who have showed why Top clubs are just dominating the offseason.

Then you have good players who get forced out of top clubs and play for lower clubs that way like Chapman and Mumford

Then you have a bunch of fringe players who move anywhere to get games, which is what the trade period/PSD/delisted FA already covers

Well Dal Santo, Polec were basically pushed (due to lack of opportunites or the club rebuilding) and didn't go to a top 4 club (at the time)
Chaplin went from a team that finished 14th to a team that finished 12th.
Danyle Pearce went to a team that finished 7th
Don't think McEvoy had much of a say in the trade and also the fact Hawks gave up Savage and Pick 18


So the players that actually went to a top 4 team
Tippett went from a team that finished 2nd to the premier so not such a big issue
Buddy went from the premier to the team that lost it the next year so again not sure a big issue

Agree that Rivers and Sylvia went from a poor team to a top 4 team though

[Mailman the 2nd]

But its not about going from poor teams to good teams, its that regardless of where they are they will just keep going to top 8 teams.

Pearce and Chaplin jumped from Port when they only had 5 wins for the entire season, compared to Richmond's 10.

You could make a case for McEvoy but none of Dal Santo, Goddard or Polec got pushed at all. All of them very much had a clear option to stay at their clubs and all chose to leave.

For every 1 Christensen, there's another 5-6 players who do the opposite

[Ricochet]

But most argue that the strongest get stronger, yet hardly any have gone to a top 4 side.

Polec was a SA boy and only played 1 game for the Lions that year. Like I said, pushed due to lack of opportunity.

Dal Santo didn't go to a top 4 side

Goddard left a side that was 9th to a team that finished 11th

[Mailman the 2nd]

And now look where St.Kilda is compared to where North and Essendon are.

Surely there's no case to say that most major trade/FA player hasn't gone to a strong/stronger team. Beams and Griffen are very much outliers to the argument.

[Ricochet]

Yeh but at the time the players can't see into the future. They're making a decision based on what they know at that point in time.

A lot can happen in a year of footy

[Mailman the 2nd]

If you want to use Master Q's link (http://www.reddit.com/r/AFL/comments/2gqg6e/a_look_at_free_agency/) and remove delisted agents since they're irrelevant in this debate .

Players that have gone from low club to high club

    Frawley
    Sylvia
    Rivers
    Chaplin
    Goddard
    Dal Santo
    Pearce
    Higgins
    Waite
    Franklin   (went to a Strong team for all intensive purposes)


Players that have gone to a club at a similar level

    Knights
    Lynch
    White  (team is now top 4)
    Moloney
    Betts
    Thomas


Players that have gone from high club to low club

    Ellis
    Byrnes
    Murphy 
    Malceski


This leaves us with 4 players who went genuinely from a High Club to a low club. Of those 4 only 1 can be considered an AFL mainstay in Malceski and GC will likely finish next season in the finals anyway

[Ricochet]

If you want to use Master Q's link (http://www.reddit.com/r/AFL/comments/2gqg6e/a_look_at_free_agency/) and remove delisted agents since they're irrelevant in this debate .

Players that have gone from low club to high club

    Frawley
    Sylvia
    Rivers
    Chaplin
    Goddard
    Dal Santo
    Pearce
    Higgins
    Waite
    Franklin   (went to a Strong team for all intensive purposes)

Well thats not exactly correct because not all went to a stronger club or a top 4 club, as i showed before.

Going from a mid-tabled club to a slightly better mid-tabled club at 5-10 hardly adds to the argument that the strongest get stronger

[Ziplock]

If you want to use Master Q's link (http://www.reddit.com/r/AFL/comments/2gqg6e/a_look_at_free_agency/) and remove delisted agents since they're irrelevant in this debate .

Players that have gone from low club to high club

    Frawley
    Sylvia
    Rivers
    Chaplin
    Goddard
    Dal Santo
    Pearce
    Higgins
    Waite
    Franklin   (went to a Strong team for all intensive purposes)

Well thats not exactly correct because not all went to a stronger club or a top 4 club, as i showed before.

Going from a mid-tabled club to a slightly better mid-tabled club at 5-10 hardly adds to the argument that the strongest get stronger

NDS/ Goddard moved because of list/ salary cap restructuring.

[Mailman the 2nd]

Yes, but now you've got a situation where there's a direct correlation to top 8 teams getting the vast majority of FA. It has in no way helped bottom 8 teams.

If it was helping bottom teams, you'd see a WAY wider distribution of Free agents. Heck, you can get rid of Knights, Lynch, Murphy, Byrnes and Moloney considering they barely played and it gives you a pretty clear picture.

[Ricochet]

It has in no way helped bottom 8 teams.

Melb got N3 for Frawley
Melb got N23 for Syvlia and traded that for Vince
Melb got N49 + Byrnes for Rivers + Moloney
Port got N30 for Chaplin and took Mason Shaw
Saints got N13 for Goddard which they traded to GC for Hickey + N25 basically
Saints got N25 for Dal Santo which they used to get Longer
Port got N29 for Pearce
Higgins and Waite too early to tell

You can't say that most of these didn't benefit the bottom 8 teams or are too early to tell who wins

[Tominator]

TBH I think free agency is setting a dangerous precedent. The players are getting a LOT more power in the game now, and I think it's turning into soccer a bit

The number of players requesting trades seems to have gone to another level, despite the number of trades going through are dropping (presumably because clubs are demanding over-the-top prices for their players)...
Players are nominating clubs of choice and refusing to negotiate with anyone else...
Salary cap has also just gone up to beyond 10 million a season

Also, "player power" has got coaches sacked for at least 2 clubs (possibly 3) in the last month. This would never be tolerated in past eras

This has all happened since FA came in.. is it a coincidence? I don't know, but FA has given the players more control, there is no question about it. These aforementioned scenarios may just be the side effects of FA.

[Ricochet]

The number of players requesting trades seems to have gone to another level, despite the number of trades going through are dropping... Players are nominating clubs of choice and refusing to negotiate with anyone else... Salary cap has also just gone up to beyond 10 million a season

Also, "player power" has got coaches sacked for at least 2 clubs (possibly 3) in the last month. This would never be tolerated in past eras

To be honest man, these two bits aren't anything new. Core players are always consulted in regards to Coaches and if there are issues, they are brought up by the playing group. And players have always nominated clubs, just usually its internal and only made known to clubs involved.

Its just that the media digs in and finds more information than ever before and makes it public.

[Tominator]

The number of players requesting trades seems to have gone to another level, despite the number of trades going through are dropping... Players are nominating clubs of choice and refusing to negotiate with anyone else... Salary cap has also just gone up to beyond 10 million a season

Also, "player power" has got coaches sacked for at least 2 clubs (possibly 3) in the last month. This would never be tolerated in past eras

To be honest man, these two bits aren't anything new. Core players are always consulted in regards to Coaches and if there are issues, they are brought up by the playing group. And players have always nominated clubs, just usually its internal and only made known to clubs involved.

Its just that the media digs in and finds more information than ever before and makes it public.

Yeah that's probably true. I think the rise of social media has made players go more public with their trades and coaches and stuff

I read an article somewhere on the weekend that "Gen Y players don't like criticism... They only listen to the feedback they want to hear, not the feedback they need to hear" ... whether its a media circus or not, that statement might be true

[Ziplock]

Waite is harsh to classify as low to high as well as the main reason he left was because of the contract length.

[Ziplock]

I think the sample size is a bit low as well, it also ignores guys who forced trades before becoming free agents, or situations like monfries, where the clubs traded for an average pick basically to stop FA from impacting ports compensation.