The AFL’s free agency compensation model has once again come under fire, with pundits questioning why Essendon received Pick 20 for Sam Draper while West Coast were awarded Pick 2 for Oscar Allen, despite the pair signing comparable deals with Brisbane.
Speaking on AFL Trade Radio, journalist Sam Edmund noted that the disparity between the two compensation amounts highlighted the inconsistency and secrecy surrounding the system.
“Essendon get Pick 20 for Draper and West Coast get Pick 2 for Allen,” Edmund said. “It’s a big compensation difference of two players. Is there a big difference between the two of them? And if you’re Essendon, would you feel hard done by that you get an end of first-round pick and West Coast get one right at the pointy end?”
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Former Port Adelaide star Kane Cornes echoed those concerns, suggesting the AFL had favoured struggling clubs like West Coast while overlooking middle-tier sides such as Essendon.
“I felt sorry for Essendon when West Coast were given an assistance package. ‘Why do you get one? Just because you’re right down the bottom?’” Cornes said. “‘We’ve been struggling for 20 years. Where is our assistance package?’”
Cornes added that the current model “needs a forensic review”, while Edmund urged greater transparency.
“It’s been murmured, rumoured, reported, whispered that changes will happen,” Edmund said. “But there’s a lack of transparency around it as well that has always smelt… It’s a bit of an itch that the competition can’t scratch.”