This also is self inflicted though ppl.
We had 5 picks in the top 20 in 2004 and our 2005 picks weren't that good either. (Other than Lids).
It's one thing to be poor on field and another when you put yourself in a position to make a selection and you scuff it as we did during the Frawley/Miller/Beck/Wallace time at the club. The fact that McMahon kicked that goal suggests two things either we were not educated on the tank hence Rawlings went after the meaningless wins, which is an issue to take up with CC or we genuinely went out to win as most clubs do and lo and behold we got a win we barely deserved and hence was tarnished by Bailey's admission of shifting players which also suggests that players go and do their best its off field staff who manipulate the on field success in cases such as these.
Our position currently is only due to our poorly resourced and undermanned footy dept as well as our ineptitude in realising what the draft is all about and undervaluing its importance until recently.
We are paying for our sins and only now that it has become fodder with Bailey's so called cryptic confession do we as a club want some sort of retribution or change, whilst I feel change will be fair lets say offer monetary incentives to clubs finishing outside the top 8 where clubs with little finance or debt like Naught, Doggies and such can benefit from the cash boost and help them retain a star kid and notlured by these new plastic franchises.
Furthermore a lottery system based on the bottom 8 and wins can be set up thus ensuring that a club that finished in no mans land lets say 11-14 aren't guaranteed a pick 3 or 4 .
Yep some things like the Mercenary's Visy Deal are more obvious and need to be addressed also but we also need to be more "savvy" whilst the current system is in place to ensure we get the best for our team in the same way a CEO or any small business owner would do with their accountants to pay as little tax as also.
It is gullible to expect honesty in everyday life and then demand it from a sporting code/organisation when success and money is involved.
Unfortunantely this corruption is the by product of the society created in footy where bums on seats is more important than ethos and tradition except for when the Collingwood guernsey is concerned and corporatisation by faceless fat cats has reached the point where week to week footy fans like most of us on here are being forced by our clubs to upgrade our memberships in the off chance we get to a GF so that we don't miss out.
We need strong people with footy acumen at the club to address this rather than people who flutter from weak club to weak club to prolong a well paid but stagnant career. ie Craig Cameron.
Priority picks reward ineptitude on field not stupidity in terms of poor selections and not adapting to the draft and treating it with disdain and topping up. Whilst a priority pick to our picks would be nice our stupidity and inability will not and should not be rewarded and hence the problem of having poor coaches and footy department people in our recent history will haunt us for a few years yet.