Clubs warned over unlisted players
By Stephen Rielly
The Age
December 10, 2005
IF THE creeping importance of the rookie draft was not confirmed by the performances of Brett Kirk and Dean Cox in the grand final or the fact that 21 rookies were promoted to senior lists in October, it has been verified in the secret and illegal testing of potential draftees before Tuesday's draft.
In the past fortnight, the AFL twice has sent written warnings to the clubs, reminding them that they are forbidden from training and testing unlisted players without the knowledge and permission of the league, which then alerts the football community, via the publication of a list, of who is training where.
It is believed that the league was prompted to take action after at least three clubs, Richmond and Essendon among them, brought players to training sessions without permission, presumably to keep their interest and intentions for Tuesday a secret.
It is believed Richmond has been asked to explain why it should not be penalised for putting 30 players through three hours of testing at Punt Road the day after the national draft.
No more than 20 unlisted players, who must have prior permission, are allowed to train with a club at any one time.It is believed that the Dons trialled Josh Wilson, a former Eastern Ranges player, without permission and that West Australian defender Alan Toovey has been training with Collingwood without notice.
Toovey has not been listed by the AFL, although the Magpies claim notification was provided and that the lack of publication is an administrative oversight.
The first of the warnings was sent out to club chief executives, football managers and recruiting managers two days after Richmond's Sunday session, which was held on November 27.
Signed by the AFL's football administration manager, Rod Austin, it concludes with the warning: "It should be noted sanctions can apply for breaches of this rule."The league is opposed to individual testing, primarily so that potential draftees aren't asked to "perform", like seals, for every club that has an interest in them.
Moreover, there is a view that the integrity of the annual draft camp, which provides all 16 clubs with the same data, could be compromised if greater detail on a potential draftee is revealed by individual testing that may not be financially possible to all clubs.
The rookie draft was once lowly regarded, ranking below the pre-season draft until clubs such as Melbourne, which produced Russell Robertson and James McDonald out of the 1997 rookie draft, and Essendon, which promoted Mark Johnson and Dean Rioli off its rookie list in 1998 and 1999, revealed its low-cost potential. Rookies, either teenagers overlooked in the national draft or players who are 23 and under next year who are given a second AFL chance, are paid about $20,000 a year and unless they are from interstate, a one-year commitment is involved. A national draftee is offered, at a minimum, a two-year contract and paid at least twice the amount of a rookie.
In recent years, the rookie draft has become the richest source of players behind only the national draft to the extent, it seems, that the rules are being bent. Each club is allowed to select up to six rookies and only those limited by a lack of funds do not take their full quota. Cox and Kirk were among the eight former rookies who played in this year's grand final and apart from the 21 rookies promoted to senior lists this year, a further 20 were retained by their clubs for 2006.
On the other hand, in the pre-season draft, which precedes the rookie draft on Tuesday, it is unlikely that any more than 10 players will be selected.
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