And so we turn to thoughts of compensation - and realize that the system has failed. Adrian Anderson, the bloke in charge of how the new teams put their playing lists together, seems a decent man who has the game’s best interests at heart. He seems to believe in a system that gives every club a fair chance of eventually going top.
It no longer does that, however. With the defection of Davis, the Crows have become the most disadvantaged team in the league. Already they have lost Bock, an All-Australian, to the Gold Coast. Now they lose another centre half back. Is that fair?
Last year, Gold Coast took eight uncontracted AFL-listed players. Of those, only Adelaide (Bock), Geelong (Gary Ablett Junior), Brisbane (Michael Rischitelli) and Western Bulldogs (Jarrod Harbrow) lost players of significant value (Josh Fraser, Campbell Brown and Nathan Krakouer had already been devalued by their clubs, and Jared Brennan was involved in a trade). Given that the compensation handed out by the AFL was inadequate in all cases - Geelong ended up with pick 15 for Ablett, for example - those four clubs were unfairly disadvantaged because other clubs lost nothing or very little.
Now the Crows lose a second player and so have been hit harder than any other club. Of course, Greater Western Sydney will pinch players from other clubs, too, but only Brisbane, Geelong and Western Bulldogs risk losing two like the Crows.
No club in the AFL is more principled or well-behaved than the Crows, and many are less so. The Crows have never tanked, they have never grabbed self-serving headlines, and they have never whinged. As much as any club, and much more than some, they have worked within the spirit of the rules. They have never needed, asked for or been given a bail-out. But they are the victims of a system that is buckling under the strain of the two new teams.
The Crows are also likely to be one of several clubs disadvantaged by free agency, which is due to come into force in 2012. As Mick Malthouse said on the weekend, a few clubs will benefit disproportionately from this change. Players will want to go to the big Melbourne-based clubs because they will have more money to spend on player development, coaching and facilities and will therefore have a greater chance of winning premierships. They will also be able to offer players with more commercial opportunities outside the salary cap because sponsors and influential people will flock to them as their success grows.
I do not blame the AFL for the predicament of the Crows. Free agency is an idea that came from the players, not the AFL, and the rules for compensating the loss of uncontracted players were agreed by the clubs, including the Crows. On the whole, the AFL is a well-managed institution that has grown the sport hugely in recent years.
But there are warning signs of trouble ahead. The Crows are being skewered by a skew in the system. Adrian Anderson and his colleagues at AFL House must recognize how the loss of two top-quality players in two years unfairly disadvantages the Crows; the compensation they decide on should reflect this unreasonable burden. It might not be specified in the rules, but this is an injustice that must be addressed.
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Sarrey’s first novel, Prohibited Zone, featuring a fictional ex-Crows player, is now available at Wakefield Press and in bookstores. It will be launched at Blackwood Library on Thursday 8 September, 6.30 pm at Blackwood Library, 215 Main Road, Blackwood, South Australia. RSVP by Thursday 1 September to: charlotte@wakefieldpress.com.au and include ’RSVP Prohibited’ in the subject line.
