Among the AFL’s latest inclusion of Category B rookies is a new inclusion that goes back to the heartlands on Aussie Rules football – zoning.
The much-debated complex topic has started to come into effect with the recent announcement of players that have come through the system. Although these players stand every chance of being drafted in any of the three NAB AFL Draft, the Pre-Season Draft and Rookie Draft, there are highlights of some clubs listing no players compared to other clubs listing up to five nominations – proving that the new zoning system is still a work in progress – even if there have been announcements that some areas will not change.
With approximately a quarter of the AFL playing lists being filled with Indigenous (11 per cent) and multicultural (14 per cent) talent, the AFL is looking to increase the appeal worldwide and find the best available talent for team lists.
Historically, the VFL/AFL scrapped the zoning system of recruiting in favour of equalisation with the first Draft in 1986. It also taught players and fans a sense of loyalty to be raised in a zone and stick with that club.
Image credit: blueseum.org
So what is a Category B rookie?
History says that Category A Rookies, and Category B Rookies are more often than not ‘project’ players, likely scrawny ruckmen, underdeveloped youngsters with more potential, high-performance athletes from other sports (we’re looking mostly at you basketball), and international / college athletes. Category A rookies have a chance to play some time throughout the year if they are playing well enough in the reserves and become promoted when a senior list spot opens up. Eg, former steeplechaser, Mark Blicavs.
The more recent idea with Category B rookies is to fill positions on a club’s list through the zone system and to give opportunities to young players between the ages of 11-18 trying their hand at a career in the AFL. These are young players in multicultural and Indigenous communities that may not have had a pathway to the AFL beforehand – and it is up to the club to find these players within their zones. The player must be a part of the club’s zone academy for three years to be eligible to be nominated as a Category B rookie.
How many rookies can clubs have overall?
While clubs can have up to six Category A rookies, they can also have up to three category B rookies at any one time (though only one can be Irish). Though it’s rare for all clubs to reach the maximum nine rookie players a season, with most not playing senior football unless they are promoted from a senior player’s retirement or long term injury. This is when the depth of recruiters’ scouting pools are put to the test at each club to find the next Jim Stynes or Jason Holmes – someone that is recruited and signed rather than being drafted.
Clubs need to lodge paperwork for Category B rookies and nominate their new selections after the Pre-Season and Rookie draft should they not already be selected beforehand. Otherwise, International and Father-Son (only when looked over in a draft) rookies can be signed throughout the season for the following year.
Who has been nominated as a Category B rookie in 2016?
Statistically speaking, 17 indigenous and 16 multicultural players are available for their respectively nominated clubs. Of the 33 youngsters, 10 of these players are AFL nominated to be chosen after the rookie draft is finished should they not already be selected.
The full list of “Next Generation” nominated Category B Rookies are here:
Collingwood Isiah Farrell-Nelson (Indigenous)
Essendon Aaron Tatchell (Indigenous), Ben Ronke (Multicultural), Muhammad Saad (Multicultural), Ovie Magbegor (Multicultural) , Hisham Kerbatieh (Multicultural), Ozgur Uysal (Multicultural)
Geelong Temoa Brown (Multicultural) , Cameron Gurrumulnga (Indigenous), Deshan Gindkindi (Indigenous) , Kamal Bukulatjpi (Indigenous)
Hawthorn Tristan Tweedie (Indigenous) Melbourne Daniel Allsop (Multicultural) Port Adelaide Emmanuel Irra (Multicultural), Ariek Lual (Multicultural)
Melbourne Daniel Allsop (Multicultural)
Port Adelaide Emmanuel Irra (Multicultural), Ariek Lual (Multicultural)
Richmond Kayle Kirby (Indigenous), Billy Cooper (Indigenous), Esava Ratugolea (Multicultural) , Derek Smith (Indigenous), Jy Simpkin (Indigenous)
St Kilda Mitchell McCarthy (Indigenous)
West Coast Tarir Bayok (Multicultural)
Western Bulldogs Dion Johnstone (Indigenous)
AFL nominations Mading Atem (Multicultural), James El Moussalli (Multicultural), Kenny Ong (Multicultural), Jai Rout (Indigenous), Darren Allen (Indigenous), Jamaine Jones (Indigenous), Thomas Jok (Multicultural), Goy Lok (Multicultural), Cedric Cox (Indigenous), Francis Watson (Indigenous).
Players such as Kayle Kirby (nine goals in two VFL games) may not last all the way through to Category B rookie signings. While Jy Simpkin is likely to go in the first round of the National Draft.
What are the zones and why do they matter?
The real difference in the zoning structure is that there are obvious advantages of demographics in some areas more than others, no matter how much recruitment is put in. Location, widespread of the zone, access to youth already playing sport, the percentage of Indigenous and multicultural talent within the zone, and the talent pathways are just some variables that are taken into account for the zoning system. There are of course pathways for clubs to align themselves with Under 18 clubs and affiliated state-league clubs due to zoning locations.
Image credit: AFL.com.au
Image credit: afl.com.au
The issue with this, the first year’s crop, is that clubs like Essendon (six) and Richmond (five) get a handful to choose from, and eight clubs have no players at all nominated. Whether that be a strong indicator of the zoning structure, good or bad recruitment, or just a good year in that area remains to be seen and will only be able to be judged in the coming years after some proven analysis.
On paper, it looks as though Richmond, Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn have both a blessing and a curse in large areas to recruit, but this can lead to a more sparse population over further distance. Likewise in the NT: Melbourne, Collingwood, Hawthorn and Geelong have their work cut out for them, but given the lower population it is a matter of getting the talent in the same area at the same time – as opposed to Essendon’s allocation of West Arnhem / Tiwi Islands in a smaller area.
Image credit: AFL Riverina
Non-traditional footballing states such as NSW and QLD also receive additional pathways to bridge the gap at the bottom end of their lists for depth; be it through school scholarships and their own zoning structure for the state. And of course, then there are the academies such as the GWS’ allocation of the north side of the Murray River giving access to many players from the Murray Bushrangers for free. These zone selections are often widely criticized by the public for taking away from what is already a traditional footballing heartland. 29 players have been nominated by the four northern clubs from within their academies, allowing discounts in points bidding at the draft. The AFL has defended the notion for these clubs to get access to the home-grown players first in order to prevent further “homesickness” factors shortly after drafted. There is also the bidding of father-son players depending on how they get to their clubs.
Image credit: Brisbane Lions
There are slight tweaks to each state’s recruiting, such as South Australian and Western Australian clubs only being allowed access to multicultural talent, and not indigenous talent in the metropolitan areas. There are also anomalies such as the 90 per cent of South West rule for the Eagles. SA and WA clubs also have the SANFL and WAFL zones to work out through their aligned zoned clubs.
Image credit: The Advertiser
Academy allocations for Western Australia and South Australian clubs:
West Coast
Metropolitan – East Perth, Perth, Swan Districts, Subiaco
Regional – South West (90 per cent), Midlands, Great Southern, Goldfields
* The Eagles will also have access to indigenous players in the Pilbara region
Fremantle
Metropolitan – East Fremantle, South Fremantle, Peel Thunder, West Perth, Claremont
Regional – Midwest, South West (10 per cent), Wheatbelt
* The Dockers will also have access to players from the Kimberley region
Adelaide
Metropolitan – Central District, Glenelg, North Adelaide, Sturt
Regional – North Adelaide country zone (Northern), Woodville-West Torrens country zone, APY Lands – East (Kenmore, Fregon, Mimili and Indulkana)
Port Adelaide
Metropolitan – Norwood, Woodville-West Torrens, South Adelaide, West Adelaide
Regional – Woodville-West Torrens country zone (Yorke Peninsula), Woodville-West Torrens country zone, APY Lands – West (Ernabella, Amata, Murputja and Pipalyatjara)
Under new zoning rules, players such as high-profile draftee Sam Petrevski-Seton could be recruited to Fremantle.
Finally, how many spots are available at my team?
Inevitably this will change over the next few days due to how many players each club picks in the senior drafts. Clubs must have 44 players in total (before Category B rookies), and can use between 38-40 senior-listed players, with the choice of having 4-6 Category A rookie spots filled. Although some clubs have already filled a number of the rookie spots with draftees and signings from last season and during the year, any of the nominated 33 players could fill these positions if they are overlooked within the draft. As it is an additional position, clubs do not need to fill all three Category B rookie positions on their list if they do not wish. GWS also have the option of between 40–44 senior players, and between 5-9 rookies.
Adelaide: 34 senior players + 2 Category A rookies + 2 Category B rookies.
The Crows go to the draft with picks 13, 43, 53, 66, 82, 90. They also have up to 5 rookie positions available: 4 Category A rookies + 1 Category B rookie.
Brisbane Lions: 34 senior players + 2 Category A rookies + 2 Category B rookies.
The Lions go to the draft with picks 3, 16, 21, 22, 75, 76. They also have up to 5 rookie positions available: 4 Category A rookies + 1 Category B rookie.
Carlton: 34 senior players + 1 Category A rookies + 1 Category B rookies.
The Blues go to the draft with picks 5, 25, 48, 62, 65, 69. They also have up to 7 rookie positions available: 5 Category A rookies + 2 Category B rookies.
Collingwood: 35 senior players + 1 Category A rookies + 1 Category B rookies.
The Pies go to the draft with picks 28, 44, 51, 61, 64. They also have up to 7 rookie positions available: 5 Category A rookies + 2 Category B rookies.
Essendon: 35 senior players + 1 Category A rookies.
The Bombers go to the draft with picks 1, 20, 29, 41, 67. They also have up to 8 rookie positions available: 5 Category A rookies + 3 Category B rookies.
Fremantle: 34 senior players + 2 Category A rookies.
The Dockers go to the draft with picks 7, 35, 40, 70, 77, 86. They also have up to 7 rookie positions available: 4 Category A rookies + 3 Category B rookies.
Geelong: 33 senior players + 1 Category A rookies + 1 Category B rookies.
The Cats go to the draft with picks 24, 38, 42, 63, 71, 84. They also have up to 7 rookie positions available: 5 Category A rookies + 2 Category B rookies.
Gold Coast: 34 senior players + 3 Category A rookies.
The Suns go to the draft with picks 4, 6, 8, 10, 72, 87, 93, 95, 96. They also have up to 6 rookie positions available: 3 Category A rookies + 3 Category B rookies.
GWS Giants: 32 senior players + 2 Category A rookies + 1 Category B rookies.
The Giants go to the draft with picks 2, 15, 37, 39, 45, 52, 55, 57, 58, 59, 72. The difference with the GWS list is that they must use between eight and 11 selections for their senior list. The leftover picks will allow them to have up to 6 rookie positions available: 4 Category A rookies + 2 Category B rookies.
Hawthorn: 37 senior players + 1 Category A rookies + 2 Category B rookies.
The Giants go to the draft with picks 81, 83, 91. They also have up to 6 rookie positions available: 5 Category A rookies + 1 Category B rookie.
Melbourne: 38 senior players + 1 Category A rookies + 2 Category B rookies.
The Demons go to the draft with picks 47, 68. They also have up to 6 rookie positions available: 5 Category A rookies + 1 Category B rookie.
North Melbourne: 36 senior players + 1 Category A rookies.
The Roos go to the draft with picks 11, 32, 33, 80. They also have up to 8 rookie positions available: 5 Category A rookies + 3 Category B rookies.
GWS will reveal Jake Stein as a Category B rookie in 2017.
Port Adelaide: 34 senior players + 3 Category A rookies.
The Power go to the draft with picks 14, 17, 30, 31, 79, 88. They also have up to 6 rookie positions available: 3 Category A rookies + 3 Category B rookies.
Richmond: 36 senior players + 3 Category A rookies + 1 Category B rookies.
The Tigers go to the draft with picks 27, 56, 78. Note: Richmond will only take three draft selections due to Chris Yarran being released from his contract. They also have up to 5 rookie positions available: 3 Category A rookies + 2 Category B rookies.
St Kilda: 37 senior players + 2 Category A rookies.
The Saints go to the draft with picks 23, 36, 60. They also have up to 7 rookie positions available: 4 Category A rookies + 3 Category B rookies.
Sydney Swans: 34 senior players + 3 Category A rookies.
The Swans go to the draft with picks 9, 19, 46, 49, 85, 92. They also have up to 6 rookie positions available: 3 Category A rookies + 3 Category B rookies.
West Coast Eagles: 34 senior players + 3 Category A rookies.
The Eagles go to the draft with picks 12, 34, 54, 89, 94. They also have up to 6 rookie positions available: 3 Category A rookies + 3 Category B rookies.
Western Bulldogs: 36 senior players + 2 Category A rookies.
The Dogs go to the draft with picks 18, 26, 50, 74. They also have up to 7 rookie positions available: 4 Category A rookies + 3 Category B rookies.
Still confused? Be sure to follow the NAB AFL Draft live here at Footy Prophet on Friday, November 25 while the NAB AFL Pre-Season and Rookie Drafts will be held on Monday, November 28. For an indication of how clubs may draft before draft night, read the Footy Prophet Phantom Draft here. You can also check out the Big Draft Board for complete rankings.
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