The AFL will consider changes to free agency in the interests of ensuring that the system does not skew the competitive balance of the competition in favour of teams in premiership contention, chief executive Andrew Dillon has confirmed.
Speaking to this masthead during grand final week, Dillon said the free agency system, now in place for around 12 to 14 years, had started to produce results that were not anticipated when it was first introduced.
"I think what we're seeing in the last couple of years is what everyone thought would happen at the start, and it didn't necessarily," Dillon said. "But it's something that we'll talk with the players association about because competitive balance is really important. That you know, we do a lot of work around the draft, we do a lot of work around the salary cap, a lot of work around the soft cap."
Asked directly if the AFL would consider changes to free agency, Dillon said: "Yeah, with the agreement [with the players], just to make sure that the competitive balance isn't distorted."
The potential reform comes as the Brisbane Lions, once stragglers, won their third flag in a row in their fourth consecutive grand final. They attracted both Sam Draper and Oscar Allen from lowly Essendon and West Coast respectively as free agents, although the Eagles received a generous pick No. 2 for their former skipper.
The AFL had wanted to change the compensation system at the end of last year to remove compensation picks inside the top 10, and thus not compromise the draft for teams who were not finalists. However, the AFL Players Association resisted that change, and the status quo remained. As a result, Port Adelaide can receive pick No. 5 in return for exciting superstar free agent Zak Butters, and Gold Coast can gain pick No. 7 for key forward Ben King, who is crossing to Hawthorn. These deals give the clubs losing the star arguably superior compensation compared to what they could gain in a trade if they choose to match the free agent offers.
The AFL is closely watching the side deals that those clubs are making.