The draft and salary cap are socialised measures designed to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,invented to lift lowly teams up and undercutting,if not levelling,empires such as Geelong’s.
Yet,it is the premiers who have the room to take Gold Coast’ssalary dump and acquire Bowes,who,whether he chooses Geelong,Hawthorn or Essendon,is less enticing to those clubs than the high draft pick that is attached to him,in a buy-one-get-one-free deal. That said,Bowes may prove an excellent bargain like Will Brodie at Fremantle.
Fans of other clubs will be watching Gold Coast’s Bowes sale and wondering how the heck the Suns have ended up offloading a former top 10 draft choice - an academy player from Queensland,who clubs rated highly -and giving up a draft pick that is of considerable value.
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To gain Bowes and pick seven,the vendor must also pick up his contract,which amounts to more than $1.5 million over the next two years. He comes with a major string attached,since many clubs can’t afford to take on a player who hasn’t been in the Gold Coast’s starting midfield on that kind of money (even if you re-negotiate it down).
It is remarkable that Geelong,despite an unmatched run of success since Joel Selwood’s arrival in 2006,can take on the excessive Bowes contract (which resulted from the Suns pushing money back,Bowes was not paid at that level annually). It is less surprising that Hawthorn and Essendon can accommodate Bowes,given their recent ladder positions.
What should concern the AFL and what the Bowes deal lays bare is that expansion teams are nowhere near parity if they have to compete with the same set of rules as Geelong,Essendon,Hawthorn,Richmond,Collingwood,West Coast and so forth.