Collingwood president Jeff Browne believes priority picks should be used only in exceptional circumstances.
The Age revealed last week that one option the Kangaroos were considering was torequest pre-draft access to outstanding Tasmanian midfielder Ryley Sanders,who recruiters rate a top-10 talent for this year’s draft.
The AFL has moved towards offering clubs special assistance,at the commission’s discretion,rather than simply awarding priority picks.
Browne did not offer his opinion on North Melbourne’s case,but his holistic view is the league should consider only exceptional cases for this type of help.
“I think priority picks should be used sparingly and only be awarded in genuine cases where a club,notwithstanding their own best efforts,have failed to achieve an acceptable level of success on the field,” Browne said.
Dejected North Melbourne players after their big loss to Hawthorn.Credit:Getty Images
“We’ve got to come as close to an uncompromised draft as we can,in order for that to work at its fairest and best. There will be some exceptions from time to time,but they should be exceptions – not the rule.
“North Melbourne are working very hard as a football club,and they haven’t had success on the field,but they have with all the other metrics by which you would measure successful endeavour.”