THE AFL Central Victoria commission delivered the message it needed to on Friday afternoon – clubs that exceed their player points allocation will be penalised.
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In what’s the third year of the AFL Victoria player points system, Birchip-Watchem has become the first club in the AFLCV region to be sanctioned for a breach.
According to the media release sent out by AFLCV on Friday, the Bulls essentially self-reported to region manager Carol Cathcart in that they had only recently discovered recruit Stefan Pye had been on the wrong points allocation.
Clubs are required to submit to AFLCV their player points allocations at the start of the season and Pye had been listed by the Bulls as a three-pointer.
However, given he won the best and fairest at Maryborough-Castlemaine District league club Royal Park last season, Pye is instead a four-point “premium community player” and therefore the Bulls, who have an allocation of 43 points, retrospectively played their first three games with a 44-point team following the recent adjustment.
And therein lies one of the issues with the player points system that is largely reliant on using data from the SportsTG system to track a player’s footballing history.
AFL games, which also has a points impact, excluded, while SportsTG can show where a player has played in recent seasons, how many goals they have kicked and how often they have been in the best players, it doesn’t list best and fairest placings.
Best and fairest placings have become integral to the player points system as they now have a bearing on a player’s value.
Recruiting a player who has finished top five in their former club’s best and fairest the previous year now elevates that player to “premium community” status and attracts the four point rating.
That information now needs to be more readily accessible through SportsTG or all clubs should supply their leagues with top five best and fairest information in an attempt to help alleviate future situations such as the Pye scenario that has cost the Bulls 12 premiership points.
Luke West – sports reporter