The constant discussion around the inequities of the National Draft and its accompanying Academy and father-son machinations will continue, even as the AFL has flagged potential change for 2026 and beyond.
Never before has the conversation provoked such disharmony in clubland.
However, a by-product of the "compromised" nature of the draft is the startling attention the trade and free agency period receives, and the workings of "mediocre" clubs to desperately improve their list.
Essendon coach Brad Scott revealed why struggling sides offer monster deals and never-before-seen money to lure players to their headquarters.
"If you look at the draft this year, 50 per cent of it's compromised," Scott said.
"I've worked at the AFL. I know how difficult it is to get everything right, and that's why when you make decisions, it's very hard to see the second, third, and fourth-order effects of those decisions.
"I think what's clearly happened is you're looking at a situation where the reigning premier has access to top-end Academy players in the draft.
"The Northern states have got a mortgage on the top five or six in the draft this year, and so, it leaves other clubs with very little choice, other than to get ultra-aggressive in the trade and free agency market," said Scott.
"I'm sure there'll be discussion about the other inflationary nature of these big contracts, but what choice do clubs got?
"They either sit back and be mediocre, or be aggressive, and that's the flow-on effect of the situation we're in at the moment, where access to top talent is incredibly hard to get."
St Kilda's bid to lure Carlton free agent Tom De Koning is all but confirmed, but comes with the hefty price tag of eight years, at around $1.8 million a season.
Port Adelaide offered around $30 million to Saints star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera over 12 years, but were unsuccessful in their pitch. He re-signed for two seasons, worth $4 million.
West Coast's Harley Reid has been spoken about as the next $2 million player, while, ironically, father-son guns Nick Daicos and Sam Darcy are widely seen to be worth that $2 million-a-year figure, too.
This is the new age of AFL player movement, and it's something we must accept.
