Footy socialism is spluttering, and has been for a while.
Bad clubs trapped in quicksand and the good (smarter) clubs are refusing to bottom out amid an era of free agency and academy picks.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
The AFL should be a natural roller coaster of ups and downs.
We celebrated the ups, downs and rebuilds. Everyone, eventually, had a fair shot at it.
Right now, it is near impossible to conjure an old-fashioned rebuild.
The drafting/player movement system is a runaway train and the AFL, however hard it tries, can do nothing about it.
One high pick here and there just doesn't cut it any more in the muddied waters of free agencies and academies.
In basketball, you can rebuild with a single Pick 1. A lone superstar can propel a whole club to success.
Footy, of course, has 18 on the park. The numbers are obvious. It is so much harder to transform.
How does Essendon emerge from the quagmire any time soon? When can Port Adelaide challenge again? Will nature's way finally take effect at North Melbourne, with green shoots emerging?
There is no easy fix. Just a slow, painful burn.
Which takes me to the AFL's latest draft dabble.
The league has floated an idea with clubs to lessen the pain: Clubs would be given an extra draft pick at the end of the first round if their top five selection is pushed back by an early bid.
If you get pushed back at least one spot, you get an extra pick at the end of the first round - inevitably a selection in the low 20s.
So instead of pick 2 you might get 3 and 21.
Nice try, and it helps. The new Greg Swann era at the AFL is one of ideas and common sense fixes.
But more tinkering to a draft that already has become more complex and compromised - and pick 21 will rarely be a game-changer.
It also opens the door to tank chat.
If there are likely to be two bids in the top five of the draft this year, will clubs jockey to finish bottom five to ensure they got a shot at a bonus pick in the early 20s.
Why finish sixth last when there's a carrot there for slipping to the bottom five at the end of the season?
The wildcard scenario, which is effectively a final 10, should lessen tank talk given more clubs will be in the mix for ultimate success, but bottom five it could be an issue in the final rounds.
Creating hope and providing ways for clubs to slingshot back into contention is a tough business. For each positive action, there is a consequence.
Maybe it's too late. It's difficult to stop a runaway train.
