While I'm still not a fan of free agency as it has the propensity to allow good players at shit clubs to join the best teams (which is not why the rule was introduced), I will admit that the AFL trade period adds significant drama and interest to the competition after the grand final.
Clearly it's not at the same level as the NBA trade period, but it's far more interesting than what is happening in the NRL, which doesn't seem to get any traction post-grand final, other than a representative game between Australia and New Zealand.
I've had LOADS of text message conversations with other Swans fans about the quality (or rather lack thereof) of the Swans moves during the trade period. We cut some deadwood out, which is good, but we missed out on a couple of players (Vandenberg from Melbourne and Logan from Collingwood) that would have shifted the needle for us next season.
Otherwise, unless something miraculous happens in the coming week with trade period/draft, then I don't see us finishing any higher than 6th, but probably no lower than 10th either. Obviously, you can't be at the top of the competition every season, but it feels like we're wasting the prime career of one of the best forwards in the history of the game.
But the point remains that the draft and trade period seems to be relatively unique to AFL in Australia in terms of interest and discussion. I don't think the NRL, cricket, A-League, or Union codes reach anything like the levels of interest with their same period, if they even have one at all. Which I think many people fail to recognize as a win for the game in terms of keeping interest and eyeballs on the game year-round.
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