Kane Cornes has called for the mid-season draft to be scrapped as he believes clubs now see it as similar to the National Draft.
Teenage tall Jacob Edwards, who was selected by North Melbourne with the No.1 pick, was one of four young ruckmen that were chosen inside the top seven picks.
Edwards, 18, caught the attention of the Kangaroos with standout performances for the Sandringham Dragons in the NAB League resulting in the 202cm prospect earning a six-month rookie contract.
Overall, 22 selections were made in Wednesday night’s draft. The Western Bulldogs, Fremantle and Geelong did not participate.
“The mid-season draft just has to go. It’s been exposed for what it’s not supposed to do,” Cornes told SEN’s The Captain’s Run.
“It was there to give teams an opportunity to fill a hole in their list, it wasn’t designed to top up for the future and act almost as like a National Draft.
“I think 85 per cent of the teams or thereabouts have picked for the future, not for the now.
“I’m not sure that’s what it was designed to do.”
Another case in point is that Collingwood selected Aiden Begg from the Eastern Ranges despite the fact he is unavailable to play in 2021 due to a shoulder reconstruction.
Cornes has also voiced his concerns about AFL’s pre-season supplemental selection period and the impact it is having on state-level leagues like the VFL, SANFL and WAFL.