An objective evaluation of Australian Football League recruitment

The Australian Football League (AFL) has utilised a reverse-order player draft since 1986 as a labour market intervention to promote equalisation within the competition. The draft pick number used by teams to select a player provides a benchmark of expected value. The aims of this industry-supported research can be split into four interrelated areas. The first is to use the draft as a mechanism for testing the market efficiency of athlete labour recruitment by AFL teams. Second, inefficiencies in the Australian football recruitment market have been identified with policy recommendations and informational tools provided to help manage these inefficiencies. Third, a model has been developed that can assign players to positions in all competitions in which advanced statistics are recorded. Finally, an objective player performance assessment tool is detailed that can be used to evaluate potential AFL recruits. These aims were achieved by conducting an objective analysis of the extensive secondary data available within the AFL industry. The effects of a player's relative age, draft pick number and cultural background have been used to test the efficiency of the recruitment pathways in Australian football. This research has found evidence of escalation effects post-recruitment linked to the draft pick number used to recruit a player, statistical discrimination in the recruitment pathways and novel findings on the relative age of players. The results have managerial implications for AFL clubs and various other stakeholders, including agencies that collate statistical resources. More generally, this analysis has examined labour market efficiency within the context of a player draft in a professional sport environment, contributing to the theory in this area.