THE AFL needs to address the issue of young players nominating clubs they want to be traded to, Brisbane Lions vice-captain Tom Rockliff says.
The Lions were decimated during October's trade period when Sam Docherty (Carlton) and Jared Polec (Port Adelaide) nominated clubs, and Patrick Karnezis, Billy Longer and Elliot Yeo all nominated states they wanted to be traded to.
The demands left the Lions with little bargaining power as they lost all five players – each with three years' experience or less – for a combination of draft picks and players.
At the time Rockliff took to Twitter to express his frustration.
"How can kids name there [sic] club they want to go to when they have played a handful of games? #spellme #aheadofyourself," he tweeted, before later deleting it.
Speaking after a training session in Brisbane on Tuesday morning, Rockliff stood by his concerns, saying the issue had to be dealt with.
"I wasn't disappointed when I was outspoken about that, it was more the nominating of the clubs," he said.
"I think that's a bit concerning these days, especially when second- and third-year players do that.
"That's a League thing, not an attack on any of the boys that left."
Rockliff went on to say he and the leadership group had taken a look at how they could better incorporate young players into the club.
The Lions have introduced 13 new faces since the end of last season, and Rockliff said the emphasis had been on making them feel welcome.
"You take a look at yourself when things like that happen," he said of the off-season exodus.
"They all left for different reasons, it wasn't one reason why everyone left. We've got to make sure we put things in place to make sure the boys want to stay around the footy club.
"We talked about that in Arizona, that when the draftees came [in] they felt a part of the footy club straight away and I think they have.
"I think moving forward the club and list is in a good spot, but it's not going to happen overnight. We're not going to go from where we were last year (12th) and automatically be a top-four team.
"It might take two to three years, but it's about taking steps forward."
Rockliff is now back to "80 to 90 per cent" training after missing a month with a back problem.
He said he would need to work extra hard over the Christmas break to catch up to his fitter teammates.
Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting https://twitter.com/AFL_mikewhiting
