Football fans have been left thoroughly unimpressed by the length of the AFL's first ever virtual draft, after the entire spectacle took over four hours to finish. 9News 9WWOS
Football fans have been left thoroughly unimpressed by the length of the AFL's first ever virtual draft, after the entire spectacle took over four hours to finish. The drama began early after fans fumed at the delay between the beginning of the draft broadcast and the first selection by the Adelaide Crows.
While proceedings at the AFL's Melbourne headquarters got underway at 7pm, it wasn't until almost 7:30 that Adelaide's four-minute window to shoot for pick one opened. When the Western Bulldogs matched the Crows' bid on key forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan through the academy bidding system, it was a significant moment for the young gun, his family and his new club. But footy journalists and fans weren't only taking to Twitter to praise Ugle-Hagan, but blast the AFL. However, the delay between the start of the broadcast and the first selection was not the only time fans were left waiting. The entire first round, which consisted of 26 picks in the end due to a number of academy bids, took over two hours. Essendon great Dustin Fletcher was among those who lost interest due to the lengthy nature of the broadcast, while the irony of the AFL wanting to constantly shorten games due to fans' attention spans, despite it marathon draft broadcast was also raised.