THE AFL may be preaching a message of equalisation, but they’re not listening to their own teachings.

That was the case made by the team on Fox Footy’s On the Couch as they pitched their idea to fix the national draft to balance out the league.

Just five clubs have won a premiership in the last 11 seasons with Geelong and Hawthorn claiming seven of those, making a mockery of the idea that each club should theoretically be winning a flag every 18 years in a truly even competition.

By the end of the 2016 season, six clubs will have missed the finals for three years or more in a row. That fact forms the basis for the plan pitched by Gerard Healy and David King to truly equalise the league.

Round 18

Healy believes the draft is a misguided way to even up team talent because from its inception, it didn’t achieve its goal.

“It was based on a basketball model where one player is 20 per cent of a team and they’re recruited at the age of 21,” he argued.

King agreed, saying the draft needs to be reworked.

“Teams get stuck in the bottom portion of the table or in that no man’s land,” King said.

The Brisbane Lions will miss the finals in 2016 having not made the top eight since 2009. Source: News Corp Australia

“The draft is meant to be cyclical, it’s meant to send bad teams up the table and pull the good teams back.”

The plan involves adding an ‘equalisation round’ to the national draft, occurring in-between the first and second rounds as to not compromise the first round.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE HOW THE 2016 DRAFT WOULD LOOK WITH AN EQUALISATION ROUND

Teams that do not qualify for the finals for three years or longer would be given a pick in this round with the idea being that a sole top-end pick in the draft doesn’t have enough impact on a club, but multiple picks inside the top 30 would.

Working off the expected 2016 national draft order based on current ladder position and traded future picks, under this plan the first round would go as expected.

But after top-ranked Hawthorn selected at pick 18, Melbourne would gain pick 19 because it has spent the longest period outside of the top eight.

Brisbane, Gold Coast, Carlton, St Kilda and Collingwood would then all gain equalisation round selections as well, before the second round began as per usual with bottom side Essendon selecting a player with pick 25.

This plan would also not punish teams which surprisingly rose up the table but not into the finals places, such as Carlton in 2016, as they’d still be awarded an extra pick despite finishing 13th or so rather than in the bottom four.

This would encourage clubs to keep their star players rather than being told to trade them out for picks, as some have argued Richmond should do with stars such as Brett Deledio.

The top three picks in the 2015 national draft - Josh Schache, Jacob Weitering and Callum Mills. The On the Couch team argues that a singular top-end talent doesn’t have a big enough impact on an AFL club. Source: News Corp Australia

THEORETICAL 2016 NATIONAL DRAFT ORDER

Based on current ladder position and traded future picks but including equalisation round

ROUND 1

1. Essendon

2. Brisbane Lions

3. Fremantle

4. Carlton

5. Gold Coast Suns

6. Richmond

7. GWS Giants

8. Gold Coast Suns

9. Port Adelaide

10. St Kilda

11. North Melbourne

12. Western Bulldogs

13. West Coast Eagles

14. GWS Giants

15. GWS Giants

16. Adelaide Crows

17. Sydney Swans

18. Hawthorn

EQUALISATION ROUND

19. Melbourne

20. Brisbane Lions

21. Gold Coast Suns

22. Carlton

23. St Kilda

24. Collingwood

ROUND 2

25. Essendon

26. Brisbane Lions

27. Gold Coast Suns

28. Carlton

29. Gold Coast Suns

30. Gold Coast Suns

31. Collingwood

32. Melbourne

33. Gold Coast Suns

34. Brisbane Lions

35. North Melbourne

36. Western Bulldogs

37. West Coast Eagles

38. Geelong Cats

39. GWS Giants

40. GWS Giants

41. Sydney Swans

42. Hawthorn

LIKELY 2016 NATIONAL DRAFT ORDER

Based on current ladder position and traded future picks

ROUND 1

1. Essendon

2. Brisbane Lions

3. Fremantle

4. Carlton

5. Gold Coast Suns

6. Richmond

7. GWS Giants

8. Gold Coast Suns

9. Port Adelaide

10. St Kilda

11. North Melbourne

12. Western Bulldogs

13. West Coast Eagles

14. GWS Giants

15. GWS Giants

16. Adelaide Crows

17. Sydney Swans

18. Hawthorn

ROUND 2

19. Essendon

20. Brisbane Lions

21. Gold Coast Suns

22. Carlton

23. Gold Coast Suns

24. Gold Coast Suns

25. Collingwood

26. Melbourne

27. Gold Coast Suns

28. Brisbane Lions

29. North Melbourne

30. Western Bulldogs

31. West Coast Eagles

32. Geelong Cats

33. GWS Giants

34. GWS Giants

35. Sydney Swans

36. Hawthorn