A club's most important recruits don't arrive through the national draft.
Nor do they arrive via free agency or academies or as category B rookies.
They are appointments made to key posts that allow clubs to simultaneously embark on a process of building a strong list and creating the environment for the list to prosper.
They are, what I call, club builders.
And it's these people who need to be at the forefront of the AFL's thinking as it ponders what special assistance, if any, it grants to poor-performing clubs in 2018 such as Carlton, the Gold Coast or St Kilda to ensure their lack of competitiveness doesn't continue to affect television ratings and create heartache for their long-suffering supporters.
Because priority picks, access to mature-age recruits, and restrictions on free agency will make no difference if coaching, development, conditioning and welfare are off track.
Fairfax Media understands a couple of club CEOs reminded the AFL of that reality at a recent AFL chief executives conference when the subject of special assistance was raised but potential rejigging of the player movement process to facilitate quick movement up and down the ladder continues to dominate headlines.
However, without addressing the root cause of why some clubs remain uncompetitive, the cycle of failure will repeat regardless of the leg up given to clubs.
The examples that club builders need to come before list builders are plentiful, both in recent times and historically, and all highlight the too-often ignored reality that priority picks won't help poor-performing clubs but will act as an accelerant for those getting their house in order.
The most recent example of club-building appointments are Chris Fagan and David Noble who have been more important to the Brisbane Lions than last year's No.1 selection Cam Rayner or Jarrod Berry (who was pick 17, an extra selection the Lions acquired as a priority pick) could ever be in their first few seasons.
The Tasmanian pair's arrival facilitated Luke Hodge's move north and probably led to former Crow Charlie Cameron getting to Queensland, but importantly they have made the club a place players want to be because they are confident they will be developed in the right manner and enjoy the ups and downs of a football career.
The job is not done yet but they appear on the right track, with the club managing to put the right people in the right jobs, balancing investment across areas that need them most and painting a realistic but ultimately positive picture.
By contrast, even if Gold Coast are heading down that track too, they have been unable to paint an alluring picture of the club.
Peter Jackson and Paul Roos began the renaissance at Melbourne that led to the Demons playing finals for the first time in 12 years in 2018.
The pair might not be everyone's cup of tea, but without people with their skill set and standing in the game, as many draft concessions could have been thrown at the Demons as anyone would want and they would have stayed anchored to the bottom.
They ensured the right structure was in place to allow diligent, competent people do their jobs well.
No one can tell me that one recruiter can get every pick wrong as some eras at clubs would suggest.
It's more likely that a generation of players get drafted to clubs unable, for whatever reason, to develop quality AFL players and the recruiter is the poor sap with his name attached to a failed selection.
Brian Cook, Andrew Ireland, Alastair Clarkson, Brendon Gale and Geoff Walsh are further examples of club-building types while the work of interim Collingwood CEO Peter Murphy this time last year has been instrumental in putting the Magpies on track.
In fact, Murphy's effort might be a reminder that things can turn if clubs make more good than bad decisions in quick succession.
There is also the issue of fairness when it comes to the AFL's decision, with North Melbourne the perfect example of a club making hard decisions, taking risks and staying competitive as a result.
Wouldn't they love a handout to quickly take another couple of steps forward rather than continuing to grind things out.
Carlton has plenty of youthful talent, and had injuries, but they also became pretty handy at rationalising 100-point losses during 2018, performing way below par even for a club with inexperience on every line.
The Suns had injuries too and travel problems but at times they should have been much better on the field than what they showed while the Saints overestimated their list and then appeared to panic after Good Friday, chopping and changing their approach each week.
However, all three might be in line for draft concessions.
As an industry, all this means we need to re-examine what provides clubs with the most value for money. Right now it appears struggling clubs would do better with resources in development and coaching and welfare and conditioning rather than picks.
The Suns could do with some selections too as their situation in a northern, non-traditional market with unique challenges requires strongly backed solutions.
But in a fair system that wasn't dependent on ratings and didn't have to take into account long-suffering supporters, the Kangaroos and the Lions would be rewarded for their competitiveness with priority picks to help them catch the breakaway group while the Blues and St Kilda would be getting off-field assistance to be in a position to realise maximum value out of each pick.
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