tanking...how carlton got judd

Good article from the Herald-Sun..

The piority pick system should be stopped imo.

Tanks a lot, Chris
03 October 2007 Herald Sun
Mark Stevens

SO MUCH for the Kreuzer Cup, Mark Stevens writes.

We didn't know it at the time, but Carlton was playing for the Judd Jug.

The Blues will get the deal done to land their man. And it is that controversial priority pick, the trophy secured with the Round 22 loss to Melbourne, that makes Chris Judd to Carlton a certainty.

With picks No. 1 and No. 3 in the bag, Carlton has the goodies to satisfy West Coast. Collingwood, with only pick No. 14, never stood a chance of manufacturing a smooth deal.

No one is accusing Carlton of throwing matches, but quite clearly the Blues picked teams that didn't give them the best chance of winning.

It is worth remembering Carlton lost its last 11 games. Yes, 11.

But not one Carlton fan around the country was grizzling about that yesterday.

It will be looked back on as a mystical 11 weeks. The most rewarding streak since that awesome winning run in '95 that finished in a premiership.

Those 11 losses ensured the club would win no more than five games and lasso the No. 1 pick.

As re-invigorated as they looked under new coach Brett Ratten in the last six weeks, the Blues didn't manage a win then, either.

It was perfect. Fight hard, give the supporters something, but ultimately lose.

The last time the Blues won a game was on June 9 -- and it just happened to be against Grand Finalist Port Adelaide.

From then on, they weren't good enough to jag a single win. As the losses rolled on, it became more and more obvious the Blues were looking to draft picks.

Fans aren't silly.

The closer the Blues got completing the mission, the more excited they became.

There was a feeling that it was time to lay down and cop the pain. Take the rewards and get back at the AFL for those tough draft penalties for breaching salary cap rules.

It is a case of mission accomplished -- and the issue of "tanking" is not going to go away.

Judd ultimately ending up at Carlton will only bring it into sharper focus.

Richmond looms as an improving team next year, but for a moment imagine if the Tigers are stuck on four wins, a month out from the end of next season.

Knowing what the Blues have been able to achieve by being stranded on less than 20 points two years in a row, Tigers fans will be as spirited as ever -- only this time they will be barracking against their own team.