AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has categorically refused to reconsider the league's stand on the draft, rejecting mounting calls for a new system to try to remove the temptation for teams to "tank" games for priority picks.

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire and Essendon coach Matthew Knights are among numerous industry heavyweights calling for the scrapping of priority draft picks automatically being directed to sides that perform poorly over consecutive seasons.

Richmond star Matthew Richardson on Friday joined the chorus calling for an end to the scheme, while Western Bulldogs veteran Jason Akermanis suggested a lottery draft system would be better.

They claim a change will halt any consideration coaches might have to employ strategies and changes during games which might reduce their chances of winning.

But Demetriou says the league will not be swayed from the current system.

"In the case of Collingwood, they have been the recipient of a priority pick and I can assure you there are clubs that have actually needed a priority pick," Demetriou told Fairfax radio.

"And we still haven't had any clubs which have won premierships that have had a priority pick.

"And I still subscribe to the theory that a priority pick doesn't guarantee you success."

Despite Demetriou's claim to the contrary, two of the last three premierships have been won by clubs using players gained through priority selections.

West Coast won the 2006 flag with the help of Chris Judd, a priority pick in the 2001 draft.

And Hawthorn's premiership side last season included Jarryd Roughead, a priority pick in the 2004 draft and Xavier Ellis, a priority selection in 2005.

The Hawks' Norm Smith medallist Luke Hodge was also a priority pick in 2001, although that selection was traded from Fremantle.

This year's pacesetters, unbeaten St Kilda, have also benefitted from priority picks, which netted them captain Nick Riewoldt and midfielder Luke Ball.

But Demetriou said scrapping priority picks would not necessarily eradicate suspicions of tanking.

"You'd be saying `Oh gosh, there are teams who actually want to get pick No.1 and there are stories going around that they really want to finish last to get pick No.1'," he said.

"This is a system that's been in place for a number of years - every team has played in the preliminary final since 1999 and our last six premiers have been different teams.

"That's about as even as it gets for our competition and you couldn't actually ask or script it any better than that."

Demetriou said it was "mischievous" to suggest clubs deliberately coached to lose.

He equated it to accusing those involved of "cheating or lying or that they're not people of integrity".

"I mean, we've had every coach this week come out and say that they wouldn't do it and that the talk of tanking is a terrible blight on the game," he said.

"I don't believe in the theory of tanking, I never have.

"These teams who are theoretically tanking are actually playing each other over the next few weeks so unless they're not going to show up and play each other I doubt whether we'll be changing our rule."

Richardson said the only way to end talk of tanking was to dump the priority pick system.

"They want an even competition, they want the draft picks to even up every team so that there's a cycle, so we all can make the finals," Richardson told radio station Vega.

"But the only way to get rid of this talk every year is to get rid of that priority draft pick."

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