Clubs have met with the League again to give more feedback on potential draft and trade changes
The AFL’s general manager of football Laura Kane is seen during the AFL Draft on November 21, 2023. Picture: AFL Photos
THE AFL will consider a revamp of the bidding system that could see all of the father-son, northern Academy and Next Generation Academy players fall into the same draft process.
Clubs met with the League on Tuesday to give more feedback on the possible changes to the draft value index as well as other potential rules such as pick purchasing, trading picks two years in advance, mid-season trading of picks and whether the changes will be implemented this year.
It comes after months of discussions through the League’s competitive balance review.
No definitive decision was relayed to clubs about whether changes would come in for this year’s Telstra AFL Draft and the trade period or be delayed until 2025, with situations workshopped rather than timelines delivered.
An update on the draft value index points system was part of the meeting and clubs expect a steeper curve of points attached to selections and a more condensed value per pick, given the current system attaches points to all picks through to No.73.
An all-encompassing bidding system that applies the same rules to father-sons, northern Academies and Next Generation Academies has been considered over time, with the current format having different rules for each category of draftees.
Father-sons can receive bids and be matched at any stage of the draft without limits, while there are restrictions on the number of northern Academy players their clubs can take depending on where the holding clubs finish on the ladder.
Next Generation Academy players are currently available for clubs to match after pick 40, however, all clubs expect this access to change – they are just unsure to what degree (full access or top 20) and when it would be implemented.
The 20 per cent points discount applied for clubs is also being reviewed, with different views on whether it should stay at that level or stay at all.
The AFL’s general manager of football Laura Kane said this month final decisions on potential changes would likely come in August, with any calls ultimately needing to be ticked off by the AFL Commission.