THE AFL will introduce a mid-season rookie draft in 2019, giving clubs another chance to fill holes in their lists brought about by injury or retirement.
Clubs will also be able to sign players via the rookie between December 1 and March 15 to replace retired or seriously injured players.
AFL General Counsel Andrew Dillon said the AFL Commission has confirmed the following recommendations:
Pre-Season List Changes (December 1, 2018 – March 15, 2019)
- Clubs that have a rookie list spot available can now utilise it by signing a player during this period
- To be eligible, players must have previously nominated for the NAB AFLNational Draft or previously been on the list of an AFL Club.
- If a Club suffers an injury or retirement, a list spot can be created by placing a player on an inactive list who can now be replaced by a rookie player.
- Clubs must have the available Salary Cap for that Player as per the current AFL Rules.
Mid-Season Rookie Draft (date to be confirmed)
- Should AFL Clubs have a list spot available or one is created through a player being placed on the inactive list, they will be able to add a player to their rookie list and select players based on reverse ladder order at a mid-season date to be specified.
- To be eligible, players must re-nominate for the mid-season rookie draft.
- Clubs have first rights to re-contract their drafted player or he becomes a delisted free agent.
The AFL will now work with Clubs, State Leagues and the AFLPA to finalise the list rules that support these changes.
