Club recruiters are steeling themselves for a busy weekend with a 72-hour period covering the National, Pre-season and Rookie Drafts.

The 2016 National Draft will take place at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney on Friday night, with the Pre-season and Rookie Drafts to follow next Monday afternoon via teleconference.

It will be the first time Sydney has hosted the event since 2011 - the year before Greater Western Sydney’s entry into the AFL.

It’s also the second year running that all three drafts have been condensed into effectively a three-day window in what is sure to be a whirlwind weekend for recruiting staff and prospective draftees.

Last year’s National Draft was held on a Tuesday night at the Adelaide Convention Centre with the Rookie Draft held just three days later on the Friday afternoon. The Pre-season Draft was cancelled with all clubs advising the AFL they would not use any picks.

See the current National Draft order

The relevance of the Pre-season Draft has waned in recent years following the introduction of Free Agency at the end of the 2012 season. Only two players, Jason Tutt (Carlton) and Jed Lamb (Greater Western Sydney), have been selected via the Pre-season Draft in the last three years.

Adelaide currently holds six ‘live’ picks heading into the National Draft (Nos.13, 43, 53, 66, 82 and 90).

AFL NATIONAL DRAFT
Friday, November 25
6:00pm (ACDT time)
Hordern Pavilion, Sydney

AFL PRE-SEASON DRAFT
Monday, November 28
3:30pm (ACDT time)
Via teleconference

AFL ROOKIE DRAFT
Monday, November 28
3.40pm (ACDT time)
Via teleconference