Australian Football League draft


The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.

History

When the competition was known as the Victorian Football League, the league introduced the first incarnation of a draft system in 1981, where teams had two selections each of interstate players determined by reverse finishing position order.
The draft was introduced as an equalisation strategy in response to the increasing transfer fees and player salaries at the time, which in combination with declining attendances threatened to derail the league. It was also a result of the failure of country zoning, introduced in 1967, which had led to a systematic inequality whereby the clubs with the best zones, like Carlton and Hawthorn, could dominate over clubs with poorer zones like Melbourne.
In 1986, the first of the modern VFL Drafts was held. The draft was run in conjunction with the existing zone system. Players from West Australian Football League and the new West Coast Eagles were excluded from the 1986 draft, with the Eagles able to recruit up to 35 West Australian players with no more than 6 players from any single WAFL club. The other new club for the 1987 VFL season, the Brisbane Bears, received 6 concessionary picks before the other clubs and exclusive access to all Queensland based players.
Since then, the rules associated with priority picks, zone allocations, the father–son rule, mid-year, pre-season and rookie drafts, expansion clubs concessions and trading of players and picks have been frequently changed, but the basic premise of draft being an equalisation measure to assist poorer performing teams has remained.

Draft

In the AFL draft, clubs receive picks based on the position in which they finish on the ladder during the season. The draft is held each year at the end of November, to allow the draftees to finish their school examinations before being drafted.

Eligibility

From the 2009 draft, players must be at least 18 years of age on 31 December in the year in which they are drafted, so that players who turn 18 during their first months of Year 12 will be able to finish studying without the pressure of AFL. This was increased over the past few years due to concerns about school age players potentially having to leave home to play football interstate.
A selection of approximately 50 players are chosen to attend the annual AFL Draft Combine at the conclusion of the AFL season, prior to the National Draft. Further smaller scale state screenings are held around the country in the weeks after the national combine.

Priority draft pick rule

The priority draft picks were first introduced in the 1993 AFL draft as a special assistance rule to aid teams that consistently perform poorly to obtain additional early draft selections.
Under the rules in place since the 2012 season, priority draft picks are given out to struggling teams at the discretion of the AFL Commission. This replaced a system in which a priority draft pick was automatically given to team whose win–loss record fell below a pre-defined value; this had become controversial, and there were accusations by commentators that teams out of finals contention would tank at the end of the season to gain access to the additional draft picks, although the AFL itself never brought such accusations against any club.

Zone Allocation rule

Northern Club Academies: GWS, Sydney, Gold Coast and Brisbane all have club-based academies that help develop talented athletes, sometimes from before they’re teenagers, into AFL prospects in markets where the code isn’t seen as the No. 1 sport. The four clubs have priority access to those players via a bidding system.
Next Generation Academies: Clubs outside of New South Wales and Queensland have established academies with players from multicultural and Indigenous backgrounds, meaning they have priority access to the players they’ve developed via a bidding system. Note: Clubs that have existing links to NGA players are now unable to match bids inside the top 40 selections on the prospects they’ve developed due to a recent AFL rule change.

Father–son rule

To continue the traditions of association that a family has with a particular club, sons of former players are able to be selected by the same club as their father played with under the father–son rule.
For clubs with an established history in the VFL/AFL, the father must have played at least 100 games for the club to be eligible for the father/son rule; clubs with no long term history in the league had different eligibility criteria based on their state leagues.
Under current rules, players eligible under the father–son rule are selected in a bidding system prior to the draft. Firstly, any club in the league may nominate a draft pick with which it intends to take the eligible son; then, if the father's club wishes to draft the son, it must use its next available draft pick, after the highest bidder.
Earlier versions of the father–son rule allowed the sons to be recruited automatically, without need for the draft, or allowed the club to recruit the son using a third round draft pick. The father–son rule itself was introduced in 1949, more than three decades prior to the draft, and it could be used to contravene zoning rules.

AFL Women's: Father–daughter rule and future rules for AFL Women's players

On 15 September 2016, an AFL women's competition, the AFLW, was founded to commence in 2017.
In its Draft, there is an equivalent father–daughter rule, where a daughter can be drafted if their father played one game at the club. The first use of this rule was in the 2017 Draft, when Carlton selected Abbie McKay, the daughter of Andrew McKay.
Criteria are also in place for mother–son and mother–daughter rules, from such time that the children of AFLW players reach draft eligible age.

Expansion clubs

Each time that the competition has an expansion team, the AFL has given special priority to the new club, with the new club receiving numerous high draft picks.

Host

For most of its existence, the National Draft has been held at a large function or convention centre with many of the predicted top draft selections in attendance.
Since 1993, the National draft has been televised live, pick-by-pick, while the mid-year, pre-season and rookie drafts have never been televised.
DraftDate heldHost cityVenue
19818 10 1981Melbourne, VictoriaVFL House
198219.10.1982Melbourne, VictoriaVFL House
198626.11.1986Melbourne, VictoriaVFL House
198711.11.1987Melbourne, VictoriaVFL House
19889 11 1988Melbourne, VictoriaVFL House
19899 11 1989Melbourne, VictoriaVFL House
19907 11 1990Melbourne, VictoriaAFL House
19916 11 1991Melbourne, VictoriaAFL House
199211.11.1992
199329.10.1993Melbourne, VictoriaRadisson President Hotel
199428.10.1994Melbourne, VictoriaRadisson President Hotel
19958 12 1995
199625.10.1996
199731.10.1997Adelaide, South AustraliaFootball Park
19981 11 1998Melbourne, VictoriaMelbourne Park Function Centre
199931.10.1999Melbourne, VictoriaMelbourne Park Function Centre
200029.10.2000
200125.11.2001Melbourne, VictoriaMelbourne Park Function Centre
200223.11.2002Melbourne, VictoriaMelbourne Park Function Centre
200322.11.2003Melbourne, VictoriaMelbourne Park Function Centre
200420.11.2004Melbourne, VictoriaMelbourne Park Function Centre
200526.11.2005Melbourne, VictoriaDocklands Stadium
200625.11.2006Melbourne, VictoriaDocklands Stadium
200724.11.2007Melbourne, VictoriaDocklands Stadium
200829.11.2008Melbourne, VictoriaDocklands Stadium
200926.11.2009Melbourne, VictoriaMelbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
201018.11.2010Gold Coast, QueenslandGold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
201124.11.2011Sydney, New South WalesSydney Olympic Park Sports Centre
201222.11.2012Gold Coast, QueenslandGold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
201321.11.2013Gold Coast, QueenslandGold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
201427.11.2014Gold Coast, QueenslandGold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre
201522.11.2015Adelaide, South AustraliaAdelaide Convention Centre
201625.11.2016Sydney, New South WalesHordern Pavilion
201724.11.2017Sydney, New South WalesHordern Pavilion
201822.11.2018Melbourne, VictoriaMarvel Stadium
201927.11.2019Melbourne, VictoriaMarvel Stadium
202124.11.2021Melbourne, VictoriaMarvel Stadium
202228.11.2022Melbourne, VictoriaMarvel Stadium
202320.11.2023Melbourne, VictoriaMarvel Stadium
202420.11.2024Melbourne, VictoriaMarvel Stadium