AFL Draft
The AFL Draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players 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 (VFL), 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. [1] This 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 the late 1960s, 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 VFL Draft was held. The draft saw players tied to zones based on
their location of residence, with each club having first call on players falling within that zone. The
Current draft system
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 in November, with a pre-season draft in December.
Eligibility
Currently to be eligible for the draft, a player must be at least 17 years of age on or before April 30 in the year in which they are drafted. This has been slowly increased over the past few years due to concerns about school age players potentially having to leave home to play football in another state.[citation needed]
Priority draft pick rule
See main article Priority draft pick.
Father-son rule
See main article Father-son rule.
Number 1 draft picks
The number 1 draft pick is awarded to the bottom-placed team, though in some cases it is traded.
Number 1 draft picks:
- 1986 - Martin Leslie (Brisbane Bears)
- 1987 - Richard Lounder (Richmond)
- 1988 - Alex McDonald (Hawthorn)
- 1989 - Anthony Banik (Richmond)
- 1990 - Stephen Hooper (Geelong)
- 1991 - John Hutton (Brisbane)
- 1992 - Drew Banfield (West Coast)
- 1993 - Darren Gaspar (Sydney)
- 1994 - Jeff White (Fremantle)
- 1995 - Clive Waterhouse (Fremantle)
- 1996 - Michael Gardiner (West Coast)
- 1997 - Travis Johnstone (Melbourne)
- 1998 - Des Headland (Brisbane Lions)
- 1999 - Josh Fraser (Collingwood)
- 2000 - Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
- 2001 - Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
- 2002 - Brendon Goddard (St Kilda)
- 2003 - Adam Cooney (Western Bulldogs)
- 2004 - Brett Deledio (Richmond)
- 2005 - Marc Murphy (Carlton)
- 2006 - Bryce Gibbs (Carlton)
Pre-season draft
- Main article: Pre-season draft.
Rookie draft
- See also: Rookie list
Held at the same time as the pre-season draft, the rookie draft is a chance for clubs to recruit players under 23 for their Rookie list.
International rookies
Rookies are also available to be selected from overseas countries and players on the list do not count towards the salary cap. An example of this is Irish players Setanta O'hAilpin, Colm Begley and Martin Clarke.
In 2006, the AFL introduced a new scheme where clubs can maintain 2 international rookies (excluding Irish players) outside of the regular rookie list.[citation needed]
| VFL/AFL Drafts | |
|---|---|
| VFL Drafts | 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 |
| AFL Drafts | 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 |
External links
- [Official AFL Draft page]
References
- ^ The draft blows in, Emma Quayle, The Age, November 17, 2006.
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