The AFL draft is an annual ceremony in which AFL teams choose new players to join their squads from a pool of fresh talent.
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.
Type of Picks
To be put into the national draft, the draftee must be 18 years or younger in age by or on April 30th in the year following the draft. Players who are not 18 before December 31st of a draft year, will need to be contracted for a minimum of two years.
The Number One Draft Pick Rule
The first pick in the draft is awarded to the team that finishes at the bottom of the AFL ladder unless another team wins less than 4.5 games over the course of two consecutive seasons.
Father-Son Rule
In order to be eligible, the father must have played at least 100 games for the club. Other clubs can bid for the son and to be able for the son to be drafted to the father’s club, the bid has to be matched with their next highest draft selection.
The Priority Draft Pick Rule
It was introduced in 1993, in order to help with teams that struggled in the previous season. When granted the team will receive a pick between the first and second-round picks