AFL revamps academy, father-son draft system for 2025

AFL clubs will have greater access to academy and father-son draft prospects following a raft of changes by the league.

The AFL announced on Friday it had approved seven changes set to be implemented from 2024 to 2026.

Clubs will again be able to match bids of Next Generation Academy (NGA) players from pick No.1 this year before a revised draft value index (DVI) system is implemented for the 2025 draft.

Under current rules, clubs have no access to NGA talent within the first 40 draft selections.

Clubs will also be given scope around drafting a father-son prospect to their primary or rookie rosters during the live draft, instead of having to nominate before the event.

Changes to access come after growing frustration following the 2023 draft around the talent academies run by the Queensland and NSW clubs and rules around NGAs.

West Coast have admitted to annoyance after losing academy prospect Lance Collard to St Kilda with pick 28 and, under AFL rules, not being able to do anything about it.

AFL chief Andrew Dillon said the changes were made to promote a level playing field.

“The AFL competition is as close as it has ever been,” Dillon said in a statement.

“There has been substantial investment in the New South Wales and Queensland academies as well as diverse programs across the country, and pleasingly we are seeing talent outcomes as a result.

“However, we need to continue to ensure access to talented players remains fair and flexible for our clubs.

“Ultimately, we want our competition to continue to be as close as possible, so every supporter knows on any given day their club is a legitimate chance to compete.”

Meanwhile, the new DVI and bidding system for the 2025 draft aims to prevent clubs from accumulating selections to match bids on academy and father-son selections.

A 20 per cent points discount applied to match bids will be shaved to 10 per cent, while points will be attached to the first 54 picks, as opposed to the current system of 73 picks.

Introduced for the 2024 draft, players on the rookie list will be given an additional fourth year if they have played fewer than 10 career matches.

They could also be given a fifth year on the same reasoning, with total time on the rookie list raised from three years to five in a bid to help clubs invest more time in a player who may take longer to develop.

The free agency compensation model has been tweaked to include contract length, but will not consider contracts of less than two years or more than five.

Future trading of picks will also be extended to two years in advance from 2025, with clubs forced to use two first-round selections every four years.

Trading will be introduced for the 2026 mid-season rookie draft, with the trading of national draft selections permitted.

CHANGES TO THE AFL DRAFT SYSTEM:

FROM 2024

* Clubs will be able to match bids of Next Generation Academy (NGA) players from pick No.1

* Players can remain on the rookie list for up to a maximum of five years, up from the current three years

* Contract length will be taken into account for free agency compensation picks

* Clubs have more flexibility around nominating a father-son prospect to their primary or rookie list during the draft

FROM 2025

* A new draft value index and bidding system will be introduced to prevent clubs from accumulating selections to match bids on academy and father-son selections

* Future trading of picks will also be extended to two years in advance

FROM 2026

* Trading will be introduced for the mid-season rookie draft