Carlton and Port Adelaide lose fight against changes impacting father-son and academy selections
Carlton and Port Adelaide have lost their battle with the AFL over rule changes and will have to pay more in the national draft for father-son talents Cody Walker and academy graduate Dougie Cochrane.
The AFL announced sweeping changes to draft rules on Wednesday in a bid to ensure clubs pay a “fairer” price for top talent.
The changes mean clubs can only use two picks up to and including the 36th pick to match an offer on a player with priority access. In recent national drafts, clubs have been able to use a collection of lower picks to match offers, even if the offers come in the top 10 picks.
This means the Blues – based on their current ranking position – would need to use picks of three and 27 or earlier to match the offer made before their pick to land Walker.
Previously, clubs could access top talent such as Collingwood’s Nick Daicos, Western Bulldogs’ Sam Darcy, Brisbane Lions’ Will Ashcroft and Gold Coast’s Zeke Uwland by stockpiling picks that would correspond to an early bid.
If clubs fail to match the offer with two picks, they will be allowed to fall into a deficit of 412 draft value index points. The AFL has said it would be impossible for a club to land four first-round rated players with matching bids, as the Gold Coast did in the 2023 national draft.
The AFL has rejected lobbying from the Blues, Port Adelaide and Essendon (who hope to include Darren Bewick’s son Koby in the 2027 national draft) to delay the rule changes until after Tasmania enters the competition in 2028.
Greg Swann, the league’s head of football performance, said the possibility of a change was flagged at a CEO meeting in July last year, although details have not been finalized so far.
“We finally came to the conclusion that there is never a good time [to make the change]said Swann.
There will be no change to free agency compensation after the AFL Players’ Association rejected an attempt to exempt the AFL’s top 10 selections from compensation selections given to clubs losing free agents.
This means Port Adelaide could still pick up a top 10 pick if star midfielder Zak Butters decides to leave and misses the finals, and they are making their decision on whether to match an offer to make the trade more complicated.
Since compensation rules are part of the collective bargaining agreement, PA approval was required to change it.
The players association told the league that the proposed change in first-round compensation would negatively impact player movement and competitive balance.
More to come
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