List Mgmt. 2026 Draft and Trade Thread

[tombomb]

The sense of entitlement from Carlton is amazing.

They just got a top 3 father/son, they are about to get another one. The 2024 changes had to be delayed to accommodate them because they thought the Campo twins were going to go high.

And they are still complaining.

 

[Slingshot Footy]

The sense of entitlement from Carlton is amazing.

They just got a top 3 father/son, they are about to get another one. The 2024 changes had to be delayed to accommodate them because they thought the Campo twins were going to go high.

And they are still complaining.

Carlton was also one of the main beneficiaries of the previous zoning model pre national draft in 1981 so forgive me if I couldn’t give a sh*t about their poor fortunes in 2026.

 

[Membling]

I bag the current AFL on here as much as anyone, but this mess was created entirely by previous administrations.

It's easy to forget the good old days when Tom Hawkins was the near-consensus no.1 pick in 2006 and was given to Geelong for pick 41.

Oh I remember.

But that was only ever for F/S picks.

After that it was match a bid with the pick in whatever round you were in (Heeney) then use points to match (Mills onward).

I honestly don't mind changes, but throw in future picks and AFL needs to consider second, third and forth order impacts which inevitably, they don't. Really shows you the quality in there that they cannot fathom pick stashing (Blakey/Rowbottom), teams making back door bidding deals for picks, flow on effects for futures trade etc etc when BF nuffies can.

Outside of that, there is also the financial consideration of running the northern academies that get waved away more often than not. The obvious flow on effect is losing momentum in the Qld/NSW market which impacts broadcast and AFLs pocket.

If they are going to fix the system, will need to tear everything down to bones and start from scratch IMO.

Put a line in it for post Tassie drafts and say x starts in 2029. Here are rules for F/S, academy and NGA. Crack on.

 

[tombomb]

Carlton was also one of the main beneficiaries of the previous zoning model pre national draft in 1981 so forgive me if I couldn’t give a sh*t about their poor fortunes in 2026.

They are barely even impacted by the changes. They easily have enough points for Walker, even if the bid is 1.

Even if they improve a bit, they will easily match.

 

[Swansujelly]

Watch highly rated juniors start having a bad couple year pre draft, or "LTI". Player stashing in bush leagues...back to the future lol

 

[Pugnacious1874]

Is it fair to think of this as "could have been much worse"? Not enough to chuck the toys out of the pram and shutdown the academy?

When will we see the first NSW Archie Perkins ?- soz, but wont play interstate, too attached to mum the beach.

 

[RedOrWhite]

Is it fair to think of this as "could have been much worse"? Not enough to chuck the toys out of the pram and shutdown the academy?

When will we see the first NSW Archie Perkins ?- soz, but wont play interstate, too attached to mum the beach.

Possibly. I think that'd be a disaster as it's been demonstrated over decades now that clubs run academies better than the league. It's the same with academies in sports across the world, Ajax Amsterdam or Barcelona come to mind.

If there was a NSW Archie Perkins I can only imagine all the smears they'd get by the rest of the league. I guess they'd just tank interviews with all the other clubs to the point they wouldn't touch him.

 

[liz]

Watch highly rated juniors start having a bad couple year pre draft, or "LTI". Player stashing in bush leagues...back to the future lol

There’s a risk of perception (or accusation) of this even where it’s not actually happened. I’ve read plenty of comments suggesting that the Swans somehow “hid” Errol before the draft.

 

[Olian]

Hard to know what the latest draft rules are trying to remedy.

Does the change in the draft rules incentivise teams who miss the top 10 to target a bottom 5 finish (ie 14th and below).

Last year there was a two game difference between 13th and 14th so no issue.

However in 2024 there were three teams separated only by 0.9% between 12th and 14th.

Under the AFL rules by being a handful of goals better in percentage and finishing 12th you get pushed back in the draft when there is bidding on a father/son or academy player who will have the bid matched.

However the 14th placed team gets a bonus end of first round pick when there is early bidding. 12th is worse off and this has been the issue for teams that finish middle of the road for a few years.

Not sure these rules are meant to work this way?

 

[liz]

Hard to know what the latest draft rules are trying to remedy.

Does the change in the draft rules incentivise teams who miss the top 10 to target a bottom 5 finish (ie 14th and below).

Last year there was a two game difference between 13th and 14th so no issue.

However in 2024 there were three teams separated only by 0.9% between 12th and 14th.

Under the AFL rules by being a handful of goals better in percentage and finishing 12th you get pushed back in the draft when there is bidding on a father/son or academy player who will have the bid matched.

However the 14th placed team gets a bonus end of first round pick when there is early bidding. 12th is worse off and this has been the issue for teams that finish middle of the road for a few years.

Not sure these rules are meant to work this way?

Another consequence - intentional or not - will probably be to elevate the picks that are bid on the absolute top end talent. It's long been suggested that clubs with the first pick prefer to use it on the player they think they can get, rather than a club-tied player. But now they have an incentive to bid first with that number one pick. Think Darcy (or Daicos) over Horne-Francis. Uwland (or Dean) over Duursma.

If the matching club has a pick shortly afterwards, the club with the first pick won't play games if the player they choose really is the standout. The matching club might pass and still have the chance to pick up a top echelon player. But usually the matching club doesn't have access to an alternate top echelon player so have shown their hand that they're going to match.

On the other hand, once one player has been bid upon in the top five, the incentive to bid immediately on another club-tied player isn't quite the same, other than the desire to get the club to pay fair value.

 

[MF]

Can't help but feel all this could be so much easier if they just converted to an all points based system instead of the traditional draft.

Just give all teams a number of points relative to where they finished on the ladder. Teams bid for players instead of having a draft order. When players are traded they're just bought and sold for points instead of these stupid multi club trades that slow everything down.

Father son and academy selections just get a % discount when bidding on their players so no one gets shitty about moving down the draft order. Same with free agency compo... Just award the team a certain number of points instead of messing with the draft.

Plus the AFL could make a whole song and dance about it like they do with trade week. Have player auctions over multiple days where no one really knows where the best players will end up. Way more exciting than traditional draft night.

 

[bedford]

Is there a scenario where for an example we have gun from the academy and need an early pick that we say trade a Braeden Campbell instead of keeping him ,and please he's an example

 

[Olian]

Is there a scenario where for an example we have gun from the academy and need an early pick that we say trade a Braeden Campbell instead of keeping him ,and please he's an example

AFL used Heeney as an hypothetical example if he went at pick 2 and we were on top of the ladder. We would have to come up with picks 7 & 8.

It would take a couple players of quality to get those picks. Campbell as an example won’t be enough. It ends up being a fire sale in effect.

Unless the Swans are at the bottom of the ladder there would be no benefit if the academy produced another Heeney or Mills in a year.

 

[Adnico26Parker]

Is there a scenario where for an example we have gun from the academy and need an early pick that we say trade a Braeden Campbell instead of keeping him ,and please he's an example

Yes, that's what they want. For clubs to trade players out to get picks to match top end bids.

Could happen this year with Port and Butters.

 

[caesar88]

I'm not the most informed on this, but I feel like the academy's main benefit for us now is having more Sydney-siders on AFL lists we can lure home (albeit still nowhere near enough relative to the Vic, SA & WA clubs.) This is the advantage that those clubs have had for decades and it may end up our best path to acquiring academy players in the future, rather than always drafting them.

 

[caesar88]

Yes, that's what they want. For clubs to trade players out to get picks to match top end bids.

Could happen this year with Port and Butters.

I feel like it's a not-so-subtle attempt by the AFL to amplify/increase the trade period and also accelerate the push towards trading players without their consent. Which the AFL would undoubtedly be desperate to get the AFLPA on board with, for the purpose of amplifying/increasing the trade period.

 

[FreeAgent1]

I'm not the most informed on this, but I feel like the academy's main benefit for us now is having more Sydney-siders on AFL lists we can lure home (albeit still nowhere near enough relative to the Vic, SA & WA clubs.) This is the advantage that those clubs have had for decades and it may end up our best path to acquiring academy players in the future, rather than always drafting them.

I know he wasn’t academy, but every time I watch cats all I think about is how nice it would be for Connor OSullivan to demand trade to NSW….

Never lived in Sydney so it’s a fantasy but purely for the VFL melts I would enjoy it.

 

[rustycrate]

McLean mentioned on Gettable as likely target for other clubs.
Especially if Amartey re-signs.
Logical.

We are one position short on our list and need to move someone on. Possibility.

I like McLean but he may not get many opportunities if everyone stays fit.

 

[liz]

I know he wasn’t academy, but every time I watch cats all I think about is how nice it would be for Connor OSullivan to demand trade to NSW….

Never lived in Sydney so it’s a fantasy but purely for the VFL melts I would enjoy it.

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere he was a Swans fan.

 

[caesar88]

I know he wasn’t academy, but every time I watch cats all I think about is how nice it would be for Connor OSullivan to demand trade to NSW….

Never lived in Sydney so it’s a fantasy but purely for the VFL melts I would enjoy it.

Yeah he's not the player but that's the kind of thing I think we'll have to pivot towards

 

[liz]

AFL used Heeney as an hypothetical example if he went at pick 2 and we were on top of the ladder. We would have to come up with picks 7 & 8.

It would take a couple players of quality to get those picks. Campbell as an example won’t be enough. It ends up being a fire sale in effect.

Unless the Swans are at the bottom of the ladder there would be no benefit if the academy produced another Heeney or Mills in a year.

Greg Swann gave another example on 360 tonight. Levi Ashcroft was bid on at pick 5, and Brisbane would have needed picks 11 and 15 (or thereabouts) to match.

For all the angst around the Suns matching all their academy picks last year, they did need to trade out some players to do that, as well as acquire Petracca. The crown jewel in their trade period was persuading St Kilda to part with pick 7 for Flanders, but they also moved out Fiorini, Ainsworth and maybe someone else. (And Rosas, of course, though I doubt that was about draft capital.) True they would need to have traded out a lot more to match them under these new rules, or would have to have foregone Petracca.

 

[Swansujelly]

Gun Acadmey player gets told by swans..sorry son, but we probably can't get the picks to get you to the swans, most likely a vic team will take you..Gun player reverts to rugby league to stay in Sydney..could happen.

 

[rustycrate]

Gun Acadmey player gets told by swans..sorry son, but we probably can't get the picks to get you to the swans, most likely a vic team will take you..Gun player reverts to rugby league to stay in Sydney..could happen.

Then the AFL change the drafting rules.
Like politicians. You create the problem. Then you fix it. Because you need them to fix it, they remain in power.

 

[Tedeski]

AFL used Heeney as an hypothetical example if he went at pick 2 and we were on top of the ladder. We would have to come up with picks 7 & 8.

It would take a couple players of quality to get those picks. Campbell as an example won’t be enough. It ends up being a fire sale in effect.

Unless the Swans are at the bottom of the ladder there would be no benefit if the academy produced another Heeney or Mills in a year.

In which case it would be a pointless exercise for any northern club to put in so much money & other resources into running an academy in order for mainly VIC clubs to benefit. Whereas with father/ sons, that club doesn’t have to contribute anything in order to get them.
The pendulum has fully swung back the other way & it will jeopardise the whole academy system & in turn, the National competition. Make no mistake, in NSW, NRL has hit back hard at the AFL.

 

[Kbroome]

I'm not the most informed on this, but I feel like the academy's main benefit for us now is having more Sydney-siders on AFL lists we can lure home (albeit still nowhere near enough relative to the Vic, SA & WA clubs.) This is the advantage that those clubs have had for decades and it may end up our best path to acquiring academy players in the future, rather than always drafting them.

The problem I can see with this is that it may feel like to the players that aren't matched that there is a bridge burned? So many want to prove that the club was incorrect in not matching them and thus might not be inclined to want to trade back to NSW just to be home