AFLW calendar rejig: League set to lock in new dates for trade period and draft

There is set to be a very narrow window for AFLW signings, trades and the draft this year. DANIEL CHERNY reports on the latest change to the league’s off-season frenzy.

The 2023 AFLW team captains. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The AFL is looking to extend its footprint deep into December with plans afoot to hold the AFLW sign and trade period and draft before Christmas this year.

The move of the women’s season from Summer to Spring last year forced a recalibration of auxiliary AFLW events, including the player movement window.

The sign and trade period and draft were held in March and April this year, more than three months after the season seven grand final between the Brisbane Lions and Melbourne.

The 2023 sign and trade period saw Chloe Molloy (L) move to the Swans. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

That had left players and clubs in limbo over the Christmas/New Year period.

This year’s women’s grand final will be held on Sunday December 3, leaving a narrow window for signings, trades and the draft before Christmas.

However the league is mindful of allowing the football industry to have a proper holiday in January, meaning there is a push for AFLW player movement to be wrapped up in 2023 rather than drag into the early part of 2024.

The dates are yet to be finalised, with the decision hinging on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

A supplementary player draft for mature-agers was held earlier this year, with no underage draft conducted in a move that allowed the pathway system and the national league to get back in sync.

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There is mixed support for the gradual introduction of a national draft as opposed to the current state-based system, with one idea floated at club level being for the first-round only to be an open draft, allowing the best players – who get paid more – to be spread across the country in an equalisation measure.

Discussion about the timing of the AFLW draft comes against a backdrop of prolonged negotiations between the AFL and AFL Players Association over what would be a historic joint CBA.

Originally published as AFLW calendar rejig: League set to lock in new dates for trade period and draft