Clubs declare AFL mid-season trade period must be confined to pick swaps only

Players left embarrassed by failed trades and salary cap disasters are among the fears raised by clubs as the AFL’s plan to introduce mid-season trading hits a snag.

The AFL’s plans to introduce a mid-season trade period have suffered a major blow, with clubs declaring it must be confined to pick swaps only.

The league had hoped to introduce player-for-player trading as part of a new mid-year trade window from next season.

The league was keen to create an exciting new way for fringe players to secure more senior opportunities at new homes from 2025.

But recent talks and workshops involving list managers from around the country have highlighted the difficulties and potential pitfalls for players and advantages for Victorian clubs.

They include complications for clubs’ salary caps, concerns around bottom clubs being left weaker in the second half of the season and fears players would be left embarrassed mid-season if their trade moves failed.

It seems as though we won’t see any player-for-player trading during the season for now. Picture: Michael Klein

In particular northern states clubs have strongly argued the bulk of the players traded will want to seek new opportunities in Victoria rather than head to interstate clubs.

The league has launched a competitive balance review to try and make the trade and draft system more fair but the mid-season trade period is seen to “fly in the face” of that goal, one club official said.

“It started out as a good idea and I think people like it in theory but when you get down to the nitty gritty it feels like it creates more headaches than it solves,” one recruiter said.

The league’s football department is continuing to assess its options for a mid-season trade period next year after securing agreement from the AFL Players’ Association last year.

But there is an increasing chance the player-for-player or player-for-pick trading will be shelved in favour for a pick swap-only mechanism.

Pick-swapping is still likely to be introduced mid-season. Picture: AAP Image/Mal Fairclough

It means clubs could be restricted to only trading picks as part of the mid-season trade period for either the end-of-season national draft or potentially even the mid season draft.

Clubs have also explored the possibility of pick purchasing where clubs could trade a pick to a club in exchange for more salary cap space.

The league has sought feedback from clubs and is expected to deliver its findings in the next couple of months.

AFL football boss Laura Kane conceded Victorian clubs had an advantage in any potential midseason trade period as it was a lot easier for players to move within the state of Victoria in-season.

Kane said the league had hit some hurdles, but were trying to work through it.

“It has to work. We have a unique situation of having 10 teams in one state (Victoria) and two in four others. That’s hard,” Kane said on Triple M.

“That’s an inequity that we would have to guard against.

“It’s easier to drive from Ikon Park to Arden Street. That’s much easier. You don’t have to move house, you don’t have to move schools for children, partners don’t have to change jobs.

“It is very difficult to move from Victoria to Queensland in the middle of a season.

“If we can guard against that maybe (we could do player-for-player midseason trading), but we are working on it.”

There could also be changes to the draft points system including removing the points attached to picks after selection No. 40.

It means it would serve no benefit for clubs to accumulate picks in the third and fourth round to try and amass points for academy and father-son prospects.

The discount attached to academy selections and father-son pick-ups is likely to be reduced so clubs have to stump up more for top prospects.