AFL to consult clubs on mid-season player swaps after successful draft

The AFL has hailed the first mid-season draft since 1993 as a total success as Ryan Gardner prepares to make his debut, with the league now turning its attention to what a mid-season trade period would look like next year.

Ryan Gardner is set to make his AFL debut on the weekend after the Western Bulldogs picked him up in the midseason draft? Picture: Getty Images

The AFL will consult clubs and its competition committee about a mid-season trade period next year that involves currently listed players.

AFL football operations boss Steve Hocking told the Herald Sun he was open to exploring what a trade period with live player swaps looked like.

The AFL’s summer rookie list has proved successful as clubs secured players like Carlton’s Michael Gibbons, with 13 state league players taken in Monday’s mid-season draft.

Hocking said the Dogs’ decision to recruit VFL player Ryan Gardner then have him debut this weekend proved why the mid-season draft was worthwhile.

Now with an appetite from clubs to explore a mid-season trade period the AFL will push on with consulting them on how it would operate.

It would require restrictions so clubs in the bottom half of the ladder did not trade away their stars to legally tank and maximise their draft position.

Ryan Gardner is set to make his AFL debut on the weekend after the Western Bulldogs picked him up in the midseason draft? Picture: Getty Images

But Hocking believes there are mechanisms which would allow clubs to trade players in win-win situations.

Hocking said some clubs wanted a mid-season trade period, with AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan clearly a supporter.

“There is definitely an appetite to consider that, post what was just rolled out,” Hocking said.

“We will have to work through that with the competition committee and clubs. One of the pleasing things for me is the consideration that goes into what the competition committee does.

“We will put to them some different scenarios and where it lands no one knows.

“The AFL would need to secure the support of the AFLPA for a mid-season draft given some players would be shocked to move clubs mid-year.

“The first step to that is to get the industry comfortable with it and work through it with the AFLPA.

“For a player coming out of a program in the middle of the year, all of a sudden you would uproot their family. They are all things to consider.”

COMEBACK: FORGOTTEN PIE ON BRINK OF RETURN

AFL football operations boss Steve Hocking says the AFL will look into a mid-season trade period. Picture: Getty Images

STRAIGHT IN: NEW DOG TO DEBUT IMMEDIATELY

Clubs could in theory be limited to trading only one player per mid-season period, trading only rookies or only trading a certain level of draft pick.

Hocking said the mid-season draft now gave real incentive for players to dominate in state leagues.

And while some critics believe it will thin November’s draft pool he said clubs still favoured junior talent in the national draft.

“There were a real mix of players taken and we were really pleased with the results,” he said.

“We were happy with where it landed and we need to do more work with clubs and the broader industry to understand what adjustments we need to make.

“Ryan and his response to being able to play this weekend has to be good for football.”

“It will motivate players to stay at state level. Who is to say those players would be taken in the November draft anyway? We don’t know that because clubs double down on younger talent then.”