Find out why Joel Hamling will be a free agent after only two years at Fremantle

Western Bulldogs premiership defender Joel Hamling has become the AFL’s test case for free agency for life after only two seasons at Fremantle. Find out how.

Fremantle defender Joel Hamling will become a free agent at the end of his current contract. Picture: Getty Images

Western Bulldogs premiership defender Joel Hamling has become the AFL’s test case for free agency for life after only two seasons at Fremantle.

The AFLPA has confirmed any player who has been delisted in their career then moves to another club becomes a free agent when their contract expires.

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Hamling was delisted after three seasons and zero games at Geelong, became a Dogs premiership player in his two years there then moved to Fremantle on a lucrative three-season deal worth around $1.2 million.

Under previous player rules he would have been out of contract in October but the Dockers would hold the whip hand because they would need to trade him if he wanted out.

Now he has leverage to leave or extract a superior deal because he becomes attractive to clubs that don’t have to give up a draft pick to secure the 25-year-old defender.

Champion Data rated Hamling’s 2018 season the best of his career, saying he had the ninth-best defensive rating of any key defender.

He was ranked top two at Fremantle for intercept marks, intercepts and spoils, successfully defending the second-most leads of any player in the competition.

Joel Hamling will be a free agent when his contract expires even though he has been a Docker for only two seasons. Picture: Getty Images

Sydney’s Daniel Menzel also becomes a free agent under the same rules because he was delisted by Geelong then secured by the Swans.

AFLPA player relations general manager Brett Murphy confirmed the league had ticked off free agency for life for players after selecting it as one of three options for 2019.

“Any player who has ever been a delisted free agent before will be a free agent again at the end of their current contract,’’ he said.

“So the next time his contract expires, he becomes a free agent again irrespective of how many years he has served with his current club.”

The same free agency for life rules apply to new Swan Daniel Menzel. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Any player who has been a free agent is now a free agent again once their current contract expires, regardless of the time spent at the club.

The AFLPA would prefer free agency that kicks in at six years for restricted free agents and eight years for unrestricted free agents.

The current free agency terms are locked in until 2020, but both parties can agree upon a change.

The player union is aware if it did successfully lobby for six-year free agency it would need a long run-in time before its introduction given clubs plan so far ahead with list management and free agency.