Tasmanian teenager and new North Melbourne player Geordie Payne was crowned the No.1 pick of the mid-season draft as one of 19 young men who found AFL homes on Wednesday night.
The AFL’s annual mid-season rookie draft will be held on Wednesday night,with an in-form Tasmanian teenager rocketing into pole position to be the first player taken.
The AFL’s new pay deal has created space everywhere,and smaller clubs have to offer more than money when competing against the powerhouses for signatures.
The Age is following three prospective AFL draftees as they bid to join the big time in November. In our second part of the series,find out how one of pop music’s biggest moments is driving a footy team.
Recruiters tell me the number of Indigenous AFL players is likely to fall to the mid-60s next year due to retirements and a lack of talent coming through,and worsen from there.
The AFL shocked recruiters last month when it told them they needed to draft more Indigenous players to fix declining numbers in the league,sparking a much-needed conversation on how to reverse a worrying trend.
Carlton are the front-runners to secure Sydney free agent Will Hayward as clubs circle out-of-contract Blues forward Jack Martin amid a salary-cap juggle at Ikon Park.
Richmond,Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne are among seven clubs that loom as major movers and shakers in this year’s player movement sweepstakes.
St Kilda have a significant war chest at its disposal,as a result of a mixture of frugal player payments and tough calls to let players join rival clubs.
Prioritising the re-signing of players is part and parcel of every club’s list boss’ job description,but some - such as Western Bulldogs,Essendon,Richmond and St Kilda - have a bigger task ahead than others.
This season,The Age will follow three prospective draftees as they experience the rollercoaster highs and lows on the road to hopefully joining an AFL club in November.