Draft order determined by ladder position at the conclusion of previous season.
Points allocated to first eight (8) rounds of draft.
Coaches can only trade picks in the first (8) rounds of the draft.
If a coach does not use a draft pick in the first 8 rounds, 'Pass' will be recorded on the draft sheet.
Spoon: Pick # 1
7th Place: Pick # 2
6th Place: Pick # 3
5th Place: Pick # 4
4th Place: Pick # 5
3rd Place: Pick # 6
Runner-up: Pick # 7
Premier: Pick # 8
Due: Friday 13th February 2026 – 8 players minimum * (including any free agents).
* At the end of the season every coach must delist a minimum of 8 players and have no more than 24 players on their list heading into the Draft . Coaches can delist less if players have been traded out after the conclusion of the season.
The magic number is 24 (or less).
Delistings are to be finalised once all positions have been announced for the upcoming draft.
Coaches declare any player that has had a position change that they intend to re-draft in new position - Refer Free Agency.
Player positions are those officially announced for the upcoming season. Mid-season position changes are not applicable.
Delisted players
When a coach delists a player that has not changed position, they retain first rights to that player in the upcoming draft in the 1st 8 Rounds only.
During the draft another coach can elect to draft a delisted player, with the delisting coach only able to retain the player by matching with their next available pick provided it is within the 1st 8 rounds.
Points are not applicable to players that maintain the same position, only the next available pick.
Coaches only retain the rights to a player for the 1st eight (8) rounds of the Draft. A coach must be able to match with a pick within the first 8 rounds or they lose their rights to retain.
Delisted players that have a position change but are not elected for re-draft:
The delisting coach only has rights to the player in the delisted position only. They are not able to retain in new position under any circumstances - Refer Free-Agency.
All other coaches can draft in the official position announced at the start of the draft only.
Free Agency Amendment
Effective 2026 Draft
To bring this in line with AFL bidding rules the following amendments have been proposed for Free Agency.
Amendment 1 - Points discount
The AFL provides a points discount to make it easier for clubs to secure father-son and Academy players.
Matching coach gets a 20% discount on the points required to match the nominated bid.
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Amendment 2 – Excess Points Rules
Current Rule:
When matching bids any excess points from the pick allocation are considered lost.
Proposed Change:
When matching a bid, if the total points used from your draft picks exceed the value of the bid, you’ll have excess points. These points can be used in two ways:
1. Move Later Picks Up the Order
Excess points can be spent to improve the position of your later draft picks.
You apply the required number of points to “bridge the gap” between your current pick and the pick you want.
Excess points can only be used to move later picks up the draft.
You can't be using later picks to match a bid then using excess points to move earlier picks up the order. When using multiple picks to match a bid you could only use excess points on picks lower than the highest pick used to match.
Same rules apply for points settlements.
2. Claim an Extra Compensation Pick
· If you have more than 100 excess points, you can choose to receive an extra compensation pick instead.
· The compensation pick will be allocated inside the first 8 rounds, based on the value of your excess points.
Example (Joe Bloggs):
· A bid comes at Pick 12 = 1268 points.
· The holding coach matches using Picks 27, 51, 54, and 56 = 1376 points.
· Excess = 1376 − 1268 = 108 points.
· Because 108 > 100, the coach can:
o Use the 108 points to move later picks up the order, OR
o Claim a compensation pick worth 108 points (inside the first 8 rounds).
Important Thresholds
Pick 64 (last pick in the first 8 rounds) = 101 points.
100 points = Pick 65, which is outside the first 8 rounds.
Therefore:
Excess ≤ 100 points → ❌ No compensation pick, but you can move other picks up.
Excess ≥ 101 points → ✅ Eligible for an extra compensation pick.
In this example:
· You have 108 excess points.
· Since 108 < 112 (Pick 63) and 108 > 101 (Pick 64), your compensation pick is slotted after Pick 63.
· Compensation picks never “jump” ahead of an existing pick with the same points value — they always slot in below.
· All excess points must be used to get a compensation pick
· Can’t trade excess points but could trade a compensation pick during live trading
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Amendment 3 – Compensation
Current Rule:
If a coach chooses not to match a bid on one of their free agents, they currently receive an end-of-round compensation pick.
Proposed Change:
Instead of receiving an end-of-round pick, the coach will now receive the next available pick immediately after the successful bid.
Example:
· Joe Bloggs is bid on at Pick 12.
· The holding coach decides not to match the bid.
· They will now receive Pick 13 as compensation.
· On the draft sheet, this will be marked as a compensation pick.
When submitting delisting’s coaches declare any player that has had a position change that they intend to re-draft in a new position.
These players will continue to be called Free Agents.
Coaches will continue to retain first rights to all delisted players and free agents in the upcoming draft.
When an opposing coach attempts to poach a free agent, the current coach can only retain the player by matching the respective points for that pick.
The revised system adapts the actual points allocation that the AFL uses.
Rules / Points
MUST exhaust all points in current draft.
Any outstanding points will carry over to the next draft and MUST be paid.
If, prior to next draft, you don’t have enough points or you you’ve traded all your picks out and have 0 points, the debt MUST still be paid. You would need to do this by trading players or future picks to bring enough points to pay what is owed. The game would not continue until the balance is paid.
It is not anticipated that this will ever happen.
No one bids
Happy days - you can take them back with your final pick in new position.
Delisting rules do not apply to Free Agents as you have nominated you wish to redraft in new position.
Opposition coaches can not bid on Free Agents outside of the 1st 8 Rounds.
Coaches can retain if they do not have any points / picks remaining in the 1st 8 rounds, the debt will carry over to the next draft.
Do you need to retain a Free Agent?
You do not have to retain a Free Agent if you choose not to. You can nominate that you intend to redraft in new position however, come draft day, if a better player is available and you no longer want said player, you do not need to take them back.
Can you trade back into the draft if all of your points have been exhausted retaining a free-agent?
Yes - you can trade back into the current draft if you bust out matching a bid. The debt will still carry over or, you can trade back into the current draft to settle the debt.
All points MUST be exhausted in current draft at time of matching a bid.
Compensation
If you choose NOT to match a bid, it’s not real fair to lose an originally drafted player for nothing.
The following compensation will apply:
End of nominated Round pick.
Full Draft Value Index
Pick 1: 3000 points
Pick 2: 2517
Pick 3: 2234
Pick 4: 2034
Pick 5: 1878
Pick 6: 1751
Pick 7: 1644
Pick 8: 1551
Pick 9: 1469
Pick 10: 1395
Pick 11: 1329
Pick 12: 1268
Pick 13: 1212
Pick 14: 1161
Pick 15: 1112
Pick 16: 1067
Pick 17: 1025
Pick 18: 985
Pick 19: 948
Pick 20: 912
Pick 21: 878
Pick 22: 845
Pick 23: 815
Pick 24: 785
Pick 25: 756
Pick 26: 729
Pick 27: 703
Pick 28: 677
Pick 29: 653
Pick 30: 629
Pick 31: 606
Pick 32: 584
Pick 33: 563
Pick 34: 542
Pick 35: 522
Pick 36: 502
Pick 37: 483
Pick 38: 465
Pick 39: 446
Pick 40: 429
Pick 41: 412
Pick 42: 395
Pick 43: 378
Pick 44: 362
Pick 45: 347
Pick 46: 331
Pick 47: 316
Pick 48: 302
Pick 49: 287
Pick 50: 273
Pick 51: 259
Pick 52: 246
Pick 53: 233
Pick 54: 220
Pick 55: 207
Pick 56: 194
Pick 57: 182
Pick 58: 170
Pick 59: 158
Pick 60: 146
Pick 61: 135
Pick 62: 123
Pick 63: 112
Pick 64: 101
Trading opens at the conclusion of the Keeper League Grand Final and closes before the 1st bounce of Round 1.
Trading between Delisting submission date and Draft Day
Trading is permitted once delistings have been lodged and before the draft however, any trade must be balanced and coaches must still have no more than 24 players on their list heading into the Draft.
Picks can not be traded between this period - This is because the draft / pick numbers etc. need to be updated to reflect list sizes. Trades can still be negotiated however, will not be actioned until live trading activates on draft day.
Trading Picks
Teams can currently trade draft picks in the next two (2) drafts. In other words, coaches can currently trade picks in the 2026 + 2027 drafts – the next two.
The next seasons pick trading eligibility will open at the conclusion of the 2026 draft.
Live trading - Draft Day
Once the draft has commenced, coaches can trade picks from the current draft and future draft.
So, during this year’s draft, you can live trade picks in the current draft (2026) and future draft (2027).
This means coaches could potentially trade multiple picks and/or future picks to move up the order to grab a player that might be giving them a stiffy.
No trading players – just picks!
Full team to be lodged before first bounce of first game of the AFL round fixture.
Coaches to name 16 starting players
5 x Defenders (+ 4 emergencies)
5 x Midfielders (+ 4 emergencies)
5 x Forwards (+ 4 emergencies)
1 x Ruck (+ 4 emergencies)
Failure to lodge team before first bounce will result in the coach starting with the same line-up from the previous round.
Emergencies
Coaches can name up to a maximum of four (4) emergencies in each position
A Dual Position Player (DPP) can be named as an emergency in multiple positions. The DPP, if required, will take the ground in the order of AFL matches for that round.
Example - if a coach names a DPP as 1st emergency in Def and Mid and the coach loses a player in the Mid on Friday night, the DPP will take the position for the Mid Friday night and the player will be removed from the Def emergencies. No picking an choosing who comes on.
If a starting player takes the field for their respective AFL club, they are locked into your starting line-up regardless of injury and score. This means if they start and pull a hammy in the first 30 seconds = tough titty.
Team Lodgement - Bye Rounds
During AFL bye rounds, coaches name reduced squads of 14 players as follows:
4 x Defenders (+ 4 emergencies)
4 x Midfielders (+ 4 emergencies)
4 x Forwards (+ 4 emergencies)
2 x Utility (+ 4 emergencies)