AFL fans and pundits are once again calling for an overhaul of the rules around the rookie draft, with Brisbane and Sydney set to pick players back up after de-listing them. The Swans announced on Monday that veterans Dane Rampe and Jake Lloyd had been de-listed, but the club vowed to bring them back in next month’s rookie draft.
It’s the same situation for Lincoln McCarthy, after the Lions de-listed him last week with the intention to pick him back up. The Swans and Lions are simply acting within the current rules, but the way clubs use the rookie draft has been a source of controversy for years.
The Sydney Swans (L) and Brisbane Lions (R) are both set to use the rule that’s frequently ‘exploited’. Image: Getty
Former Port Adelaide player Kane Cornes has been the most vocal critic, saying on SEN radio last year: “What a disgrace the AFL’s rookie rules are. Make the rookie list for rookies and give those players the opportunities, not players that have been at multiple clubs, are 28 years of age and have been de-listed from their club and will be re-rookied.
“The rookie list rules continue to be the biggest farce in football. And there’ll be more. A lot of clubs will do this and they’ll exploit this and these players. That’s got to change.”
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Cornes and many others believe the rookie draft should be used exclusively for younger guys trying to crack the AFL who might have been overlooked in previous years. “This defeats the purpose of what the rookie list should be there for,” he said previously. “Don’t worry about the 21-year-old who’s plying his trade. One who has been overlooked in the national draft a couple of times and he’s gone back, and he’s worked on his game at SANFL or WAFL or VFL level and he’s craving for an opportunity to be placed on a rookie list.”
The Lions will bring Lincoln McCarthy (L) back in the rookie draft, and the Swans will do the same with Jake Lloyd and Dane Rampe (R). Image: Getty
AFL fans want change to rookie draft rules
Rampe is 35 years old with 272 games under his belt, while the 32-year-old Lloyd has played 271 games. McCarthy is 31 and has played 151 games across stints with Geelong and Brisbane.
None of them are ‘rookies’, and AFL fans think it’s time for change. One wrote on social media: “How can a 31 year old who has played 151 AFL games be eligible for the ‘rookie draft’? It’s a joke.”
Another wrote: “Change the rules I reckon. If you de-list a player you cannot then draft them in the rookie draft. Defeats the purpose of it if 32 year olds are getting dropped just so the team can bring them back on board.”
The rookie draft was first implemented in the 90s as a pathway for mature-aged players to break into AFL squads outside of the traditional draft. But as one person wrote: “The rookie draft, like the national draft amongst others, have been allowed to be exploited to the point they bare little resemblance to their intended purpose.”