The AFL has confirmed a significant shake-up of its draft system from 2026 onwards, tightening access to elite junior talent while introducing a new compensation mechanism aimed to protect struggling clubs.
In a statement released by the league Wednesday midday, changes centre around reforms to the draft bidding system, with a new compensation provision within the draft that is designed to ensure a “fairer price” when paying for top-end talent tied to Father-Son, Northern Academy and Next Generation Academy (NGA) pathways.
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From this year’s 2026 National Draft, clubs will subsequently only be able to use two picks in the current draft to match any bid up to (and including) pick No.36. This new regulation will limit the ability to bundle later selections to accumulate draft points, as the league has seen before in recent years to acquire top talent.
But a controversial addition will see teams awarded compensation picks if they finish in the bottom five, and their first-round pick is pushed down the order by a matched bid, as long as they still use that selection on a player.
This ability to earn a free second-round pick will incentivise “tanking” according to St Kilda president Andrew Bassat.
“The problem that needed to be solved is the draft is incredibly compromised and they’ve not only gone weak on the changes that were necessary to ensure fairer price but they’ve added new compromises in this new system,” Bassat told AFL.com.au.
“I think it is an error as we need less, not more, distortion and will be unwound in no time. It will lead to all sorts of issues including almost certain tanking to ensure a bottom five finish.”
Clubs such as Carlton and Port Adelaide have lobbied vehemently for the changes to be pushed back until 2027, but will ultimately be forced to pay for their accessible talent more than ever at the national draft for father-son talent Cody Walker and academy graduate Dougie Cochrane.
Cody Walker trains during a Carlton Blues AFL press conference and training session at Ikon Park on April 23, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Star midfielder Will Ashcroft was selected as a father-son by Brisbane in 2022 with selections 34, 35, 38, 40 and 41 — an example of a bid match that is no longer allowed.
To compare it to the new rules, as it stands Carlton would own picks 3 (its own) and 18 (Sydney’s) – more enough to match a bid for Walker at pick 1, while getting back a selection in the mid-30s.
Were the Blues to fall outside the top five of the draft, though, they could be in some strife matching a pick 1 bid including being forced to go into points deficit.
“While our club has agreed that working towards adjusting access to father son and NGA talent was necessary over the long term to ensure a more equitable system, our club’s position has been absolutely clear that for any proposed rule changes, they had to come with an appropriate runway so as not to disadvantage specific clubs,” Carlton president Rob Priestley said in a statement.
“Part of the clear case we put forward was that the AFL had to allow all clubs to properly plan and prepare for any changes to draft rules, in order to provide the same runway that previous clubs have been afforded, and as a result, have significantly benefited from.
“This was the only appropriate and truly equitable way to implement such changes however today’s discretionary decision by the AFL has gone against this, with full knowledge that it will disadvantage certain clubs more than others, which no AFL rule change should.
“Despite the lack of an appropriate runway for such rule changes, through discussion and consultation we have seen the 10% discount retained for all clubs that do not make the top 10.
“Irrespective, our club has put itself in a strong position as it relates to our upcoming father son and NGA talent considerations.
“We are currently the only club in the competition to hold multiple first-round selections in each of the next two drafts and we will continue to plan accordingly our approach to this year’s national draft.”
Carlton has taken advantage of the current bidding system multiple times, including nabbing Harry Dean at No.3 using picks 20, 23 and 25 last year.
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Port Adelaide is the club most disadvantaged given it has not obtained multiple future first-round picks, and has multiple top prospects coming up over the next two years – Cochrane this year, plus Zemes Pilot and Louis Salopek in 2027.
The Power currently have 2164 draft points in their first two selections, enough to match a Cochrane bid at Pick 3 without going into deficit.
However they are likely to obtain multiple first-round picks should they force a trade when Zak Butters seeks a move back to Victoria, as is widely expected.
They were also only informed Cochrane had been approved as a member of their Next Generation Academy last November, after the trade period and more than a year after they traded their 2025 first-round pick for Jack Lukosius.
For bids placed at pick No.37 or later, clubs can still match using their next available pick.
A new ladder-based loading and discount system will also be introduced to the Draft Value Index (DVI), increasing the cost for higher-ranked teams while offering relief to those lower on the ladder:
— First and second: 20 per cent loading applied to bids between picks 1-18
— Third and fourth: 10 per cent loading applied to bids between picks 1-18
— Fifth to tenth: no loading or discount
— Eleventh to eighteenth: 10 per cent discount applied to bids between picks 1-36
“There is not a single person at the AFL who has even tried to justify the discount to me, yet it’s been retained for some clubs under pressure from sides that have already benefitted from the system,” Saints president Andrew Bassat told AFL Media.
“The draft worked really well before it started to be tinkered with and we have now added a new distortion. So in summary, whilst making it a fairer price for the top-eight clubs is an improvement the new compromise means that overall the changes are disappointing.”
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In a further constraint regarding list management, clubs will only be permitted to hold as many draft picks as they have primary list spots, preventing the ability for teams to stockpile selections purely for bid-matching purposes.
A new Draft Value Index will be introduced in 2027 to accommodate Tasmania’s addition into the league, extending to pick No.57 to reflect the expanded competition.
NEW COMPENSATION MECHANISM EXPLAINED
In another major addition to the player movement landscape, the AFL will introduce a compensation mechanism for clubs whose first-round picks are pushed back due to matched bids on concessional players.
From this upcoming off-season, eligible clubs will receive a second-round compensation pick if their natural first-round selection slides during the draft.
To qualify, clubs must meet all of the following criteria:
— Finish in the bottom five of the ladder in the preceding season
— Have their first-round pick pushed back at least one spot due to a matched bid
— Use that pick to select a player
The aforementioned compensation picks will be determined at the conclusion of night one of the draft, and will be tied to a club’s ladder position. They can be traded in the window prior to night two, but are limited to one per club per draft. If a club has already filled its primary list, the compensation pick must be traded in that window or it will be forfeited.
“These changes follow an extensive consultation with clubs, and form part of a broader review aimed at driving competitive balance, ensuring the competition continues to be as even as possible year in, year out,” AFL Executive General Manager of Football Performance Greg Swann said in a statement.
“We believe the tightening of the National Draft Bidding System and the introduction of the new compensation mechanism will strengthen fairness across the draft process, particularly when it comes to concessional players, and ensure lower-finishing teams have the opportunity to improve their lists without being disadvantaged by the matching process.”
The AFL notes that clubs will be taken through the changes in greater detail by the AFL in the coming weeks.