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Four AFL players have moved to new clubs via the 2017 AFL Rookie Draft, with Lindsay Thomas, Stewart Crameri, Matt Shaw and Dylan Buckley all finding new homes.
A number of AFL players could join new clubs in today’s AFL rookie draft, the last step in finalising clubs’ AFL lists ahead of the 2018 AFL season. Join The Roar for a live blog of very pick and every player, starting from 5pm AEDT.
AFL clubs are set to finalise their lists for season 2018 today. The pre-season ‘draft’ is up first – but it will be only a single pick, taken by Carlton.
After that comes the rookie draft and, after some changes to the CBA that will take effect next year, there’s very little difference between being a rookie and being a senior player.
The big change is that Category A rookies (those taken in this draft) are eligible to play at AFL level immediately, rather than needing to wait for an elevation or a long-term injury.
This means there is ostensibly no difference between a rookie and a senior-listed player except when it comes to balancing the chequebook – as rookies are given only a single-year contract, and have a lower minimum wage than senior players.
The change seems set to strengthen the trend of the rookie list becoming a place where clubs stockpile ready-to-go depth players, rather than being a home for raw project players as it was designed to be.
In some cases this will mean clubs retaining players they would have otherwise delisted, as is set to be the case for a few like Claye Beams and Cam Ellis-Yolmen this afternoon, but in other cases it means looking at other teams’ offcuts.
Lindsay Thomas for one seems certain to get a second chance at Port Adelaide, while Cam O’Shea, Stewart Crameri, Sam Collins, Tom Lamb and Zac Clarke are all in the mix to find new AFL clubs.
Join The Roar for a live blog of every pick and every player at the 2017 AFL Rookie Draft, starting from 5pm AEDT.