AFL Draft
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2008-07-05T06:42:58Z
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{{otheruses4|the annual Australian rules football draft|the historical American Football League draft|American Football League Draft}}
The '''AFL Draft''' is the annual [[draft (sports)|draft]] of new unsigned players by [[Australian rules football]] teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the [[Australian Football League]].
==History==
When the competition was known as the Victorian Football League (VFL), the league introduced the first incarnation of a [[draft system]] in 1981, where teams had two selections each of interstate players determined by reverse finishing position order. <ref>[http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/11/17/1163266783992.html The draft blows in], [[Emma Quayle]], [[The Age]], November 17, 2006.</ref> This was introduced as an equalisation strategy in response to the increasing transfer fees and player salaries at the time, which in combination with declining attendances, threatened to derail the league. It was also a result of the failure of [[zoning (Australian rules football)|country zoning]], introduced in the late 1960s, which had led to a systematic inequality whereby the clubs with the best zones, like [[Carlton Football Club|Carlton]] and [[Hawthorn Football Club|Hawthorn]], could dominate over clubs with poorer zones like [[Melbourne Football Club|Melbourne]].
In 1986, the first [[1986 VFL Draft|VFL Draft]] was held. The draft saw players tied to zones based on their location of residence, with each club having first call on players falling within that zone. The [[West Coast Eagles]] received access to all West Australian players, while the [[Brisbane Bears]] received 6 concessionary picks before the other clubs.
==Current draft system==
In the AFL Draft, clubs receive picks based on the position in which they finish on the ladder during the season. The draft is held in November, with a [[pre-season draft]] in December.
===Eligibility===
Currently to be eligible for the draft, a player must be at least 17 years of age on or before [[April 30]] in the year in which they are drafted. This has been slowly increased over the past few years due to concerns about school age players potentially having to leave home to play football in another state.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
===Priority draft pick rule===
''See main article [[Priority draft pick]].''
===Father-son rule===
''See main article [[Father-son rule]].''
== Number 1 draft picks ==
The number 1 draft pick is awarded to the bottom-placed team, though in some cases it is traded.
Number 1 draft picks:
* 1986 - [[Martin Leslie]] (Brisbane Bears)
* 1987 - [[Richard Lounder]] (Richmond)
* 1988 - [[Alex McDonald]] (Hawthorn)
* 1989 - [[Anthony Banik]] (Richmond)
* 1990 - [[Stephen Hooper]] (Geelong)
* 1991 - [[John Hutton (footballer)|John Hutton]] (Brisbane)
* 1992 - [[Drew Banfield]] (West Coast)
* 1993 - [[Darren Gaspar]] (Sydney)
* 1994 - [[Jeff White]] (Fremantle)
* 1995 - [[Clive Waterhouse]] (Fremantle)
* 1996 - [[Michael S. Gardiner|Michael Gardiner]] (West Coast)
* 1997 - [[Travis Johnstone]] (Melbourne)
* 1998 - [[Des Headland]] (Brisbane Lions)
* 1999 - [[Josh Fraser]] (Collingwood)
* 2000 - [[Nick Riewoldt]] (St Kilda)
* 2001 - [[Luke Hodge]] (Hawthorn)
* 2002 - [[Brendon Goddard]] (St Kilda)
* 2003 - [[Adam Cooney]] (Western Bulldogs)
* 2004 - [[Brett Deledio]] (Richmond)
* 2005 - [[Marc Murphy]] (Carlton)
* 2006 - [[Bryce Gibbs (footballer)|Bryce Gibbs]] (Carlton)
* 2007 - [[Matthew Kreuzer]] (Carlton)
== Pre-season draft ==
{{main|AFL Pre-season Draft}}
== Rookie draft ==
{{see also|Rookie list}}
Held at the same time as the pre-season draft, the rookie draft is a chance for clubs to recruit players under 23 for their Rookie list. Rookies are usually picked as young, developing players and can be elevated from the rookie list during the year, if there is an injury or retirement to a senior player in the team. Once the rookie is elevated, he remains that way until the end of the year, where they can be officially upgraded to the senior list, or kept on as a second year rookie, or delisted/not offered a new contract. Most teams have 4 rookies, but Brisbane and Sydney have more, and other teams may have more or less depending on the amount of veterans on their list.
===International rookies===
Rookies are also available to be selected from overseas countries and players on the list do not count towards the [[salary cap]]. An example of this are [[Irishman|Irish]] players [[Colm Begley]] and [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] players [[Kevin Dyas]] and [[Martin Clarke]].
In 2006, the AFL introduced a new scheme where clubs can maintain 2 international rookies (excluding Irish players) outside of the regular rookie list.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
==References==
<references/>
==See also==
*[[Salary_cap#Australian_Football_League|AFL salary cap]]
==External links==
* [http://www.afl.com.au/Season2007/NABAFLRisingStarsProgram/NABAFLDraft/tabid/282/Default.aspx Official AFL Draft page]
* [http://www.thedrafter.net AFL Draft]
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