The AFL is considering a radical change to the league's off-season trading system by potentially introducing a second trade period on the eve of the opening match for the 2020 season.
The newly implemented trade window would fall between the JLT Community Series and the annual Richmond vs Carlton season-opener.
League heavyweights will meet with members from all 18 clubs on Monday to discuss whether the addition of a second exchange period will be introduced for early next year, according to the Herald Sun.ย
The meeting will transpire just before this year's trade period kicks off at 9am.
How the new pre-season trade period will work:
- The trade period will run from after the JLT Series until Round 1 starts.
- Clubs will be able to trade players, draft picks and future draft picks as per the current trade rules.
- Category B rookies and first-and-second-year draftees will be exempt from trades.
- Any contracts taken on by clubs will have to come under the Total Player Payments for that season.
- Club bosses prefer a pre-season trade period to mid-season trading.
- The mid-season draft and supplemental selection period will remain.
The new trading model could mean a player from a Victorian side may move up the coast to a Queensland outfit just days from the season-opening bounce.
The new player movement landscape was recently raised by the AFL at a chief executive conference.
League representatives proposed two options - a mid-season trade period and a pre-season trade period - with club bosses opting for the March exchange period.
A pre-season trade period was "more palatable", with the mid-season period likely to add further strain to club staff and resources.
11 clubs began the 2019 season with multiple players on their respective injury list for the first half of the year.
List managers expect key position players and second-third string ruckmen to be the most sought-after during pre-season trade discussions.
Hawthorn could have taken advantage of a pre-season trade period this season following star Tom Mitchell's season-ending leg injury sustained in January.
Following a successful inaugural mid-season draft, the league is hopeful that implementing a pre-season trade period would coexist for the benefit of the league.
The supplemental selection period (SSP) will also remain, with notable names in Sydney Stack (Richmond), Michael Gibbons (Carlton) and Shane Mumford (GWS) all enabled to join following the conclusion of the national and rookie drafts.
AFL football boss Steve Hocking has been a loud advocate for a second trade period to boost player movement numbers, although Hocking's preference was for a mid-season trade period.
โWe think (a second trade period) is realistic and I say that confidently because the discussions have been had with senior coaches and heads of footy,โ Hocking said earlier this year.
โWe think it makes the season tighter because youโve got the opportunity to potentially plug in a player or two to keep you competitive.โ
