Details have emerged for what is expected to be the craziest off-season yet.
The Herald Sun's Jon Ralph reports that the league is preparing for free agency to open on Friday October 23. A conventional 10-day trade period is then likely to start on Monday October 26.
It means the player movement window will open just days after the Grand Final scheduled for October 17.
The trade period would run until the night of Wednesday November 4th.
If the Grand Final does get pushed back, the trade period will also be pushed back by the same amount.
โEven though weโre rolling into October, for such a popular period for so many people, theyโre not going to condense this free agency and trade period,โ he told Fox Sports Newsโย AFL Tonight.
โNovember 3 is the Melbourne Cup, so there might be a few dusty journalists trying to cover the end of the trade period.
โItโs not ideal but for the AFL, which usually schedules a week of fixture leaks to try and suck the oxygen out of Derby day and the Spring Carnival, theyโve got a legitimate week of news here.โ
The AFL recently ended its player contract freeze amid talk of reduced list sizes and salary caps beyond 2020.
This means a frantic 10 days of player movement is expected, with several players looking to prove their worth in this six or seven weeks.
The National Draft is likely to be held in early December after Year 12 exams as the league needs draftees to finish school before they're selected.
Melbourne Cup November 3 ๐ โ . Trade period finishes Nov 4 โ Going to be a mad old week unless the GF gets delayed. How the AFL plans to structure trade week. Racing fans wonโt be thrilled given the crossover https://t.co/lZxBZlNfWl
— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) August 10, 2020
