Highly touted midfielder, Cody Walker, who looks certain to join Carlton under the Father-Son Rule in this year's National Draft, will make his debut for the Blues' VFL side this weekend.
Walker - the 18-year-old son of Andrew, who played 202 games for Carlton between 2004-2016 - will line up for the Blues in their Round 6 VFL clash against the Saints at Ikon Park on Saturday.
In July last year, Walker formally agreed to join the Blues as a Father-Son selection in the 2026 National Draft. He was also eligible to nominate Richmond as part of its Next Generation Academy.
Walker has been in the spotlight this week, with the AFL on Tuesday announcing bidding changes relating to Father-Son and Next Generation Academy players for this year's National Draft.
Under the new model, clubs can now only use two picks in the current draft to match any bid placed on a concession player up to and including pick No. 36. Bids placed at pick No. 37 or later can still be matched with the club's next pick.
A discount/loading will be applied to applicable Draft Value Index (DVI) values based on ladder finishing position. Teams that finish 11th to 18th on the ladder will retain the 10 percent discount that previously applied to all clubs.
It short, should Carlton fail to qualify for the finals this year (which seems a formality), they will retain the 10 percent discount when matching bids on Walker. The Blues will have to use two first-round picks for Walker, which, based on the current ladder, would be selections 3 and 27.
"It's doable. It's their own pick, and 27. That's doable," AFL footy boss, Greg Swann, said on Fox Footy.
"The choice is you make a decision on trading a good player to get the picks, or you pass on the kid because you can't get it done.
"We just don't want to see really good players going for 30, 33, 34, 36, 40, 42; it does everyone's head in."
Blues president Rob Priestley wrote to Carlton members on Wednesday, voicing the club's frustration regarding the lack of an "appropriate runway".
"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," Priestley wrote.
"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 per cent 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."
