Adelaide, Brisbane, Geelong, Gold Coast, GWS, St Kilda and Sydney have agreed to re-draft players in the upcoming rookie intake despite farewelling them this off-season.
A total of seven players will return to their clubs after being delisted, with the Cats and Swans settling on a pair each.
Long-time Sydney servants Dane Rampe and Jake Lloyd will both extend their careers to 2026 as rookies, although they both sit among the group as the elder statesmen of the Bloods.
The same can be said for Lincoln McCarthy, who will be given another season to overcome his bad injury run over the past two years, suffering back-to-back ACL tears and ultimately missing out on the club's consecutive premierships.
Geelong has committed to re-drafting young prospects George Stevens and Keighton Matofai-Forbes, while Adelaide will welcome back father-son forward Tyler Welsh.
As for the Suns, they have extended Ben Jepson's time at the club as a rookie after initially delisting him. Likewise, at St Kilda with Ryan Byrnes.
The Giants have also reaffirmed their position on retaining Jake Stringer and Conor Stone, despite the delisted status.
Similarly, Carlton farewelled young duo Elijah Hollands and Will White. However, the pair will be considered as train-on opportunities following November's National Draft.
But as always, rival clubs do have the option to swoop on these delisted prospects once the delisted free agency (DFA) period opens on Monday, November 3, albeit an unlikely occurrence.
North Melbourne pulled off the unlikeliest of coups when it signed delisted Sun Hugh Greenwood at the end of 2021.
Gold Coast had planned to re-draft Greenwood at the upcoming rookie intake, but was unable to, given the Kangaroos' steal.
Players, like Greenwood, commit to the list strategy to be rookied to free up a primary list spot for either an incoming draftee, who automatically joins the main contingent, or when the club welcomes a talented prospect via trade or free agency.
In saying that, criticism of the current rookie list rules continues to have its annual debate.
More and more each year, clubs utilise the loophole to list some of their older players, like Rampe, Lloyd and McCarthy in 2025.
When the AFL Rookie Draft was originally conceived, the players selected had to be 23 years of age or younger, but currently, there is no age limit.
Albeit a smart piece of business from clubs, the league should consider drawing clearer guidelines on what the rookie list is for, or simply scrap the separate category.
