How can players such as Lincoln McCarthy, Dane Rampe and Jake Lloyd possibly be AFL rookies?
The AFL Rookie Draft system has courted controversy in recent times with its functionality.
Instead of exclusively being used for actual rookies, clubs are using the mechanism to move players around their list.
AllSportsPeople explains everything you need to know about the AFL Rookie Draft and list.
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What is the AFL Rookie Draft?
The AFL Rookie Draft is where clubs select players to be on their rookie list section of their squad.
Clubs select in order of the recent season's AFL ladder - regardless if they have traded away AFL National Draft selections.
There is no age limit on players selected as rookies in the AFL Rookie Draft and they can play AFL games whenever selected - where in the past they would need to be upgraded.
Each team can have six rookie-listed players, while they can have three extra rookie-list players if they fit into Category B (explained below).
Each rookie-listed player has a minimum salary of $100,000 that isn't included in the salary cap.
If a rookie is paid more than $100,000, then the money above that amount is included in the salary cap.
West Coast has been given four extra rookie-list spots for the 2026, 2027 and 2028 seasons as part of their draft assistance package from the AFL.
What is the AFL Rookie Draft loophole?
In recent years, AFL clubs have increasingly used the AFL Rookie Draft to move players from the senior list to the rookie list.
For the upcoming AFL Rookie Draft 2025, Sydney have indicated they will do this with veterans Dane Rampe and Jake Lloyd, while Brisbane will do the same with Lincoln McCarthy.
All AFL clubs need three available draft selections and list spots to participate in the AFL National Draft.
Clubs are choosing to open up these list spots by moving listed players from the senior list to the rookie list.
They do this by delisting their player and then re-drafting them in the AFL Rookie Draft.
There is risk to this method though as in theory other clubs could select the player as a rookie if they have an earlier selection.
In 2021, Gold Coast delisted Hugh Greenwood with the promise to redraft him as a rookie, but North Melbourne pounced on the player in the AFL Rookie Draft, offering him a lucrative three-year deal.
However, situations like these are rare as the player usually wants to continue with their listed club and not change to a different team.
When players such as Rampe, Lloyd and McCarthy are rookie-listed, they can still play AFL whenever selected and $100,000 of their salary will not be included in the salary cap.
Who can be a Category B AFL Rookie?
For a player to be eligible to be a Category B rookie, they must meet the following criteria:
- has not registered in an Australian Football competition for three years immediately before inclusion on the Rookie List;
- is an international player, meaning he is not an Australian citizen and has not lived in Australia for a substantial period;
- is a former NSW Scholarship player with that club;
- is a former International Scholarship player with that club;
- is a rookie Zone Selection for clubs based in NSW or Queensland.