AFL clubs will be able to bolster injury-riddled lists during the year with a mid-season draft giving access to state league players likely to be introduced in 2019.
The proposal is being put to the recently formed Competition Committee on Thursday and, if approved, will then have to be ticked off by the AFL Commission, but such a move would be a formality.
Players not listed with any AFL club would be accessible on the one-day draft, but only by clubs that have an available spot on their list.
Players would not be delisted to make way for new talent.
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The debate for a mid-season draft of one description or another has been raging for a while, with the League believed to be keen but many clubs and the AFL Players’ Association not convinced.
A draft dedicated to state league footballers may still have its objectors, but it seems a fair and reasonable way to address the situation where a club’s season can be virtually in tatters by the mid-point due to a spate of injuries.
Gold Coast effectively had its 2016 and 2017 hopes wiped out by massive injury lists, while Collingwood and Greater Western Sydney have both had a number of important players unavailable through long stretches of this year.
If a draft were to have been held after round 14 this year, when every team had completed their bye, Carlton would have had the first pick, followed by Brisbane, St Kilda and Gold Coast.
However, after the bye rounds in 2016 Richmond sat 12th and would have had early access to the best available players, adding to a list that has since proven to be strong enough without any help.
There is also a need for the state league teams to be considered as they would be robbed of their best players mid-year.