The AFL will scrap a mid-season trade in favour of a pre-season window, according to AFL great Tim Watson.
It had been reported that the AFL were considering a mid-season trade period, similar to that of the NBA, and had gained traction following the success of the mid-season draft.
However, Watson, who played over 300 games and won three flags with Essendon, told SEN that the AFL would instead opt for a pre-season trade window.
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“The mid-season trade period is going to become the pre-season trade,” Watson said Wednesday morning.
“There’ll be a 48 to 72-hour window that will open just before the season, I’m not exactly sure what the dates are going to be, but there will be a window that opens when those trades can occur.
“It won’t happen during the year, it won’t happen mid-season, it’ll happen in the pre-season.
“It will happen according to my people.
“When the clubs met, all the CEO’s, there was opposition, they didn’t like the mid-season draft.”
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan told Sportsday last night that the idea for the trade window was for clubs to help grow their depth with players who don’t necessarily play huge roles, and it wasn’t designed to trade away stars.
“I think what’s clear is it wouldn’t be anything that would enable star players to be shopped around,” he said.
“Maybe it would be earlier in the year.
“I might need a ruckman coming into the season or half way through the season and you’ve got a surplus, but it won’t be something – what the strong feedback is from football is they don’t want something that gives an opportunity for star players (to move) or clubs under pressure to be put in poor positions.”
