The likes of Mark Johnson and James McDonald, who would both go on to play more than 200 AFL games and become a premiership player and club captain, respectively, were both selected in that initial intake. However fast forward to 2019, and things look decidedly different. Sydney Stack at Richmond training earlier this week. Credit:Getty Almost half the players taken in last year’s rookie draft were selected by the clubs they had played for in 2018. Much of the time this was done in the interests of list flexibility. Clubs now routinely delist contracted players with the promise of being re-drafted as rookies in order to generate more openings to their primary list. Having spoken to a host of industry sources during the week, including player agents and club list and recruiting managers, and the prevailing sentiment on these matters is that the situation will be similar this year. If anything, even fewer new players will join an AFL list as a rookie in November.

The reasons for this are several-fold. Essentially the rookie draft is going the way of the pre-season draft, which while not yet completely extinct has become largely irrelevant since the inception of free agency that allows players to walk to their club of choice without needing to wait for a draft. Essendon's Mark Johnson had a long and successful career after being taken as a rookie. Credit:Sebastian Costanzo There are three mechanisms killing the rookie draft. Free agency, especially delisted free agency, is one. Players like Darren Minchington, Tommy Sheridan and Jordan Murdoch didn’t wait until draft time to join their new clubs last year, although the downside for clubs about delisted free agency is that players must head to primary lists rather than rookie lists. The bigger threats to the traditional rookie draft are the two newest additions to the AFL’s growing band of list management mechanisms: the supplemental selection period (SSP), and the mid-season rookie draft.

The first incarnation of the SSP proved to be a massive hit with clubs. Essentially it allows them to try before they buy, with players able to train with a club from the start of December to mid-March before the club has to make a definitive call one way or the other. While there is less initial certainty, players don’t lose out either receiving a minimum $1000 weekly sum until they are signed. The prime example is Sydney Stack, who could prove to be a game changer both on and off the field. There had been little doubting Stack’s talent, but clubs had been concerned about him from a disciplinary perspective. However as has been well-documented, Richmond were happy to give him a chance, complete with residency at coach Damien Hardwick’s house. The results have been stunning, such that Stack, who finished third in the Rising Star award, entered this weekend as a live chance to play in an AFL grand final next Saturday. Loading The mid-season draft was a touch more controversial given its effect on state league clubs. But the return of the concept after more than a quarter of a century has been a rousing success, with most if not all players taken set to keep their spot on an AFL list next year. Moreover, several players taken have been able to make a quick impact with John Noble (Collingwood) and Will Snelling (Essendon) both tasting AFL finals football this year. The father-son and academy bidding system, trading of future draft picks and live draft-night trading have spiced up the national draft considerably. Free agency has also continued to evolve.