Following a wide-ranging talent review, and further meetings of a subcommittee made up of AFL and club representatives, a recommendation has been made to continue with the draft age being 18.
After considerable work alongside the AFL's operations manager Mark Evans, special projects manager Tristan Salter informed clubs of the recommendations to come out of the review at the Gold Coast on Tuesday, while recruiters take in the NAB AFL Under-16 Championships.
The proposals are the first step in a process which will see them put forward to the AFL executive before any implementation occurs.
Clubs were evenly split when surveyed earlier this year on whether the draft age should be raised, but with the AFL having found no compelling evidence and without a significant change in other parts of its talent pathway, the League is expected to stick with the status quo.
Current NAB AFL Draft eligibility sees a player able to be picked by a club in the year he turns 18.
The League will undertake a formal study into the social, education and economic benefits of lifting the draft age before making any plans for change.
But opponents to that view believe the form this season of first-year players, including Josh Kelly, James Aish, Jack Billings, Luke McDonald, Marcus Bontempelli, Christian Salem, Zach Merrett and others, shows prospects are ready to play at the top level and to wait another year would stall the development of many.
The suggestion to leave the draft age at 18 was one of a number of recommendations tabled by the League, as it sets its talent vision for the next five years with several broad key focuses.
Those recommendations include the AFL's hope to extend talent programs beyond the age of 18 for those who are overlooked during their draft year by establishing a secondary pathway to reach the top level.
It could come in the form of building more under-21 academies in state leagues across the country, as well as increasing the number of 19-year-olds who can play in underage competitions such as the TAC Cup and the mid-year national championships.
