LAST year's AFLW trade period made one thing clear: Future pick trading needs to be introduced.

The men's competition has been able to trade future selections since 2015, giving greater flexibility to deals and a wider hand of picks at the trade table.

Last year's deal to get Tom Barrass from West Coast to Hawthorn was constructed entirely from future pick selections (aside from the player himself). West Coast's 2025 fourth-rounder went to Victoria along with Barrass, with the Hawks' 2025 first, second and third-rounders all going to Perth in return.

By contrast, three mooted deals in last year's trade period – Tayla Harris to Hawthorn, Paige Scott to Richmond and Emilia Yassir to Essendon – all fell through, and the addition of future picks to the playing pool may have helped them all over the line.

Scott ultimately delisted themself and went into the draft, where they were picked up by the Tigers (a risky move, with other teams able to pounce), while Yassir and Harris both signed one-year deals to remain with their original clubs, with questions remaining about their long-term futures at Richmond and Melbourne respectively.

Future pick trading has been off the table in years past due to three rounds of expansion and the slow evolution from a state-based draft to a fully national draft, as was implemented for the first time in 2024. Varying list management experience within club ranks has also contributed to the AFL's hesitance.

But with expansion now out of the way (Tasmania's yet-to-be-determined entry notwithstanding), the completion of nine trade periods and 10 drafts, it's time for the next step in the evolution of the off-field mechanics of the AFLW.

Teams with a high number of talented academy or father-daughter prospects – like Gold Coast, who in Ava Usher, Georja Davies and Dekota Baron have another three prospective first-rounders on their hands in the 2025 Telstra AFLW Draft – can also benefit from trading in future first-rounders to bolster their draft hand this year. 

Future pick trading is a prospect that has been posed to clubs in the past, with mixed responses, and is under consideration once again for the trade period at the end of the year.

If introduced to the women's game, it's likely to include a number of caveats and rules around trading future picks.

The current AFL men's rules see teams having one pick from each of the four rounds in the following year's draft as part of its trade arsenal, which has been increased to two years' worth for the 2025 trade period.

Teams must use at least two first round picks at the draft within a four-year rolling period.

The AFLW competition has undergone three rounds of expansion (2019, 2020 and season seven, 2022), which posed a serious hinderance to the ability to trade future picks.

With expansion side's draft picks determined by the League just before the draft, relative to how successful their recruitment through other means, it was near-impossible to know 12 months in advance which draft picks would be allocated to clubs entering the competition.

There have also been questions around resourcing for list management at clubs, with clubs' approach to list management evolving over time.

While the soft cap remains incredibly tight for most clubs, as the competition has developed over the past nine seasons, there has been a little more wriggle room allocated to recruiting and list management.

The early days of the competition often saw heads of women's football also in charge of the list and recruiting, with standalone list managers incredibly rare, and if around, usually employed on a casual or part-time basis.

While many still aren't full-time (or may hold dual roles at their club), it is a slowly developing area of the game.

There were some initial concerns about just how equally spread list management experience and acumen was across the competition, given the league has traditionally struggled to close the gap between the top and bottom sides.

But with nearly 10 years of experience now under some clubs' belts, it's time to bite the bullet and introduce another layer of sophistication in list management.

Future picks can assist clubs with academy prospects or father-daughter nominations by giving them more of an opportunity to stockpile the selections needed to secure the talent.

Using the Suns as a rudimentary trade scenario for an example – if next year's Academy group isn't looking quite as lucrative, they could trade away a future first-rounder and a current second or third-rounder for a current first-rounder, to aid in the acquisition of players this draft.

Other proponents of trading future picks say it allows for a more equitable trading field and a better reflection of players' worth.

The current salary distribution in AFLW is a tiered-based system, in the shape of a pyramid.

Fifteen of the 30 primary-listed players sit in the bottom tier, known as tier four, meaning while there's a vast difference in on-field value between player No.16 and player No.30, they get paid the same amount.

Future pick trading could help facilitate this type of nuance. No more would a player be swapped for either a flat second or third-round selection, but player No.20 may be worth both a third and future fourth, while player No.30 may be simply a fourth-rounder.