YES
West Coast's misfortune at losing Eric Mackenzie and Mitch Brown has brought into sharp focus exactly why a mid-season trade and draft period should be introduced. All clubs, players and supporters want is hope. After one round, many Eagles fans have already given up on their team's chances of playing finals - as a competition is that what we want? Perhaps trading with another club or drafting from a state league wouldn't be the solution, but at least it would provide an opportunity for clubs (on both sides of a deal), players outside the best 22 – such as Sam Grimley (Hawthorn) or Tom Mitchell (Sydney Swans) – or state league footballers who for myriad reasons have been overlooked. Trading future draft picks or player-for-player would also add an intriguing element to the season, with the week leading into the first bye round the ideal time for clubs to take stock of their lists and ladder position. – Travis King  

NO
Saying no to mad ideas doesn't seem too fashionable these days but I'll say it anyway: no mid-season draft now and no mid-season draft in the future. West Coast's misfortune has brought the issue into the spotlight and I can see the convenient logic of Ryan Schoenmakers getting an opportunity across the Nullabor, given he is likely to struggle to break into the Hawthorn team in 2015. My reluctance is based on several factors: list management decisions should not have a get-out clause in case of injury; trades would be next to impossible to organise; state league players would not be able bridge the gap in fitness and professionalism if plucked mid-season; 40-44 players is enough already for several contingencies to be covered; watching what Adam Simpson and the Eagles do to cover for injury will be fascinating; list management is an art that gives some clubs an advantage. My suggestion would be a floating rookie list where players are only drafted in the week leading into round one but train with AFL clubs up until then. Consign Russell Greene to history. – Peter Ryan

Short-term contracts a winner, says Rob Kerr

YES
Giving clubs a mechanism to tweak their lists mid-year is as logical as bringing back the post-match kick-to-kick to AFL games. But I'm only advocating a mid-season trade period. I don't like the idea of a state league draft for the reasons Pete mentions, but I also think those competitions and their teams deserve better than to lose their star players midway through a season. As for concerns that a mid-season trade period would be next to impossible to organise, I'm not sure it's that hard. A two or three-day window at some time around the bye weekends would do it and I don't see any reason why trades couldn't involve players, draft picks, future draft picks or all of the above. I'll concede some trade periods might be quieter than Marcel Marceau. But does that really matter? Clubs that need to get deals done will make them happen. Cameron Pedersen played two games in his final season at North Melbourne before he was traded to Melbourne at the end of 2012. I understand the Demons would have loved to play Pedersen earlier that year so I'm sure if there had been a mid-season trade period back then they could have twisted North's arm to trade him. Those sort of deals would help clubs fill positional needs more quickly and mean that players with ability don't rot in state leagues simply because their club has an overabundance of their type of player. – Nick Bowen

NO
Clubs have ample opportunity to cover every scenario with its list, and players have every opportunity to prove they belong. Offering a mid-season draft or trade period gives an escape clause to both parties for poor management or form in my mind. Clubs have 46 players on a list, so if they're concerned an injury or two may leave them short in an area, the off-season is the time to plan for that. That's where coaches and list managers use foresight to earn their wage. Scour the lower leagues then – not mid-season – and draft a Michael Barlow, Dayne Zorko or even a Joel Tippett or James Podsiadly – these mature blokes are everywhere. And as for players sitting in the twos being thrown a lifeline with a trade window, they've signed a contract, so both player and club should be doing the best with what they've got. – Michael Whiting

Eagles CEO supports mid-season trade period

YES
AFL clubs should have the ability to replenish their lists in the middle of the season and the mechanism to do so is breathtakingly simple. At the midpoint of the year, there would be a 24-hour period for clubs to trade players. The rules would be the same as at the trade period at the end of the season – player for player, or player for selections at the forthcoming national draft. Clubs would not be mandated to take part. The following day, a non-compulsory draft would be staged for clubs that want to select players from the various state leagues. In order to free a place on their list to take part in this draft, clubs would have to delist players (but pay them for the rest of the season as per their contractual requirements) or place them on injured reserve list until the end of the season. Any mid-season draftees from outside the AFL would be paid the minimum AFL salary, divided by half. – Ashley Browne

NO
Depth and good list management can be the difference between winning a premiership and falling short. Look at Hawthorn in 2014. The Hawks were without Brian Lake, Sam Mitchell, Luke Hodge, Josh Gibson, Cyril Rioli and Brad Sewell for significant periods. At the halfway point of the season 12 players had been injured, with an average of 620 games experience missing each game. They even lost their coach for five weeks. West Coast has lost two key defenders for the entire season, a massive setback. But like Angus Litherland, Billy Hartung, Alex Woodward and Luke Lowden did for Hawthorn, there should be players on the Eagles' 46-man list ready to take opportunities. Giving a club the chance to top-up in certain positions mid-season because it doesn't have flexibility to cover injury takes away the advantage a club like Hawthorn gained in 2014 by building depth right across its list. I like Pete's suggestion of a floating rookie list pre-season or even an expanded rookie list if clubs think they need more players prepared to cover injuries. – Nathan Schmook