Clubs are keen to open their doors to under-18 teams and players to access their facilities in another concept aimed to ease the transition for those who are drafted.

 

It would see the players go into the clubs when the AFL clubs have their respective rostered weekly day off.

 

Representatives from clubs at the AFL's national talent forum on Tuesday acknowledged they can be more accommodating by allowing draftees to experience the inner workings of a club more often through the year.

 

Already squad members of the AFL National Academy spend a week of placement at a specific club each year, which is seen as an important part of their program, but that could be expanded to either two or three different clubs and possibly in different states.

The League's talent review showed clubs thought a number of key areas could help draftees step into AFL environments better placed, one being for the players to spend more time at AFL clubs.

 

Other suggestions included more sophisticated welfare programs and a central management system of players where development and physical workload can be overseen.

 

One idea was for members of the AFL National Academy to sign contracts allowing their training loads and games to be monitored when they are outside the national program and back at local level.

 

The talent review and forum was the most significant of underage pathways in more than a decade, and included more than 50 face-to-face consultations and nearly 170 online surveys.

 

It found 83 per cent of AFL clubs and state bodies believe the League's talent programs are "excellent to very good", meaning many options put forward this week were about tweaking a system already in strong shape.

 

Of the most popular was the idea to see more TAC Cup players play VFL games after the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.

 

Some believe the top Victorian prospects get caught at the level and can at times tread water while not being able to play state league games against men like contemporaries in other states.

 

Another idea that clubs strongly supported was the addition of a talent ID scout to help select the level one AFL National Academy.

 

The scout would analyse players from a younger age and assess state under-15 competitions before the first AFL National Academy squad was picked after the under-16 championships.

 

The future passage of international athletes to the game was also discussed, with the potential of a "centralised" international academy based in Australia gaining support. It would see the most talented players from abroad start their development prior to the AFL system.