AFTER a lengthy competitive balance review, the AFL has confirmed a handful of changes to rules regarding trade and draft.

The most notable change impacts Next Generation Academy (NGA) players and how clubs can have priority access to talented youngsters with diverse backgrounds.

Here is a brief history of the NGAs and what the rule changes mean.

What are NGAs?

The Next Generation Academy program (NGAs) is a joint initiative between the AFL and its 18 clubs to increase participation of Indigenous Australians and those with multicultural backgrounds in Australian Football.

All 18 clubs have been allocated a region in Australia to implement their Next Generation Academy programs for both boys and girls. Clubs use their profile and expertise to raise awareness and interest in the game in their region (for example, by conducting footy clinics) with a focus on those with an Indigenous or diverse background, who have traditionally been under-represented in the game.

The programs are open to children from the age of 11 and while they are primarily designed to increase participation at grassroots level, clubs are rewarded for their investment by getting priority access to talented players from their NGAs when they are ready for AFL/AFLW level.

What was the previous NGA rule?

All draftees, including those tied to a particular club through its NGA, enter the draft pool and all clubs are free to bid on those players when it's their turn on draft night. However, in previous years, when a club has bid on an NGA-linked player outside the top 40 picks, the club tied to that player has had the option to 'match' the bid and get the player for themselves. This club must give up a host of picks that are considered to be of the same value in order to get their player.

The important part of this previous rule was the ability to match a bid only applied after the top 40 picks. If a rival club bid on an NGA player inside the first 40 picks, the club tied to that player via its NGA was unable to match the bid. 

What is the new rule?

The change announced this week has removed the top 40 requirement. It means clubs have the option to match a bid on their NGA player at any time, regardless of when on draft night the bid from the rival club comes.

Wasn't that the old rule?

Yes! The change this week is a throwback to the rule from 2017 to 2020, when clubs were able to match a bid on an NGA player at any stage on draft night.

The rule was changed in 2021 after the Western Bulldogs picked up NGA player Jamarra Ugle-Hagan at pick No.1 in the 2020 draft. Despite the Bulldogs finishing seventh that season, they had priority access to Ugle-Hagan (who is Indigenous) via their NGA and gave up picks 29, 33, 41, 42, 52, 54 to match the bid from Adelaide, while getting picks 61, 119, 120, 121 and 122 in return.

This was considered too small a price to pay for such a high-quality young player, so the AFL changed the rule the following year that meant clubs were only able to match a bid on an NGA player if a bid came after the first 20 picks. The rule changed again in 2022, with clubs only able to match if a bid came outside the top 40.

Which players have fallen through the cracks since 2020?

The return to the old rule would be particularly painful for Melbourne supporters, who saw NGA player Mac Andrew picked up by Gold Coast early in the 2021 draft. Had Andrew been born three years later and been part of this year's draft crop, the rule change this week would have meant the Demons would have priority access to him this year.

In more recent years, Hawthorn's Cam Mackenzie (part of St Kilda's NGA), St Kilda's Lance Collard (part of West Coast's NGA) and Collingwood's Tew Jiath (part of Hawthorn's NGA) all walked to other clubs after receiving bids inside the top 40.

Who will benefit from the new rule?

For this year, Essendon looks like the big winner. Its NGA product Isaac Kako is highly regarded and will likely attract a bid from a rival club early on draft night. The rule change means the Bombers will have the option to match the bid no matter when it comes. Without the rule change, they would have likely watched their player walk to a rival club.

St Kilda (Adrian Cole and Lennox Hoffman) and West Coast (Malakai Champion) also have talented players in their NGAs this year, who they will now have priority access to on draft night.

More broadly, the rule change is designed to encourage clubs to invest time and resources into their NGAs, knowing that their efforts in growing the game will ultimately be rewarded by priority access to talented young players.

How do NGAs differ to the northern academies?

The four clubs in Queensland and NSW – Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Greater Western Sydney – have slightly different Academy programs, which are not just focused on those with Indigenous or diverse backgrounds. The northern academies are open to all players as the game looks to expand its footprint in states that have traditionally been under-represented.

The likes of Isaac Heeney (Sydney), Harris Andrews (Brisbane) and Tom Green (GWS) are just some of the established stars of the game to have come through the northern academies, while the Suns picked up four young guns from their Academy last year.

For top-level players from the northern academies, there has never been a restriction on when their respective clubs can match a bid on them at the draft. The changes announced this week for NGA players bring them into line with the rules regarding northern academies as well as father-sons.