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THE AFL Players' Association will not be entertaining the idea of players being traded without their consent after Richmond coach Damien Hardwick called for the change to player movement rules at the weekend.
Writing for AFL.com.au on Saturday, Hardwick argued that up until a player qualified as a free agent, clubs should not need players’ consent in organising trades, as long as the financial terms of any existing contracts were honoured.
Clubs have been concerned at players requesting trades to teams they nominate with time still running on their contracts.
However, AFLPA CEO Paul Marsh said the association would not agree to a situation where clubs could exchange players without their consent.
"This goes against everything the AFLPA stands for. Players are not pieces of property to be traded or sold," Marsh said.
“"Players are already subject to extraordinary restraints. We think these need to be lessened, not increased.
"The AFLPA will continue to advocate for a more balanced system that will work more effectively for the players and the game."
Marsh rejected the notion that players have too much power, with changes in recent seasons redressing some of the imbalance.
He also said the reasons players left clubs before their contracts expired during the recent trade period were varied and unique.