ALL IT took was a look to confirm the new player movement mechanism was a winner.
That glance came from then-AFL GM of Football Steve Hocking and was directed towards then-Head of Competitions and Player Movement Josh Vanderloo early in the 2019 AFL Grand Final. Marlion Pickett had just nailed a blind turn out of a centre bounce and was en route to polling the third most votes in the Norm Smith Medal after becoming the first player in 67 years to debut in the final game of the season.
Hocking and Vanderloo have moved to club land since then, but their fingerprints are all over the reintroduction of the Mid-Season Rookie Draft – which was announced in 2018 – along with then General Counsel and now CEO elect Andrew Dillon and former TPP, Soft Cap and List Management boss Ken Wood.
For more than two decades, player movement was restricted to the drafts and trade period, while free agency was introduced in 2012. Essentially from the day after the rookie draft until the trade period opened 10 months later, the lists were locked. Players looking for another chance didn't have one. Clubs looking for a way to cover injuries didn't have one.
Enter Hocking, Vanderloo, Dillon and Wood, who sat down for countless meetings inside AFL House in Docklands, liaising with clubs and the AFL Players' Association to change the system.
They explored the waivers system that is used in the NFL. They looked at the loan system that functions in the English Premier League and has been recently introduced by the NRL.
After more than 18 months of research – including time spent inside the NFL's headquarters – the AFL reintroduced the Mid-Season Rookie Draft in 2019 for the first time in 25 years, after creating the pre-season supplemental selection period ahead of that season to provide clubs with greater list flexibility and players with more opportunities.
Since then, 52 players have been selected across three Mid-Season Rookie Drafts – the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic – and many have carved out careers at the highest level.
THE BEST YET?
Pickett is the Hollywood story with two premierships from 68 appearances after getting a shot at 27 years of age, but Jai Newcombe is the poster boy of what's possible. John Noble has played 80 games – more than anyone else – while Ryan Gardner, Sam Durham and Ash Johnson have all become regular senior players.
Pick No.1 hasn't worked out just yet. Josh Deluca wasn't offered a contract beyond six months at Carlton. Jacob Edwards is yet to play a game for North Melbourne. Jai Culley showed signs of progress at West Coast earlier this season before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament earlier this month.
Only four players from the 2019 Mid-Season Rookie Draft still remain on an AFL list, but 10 from the 2021 crop played on the weekend – Cooper Sharman, Connor West, Jordon Boyd, Jed McEntee, Lachlan McAndrew, James Peatling, Patrick Parnell, Durham, Newcombe and Johnson – highlighting some of the quality that can be unearthed in the state leagues or Coates Talent League.
WHO HAS A SPOT?
West Coast has pick No.1 for the second straight year and could make two picks. North Melbourne has pick No.2, while Hawthorn is expected to make two selections – pick No.3 and No.13.
Essendon, Fremantle, Geelong, Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs all started the season with an open spot. Richmond had a spot open after Jason Castagna retired after the pre-season supplemental selection period.
Port Adelaide (Mitch Georgiades), West Coast (Jai Culley), Sydney (Sam Reid) and Greater Western Sydney (Darcy Jones and Adam Kennedy) have opened spots after season-ending injuries in the first 11 rounds of the season.
Collingwood, Carlton, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne and St Kilda don't have a spot open on their list and won’t be involved on Wednesday night.
RECYCLED NAMES LOOKING FOR LIFELINE
While 321 players nominated ahead of Wednesday night, former Geelong midfielder Quinton Narkle headlines the list of recycled players attracting interest ahead of the Mid-Season Rookie Draft, after producing some eye-catching form for Essendon's VFL side after being overlooked at Richmond in the pre-season in favour of Kaelan Bradtke.
Sam Naismith is in the hunt to earn another shot after dominant form for Port Melbourne in the VFL, following a move to Melbourne after three knee reconstructions curtailed his time at Sydney. Geelong has met with the 30-year-old and other clubs have monitored his progress across the first few months of the season.
Oscar McDonald is a ready-made option for AFL clubs in the market for a key defender with Sydney and Essendon looking at the former Melbourne and Carlton defender in recent months after strong form for Williamstown. Former Demon Marty Hore has also been on the radar of clubs while playing alongside McDonald at Point Gellibrand.
Callum Brown has amassed plenty of the ball while playing for Box Hill after spending time training with Hawthorn during the pre-season supplemental selection period, while former Collingwood teammate Caleb Poulter is an outside chance after heading to Footscray after his time at the Magpies ended.
FRESH NAMES TO KNOW NOW
After 17 players were picked from 23 picks this time last year, there could be as few as 12 players chosen this year, but there will be more than a handful of faces entering the AFL system for the first time.
Gippsland Power mobile forward Ryan Maric is expected to be selected within the first three picks after a strong start to the season in the Coates Talent League and across the past fortnight with the Box Hill Hawks.
Maric trained with Hawthorn last week, along with three other players – Ethan Stanley, Clay Tucker and Will Elliott – who could be picked on Wednesday night. Tucker and Elliott have been playing for Eastern Ranges and Oakleigh Chargers respectively this year.
Stanley has come from the clouds to be a player who should be off the board fairly early after displaying AFL traits in the VFL. James Trezise is the other VFL player to rise from nowhere at a young age, with the 20-year-old being recruited from West Gippsland over the pre-season and making an instant impact with Richmond's VFL program, after someone told Steve Morris to look at this kid at Tooradin-Dalmore.
This time last year, Brandon Ryan was playing for Maribyrnong Park in the Essendon District Football League. Now the 25-year-old is on the cusp of landing in the AFL after producing a strong start to 2023 in the VFL, following a move to the Northern Bullants with Brodie Holland.
Young WAFL forwards Jack Buller, Robert Hansen and Jaiden Hunter have all attracted interest, while North Adelaide forward Noah Casalini and Sturt midfielder Tom Lewis are two players out of the SANFL that could find AFL homes.
Hocking is now the CEO of Geelong. Vanderloo is GM of Operations and Strategic Projects at Hawthorn. Dillon is about to sit in the big chair and Wood has moved on after more than two decades at headquarters. All of them will be keeping a keen eye on proceedings on Wednesday night.
