Overview
- Following Wednesday’s confirmation, the AFL will apply the new bidding rules at the 2026 national draft to make clubs pay closer to full value for father‑son and academy players.
- Points adjustments now depend on ladder finish, with grand finalists paying a 20% loading, preliminary finalists 10%, teams in places 5–10 receiving no adjustment, and clubs ranked 11–18 keeping a 10% discount on bids up to pick 36.
- Clubs can match a bid with a maximum of two selections up to and including pick 36, and they may carry up to 412 Draft Value Index points into deficit next year; teams also can no longer open more picks than they have list spots.
- If a matched bid pushes a team’s top‑five selection back, that club will receive an extra pick immediately after its second‑round choice, a safeguard critics warn could encourage tactical bidding or late‑season losing.
- Carlton and Port Adelaide, linked to top prospects Cody Walker and Dougie Cochrane, failed in bids to delay the change and now face higher costs, as the AFL defends the timing flagged since July and high‑profile coaches Luke Beveridge and Ross Lyon condemn the approach.