2026 AFL draft

2026 AFL draft
General information
Dates26 May 2026 – Mid-season Draft
19–20 November 2026 – National Draft
23 November 2026 – Rookie Draft
LocationMarvel Stadium
NetworkFox Footy
Sponsored byNational Australia Bank
Overview
LeagueAFL

The 2026 AFL draft will consist of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) can trade and recruit players during and following the completion of the 2026 AFL season.

Key dates

Table of key dates
Event Date(s)
Mid-season rookie draft 26 May 2026
Free agency period Restricted and Unrestricted: 2–9 October 2026
Delisted: October–November 2026
Trade period 5–14 October 2026
National draft 19–20 November 2026
Pre-Season and Rookie draft 23 November 2026
Pre-season supplemental selection period December 2026 – March 2027

2026 mid-season rookie draft

The mid-season draft was held after the conclusion of round 11 of the 2026 AFL season on 26 May.[1]

Mid-season draft selections
Rd Pick Player Club Recruited from Pick due to
Club League
1 1 Jaxon Artemis Essendon Tasmania VFL Brayden Fiorini long-term injury
2 Kye Annand Richmond Geelong VFL Josh Gibcus long-term injury
3 Oliver Francou West Coast North Adelaide SANFL Deven Robertson long-term injury
4 Flynn Riley Carlton Carlton VFL Matt Carroll long-term injury
5 Xavier Bamert Port Adelaide North Melbourne VFL Ivan Soldo retirement
6 Oliver Griffin North Melbourne Sandringham Dragons Talent League Blake Thredgold long-term injury
7 Campbell Lake St Kilda Southport VFL Passed selection at the 2025 Rookie Draft
8 Harrison Coe Collingwood Frankston VFL Reef McInnes long-term injury
9 Caleb May Western Bulldogs West Adelaide SANFL Sam Darcy long-term injury
10 Hugo Hall-Kahan Adelaide Williamstown VFL Passed selection at the 2025 Rookie Draft
11 Lukas Cooke Melbourne Woodville-West Torrens SANFL Tom Campbell retirement
12 Max Beattie Hawthorn Woodville-West Torrens SANFL Passed selection at the 2025 Rookie Draft
2 13 Marcus Herbert West Coast Geelong VFL Jacob Newton long-term injury
14 Alex van Wyk Port Adelaide North Adelaide SANFL Ollie Lord long-term injury
15 Liam Puncher Collingwood Woodville-West Torrens SANFL Oscar Steene long-term injury
16 Joel Fitzgerald Melbourne Williamstown VFL Jai Culley long-term injury
3 17 Passed Port Adelaide — — Josh Sinn long-term injury
18 Mitch Podhajski Collingwood Coburg VFL Jamie Elliott long-term injury
19 Max Mapley Melbourne Tasmania VFL Shane McAdam retirement

Tasmania concessions

As part of Tasmania's entry into the AFL in 2028, they have been provided with several draft concessions, including being able to sign up to eight 17-year-olds in each of 2026 and 2027, with a maximum of 12 total across the two years.[2]

Player movements

Previous trades

Table of previously traded selections
Rd Orig. Club New Club Acquired via Ref
1 Gold Coast Melbourne Christian Petracca trade [3]
Sydney Carlton Charlie Curnow and Will Hayward trade [4]
2 St Kilda Hawthorn via West Coast (Liam Ryan trade)
on-traded to Hawthorn (pick swap)		 [5]
Carlton Port Adelaide Corey Durdin and Ben Ainsworth trade [6]
Melbourne Greater Western Sydney via Gold Coast (Christian Petracca trade)
on-traded to Greater Western Sydney (pick swap)		 [3]
Hawthorn Brisbane Lions pick swap
Gold Coast Carlton pick swap
North Melbourne Carlton pick swap
3 Melbourne Brisbane Lions via Collingwood Brodie Mihocek trade
on-traded to Brisbane Lions (pick swap)		 [7]
Essendon Adelaide via Gold Coast Brayden Fiorini trade
on-traded to Adelaide (pick swap)		 [8]
Carlton Sydney Oliver Florent trade [9]
Sydney Hawthorn Jai Serong trade [10]
Collingwood Sydney Jack Buller trade [11]
Greater Western Sydney Melbourne Clayton Oliver trade [12]
Gold Coast Port Adelaide pick swap
Hawthorn West Coast pick swap
Brisbane Lions Carlton pick swap
4 Melbourne Hawthorn Changkuoth Jiath trade [13]
Hawthorn Sydney Jai Serong trade [10]
Adelaide North Melbourne Finnbar Maley trade [14]
Sydney Collingwood Jack Buller trade [11]
Western Bulldogs West Coast pick swap
Greater Western Sydney Collingwood pick swap

List changes

Retirements

Table key
R Rookie listed player
B Category B Rookie listed player
Table of player retirements
Name Club Notes Ref
James Harmes Western Bulldogs [15]
Steven May Melbourne [16]
Ivan Soldo Port Adelaide [17]
Tom Campbell Melbourne [18]
Shane McAdam Melbourne [19]
Taylor Adams Sydney [20]
Jamie Cripps West Coast [21]
Nathan Broad Richmond [22]
Tom McDonald Melbourne [23]
Taylor Walker Adelaide [24]
Dion Prestia Richmond Retired but keen to play on [25]
Steele Sidebottom Collingwood [26]
Nick Holman Gold Coast [27]
Dougal Howard St Kilda [28]
Jake Melksham Melbourne [29]
Sam Switkowski Fremantle [30]

Delistings

Table of player delistings
Name Club Notes Ref
Bobby Hill Collingwood Club and player mutually agreed to part ways. [31]
Tyson Stengle Geelong [32]
Matt Duffy B Carlton Returned to Ireland [33]
Jackson Mead Port Adelaide [34]
Will Lorenz
Mani Liddy
Xavier Walsh
Benny Barrett
Jacob Moss
Jesse Hogan Greater Western Sydney [35]
Kieren Briggs Not offered a new contract
expected to join Richmond as a free agent.		 [36]
Harry Barnett West Coast [37]
Harvey Johnston
Caleb Graham Gold Coast [38]
Asher Eastham
Cooper Bell
Liam Fawcett Richmond [39]
Kaleb Smith
Paddy Dow St Kilda [40]
Isaac Keeler
Patrick Said
Tyler Brockman West Coast [41]
Bailey Scott North Melbourne [42]
Callum Coleman-Jones
Robert Hansen Jr.
Brayden George
Wil Parker Collingwood [43]
Lachie Sullivan
Mitch Podhajski
Joel Cochran
Iliro Smit
Jakob Ryan

2026 national draft

Table of national draft selections
Round Pick Player Club Recruited from Notes
Club League
1 1 Essendon
2 Richmond
3 West Coast
4 Port Adelaide
5 North Melbourne
6 Melbourne ←Gold Coast (2025)
7 Greater Western Sydney
8 St Kilda
9 Collingwood
10 Melbourne

2026 rookie draft

Category B Rookie selections

Table of Category B rookie selections
Name Club Origin Note Ref
Patrick Carr Richmond UT Tyler Patriots (NCAA) Three-year non-registered player (basketball) [44]
Kobe McDonald St Kilda Mayo (GAA) International signing (Ireland) [45]

See also

  • 2026 AFL Women's draft

References

  1. ↑ Twomey, Callum (16 May 2025). "The list of nominees for the 2026 Mid-Season Rookie Draft". AFL.com.au.
  2. ↑ "Tassie father-son rules locked in as AFL confirms list concessions". afl.com.au. 19 May 2026. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Trac gets his move: Demons star joins Suns". afl.com.au. 15 October 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  4. ↑ "Swans win the race to land star Blue in blockbuster trade". afl.com.au. 15 October 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  5. ↑ "Flyin' Ryan lands at Moorabbin". saints.com.au. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  6. ↑ "Suns small forward traded to Carlton, Blue joins Port". afl.com.au. 10 October 2025. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  7. ↑ "Premiership Pie boosts Dees' forward stocks as deal done". afl.com.au. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  8. ↑ "Fiorini to don the sash". essendonfc.com.au. 14 October 2025. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  9. ↑ "Florent time: Ollie becomes a Blue". carltonfc.com.au. 15 October 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Swans land in-demand Hawks defender". afl.com.au. 15 October 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Pies complete pick swaps deal in bid to land Swan". afl.com.au. 14 October 2025. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  12. ↑ "Saints mid lands at Demons in late trade move". afl.com.au. 15 October 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  13. ↑ "Demons add speedy Hawk to bolster defensive stocks". afl.com.au. 15 October 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  14. ↑ "High-flying Roos forward traded to Crows". afl.com.au. 15 October 2025. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  15. ↑ Twomey, Callum (10 February 2026). "Bulldogs mid and flag Demon calls time on 174-game career". afl.com.au. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  16. ↑ O'Connor, Alison (1 March 2026). "Premiership Demon announces sudden retirement after recent off-field issues". afl.com.au. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  17. ↑ Smith, Martin (27 April 2026). "Premiership ruck retires after 10-year career across two clubs". afl.com.au. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "Four-club ruck calls time on decorated career". afl.com.au. 15 May 2026. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  19. ↑ "Retirement - Shane McAdam calls time". melbournefc.com.au. 25 May 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  20. ↑ Smith, Martin (22 June 2026). "Three-club Swan calls it quits after latest injury blow". afl.com.au. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
  21. ↑ Smith, Martin (30 June 2026). "Premiership Eagle calls time after latest injury blow". afl.com.au. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "Thank you, Nathan Broad" (Press release). Richmond Tigers. 4 August 2026. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  23. ↑ McIlwaine, Harrison (4 August 2026). "Premiership pieces to depart Demons at season's end". Zero Hanger. Retrieved 4 August 2026.
  24. ↑ "Crows veteran to call time at end of 2026 season". afl.com.au. 10 August 2026. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  25. ↑ "Updated Prestia keen to play on despite 'retirement' announcement". afl.com.au. 13 August 2026. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  26. ↑ "Magpies legend to retire at the end of the season". afl.com.au. 13 August 2026. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  27. ↑ "Veteran Sun to retire after 11 seasons at two clubs". afl.com.au. 18 August 2026. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  28. ↑ "Dougal Howard to hang up the boots". afl.com.au. 19 August 2026. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
  29. ↑ "Veteran Demons forward to retire at season's end". afl.com.au. 24 August 2026. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  30. ↑ "Dockers forward announces shock retirement on eve of finals". 26 August 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  31. ↑ "Flag hero to exit Magpies after club and player agree to terms". afl.com.au. 30 July 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
  32. ↑ "Geelong Cats Statement: Tyson Stengle". geelongcats.com.au. 31 July 2026. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  33. ↑ "Blues rookie returning to Ireland after three years". afl.com.au. 13 August 2026. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  34. ↑ "Power axe six players as off-season of change looms". afl.com.au. 25 August 2026. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  35. ↑ "'The right time': Giants delist Coleman Medal winner". afl.com.au. 25 August 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  36. ↑ "GIANTS Farewell Briggs". gwsgiants.com.au. 25 August 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  37. ↑ "West Coast ruck, defender delisted as Eagles make more changes". afl.com.au. 25 August 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  38. ↑ "Academy graduate among three Suns delisted". afl.com.au. 26 August 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  39. ↑ "Tigers delist defender, forward as list changes continue". afl.com.au. 26 August 2026. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
  40. ↑ "Former top-three pick among three Saints delisted". afl.com.au. 27 August 2026. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  41. ↑ "Former Hawks forward delisted after three seasons with Eagles". afl.com.au. 27 August 2026. Retrieved 27 August 2026.
  42. ↑ "Father-son recruit, former Tiger among four Roos axed". afl.com.au. 28 August 2026. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  43. ↑ "Ex-cricketer and mid-season rookie among six Magpies delisted". afl.com.au. 1 September 2026. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  44. ↑ "Richmond signs Patrick Carr as Category B Rookie". richmondfc.com.au. 28 May 2026. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  45. ↑ "Irish gun heading to Saints after making most of 'one chance' at home". afl.com.au. 27 July 2026. Retrieved 27 July 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.