Ge everything you need to know, including how to watch and more on the players who could be snapped up, ahead of the 2025 AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft on Wednesday.
What is the AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft?
The Mid-Season Rookie Draft (MSD) is the only chance clubs have during the season to add players to their list. Outside the Trade Period and Telstra AFL Draft at the end of each season, the only opportunities clubs have to sign new players is during the Pre-Season Supplemental Selection Period – which runs over summer – and the MSD.
The MSD was reintroduced in 2019, having been scrapped way back in 1993. It's designed to limit the impact long-term injuries and premature retirements can have on a club and allow teams to replenish their list for the second half of the season.
When is it?
The 2025 AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft will be held on Wednesday, May 28, between rounds 11 and 12, from 6.30pm AEST.
How can I watch?
The only place to watch the 2025 AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft is on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App. Gettable co-hosts and draft experts Cal Twomey and Riley Beveridge will lead the coverage along with host Nat Edwards from 6.30pm AEST on Wednesday, May 28. See every pick as it happens and get instant analysis of what the new signings can mean for the second half of the season.
Any familiar names in contention?
Geelong premiership player Brandan Parfitt, former first-round pick Riley Collier-Dawkins and ex-AFL players Liam McMahon, Nathan Kreuger and Charlie Lazzaro are among the host of delisted players who have nominated for the mid-season rookie draft.
Richmond VFL player Tom McCarthy has been touted as a potential No.1 pick, with ex-AFL listed players Blake Drury and Jez McLennan also on the list of nominees.
As of Wednesday, 168 players had nominated. You can see the full list here.
To be eligible, players must have nominated for and been overlooked in the National Draft last year, been previously listed by an AFL club, or played a minimum of three games in the WAFL, SANFL, TSL or VFL.
How many clubs have a pick? Why doesn't my club have one?
Clubs must have a vacant list spot in order to take part.
List vacancies can occur through a retirement or if a player suffers a long-term injury and is moved to the inactive list.
Clubs have until Tuesday to open a vacancy on their list, so the final draft order won't be known until then.
How is the draft order decided?
Like the National Draft, the Mid-Season Draft order is determined by reverse ladder position. The team at the bottom of the ladder after round 11 (assuming it has a list vacancy) gets the No.1 pick, with the second-last team to have the No.2 pick, and so on.
The complication this season is the fact Essendon and Gold Coast have played one game less than the rest of the competition due to their Opening Round game being postponed.
As revealed by AFL.com.au last month, a winning percentage ladder will therefore determine the draft order, with clubs on the same winning percentage to be separated by their regular for and against percentage.
The reverse ladder based on winning percentage after round 11 is below, but the final draft order will not be determined until Tuesday, after clubs have finalised whether or not to open list spots.
1) West Coast
2) North Melbourne
3) Richmond
4) Port Adelaide
5) St Kilda
6) Sydney
7) Carlton
8) Melbourne
9) Fremantle
10) Greater Western Sydney
11) Western Bulldogs
12) Essendon
13) Hawthorn
14) Geelong
15) Adelaide
16) Brisbane
17) Gold Coast
18) Collingwood
