The dates for this year’s Telstra AFL Draft have been locked in, with a gap between the national and rookie drafts this year.

The first round of the draft will be held on Thursday, November 19 and the remaining rounds of the national draft will be staged on November 20.

There will then be a gap over the weekend before the rookie draft is staged on Monday, November 23 at 3pm AEDT.

The draft process will follow the trade and free agency periods in October, which have been confirmed to clubs on Wednesday.

The  Continental Tyres Trade Period will start on Monday, October 5 and run until Wednesday, October 14, with a prime time finish again, while the free agency week will commence on Friday, October 2 and go through until Friday, October 9. 

AFL.com.au will broadcast live and exclusively the 2026 Telstra AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft next Tuesday at 6.30pm AEST.