Rookie list
Encyclopedia
The Rookie List is a means for Australian Football League
clubs to maintain additional players outside of the 38-man primary or senior list. Rookie listed players are not eligibile to play in AFL home and away or finals matches unless they are elevated to the senior list, either to replace a retired player or a player with a long-term injury.
, nominate themselves for the AFL Draft
and be between 18 and 23 years of age. The vast majority of the players selected are recruited from the major underage leagues (the TAC Cup
, WAFL
or TSL colts, or SANFL
under 18s), or the major state senior leagues (the VFL
, WAFL, TSL or SANFL). On rarer occasions, players can be drafted directly from metropolitan or country leagues. Delisted players from other AFL clubs are also often selected and are referred to as recycled players. Re-drafting delisted players from the same club is also common due the requirement to either elevate or delist all rookie listed players after two years on the rookie list.
The rookie list was first established in 1997. Since 2006 each team has been allowed to select one player older than 23, provided that player had not been on an AFL primary or rookie list previously.
One notable exception to the standard eligibility rules was the case of Adam Ramanauskas
at Essendon
. Special dispensation was granted to allow the club to re-recruit the 26-year-old Ramanauskas, who had played over 100 AFL games for the club, onto the rookie list due to uncertainty over his playing future as he underwent treatment and recovery for cancer.
. However, to encourage investment in local players, Brisbane
and Sydney
are additionally allowed to recruit eligible rookies who have resided for at least three years in Queensland
or New South Wales
and the Australian Capital Territory
respectively.
Generally speaking, a rookie-listed player cannot be selected to play in the senior AFL
competition, and must play in state-level affiliated teams, except in two circumstances:
There are usually plenty of opportunities to enact either of these rules, so rookie-listed players who are playing well enough for senior selection are seldom deprived of the opportunity by list management constraints.
To be eligible, players must be aged between 15 and 23, and cannot be Australian citizens. Additionally, to protect the AFL's relationship with the Gaelic Athletic Association
, Irish players do not qualify, and as such must be signed to either a club's primary or rookie list.
In 2008, the AFL increased the international rookie list for clubs to eight per year and a total of up to twenty four players at any one time. Scholarship costs were also reduced from A$10,000 to $1,000 for players who remain in their country of origin during their development and $20,000 for players who are moved (such as to Australia) to continue their development.
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
clubs to maintain additional players outside of the 38-man primary or senior list. Rookie listed players are not eligibile to play in AFL home and away or finals matches unless they are elevated to the senior list, either to replace a retired player or a player with a long-term injury.
Eligibility
To be eligible for selection to the rookie list, players must be registered with a club that is affiliated with the AFLAustralian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
, nominate themselves for the AFL Draft
AFL Draft
The AFL Draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League.-History:...
and be between 18 and 23 years of age. The vast majority of the players selected are recruited from the major underage leagues (the TAC Cup
TAC Cup
The TAC Cup is an under 18 Australian rules football representative competition held in Victoria, Australia. It is based on geographic regions throughout country Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne with each team representing 12 Victorian regions....
, WAFL
West Australian Football League
The West Australian Football League is an Australian rules football league based in Perth, Western Australia. The WAFL is the second-most popular in the state, behind the nation-wide Australian Football League...
or TSL colts, or SANFL
South Australian National Football League
The South Australian National Football League is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the governing body for the sport of Australian rules football in South Australia....
under 18s), or the major state senior leagues (the VFL
Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association , taking its new name as from the 1996 season, is the premier Australian rules football league in Victoria The Victorian Football League (VFL) which evolved from the former Victorian Football Association...
, WAFL, TSL or SANFL). On rarer occasions, players can be drafted directly from metropolitan or country leagues. Delisted players from other AFL clubs are also often selected and are referred to as recycled players. Re-drafting delisted players from the same club is also common due the requirement to either elevate or delist all rookie listed players after two years on the rookie list.
The rookie list was first established in 1997. Since 2006 each team has been allowed to select one player older than 23, provided that player had not been on an AFL primary or rookie list previously.
One notable exception to the standard eligibility rules was the case of Adam Ramanauskas
Adam Ramanauskas
Adam Ramanauskas is a former Australian rules footballer for the Essendon Football Club.Of Lithuanian descent, Ramanauskas was selected at no. 12 in the 1998 AFL Draft and was mainly a defender or midfielder...
at Essendon
Essendon Football Club
The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
. Special dispensation was granted to allow the club to re-recruit the 26-year-old Ramanauskas, who had played over 100 AFL games for the club, onto the rookie list due to uncertainty over his playing future as he underwent treatment and recovery for cancer.
Recruitment
Rookies are usually placed on the list via the Rookie Draft, which occurs annually during the off-season, immediately after the Pre-Season DraftAFL Pre-season Draft
The AFL Pre-season Draft is the drafting of uncontracted players to teams in the Australian Football League. The draft is conducted after the National AFL Draft and before the start of the next AFL season. It is conducted at the same time as the AFL rookie draft...
. However, to encourage investment in local players, Brisbane
Brisbane Lions
The Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
and Sydney
Sydney Swans
The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
are additionally allowed to recruit eligible rookies who have resided for at least three years in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
or New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and the Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
respectively.
List maintenance
Each club is allowed to maintain a list of up to six eligible players, whilst Brisbane and Sydney can list a maximum of nine. Up to three rookies can be retained, with the players permission for a second or third season, with the others having to be either delisted or elevated to the primary list at the time of the National Draft. Only half of the salary paid by a club to players on the rookie list counts towards the league's salary cap.Generally speaking, a rookie-listed player cannot be selected to play in the senior AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
competition, and must play in state-level affiliated teams, except in two circumstances:
- At the start of a season, a club can nominate up to two veterans from its senior list for salary cap reasons; if a team does not have a full quota of veterans, it can make up the balance by nominating rookies to be eligible for senior selection. These players are known as nominated rookies.
- If a senior-listed player is moved onto the long-term injury list, a rookie-listed player can be temporarily elevated in his place, becoming eligible for senior selection, while the senior player remains injured.
There are usually plenty of opportunities to enact either of these rules, so rookie-listed players who are playing well enough for senior selection are seldom deprived of the opportunity by list management constraints.
International rookies
From 2006 onwards, clubs have been additionally allowed to sign up to two international rookies each year. The total number is limited to a maximum of six players at any one time, and payments do not count towards the salary cap. Players may remain international rookies for three years, instead of the usual two.To be eligible, players must be aged between 15 and 23, and cannot be Australian citizens. Additionally, to protect the AFL's relationship with the Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
, Irish players do not qualify, and as such must be signed to either a club's primary or rookie list.
In 2008, the AFL increased the international rookie list for clubs to eight per year and a total of up to twenty four players at any one time. Scholarship costs were also reduced from A$10,000 to $1,000 for players who remain in their country of origin during their development and $20,000 for players who are moved (such as to Australia) to continue their development.
Future
The AFLPA has indicated that it will seek to abolish the rookie list, in favour of an expanded 46-man senior list, in the collective bargaining agreement to be negotiated during 2011. The AFLPA's main argument is that rookies now have the same workload as senior players – which was not necessarily true in the early days of the rookie list – but that their pay and opportunities are much lower than that of senior players.Most successful rookies
Some of the most successful players (having achieved 100 or more games or 100 goals) from the rookie system include:- Mal MichaelMal MichaelMalcolm Roberto "Mal" Michael is a former Australian rules footballer. He is notable for his successful professional Australian Football League career. Following a career spanned 238 games and three clubs in two Australian states he is best known as a triple premiership full-back with the...
- Russell RobertsonRussell RobertsonRussell "Robbo" Robertson is a professional Australian rules footballer, who last played for the Melbourne Football Club....
- James McDonaldJames McDonald (footballer)James McDonald is an Australian rules footballer, currently contracted to in the Australian Football League . He previously played for and captained the Melbourne Football Club.- Career :...
- Nathan BassettNathan BassettNathan "Fred" Bassett is a former Australian rules footballer for the Adelaide Football Club of the Australian Football League....
- Mark JohnsonMark Johnson (footballer)Mark 'MJ' Johnson is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and Fremantle in the AFL.-Early life:Johnson is commonly known as "Mr...
- Aaron DaveyAaron DaveyAaron Davey is a professional Australian rules football player of Indigenous Australian heritage. He currently plays for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
- Dean Cox
- Bret ThorntonBret ThorntonBret Thornton is an Australian rules footballer for Carlton in the Australian Football League .-Early life and junior career:Thornton grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Mount Waverley and attended Mount Waverley Secondary College....
- Brett JonesBrett JonesBrett David Jones is a former Australian rules footballer in the AFL, who played for the West Coast Eagles.-Cricket career:...
- 102 Games
- Tadhg KennellyTadhg KennellyTadhg Kennelly is an Irish sportsperson known for his top level careers in both Gaelic football and Australian rules football....
- Brett KirkBrett KirkBrett Kirk is a former Australian rules football player of the Sydney Swans, and is known colloquially as "Kirky", "Captain Kirk", during the 2005 AFL Finals Series, "Captain Blood" and by teammates as "Hippy". Kirk is a hard working and onfield leader who has played in a premiership with the...
- Brad SewellBrad SewellBrad Sewell is an Australian rules footballer with the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League . He was selected with pick number 6 in the Rookie Draft in 2003...
- Stephen MilneStephen MilneStephen Milne is a professional footballer for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League .-AFL career:...
- Ben RuttenBen RuttenBenjamin "Truck" Rutten is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League . He is known for his size, strength and ability to contain some of the game's best forwards....
- Darren JollyDarren JollyDarren Jolly is a professional Australian rules football player currently playing for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League . Jolly has previously played for Melbourne, the Sydney Swans...
- Aaron SandilandsAaron SandilandsAaron Sandilands is an Australian rules footballer. At 211 cm tall and weighing 122 kg , he is the heaviest and equal tallest player in the history of the game...
- Quinten LynchQuinten LynchQuinten Peter Lynch is a West Coast Eagles Australian rules footballer. He mainly plays at full forward and centre half forward, and is a regular goal-kicker.-Career:...
- Mark NicoskiMark NicoskiMark Nicoski is an Australian rules footballer currently playing for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League.-Early career:...
- Damien PeverillDamien PeverillDamien Peverill is an Australian rules footballer who played 144 senior games with Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League between 2001 and 2008...
- Nathan FoleyNathan Foley (footballer)Nathan Foley is an Australian rules football player. He plays as a midfielder for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
- Nick MaxwellNick MaxwellNick Maxwell is an Australian rules football player and current captain of the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League .- Early life :...
- Matthew BoydMatthew BoydMatthew Boyd is an Australian rules football player who has come through the Western Bulldogs' rookie list, debuting in 2003. Prior to that he had played for Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup and Frankston in the VFL...
- Max Rooke
- Dale MorrisDale MorrisDale Morris is an Australian rules footballer who currently plays for the Western Bulldogs.Morris spent four years playing for Werribee Football Club in the Victorian Football League before being added to the Bulldogs' rookie list in the 2004 Rookie Draft...
- Andrew CarrazzoAndrew CarrazzoAndrew Carrazzo is an Australian rules footballer for Carlton in the Australian Football League .- Early career :...
- Chad FletcherChad FletcherChad Fletcher is an Australian rules footballer who played for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League .-Early career:...
- 179 Games, 74 Goals - Matt Priddis