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New rookie rule may boost Irish experiment

  • Monday, August 13 2012 @ 08:20 pm ACST
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The AFL today announced number of changes have been made to the rookie rules to continue to enhance the opportunities available to development players. This continues the successful innovations made in previous years to the Rookie List such as the introduction of Nominated Rookies and mature age Rookies.

Clubs may now list one Irish player under the Rule that allows for three extra rookies for development players. Irish players (unlike other International players) previously took a spot on the main rookie list and this change recognises the risk Clubs take in recruiting and retaining Irish players relative to local talent.

This rule is likely to influence clubs in recruiting more Irish players as they have a better chance of developing them without them taking a regular spot on the list. This may ultimately also affect other international players that may have been on that list. But at this stage this is really not an issue as there are no international players from other countries currently on those lists.

Another change is that clubs may now select a father-son player with a rookie pre-selection, if that player nominated for the Draft and was not selected by another club at the National Draft or Pre-Season Draft. The same applies for players from Club Academies (Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, GWS).

The AFL memo covering this issue reads as follows;

RULE AMENDMENTS

Irish rookies

Irish players may be signed directly to a Club ‘s rookie list under the International Player Rule and do not have to go through the Draft. However, until now Irish players could not be listed as one of the three additional rookies under Rule 21.1.2 and had to take a spot on the main rookie list.

The rationale for distinguishing Irish players from other International Players in the past had been that Ireland is an established recruiting ground and that Irish players would deny development opportunities to other players eligible under Rule 21.1.2. Further, wealthier Clubs with existing recruiting networks in Ireland may have received too great a competitive advantage by being able to use Irish recruits as additional list spots.

The Commission has resolved that this Rule be relaxed slightly. Clubs may now list one Irish player under Player Rule 21.1.2. This will provide appropriate opportunities for Irish players and recognise the risk in their recruitment, but will not unnecessarily deny other players opportunities under Player Rule 21.1.2 or impact equalisation.