AFTER a much anticipated wait, the AFL and AFL Players Association confirmed the official AFL Women’s off-season dates and concessions for the four most recent expansion clubs. In yesterday’s announcement, the AFL confirmed that a Heads of Agreement (HOA) had been reached ahead of the player movement period which begins on March 1.

Along with the official release, clubs and players were contacted in regards to the ‘Priority Signing Period’ (PSP) conditions, as well as the dates for both the PSP and Sign and Trade Period. Both periods will run across the first three weeks of March ahead of the touted AFL Women’s Overage Draft in April.

KEY DATES

• Priority Signing (PS): March 1 (9am) until March 8 (2pm)
• Sign and Trade Period: March 10 (9am) until March 20 (3pm)

What is a PSP player?

A PSP Player is a player who has completed three or more AFL Women’s seasons. That means that players who were on an AFL Women’s list for each of the the 2021 (Season 5), 2022A (Season 6) and 2022B (Season 7) seasons or earlier, are eligible to be move clubs during the PSP.

CLUB-BY-CLUB CONCESSIONS:

Essendon

• Eligible to sign up to TWO (2) players during the PSP and can offer them a Secondary Relocation Reimbursment/Payment

Hawthorn

• Eligible to sign up to THREE (3) players during the PSP and can offer them a Secondary Relocation Reimbursement/Payment

Both these concessions are relatively straightforward. For Bombers and Hawks fans, it essentially means the clubs can ‘poach’ players from other clubs, and for those players who need to relocate (ie. from outside Victoria), they will be offered additional support to finance the move.

Port Adelaide

• Will receive TWO (2) additional list spots for Season Eight
• Eligible to sign up to THREE (3) players during the PSP and can offer them a Secondary Relocation Reimbursement/Payment
• Permitted to sign one (ONE) underage player during the PSP

It is an exciting time for Port Adelaide fans, who have the unique option to sign an underage player for Season 8. It means there will be one 2005-born player eligible to play next season, but they must be a school-leaver. On top of signing the one underage player for Season 8, Port Adelaide can also sign up to three PSP players, and in doing so, receive two additional list spots for net season.

Sydney

• Will receive THREE (3) additional list spots for Season 8
• Eligible to sign up to FIVE (5) players during the PSP and can offer them a Secondary Relocation Reimbursement/Payment
• Permitted to offer an additional two seasons on top of the Season Eight current maximum contract for TWO (2) players
• Permitted to offer an additional one season on top of the Season Eight current maximum contract for three (THREE) players

The Swans concessions are a little more complicated, but ultimately they can ‘poach’ five players from other clubs, and will receive three extra list spots in the process, taking their total list size to 33. Additionally, they have been given the ability to sign players to long-term deals that none of the other 17 clubs are able to do. Ultimately it means more security for those signings, with three players able to sign for one more year than anywhere else in the league, and two players can sign for two more years than anywhere in the league.

OTHER CLUBS:

The 14 other clubs will bear the brunt of the concessions, with the maximum amount of PSP players a club can lose dependent on ladder position.

• Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and North Melbourne can lose up to FIVE (5) players through the PSP
• Richmond, Collingwood, Geelong and Western Bulldogs can lose up to TWO (2) players through the PSP
• The remaining clubs who finished outside the top eight can lose a maximum of ONE (1) player through the PSP

WHAT COMPENSATION WILL THE EXISTING CLUBS GET?

The compensations for the existing clubs will be determined at the conclusion of the PSP, which will include draft selections ahead of the AFLW Draft leading into Season Nine. Clubs will be unable to trade the compensation in the upcoming Sign and Trade Period.

WHAT ARE THE CHANGES FOR THE SIGN AND TRADE PERIOD?

Clubs will not have to make a minimum number of list changes in the Sign and Trade Period, unlike previous ones where a minimum of three list changes is required in order to make selections in the AFLW Draft. That means the AFLW Overage Draft is likely to feature far less selections than the typical AFLW Draft, with clubs more likely to retain talent already at the club, and use the draft to fill holes within the club’s playing list from those free agents across the country.

Additionally, clubs will pay players as per the existing the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), with any potential changes applied retrospectively according to the ongoing CBA negotiations.

• Tier 1 players will receive $71,935
• Tier 2 players will receive $55,559
• Tier 3 players will receive $47,372
• Tier 4 players will receive $39,184