FOR the first time in history, there will be an AFL Women’s National Draft Combine and a series of State Draft Combines in October, mirroring that of the boys’ post-season combine testing. Set to take place over the same weekend, the AFLW National Draft Combine will run from Friday, October 4 to Sunday, October 6 in Melbourne.

The previous Draft Combines have been fully state-based which aligned with the previous draft eligibility of nominating state over national. Now that the AFL Women’s Draft has been announced as a full national spectacle, the Draft Combines follows suit.

Rookie Me will facilitate the AFLW National Draft Combine, which will include physical testing of vertical and running jumps, the 20-metre sprint, agility test and 2km time trial. The actual testing element of it will take place at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) on the Sunday, following club interviews at the MCG across both the Friday and Saturday.

Previously, the top Victorian, South Australian, Western Australian, Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory prospects would compete in separate Draft Combines, with the best Tasmanian talents also testing in Melbourne.

Like in previous years, the invited attendees will be based around volume of club nominations provided by AFLW clubs, with the full list of players invited to attend to be confirmed later this month. The previous state-based Draft Combines will still take place for those players overlooked for a National AFLW Draft Combine invite, but still have interest from AFLW clubs.

AFLW general manager Emma Moore said the notion for the AFLW Draft Combine to move to a national event was an exciting one and further step in the right direction for the league and aspiring AFLW players.

“With the 2024 Telstra AFLW Draft moving to a fully national model it was also the right time to move to a national event for the 2024 Telstra AFLW Draft Combine,” Ms Moore said.

“As the NAB AFLW continues to evolve we have seen more draftees looking to pursue their football dreams by moving interstate.

“This was outlined last year where almost 70 per cent of draft nominees elected to enter the national draft pool, meaning they could be drafted by any club and not just their home-state clubs.

“Having a national Draft Combine will see the best draft-eligible players from across Australia come together to showcase their abilities in front of all AFLW clubs both in testing and interviews.”