In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign freely with any club or franchise; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is allowed to solicit offers from other teams. In some circumstances, the free agent's options are limited by league rules.
A draft is a process used in some countries and sports to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team selects a player, the team receives exclusive rights to sign that player to a contract, and no other team in the league may sign the player.
The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League (AFL).
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. The pre-season draft is a place for any uncontracted players to nominate that missed the AFL draft or who were delisted after the main draft. It was first held in 1989 and has been diminishing greatly in its importance; the last five years have only averaged 8 selections per year, compared to over 50 in each of the first five years. It was considered that the pre-season draft only existed to protect the league from writs for restraint-of-trade, but due to the introduction of free agency in 2012, there have been calls to scrap the pre-season draft and extend the free agency period.
Fremantle Football Club's drafting and trading history is often cited as a reason for their poor on-field record; the club took eight years to reach a final, and won their first final in 2006. In recent years, however, they have been successful in finding good players with late round and rookie list selections.
The 1996 AFL draft was held at the conclusion of the 1996 Australian Football League (AFL) season. The inaugural rookie draft was held with the 1997 pre-season draft.
The 1990 AFL draft was the 5th annual draft of Australian rules footballers to the 14 clubs in the Australian Football League. It consisted of the national draft held at the end of the 1990 season, the pre-season draft, held before 1991 AFL season and a mid-season draft.
The Greater Western Sydney Football Club, also known simply as GWS Giants, GWS or the Giants, is a professional Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). Representing the Greater Western Sydney area and Canberra, the club is based at the Tom Wills Oval in Sydney Olympic Park. The team's primary home ground is Sydney Showground Stadium, also located in the Olympic Park precinct. The club plays four home games a year at Manuka Oval in Canberra as part of a deal with the government of the Australian Capital Territory.
The 2009 AFL draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2009/10 Australian Football League off-season. These were the trade week, the national draft, the pre-season draft and the rookie draft.
The 2010 AFL draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2010/11 Australian Football League off-season. These were the trade week; held between, the national draft; held on the, the pre-season draft and the rookie draft.
Lindsay Smith is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Kangaroos and Carlton in the Australian Football League.
The 2011 AFL draft consisted of five opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2011/12 Australian Football League off-season.
The 2012 AFL draft consisted of five opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2012/13 Australian Football League off-season.
The 2013 AFL draft consisted of six opportunities for player acquisitions throughout the 2013–14 Australian Football League (AFL) off-season. This included the 2013 free agency period, 2013 trade period, three separate delisted player free agency periods, the 2013 national draft held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, as well as the 2014 pre-season and rookie drafts.
The 2015 Australian Football League draft consisted of the various periods where the 18 clubs in the Australian Football League (AFL) can trade and recruit players following the completion of the 2015 AFL season. Additions to each club's playing list are not allowed at any other time during the year.
The Brisbane Lions' drafting and trading history has lasted almost as long as the club's existence, with the club first drafting in 1996 and first trading in 1997. The club was founded in 1996 following a merger between the Fitzroy Football Club and the Brisbane Bears. This page does not include any drafts or trades performed by those two clubs. It includes drafts and trades from both the Australian Football League and the AFL Women's.
The 2018 Essendon Football Club season will be the Essendon Football Club's 120th season in the Australian Football League. They will also field a reserves team in the Victorian Football League.
The 2018 Fremantle Football Club season was the 24th season contested by the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League. It was also the 2nd season in the AFL Women's league.
The 2018 AFL Women's (AFLW) draft consisted of the various periods when the ten clubs in the Australian rules football women's competition could recruit players prior to the competition's 2019 season.
