MELBOURNE — The end of the AFL rookie list has been anticipated for months. Club CEOs have been expecting it. The league has been moving toward it.
But Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell has now thrown a far more radical idea into the mix: scrap the list size limit entirely. The current system is rigid.
Clubs carry 36 to 38 primary-listed players, six to eight Category A rookies, and up to two Category B rookies. Most clubs fill those slots. The structure has been in place for years, a familiar framework for list managers and recruiters.
But from 2028, when Tasmania enters the competition and a new collective bargaining agreement begins, the rookie list is expected to disappear. Tom Morris told The Agenda Setters on Wednesday night that “rookie lists appear to be dead.” The AFL is likely to move to a single list, with only Category B rookies remaining.
Mitchell wants to go further. He proposes a minimum list size but no maximum. Clubs would decide how many players they can handle.
“You should have any number of players on your list that you think you can manage,” Mitchell said, according to the record. That is a fundamental break from the current model. No cap.
No ceiling. Just club discretion.
What would that look in practice? A club with deep resources and a strong development program could stockpile young talent. A club with a tight budget or a smaller football department could keep a leaner squad.
The market, not the rulebook, would determine list sizes. St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt sees opportunity.
He called it “Christmas” for list managers. A layer of complexity is added. Strategic creativity becomes the game.
The timing matters. The move to a single list in 2028 is already a significant shift. Rookie lists have been a fixture of the AFL for decades, a way to develop players outside the primary list, often at lower pay.
Their elimination simplifies things — one list, one set of rules. But Mitchell’s proposal throws that simplicity into question.
No maximum means clubs could carry 50 players, or 60, or more. The league would need to decide if that is workable. The collective bargaining agreement would need to account for it.
Player payments, salary caps, draft picks — all would be affected. There is no detail yet on how a minimum list size would be set.
Mitchell did not specify a number. The proposal is conceptual, a direction rather than a finished plan. But it has landed at a moment when the AFL is already reconsidering its list structure.
The Tasmania entry forces change. The new CBA forces change. Mitchell is pushing for more.
Some will see risk. A club that loads up on players could hoard talent, squeezing the competition.
Others will see freedom. Clubs could tailor their lists to their circumstances, not to a league-wide template. The debate is only beginning.
Riewoldt’s comment suggests list managers are eager for the challenge. They want the flexibility.
They want the strategic options. For now, the rookie list is still alive. It will be for the next few seasons.
But its death is widely expected. The question is what comes after. Mitchell has offered one answer.
The league will have to decide if it agrees.
