Former mid-season recruit and Essendon player Will Snelling has opted to nominate for the upcoming Mid-Season Draft, which takes place on Wednesday, May 29.
A total of 342 players from around the country nominated, with a host of familiar names looking to break back into the top flight.
However, Snelling, who plays in the SANFL for Sturt, decided against attempting to achieve his AFL dream once again, alongside Redlegs gun Harry Boyd.
The former Bomber was initially drafted to Port Adelaide as a rookie in 2016 but was re-selected by the Victorian club in the 2019 Mid-Season Draft with Pick 7.
Snelling went on to play 64 games for Essendon before being delisted at the end of 2023.
According toย SEN SA's Jarrod Walsh, the pair would've had strong chances to be picked up given their incredible form in 2024, saying "it's good to keep them" in the league.
SEE MORE: Full nominees list for the 2024 AFL Mid-Season Draft
โI was speaking to someone in the know at Adelaide Oval and they advised that Snelling and Boyd both have not put their names in the mix for the mid-season draft,โ Boyd said.
โAnd I like that because they're two of the best players so far this season as we're getting to the halfway mark, so the fact that we get to keep those players who were probably a chance to get drafted, it's good to keep them.โ
Of the 342 players nominated, 33 are from the SANFL, including Ex-AFL listed players Cooper Murley, Matthew Ling, Jackson Callow, Oscar Adams and Jack Saunders.
This comes as Norwood coach Jade Rawlings expressed his frustrations with the AFL's Mid-Season Draft, saying the current process ravages state-league clubs.
โIt really annoys me this time of year,โ Rawlings said onย SEN's Sportsday SAย two weeks ago.
โWe get appointed to try and pull together a team to try and win it (the premiership), and then they want to pick our team apart. I get really frustrated this time of year.
โI'm big on trying to push our players to get as far as they can in their careers. I just disagree with it philosophically that they can go for six months and then not get the full AFL experience.
โI was lucky enough to have quite several years in the system and know how much young, inexperienced players need the fullness of two years to get the two pre-seasons, to understand the game, the demands of the competition, possibly move interstate.
โI'm aware that one of our players met with one club, which I thought that club might have given me a call to let us know. That's a little gripe of mine.
โA few of our guys will probably get interest but I'm not aware of other than just one at the moment.
โThey don't know the full reality of what it does to your club. Sturt the other year lost Jed McEntee and Ash Johnson in the one draft. Two players emerging for Sturt, which is great for the individuals but bad for the club.โ
