The incoming Tasmanian AFL club is expected to be loaded with up to five first-round draft picks in three successive drafts as the league looks to help build a ready-to-compete list for the 19th side.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan confirmed at Wednesday's announcement in Hobart that the league will steer away from the level of draft concessions that were offered to Gold Coast and GWS ahead of their inceptions into the league, with both clubs holding a monopoly on the early draft selections across three straight counts.
The 2010, 2011 and 2012 National Drafts have previously been labelled as 'compromised' given the suite of selections the Suns and Giants were handed, with no trade clauses included that would've required either side to move on a certain amount of picks to gain experience talent from rival clubs.
GWS selected 11 of the top 14 picks in the 2011 draft and entered the competition with a youthful squad unable to compete for finals for several seasons.
"We have learnt a lot," McLachlan said during the historical announcement. "The drafts will be much less compromised than in the past.
"There are more mechanisms now, more liquidity, in the player market.
"The right people will be put in place, and we will get a set of rules to put the squad together, salary-cap concessions or whatever."
According to The Age,ย the Tasmanian club is expected to be handed four to five first-round priority picks for the 2027, 2028 and 2029 drafts, with two of those selections from each draft required to be traded to gain experienced talent.
If the club is unable to trade one of those selections to attain players, that selection will be carried into the following year's draft.
The 19th club is also expected to be handed further picks in the second and third rounds of the three drafts.
The lower number of early priority picks will aid rebuilding clubs that are reliant on adding top draft talent during the expansion side's first several seasons, with clubs such as Port Adelaide, Brisbane and West Coast suffering from the inclusions of GWS and Gold Coast over a decade ago.
The new Tasmanian side is also likely to be able to sign uncontracted players from all 18 rival clubs, while an estimated $1 million purse to be used for signing bonuses to help acquire experienced talent has been flagged.
A total of 27 players are currently signed until the end of the 2027 season ahead of the Tasmanian side's inaugural season in the AFL.
