CARLTON President Rob Priestley wrote to members today following confirmation of the AFL's changes to National Draft bidding.
Read the full letter below.
The AFL has today finally announced bidding changes relating to father son and Next Generation Academy players for this year’s 2026 National Draft.
Our CEO Graham Wright and I have spent significant time lobbying the AFL and members of the AFL Commission in relation to this.
While our club has agreed that working towards adjusting access to father son and NGA talent was necessary over the long term to ensure a more equitable system, our club’s position has been absolutely clear that for any proposed rule changes, they had to come with an appropriate runway so as not to disadvantage specific clubs.
Part of the clear case we put forward was that the AFL had to allow all clubs to properly plan and prepare for any changes to draft rules, in order to provide the same runway that previous clubs have been afforded, and as a result, have significantly benefited from.
This was the only appropriate and truly equitable way to implement such changes however today’s discretionary decision by the AFL has gone against this, with full knowledge that it will disadvantage certain clubs more than others, which no AFL rule change should.
Despite the lack of an appropriate runway for such rule changes, through discussion and consultation we have seen the 10% discount retained for all clubs that do not make the top 10.
Irrespective, our club has put itself in a strong position as it relates to our upcoming father son and NGA talent considerations.
We are currently the only club in the competition to hold multiple first-round selections in each of the next two drafts and we will continue to plan accordingly our approach to this year’s national draft.
Before I conclude, I also wanted to take this time to acknowledge the ongoing situation regarding our Round 6 game against Collingwood in relation to Elijah Hollands.
First and foremost, as a club we are continuing to support Elijah, his family and their privacy, with Elijah continuing to receive ongoing and appropriate care.
Our support also extends to our medical and wellbeing staff who have always, and continue to, conduct themselves with the utmost integrity and genuine care for all our players and staff.
The outpouring of love and support from the Carlton community towards Elijah and his family has been truly remarkable to see, and we want to say thank you to all of you who have taken the time to send your messages of support.
We now look forward to Saturday night, and the challenge that awaits us against St Kilda.
That electric Carlton atmosphere is going to reach a whole different level of noise under the roof at Marvel Stadium against this opposition and we cannot wait to hear you in full voice.
I hope to see as many of you there as possible for a game we are all looking forward to.
Go Blues.
