"Dumbest rule in sport": Cornes' take on flawed rookie draft

The AFL's rookie draft system is incredibly flawed, and according to Kane Cornes, it might well be the most flawed system in all of sport.

The rookie draft - taking place in the days following the national draft - was initially introduced to allow clubs to select ready-made players to join the club via the rookie list. The rookie list was a method intended on providing clubs flexibility, allowing opportunities for players to enter the AFL system while also permitting clubs to house talent without giving up one of their limited senior spots.

When initially introduced, rookie draftees were capped at 23 years of age, and could only be promoted to the senior list if a major injury or early retirement ruled out a senior player, however this is no longer the case, allowing an almighty loophole between the rookie and national drafts.

To gain access to the national draft - the best young talent from across the country - clubs must have a minimum of three senior list spots open for use, meaning that players are typically cut from the senior list prior to the draft to ensure room for incoming draftees.

With recent changes surrounding eligibility for rookie listings, clubs have gained the ability to 'delist' a player, however remain committed to re-drafting them within the rookie draft. With no limitations on the players that can be selected at the rookie draft, a club can cut players from their senior list to enable access to the national draft, however re-list them as a rookie weeks later.

Beyond this loophole, players selected within the rookie draft also have their base salaries - currently listed as $100,000 - covered external to the salary cap. This means that any player delisted and re-rookied will have the first $100,000 of their contract outside the club's limited cap space.

Last week, Sydney delisted two club champions, committing to re-drafting the pair at the upcoming rookie draft.

Veterans Jake Lloyd and Dane Rampe were cut from the club's list ahead of the 2025 national draft, however with the caveat that both long-term Swans will return to the side via the later draft. The players have both re-signed with the Swans, however $100,000 of their contracts will not hold weight within the salary cap.

Kane Cornes has used this example to remind the AFL world of the absurd state of the rookie draft.

“It’s just a reminder that it’s the dumbest rule possibly in sport,” Cornes told SEN Breakfast.

“The whole idea of a rookie list is to give players that perhaps are not ready for the AFL the elite training environment to sit there at a lower price and less risk for clubs to be able to develop these players over a longer period of time.

“Dean Brogan, who I played with, was a great rookie. He came from a basketball background, was nowhere near ready to play AFL footy when he first got onto the AFL list. Would never have been discovered if it wasn’t for the rookie list and goes on to be a premiership player and a club great. That’s the idea of a rookie list.

“This is just ridiculous! Rampe is 35 and they’ve got him on a rookie list! I don’t know why the AFL accept this.

“It did me in when Eddie Betts went back to Carlton as a rookie. What is going on? It’s just a ridiculous rule, clubs use it to manipulate their list. Every club can have 44 players, 36 to 38 on the primary list and 4-6 rookies and it gives them some flexibility, but just a stupid rule.

“Surely there is an age limit on whether you can be a rookie, and that would be the first thing. I didn’t mind it where you can only be upgraded from being a rookie when there was a list spot that became available, whether due to an early retirement or a long-term injury.

“That’s the best use of a rookie list. The formula was never broken, but now it is, and it’s just bizarre that the AFL don’t do anything about this. It’s ridiculous.

“It’s laughable stuff! If we don’t keep speaking about it, they’ll just keep getting away with it. It is genuinely laughable.”