DRAFT night is expected to revert to a more traditional format this year when the AFL takes the key off-season event to Sydney, but the League is already considering radical changes for 2017.
Last year's NAB AFL Draft in Adelaide attracted criticism after a number of changes were made to the selection process of players.
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The new points-based father-son and academy bidding system was introduced, which saw recruiting teams sitting in a separate room away from the stage in partitioned booths.
The draft took nearly three hours to complete as club coaches took to the stage to read out the names of their first-round picks before AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan called out the rest of the selections once the clubs had made their decisions.
Although the League is yet to confirm if McLachlan and the coaches will again read out selections at this year's draft, it told club recruiters at a briefing on Tuesday that the format would see them back in the main room this season.
Clubs were informed this year's draft will be held at Hordern Pavillion on Friday, November 25.
The venue is located in Moore Park near the SCG and Allianz Stadium precinct. The rookie and pre-season drafts will be held three days later on Monday, November 28, via teleconference.
The League has signed a two-year deal with host city Sydney, with the 2017 draft expected to be staged at its yet-to-be-completed entertainment centre.
Once that is built, the AFL is expected to then go back to its plans to have recruiting teams in separate rooms to allow them to debate selections.
Hordern Pavillion's limited space is a main reason why last year's arrangements are unlikely to be repeated in 2016 but a move to the new entertainment centre next year will allow for more areas to be utilised.
The AFL is keen to spice up its draft night, and is moving closer to introducing the trading of picks during the event.
That system could be implemented as soon as next year and was a discussion point in the talent meeting between clubs and AFL representatives this week.
Listed players would not be able to be traded as part of draft night deals under the planned rules.
If it does get ticked off for 2017, the draft could be reshaped to run over multiple sessions in a single day or over two nights. Clubs would likely be assigned individual 'war rooms' to allow for a level of privacy during the event if trading was introduced to draft night.
The possibility of the rookie list being disbanded could also open opportunities to change the structure of the event.
Sydney is the third city to host the draft in as many years, following Gold Coast's three-year stint between 2012-14 and Adelaide's single shot last year.
The AFL sent representatives to this year's NFL draft in Chicago to observe the build-up and entertainment elements of the high-profile American event.
