Adelaide

Who's gone: Mitch Grigg, Ricky Henderson, Matthew Jaensch, Luke Lowden, Jarryd Lyons, Keenan Ramsey, Nathan van Berlo.

Total games played: 445 (17th in AFL for games lost). Former captain van Berlo accounts for 46 per cent of the experience that has left the Crows, having retired after a 205-game career.

Total 2016 games: 32. Lyons became a regular in the Crows' midfield, making 20 appearances, before agreeing to a trade to Gold Coast.

Average player rating position: 443. Lyons (ranked 135th) shows why he will continue his AFL career as the highest-ranked departed player, while Henderson (ranked 285th) is the only other ex-Crow inside the top 400. Delisted forward Keenan Ramsey doesn't have a rating after not playing a game in his two years on the rookie list.

Total 2016 goals: 16. Lyons added an attacking aspect to his game with an impressive 15 goals to complement Adelaide's high-powered forward line.

Biggest loss: Lyons became a serviceable part of Adelaide's midfield this year and will be a handy pick-up for the Suns. - Lee Gaskin

Brisbane

Who's gone: Hugh Beasley, Justin Clarke, Billy Evans, Josh Green, Pearce Hanley, Josh McGuinness, Daniel Merrett, Jackson Paine, Josh Watts, Trent West

Total games played: 565 (11th in AFL for games lost). The Lions lost a lot of experience out of their defence after the retirements of Daniel Merrett and Justin Clarke, while Pearce Hanley was traded to Gold Coast.

Total 2016 games: 62. All but 10 of those games came from the trio of Daniel Merrett, Pearce Hanley and Josh Green.

Average player rating position: 479. Doesn't include Josh McGuinness or Josh Watts, since neither has accrued any player ratings points.

Total 2016 goals: 25. Pearce Hanley (14 goals) and Josh Green (10) loom as the major losses in this area.

Biggest loss: Pearce Hanley may not have had his best year, but he finished fourth in the best and fairest and provides line-breaking run. - Dinny Navaratnam

Pearce Hanley joined crosstown rivals Gold Coast. Picture: AFL Photos

Carlton

Who's gone: Matthew Dick, Andrejs Everitt, Jayden Foster, Andrew Gallucci, Billy Gowers, Michael Jamison, Ciaran Sheehan, Clem Smith, Zach Tuohy, Jason Tutt, Dillon Viojo-Rainbow, Andrew Walker, Mark Whiley, Cameron Wood

Total games played: 769 (6th in AFL for games lost). The vast majority of those split between Walker (202), Jamison (150), Everitt (131) and Tuohy (120).

Total 2016 games: 53. Walker battled injury which ended his career, Jamison fell out of favour early, Everitt was in and out of the side and Tuohy was the only player on this list to feature in every game.

Average player rating position: 492. Tuohy (178) is the big name and the only player ranked inside the top 200 to leave Carlton. Foster, Gallucci, Gowers and Viojo-Rainbow never played a game.

Total 2016 goals: 24. Everitt kicked 17 of them, only five fewer than the Blues' leading goalkicker Matthew Wright.

Biggest loss: Tuohy. The Irishman's dash from the backline will be sorely missed and is exactly what Geelong needs. - Travis King

Collingwood

Who's gone: Nathan Brown, Travis Cloke, Jack Frost, Corey Gault, Tim Golds, Matthew Goodyear, Brent Macaffer, Dane Swan, Alan Toovey, Marley Williams, Jarrod Witts, Darrean Wyatt

Total games played: 1046 (3rd in AFL for games lost). The bulk of these appearances were provided by five 2010 premiership players whose time was up: Swan (258), Cloke (246), Toovey (159) Brown (130) and Macaffer (77).

Total 2016 games: 69. None of the departing players were weekly selections, with only Brown (16), Cloke (13), Williams (11) and Frost (10) reaching double figures.

Average player rating position: 449. The highest ranking among them at season's end was Williams' at 226 followed by Swan's 249, while former basketballer Wyatt didn't play an AFL game in his only season at the club and consequently didn't achieve a rating.

Total 2016 goals: 18. Cloke contributed all but one of these majors, with the other coming from Macaffer in the round 16 win over Greater Western Sydney when Cloke produced a season-best bag of four.

Biggest loss: Brown, given Swan was already in the twilight zone before his career-ending injury. Without backmen Brown and Frost, and with Jonathon Marsh longing to return home to Western Australia, the Pies are light on for key defenders and will now have to get by with Ben Reid and support crew Lynden Dunn, Lachie Keeffe and Tyson Goldsack. - Ben Collins 

Dane Swan leaves the field for the last time in round one. Picture: AFL Photos

Essendon

Who's gone: Jason Ashby, Adam Cooney, Courtenay Dempsey, Yestin Eades, Shaun Edwards, James Gwilt, Will Hams, Michael Hibberd, Nick Kommer, Gach Nyuon, Tayte Pears, Tom Wallis
*Group does not include the top-up players

Total games played: 760 (7th in AFL for games lost). Cooney, who retired at the end of last season after 250 AFL games across his career at the Bulldogs and Bombers, takes up a third of this total. Only one of the other departing players (Gwilt) had passed the 100-game barrier.

Total 2016 games: 65. Five of the players leaving Essendon (including suspended pair Hibberd and Pears) didn't manage a senior game this season, with Cooney, Gwilt and Dempsey tallying the most.

Average player rating position: 492. Cooney was the highest ranked player in the rating system, at No.306. Ashby, Edwards, Hams, Kommer and Pears were all ranked beyond No.500, pushing the average up.

Total 2016 goals: 17. Goals weren't high in frequency for the Bombers this year as the competition's lowest scoring side. It is no surprise they didn't get too many from this group.

Biggest loss: Hibberd's move to Melbourne will no doubt hurt the Bombers the most of all their exiting players. He is the only member of the banned dozen to switch clubs, and the attacking, tough and composed half-back will be a huge asset to the Demons. - Callum Twomey

Fremantle

Who's gone: Michael Barlow, Matt de Boer, Josh Deluca, Brady Grey, Jack Hannath, Sean Hurley, Chris Mayne, Anthony Morabito, Tendai Mzungu, Matthew Pavlich, Clancee Pearce, Alex Silvagni, Tanner Smith

Total games played: 1097 (2nd in AFL for games lost). The Dockers have lost six players who lined up in at least 100 matches, including former skipper Pavlich, who finished on 353 games.

Total 2016 games: 77. Of the 13 players to leave Fremantle, 10 played fewer than six games this season.

Average player rating position: 465. Doesn't include Deluca or Hurley, since neither had any player ratings points.

Total 2016 goals: 58. Pavlich and Mayne kicked 49 of those goals.

Biggest loss: The retirement of Pavlich will hurt, with his leadership and goalkicking important last year. He finished fourth in the club championship. - Dinny Navaratnam 

Geelong

Who's gone: Jimmy Bartel, Zac Bates, Josh Caddy, Mitch Clark, Jock Cornell, Cameron Delaney, Corey Enright, Shane Kersten, Padraig Lucey, Michael Luxford, Tom Read, Billie Smedts, Nathan Vardy

Total games played: 946 (4th in AFL for games lost). Losing 300-game champions Bartel and Enright puts a dent in experience but the Cats still have a solid spread of veterans.

Total 2016 games: 83. Bartel, Enright, Kersten and Caddy are the key losses but the club had readymade replacements emerge late in the season.

Average player rating position: 405. Zac Bates, Jock Cornell, Cameron Delaney and Tom Read were not included as they did not have a player rating.

Total 2016 goals: 60. Caddy's midfield goalkicking will be missed while someone will have to step in and kick Kersten's 22 goals as a third tall forward.

Biggest loss: Enright. The champion is irreplaceable in the back half so the Cats will notice his absence, particularly given he had such an excellent final season. - Peter Ryan

Corey Enright was in tears after the preliminary final loss. Picture: AFL Photos

Gold Coast

Who's gone: Keegan Brooksby, Clay Cameron, Tom Keough, Cameron Loersch, Nick Malceski, Jaeger O'Meara, Dion Prestia, Luke Russell, Henry Schade, Danny Stanley, Seb Tape.

Total games played: 604 (10th in AFL for games lost). The experience of 210-game veteran Malceski will be missed, while Prestia finishes five games short of 100 appearances for the expansion club. Stanley (88 games) and Russell (73) also made significant contributions, but fell out of favour this year.

Total 2016 games: 59. Malceski (18 games) and Prestia (14) are the only two departed players to play nine or more games for the Suns last season.

Average player rating position: 475. Prestia is the highest-rated of the 11 departed players, ranked 235th in the competition. O'Meara doesn't have a rating because he hasn't played in the past two seasons, while Keough (third pick, 2015 rookie draft) and Loersch (53rd pick, 2015 rookie draft) didn't play for the Suns.

Total 2016 goals: 13. Malceski booted five goals pushing up from the half-back flank, with Prestia and Cameron chipping in with four each.

Biggest loss: There are huge expectations on Hawthorn recruit O'Meara providing he can overcome the injuries that have plagued him in the past two seasons. - Lee Gaskin 

GWS

Who's gone: Paul Ahern, Jake Barrett, Will Hoskin-Elliott, Caleb Marchbank, Cam McCarthy, Pat McKenna, Rhys Palmer, Joel Patfull, Jarrod Pickett, Jack Steele, James Stewart

Total games played: 458 (15th in AFL for games lost). Patfull (220) and Palmer (121) make up the majority of the total and are the only two players with more than 60 games experience.

Total 2016 games: 49. Patfull (22 games), Palmer (13) and Steele (10) are the only ones in double figures, with Hoskin-Elliott, Marchbank and Stewart making up the other five games.

Average player rating position: 501. Patfull (293) and Palmer (336) were the highest-ranked players, while Ahern, McKenna and Pickett didn't have rankings after he failed to play a senior game.

Total 2016 goals: 23. Palmer (13) and Steele (eight) proved that they could hit the scoreboard – they just couldn't hold a spot in the senior side.

Biggest loss: Marchbank was a top-10 pick and the Giants would have been hoping they had a quality key defender for the next decade. - Adam Curley

How do your club's delistings compare?

CLUBTOTAL GAMES2016 GAMES2016 GOALSAVG. RATING
Adelaide44532 16444
Brisbane Lions56562 25479
Carlton76953 24492
Collingwood10466918449
Essendon76065 17492
Fremantle109777 58465
Geelong94683 60186
Gold Coast60459 13475
Greater Western Sydney45849 23501
Hawthorn77476 26395
Melbourne52118 7471
North Melbourne2010143 80369
Port Adelaide62543 16515
Richmond64446 39431
St Kilda41524 2581
Sydney Swans53771 58445
West Coast44813 9612
Western Bulldogs53537 10453

Hawthorn

Who's gone: Jack Fitzpatrick, Bradley Hill, Lachlan Langford, Jordan Lewis, Angus Litherland, Jermaine Miller-Lewis, Sam Mitchell, Matt Spangher, Shem-Kalvin Tatupu, Zac Webster, Alex Woodward

Total games played: 774 (5th in AFL for games lost). Mitchell (307) and Lewis (264) explain the blow-out, but imagine this figure in 12 months' time if you add probable retirees Luke Hodge, Josh Gibson and Shaun Burgoyne - the Hawks were wise to stagger these departures.

Total 2016 games: 76. Mitchell, Lewis and Hill were best 22 players, Fitzpatrick played finals only because of Jonathon Ceglar's knee injury.

Average player rating position: 394. Mitchell (23) was Hawthorn's second ranked player here.

Total 2016 goals: 26. Notably, Mitchell didn't kick any.

Biggest loss: In the short term Mitchell and Lewis – who quinellaed the Hawks' best and fairest last year. But Hill is just 23 and has years of good footy ahead of him. The Hawks will miss his outside run. - Ashley Browne

Melbourne

Who's gone: Chris Dawes, Lynden Dunn, Jack Grimes, Matt Jones, Max King, Viv Michie, Ben Newton, Dean Terlich

Total games played: 521 (14th in AFL for games lost). Much of the experience lost played VFL during 2016 as the Demons make the transition between eras. Casey Scorpions will feel the effect after making the VFL Grand Final.

Total 2016 games: 18. Dunn, Dawes and Grimes found themselves out of the senior team with Melbourne blooding youngsters in their place.

Average player rating position: 471. Max King was the only departing player without a rating.

Total 2016 goals: Seven. The Demons will not lose anything on the scoreboard with Dawes only kicking four goals in six games. 

Biggest loss: Lynden Dunn gets another chance at Collingwood after shaping as a good back-up for Melbourne's young defence. A loyal servant he is likely to get more opportunities with the Magpies. - Peter Ryan

Lynden Dunn will bring his agression to Collingwood next year. Picture: AFL Photos


North Melbourne

Who's gone: Aaron Black, Nick Dal Santo, Michael Firrito, Brent Harvey, Robin Nahas, Brad McKenzie, Drew Petrie, Farren Ray, Joel Tippett, Daniel Wells

Total games played: 2010 (1st in AFL for games lost). The cleanout at North included the AFL games record holder, two 300-plus game players, three double-centurions and a hundred-gamer.

Total 2016 games: 143. It will be a different-looking best 22 next season without Harvey, Petrie, Wells, Dal Santo and Firrito.

Average player rating position: 368. Some quality like Harvey (ranked 24 overall) mixed in with some Roos who hardly played.

Total 2016 goals: 80. Two of the Roos' top-five goalkickers last season – Harvey (36) and Petrie (27) – were moved on.

Biggest loss: Wells. North's midfield isn't exactly flushed with an abundance of pace and class, and a fully fit Wells is still extremely damaging forward of centre. - Travis King

Port Adelaide

Who's gone: John Butcher, Alipate Carlile, Sam Colquhoun, Kane Mitchell, Cam O'Shea, Jay Schulz, Paul Stewart

Total games played: 625 (9th in AFL for games lost). Key forward Schulz is hoping to continue his 194-game career at his third club after being delisted by the Power, while Carlile (167), Stewart (101) and O'Shea (81) all made significant contributions to the club.

Total 2016 games: 43. Stewart (14 games) and O'Shea (13) couldn't command a regular spot in the Power's best 22, while injuries restricted Carlile to just two games before the key defender retired.

Average player rating position: 515. Schulz is the highest-ranked of the Power's seven departees with a ranking of 318, with Stewart (No. 474) the only other inside the top 500.

Total 2016 goals: 16. Schulz booted 10 goals in his seven games after missing the first half of the season with a back injury.

Biggest loss: Schulz's departure leaves a hole in the Power's forward line as a tall partner for Charlie Dixon. - Lee Gaskin

Richmond

Who's gone: Troy Chaplin, Brett Deledio, Adam Marcon, Liam McBean, Reece McKenzie, Andrew Moore, Ty Vickery.

Total games played: 644 (8th in AFL for games lost). The loss of Troy Chaplin and Brett Deledio (both played more than 200 games) robs the Tigers of plenty of experience.

Total 2016 games: 46. Only one departed Tiger lined up in more than half of the season's games: Ty Vickery (17).

Average player rating position: 431. Reece McKenzie wasn't included in the calculation since he does not have any player ratings points.

Total 2016 goals: 39. Vickery slotted most of those, finishing with 26 despite being dropped at various stages.

Biggest loss: Deledio. Injuries may have restricted him to 11 matches in 2016 but the Tigers had a 2-9 record without him. - Dinny Navaratnam 

Brett Deledio left the Tigers after 243 games in 12 season. Picture: AFL Photos

St Kilda

Who's gone: Tom Curren, Luke Delaney, Sam Fisher, Tom Lee, Brodie Murdoch, Brenton Payne, Josh Saunders, Cameron Shenton, Eli Templeton

Total games played: 415 (18th in AFL for games lost). Take Fisher and his 224 games out of the equation and the Saints haven't lost much experience.

Total 2016 games: 24. Fisher played 12 games. Of the rest, Lee played the most with four, so the Saints haven't eroded much of their talent base.

Average player rating position: 580. Not such a high figure all things considered.

Total 2016 goals: 2. Murdoch and Templeton were the only two departing players to kick goals for the Saints this year.

Biggest loss: Fisher's effectiveness was on the wane, but he was a warrior for the Saints and a great club man. There weren’t too many better players at St Kilda between 2006 and 2011 in particular, when he was at his best. - Ashley Browne

Sydney Swans

Who's gone: Abe Davis, Tom Derickx, Kyle Galloway, Jack Hiscox, Ben McGlynn, Tom Mitchell, Toby Nankervis, Ted Richards, Xavier Richards

Total games played: 537 (12th in AFL for games lost). The retirements of veterans Ted Richards (262 games) and McGlynn (171) robs the Swans of more vital experience after last year's departures.

Total 2016 games: 71. Mitchell (26 games) didn't miss a match this year, while McGlynn (18 games) is the only other regular that will be missing in 2017.

Average player rating position: 445. Mitchell (62) was the highest ranked player on the list, with veteran McGlynn next at number 287.

Total 2016 goals: 58. McGlynn (24 goals) finished sixth in the Swans' goalkicking this year, while Mitchell (15) and Xavier Richards (13) provided some handy cameos last season.

Biggest loss: Mitchell's past two seasons in the midfield have been outstanding, and his ball-winning ability will be missed in 2017. - Adam Curley

Ted Richards (below) and his brother Xavier both left the Swans. Picture: AFL Photos

West Coast

Who's gone: Corey Adamson, Jamie Bennell, Mitch Brown, Damien Cavka, Brant Colledge, Xavier Ellis, Kane Lucas, Patrick McGinnity, Fraser McInnes, Alec Waterman

Total games played: 448 (16th in AFL for games lost). Ellis (120) was the most experienced of the lot and the only 100-game player in the group. 

Total 2016 games: 13. The Eagles shouldn't notice much difference on the field next season, with Brown's four games the most of any player no longer at the club.

Average player rating position: 612. Ellis, at 526th overall, is the top ranked Eagle to depart. Adamson, Cavka and Waterman never played senior football and had no rankings.

Total 2016 goals: 9. Four of them booted by McGinnity.

Biggest loss: McGinnity. On talent, losing Ellis is a blow but he was unfortunately often injured. McGinnity was a handy and tough depth player across half-forward and through the middle. - Travis King

Western Bulldogs

Who's gone: Jed Adcock, Luke Goetz, Joel Hamling, Nathan Hrovat, Josh Prudden, Koby Stevens, Will Minson

Total games played: 535 (13rd in AFL for games lost). It may seem like the Dogs have lost a lot of experience, but veteran Minson played just two matches in 2016 and ex-Lion Adcock seven so they are delistings the Dogs can cover.

Total 2016 games: 37. Besides Hamling, who had a very good finals series, the other departures had very little influence on the season. 

Average player rating position: 297. None of the departures ranked in the top 300, except Stevens (298).

Total 2016 goals: 7. The Dogs lost very little firepower.

Biggest loss: Joel Hamling - Out of favour until round 12, the versatile defender ending being a solid contributor in a premiership defence. - Ryan Davidson