THE AFL has rejected an allegation that it attempted to orchestrate a trade between Hawthorn and Greater Western Sydney that would have seen Lance Franklin move to the Giants for a young player.  

In a report on Wednesday, former Sydney Swans chairman Richard Colless suggested the AFL broke "at least three of its rules" regarding the trade of players as it attempted to get Buddy to its newest expansion club.

Colless told the Herald Sun that the AFL "dealt consistently with the player outside the prescribed [player movement] area".   

Colless also said the AFL was prepared to make a "third-party arrangement" to help seal the deal.  

Franklin ended up at the Swans at the end of the 2013 season, agreeing to a jaw-dropping nine-year, $10 million deal.   

The AFL said in statement on Wednesday, it "completely" rejected allegations that it had "sought to circumvent its own rules around Total Player Payments, Free Agency and Player Movement, regarding player Lance Franklin”.   

AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon said the circumstances of Franklin’s move from Hawthorn to the Swans had been "the subject of a detailed examination, with formal interviews with the key parties involved in his move under the Free Agency Rules". 

"As the nine-year deal was an unprecedented commitment of TPP funds to a single player over such a contract length, the AFL sought a number of written guarantees from all members of the Sydney Swans' board, as well as its senior management, and these requirements were publicly detailed at the time.

"The AFL was not involved in any dealings that player Franklin and his management may have had with any other club in the competition as a potential move for him under the Free Agency Rules, before the player made his final decision to accept an offer from the Sydney Swans."