THE FIRST AFLW Pre-Season Draft has been locked in and will be held on Monday, May 4 at 6pm AEST.
As reported by AFL.com.au in December,, the pre-season draft will harness both the usual flurry of replacement player signings before the start of training, and ensure the best undrafted talent is available to the weakest sides.
The draft will be held via an online video call, as is the case for the men's mid-season and rookie drafts.
Clubs may participate in the pre-season draft if they held a spot open during December's main Telstra AFLW Draft or if a player has been moved to the inactive list (long-term injury, pregnancy, work commitments, personal reasons) or retired.
Draft pick order will be determined by the reverse ladder order from last year's results.
Players can only be selected through the pre-season draft if they had nominated for the 2025 national draft and were not selected, with the rationale being that all 18 clubs have already had an opportunity to pick that player.
As it stands in mid-March, the pre-season draft order is expected to be:
- Gold Coast (available list spot from draft)
- Greater Western Sydney (Katherine Smith retirement)
- West Coast (Sophie McDonald retirement)
- Hawthorn (available list spot from draft)
It is expected clubs will confirm more inactive players for 2026 over the six weeks leading into the pre-season draft, which will alter the draft order, and a cut-off date to make list changes likely to be set for the few days before the draft itself.
Sydney had also held a list spot open during the draft but have since signed Irish rookie Mary-Kate Lynch, a quick defender from County Meath.
Clubs will still be able to replace players who suffer long-term injuries during pre-season, which begins on May 11.
