The AFLW Pre-Season Draft will be held on May 4, 2026 from 7pm AEDT. Picture: AFL Media

THE AFLW'S first Pre-Season Draft kicks off on Monday night from 7pm AEST, broadcast exclusively on AFL.com.au, womens.afl and the AFL and AFLW Live Apps.

A new mechanism for clubs to round out their lists, the draft will be held one week before pre-season begins on May 11.

>>> WATCH THE AFLW PRE-SEASON DRAFT IN THE PLAYER BELOW FROM 7PM AEST

The pre-season draft will replace the slew of injury replacement signings that occur in the lead up to pre-season, and the ability to have a full squad able to hit the ground running in May is vital.

Eleven players will be selected from a pool of players who nominated for the 2025 draft but were not picked up then. In previous years, injury replacement players have commonly been 19-year-olds who were just overlooked in the draft (e.g. likely to be selected if there were a further 10 picks) or top-rated state league players. 

Clubs who will select players either have a list spot remaining from December's draft (Hawthorn and Gold Coast) or have had players either retire or been named inactive.

Players may be ruled out for the entirety of a season for several reasons, including injury, pregnancy, mental health or work commitments.

>>> WATCH THE AFLW PRE-SEASON DRAFT HERE FROM 7PM AEST

DRAFT ORDER

  1. Gold Coast
  2. Greater Western Sydney
  3. Essendon
  4. Western Bulldogs
  5. Fremantle
  6. West Coast
  7. St Kilda
  8. Hawthorn
  9. Melbourne
  10. Greater Western Sydney
  11. West Coast