WITH Essendon seemingly likely to bid on Port Adelaide Academy prospect Dougie Cochrane at No.1 in this year's Telstra AFL Draft, the new compensation mechanism is set to come into play for impacted clubs for the first time.

In changes revealed in April, the AFL announced bottom-five clubs' whose first-round pick is moved back due to a matched bid would receive a second-round compensation pick.

DRAFT HUB Click here for the latest draft news

But it came with three conditions, so let's assess how it is likely to work in 2026.

To be eligible, clubs must meet all three of the following conditions:

- they must finish in the bottom five of the ladder in the preceding season.
- the club's own natural first-round pick must move back by one spot or more from their position at the start of the draft due to a matched bid.
- they must use that pick to select a player.

The provision of compensation picks will be determined at the conclusion of night one of the draft.

The compensation pick will be tied to the club's finishing position, can be traded from the opening of the short trade window prior to night two of the draft, and is limited to one per club in each draft.

In an instance where a club has filled their primary list and does not have an available list spot, they will still be granted the compensation pick ahead of the trade window prior to night two of the draft. However, if the club does not trade the pick before the draft restarts, the pick will be forfeited. 

Let's see how it could work in 2026.

Essendon, Richmond, West Coast, Port Adelaide and North Melbourne finished in the bottom five on the ladder this year, but the Power and Roos are not eligible for the compensation pick.

With Cochrane set to join the Power, their pick – initially No.4 – would have been wiped out by a bid, meaning they would not have been eligible for the compensation pick. They knew this, so opted to trade out the selection to Melbourne in the five-club mega deal.

The Roos may have been eligible for the compensation pick, but they traded their top pick as part of the deal to land Sydney star Nick Blakey, so will not receive compensation.

On draft night, if the Bombers bid on Cochrane – as expected – and Port matches, the talented young gun will join the Power as the No.1 pick. It would mean the Bombers, Tigers and Eagles would all have their natural first-round pick moved back one spot, meaning all will get a compensation pick as long as they use their natural first-round pick to select a player.

Another bid is expected on Carlton father-son gun Cody Walker in the top few picks, although that makes little difference this year given there is a limit of one compensation pick per club.

As long as Essendon, Richmond and West Coast use their first picks – after they are all moved back by the Cochrane bid match – to choose a player, they will be eligible for the compensation pick.

The Bombers (for Keidean Coleman) and Tigers (for pick No.5) traded their second-round picks during the trade period, but are still eligible for compensation.

Applied at the end of night one of the draft, the compensation pick is tied to the club's finishing position.

As it stands, Brisbane will have the first pick of night two of the draft with the pick 21 it got from the Bombers in the Coleman deal, before the Bombers can use their compensation pick at No.22. That will be followed by Port (23, received from the Tigers), Richmond with its compensation pick (24) and West Coast (25 and 26).

The Bombers could still have the first pick of the second round, if the Lions use 21 to match a bid on Academy prospect Caylen Murray, but more movement is still expected with pick swaps and other matched bids between now and the draft, and on draft night.