First-round draftees chat after the 2023 AFL Draft at Marvel Stadium on November 21, 2023. Picture: Getty Images/AFL Photos

LIST managers and recruiters, circle these days – the AFL has locked in its free agency, trade period and draft dates for 2024.

The League on Tuesday informed clubs of its schedule for the off-season, which will begin on the Friday following the Grand Final when the free agency window opens on October 4.

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Players will be able to move via free agency for a week through to Friday, October 11, with that window overlapping with the start of the trade period. 

The opening day of the trade period will be Monday, October 7 and it will close on Wednesday, October 16, with the prime-time finish on the final day now an established part of the wheeling, dealing and drama. 

The draft will again be split over two nights in November, with the first round to be conducted on Wednesday, November 20 and the rest of the national draft to follow on Thursday, November 21. The rookie and pre-season drafts will be staged on Friday, November 22.

Recruiters are buoyant on this year's draft crop ahead of the mid-year under-18 championships, with a range of different types pushing to be available in the first round. 

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As reported in last week's Inside Trading, the mid-season draft will take place on Wednesday, May 29 between rounds 11 and 12. 

The Draft Combines have also been locked in for the end of the year, with the national Draft Combine to be held on October 4-6, and state Combines (Victoria on October 6, South Australia on October 12 and Western Australia on October 13) confirmed.