AFL Northern Territory (AFLNT) is pleased that four Territorians have been invited to the State Draft Combine and Rookie Me Combine which will be held in Melbourne on the 5th and 6th of October.
Michael Mummery and Izaak Wyatt are on the State Draft Combine list while Matthew Green and Adam Tipungwuti are on the Rookie Me Combine list.
The Combine will assess the players’ fitness and skills and AFL clubs will also have the opportunity to interview the players ahead of the NAB AFL Men’s Draft which will be held in November.
AFLNT Manager of Talent and Pathways Wally Gallio said selection was good reward for the invitees, three of whom have played senior NEAFL football for NT Thunder this year and Adam who had an outstanding NTFL season with the Tiwi Bombers and carried it with him when he moved to NSW.
“Having the four participating in the State Draft Combine and Rookie Me Combine will allow them to test their skills at the highest level and put them in the eye of selectors ahead of the draft.
“The three Thunder players are all classed as medium utility players - Matthew and Izaak can play forward or back while Michael plays forward through the mid field. They have all shown traits of elite standard and Matthew and Michael were in the Level 2 National Academy program this year,” he said.
The AFL this week advised that for the first time live trading of selections during the NAB AFL Draft will be introduced to provide clubs with more flexibility when making player selections and managing their lists.
The Draft will be held across two days at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne with the first round selected during the evening of Thursday, November 22 and the remaining rounds to occur the following day Friday, November 23. The NAB AFL Pre-season and Rookie Drafts will also occur on the final day.
In another change, the NAB AFL Trade Period will be conducted in two parts.
• Part One will involve the ability for clubs to trade both players and Draft selections from 9.00am AEDT Monday October 8 through to 8.30pm AEDT Wednesday, October 17.
• Part Two will allow clubs to continue to trade Draft selections until 2.00pm AEDT Friday, November 16.
AFL General Manager Game Development Andrew Dillon said all 18 clubs are supportive of the Trade and Draft changes.
“We have been working closely with the clubs to create a more open and fluid trade and draft process,” Mr Dillon said.
Key dates:
NAB AFL Draft Combine
Tuesday October 2 to Friday October 5
Victoria/NEAFL/Tasmania State Draft Combine
Friday October 5
Restricted and Unrestricted Free Agency
9.00am AEST Friday October 5 to 5.00pm AEDT Friday October 12
NAB AFL Trade Period – Players and Selections
9.00am AEDT Monday October 8 to 8.30pm AEDT Wednesday October 17
SA State Draft Combine
Saturday October 13
WA State Draft Combine
Sunday October 14
NAB AFL Trade Period – Selections only
9.00am AEDT Thursday October 18 to 2.00pm AEDT Friday November 16
NAB AFL Draft
First Round: Evening Thursday November 22 (time to be confirmed)
Second Round to completion: Friday November 23 (time to be confirmed)
NAB AFL Preseason and Rookie Drafts
Evening Friday November 23 (time to be confirmed)
Both days of 2018 NAB AFL Draft will be broadcast live nationally on FOX FOOTY and the NAB AFL Trade Period will be broadcast via AFL Trade Radio available on the AFL Live Official App and AFL.com.au.
The AFL Live Official App will also broadcast the 2018 NAB AFL Draft with extensive coverage on AFL.com.au and on Twitter: @AFLDraft