The "imminent" changes coming to AFL father-son ruling

The AFL Commission has reaffirmed to clubs that changes to bids at the National Draft will come into effect this year, reports SEN’s Sam Edmund.

While the exact changes are yet to be revealed, clubs will have to pay much more to match father-son and Academy bids compared to what has been the case in previous years.

With Cody Walker (Carlton father-son) and Dougie Cochrane (Port Adelaide NGA) both a chance to go at Pick 1, both the Blues and Power will have to pay record prices to bring their homegrown talent into the AFL fold.

Speaking on SEN Breakfast, AFL COO Tom Harley confirmed that the changes are "imminent" following a discussion regarding the matter earlier this week.

“It’ll be really imminent,” Harley said on Thursday morning.

“Without going into the details of the conversations, it was a good discussion. Greg Swann certainly takes carriage of the competitive balance component, of which the bidding rules are a key part of that.

“Trying to thread a pretty fine line with regards to the growth of the game, the historic and romance, if you like, through father-son and clearly competitive balance.

“Ultimately, it’s trying to land that, and progress has been really solid. The club engagement has been really strong, and I suspect that there will be an announcement within the coming weeks.”

Despite the approaching changes, Harley confirmed that he loves the father-son rule, admitting that while tightening of the law is required, the concept is here to stay.

“I always have been (a fan),” he said.

“When we’re talking about an all-star of the game being loved and connected to the game, a key part of that is the thread between fathers and sons.

“I’ve said this on record a number of times, I was a Bombers’ fan as a kid, had 32 on my back as a kid (Tim Watson). If I wasn’t playing the game, I’m sure I would have been a Bombers fan through, and Bombers fans absolutely loved seeing Jobe (Watson) play for the Bombers.

“It’s here, it’s here to stay, and it’s a great part of our game. But like all things, you look at it, if there’s a point in time where it needs to be tweaked it will.”

Sam Edmund discussed the news with Kane Cornes on SEN Locked In.

Cornes: “You’ve got some news about the commission?”

Edmund: “They obviously discussed a suite of incoming changes to the father-son and Academy bidding systems, but they actually provided no final decisions to clubs yet.

“So, they met first thing this morning up in Sydney. This was primarily to formally elect Craig Drummond as the chair to replace the retiring Richard Goyder, but a range of other topics were discussed on the eve of the season.

“Tighter draft restrictions have been forecast since last year, with even stricter bidding rules obviously set to be introduced to bring consistency to the father-son and Northern Academy concessions.

“The clubs were told today that they would be given the amended rules in due course. The league did confirm again, however, that the changes would come into effect this year.

“This almost certainly means that Carlton are going to have to pay a record price for Cody Walker as a father-son, and indeed the Port Adelaide might have to do likewise for their NGA prospect Dougie Cochrane.”

Cornes: “Have you spoken to these clubs?

Edmund: “Well, every club when these rules were mooted last year, they were apoplectic then. They were so angry that it could have come in (immediately).

“So, this has been forecast, and it’s going to be formalised close to this year’s draft. But the clubs know it's coming.”

Cornes: “But if you’ve been waiting… I can’t remember the last good father-son or Academy player at Port Adelaide apart from probably Jase Burgoyne. They've been waiting and waiting and lobbying hard for this to get Cochrane as an NGA.

“Just as you get your first crack at it (it changes). This is after Brisbane have had theirs, Gold Coast have had theirs, the Western Bulldogs have had theirs, and Collingwood have had theirs.”

Edmund: “Port Adelaide, they've only got one first rounder, I think they've got two second rounders, so they could package something up there, but if they lose Zak Butters, then clearly there's going to be a bounty coming back in.

“Carlton has got the two first round picks, their own and the one that they got from Sydney for Charlie, but there'll always be one or two clubs unhappy.

“I won't speculate on what it's going to look like. But ultimately, they're just going to have to pay more, and maybe a lot more.”

The 2026 AFL Draft will take place in November, following the conclusion of the trade and free agency period.