On the opening day of free agency, the Australian Football League (AFL) showed its generosity, awarding prized draft picks to St Kilda and Greater Western Sydney (GWS) for losing key players. St Kilda received a highly valued first-round draft pick, currently ranked eighth, after Josh Battle joined Hawthorn on a six-year deal. This compensation, combined with their existing picks, gives the Saints a strong foundation for the upcoming national draft.
GWS, on the other hand, lost two players, Isaac Cumming and Harry Perryman, to Adelaide and Collingwood respectively. However, they received substantial compensation for both players. Perryman’s six-year deal with Collingwood earned GWS a first-round pick, currently ranked 16th, while Cumming’s move to Adelaide secured a “Band Two” end-of-first-round pick, currently ranked 21st. This means GWS will have three picks in the top 21 of the draft.
The AFL’s compensation formula takes into account factors such as the player’s age, the length and size of the deal, and the team’s overall performance. While the exact formula remains unknown, the high compensation picks for Battle and Perryman came as a surprise to many.
In other moves, Elliott Himmelberg joined Gold Coast from Adelaide on a three-year deal, while delisted St Kilda ruckman Tom Campbell joined Melbourne as a backup to Max Gawn. Battle, who played 123 games for St Kilda over eight seasons, enjoyed a career-best campaign in 2024, ranking sixth overall in the AFL for marks per game.
The decision to award St Kilda such a valued compensation for Battle comes just days after the team’s president criticized the AFL’s draft system, citing unfair advantages afforded to certain teams. Meanwhile, Perryman, who played 129 games for GWS, expressed his excitement to join Collingwood, saying it was the right place for him to progress his football journey.
In other news, Richmond free agent Jack Graham is expected to join West Coast, while Adelaide delisted several players, including former first-round draft pick Ned McHenry.
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