HOW TO MAKE THE AFL?
Do you want to play AFL- This is the most comprehensive guide to getting drafted into the AFL.
What does your path to the AFL look like?
Have you got a plan?
The standard path to the AFL is you play Auskick then to local football to interleague to Talent League or WAFL, SANFL and then drafted into the AFL.
But there are plenty of different pathways into the AFL.
99% of players come through a pathway program, with the largest majority coming through the Talent League (50-60%), Or the WAFL/ SANFL/ NTFL (Roughly 20-35%), Then there’s mature age picks who largely come through State League Football (VFL, WAFL, SANFL, NTFL).
Every now and again a player will be plucked straight from local football, Players such as Jayden Hunt (Melbourne/ West Coast Fc), James Gwilt (St Kilda/ Essendon Fc) and in more recent times Francis Evans (Geelong/ Port Adelaide Fc) and Oliver Sestan (Melbourne Fc).
Let’s take a look at where you are now and what your best bet is to get drafted into the AFL.
15-18 Years old
Being this age your best bet to play AFL, is through the Talent League. Talent League teams include the Oakleigh chargers (Notable Draftees include- Nick Daicos, Matt Rowell, Jordan De Goey), Sandringham dragons (Angus Brayshaw, Max Gawn, Bailey Smith), Bendigo pioneers (Dustin Martin, Clayton Oliver, Harley Reid).
If you’re already at a Talent League team, Great! But remember it’s no guarantee of becoming an AFL player. In fact on average a Talent League list is comprised of around 50-70 players and roughly 3-5 of those will go on to play AFL and 1-3 of those go on to play an AFL game.
If you are not in a Talent League team, ask why? Ask your local coach, your school coach and even Talent League coaches and recruiters if you have done trials. Get some real and raw feedback, if your coaches think you are at the level ask them to put your name forward to the Talent League team in your region.
If your coaches don’t have Talent League connections, get someone to film your games, compile a highlights package and create a football resume on yourself. Then email that to the talent manager of your regional talent league team- these contacts are usually on the Talent league teams website.
Make sure to be realistic though, don’t go emailing a Talent league team if you are playing in your local teams second side (Even if you think you are wrongfully put there or your coach hates you). A Talent League team will very rarely invite you to trial if you are not one of the best players in your local teams first side.
19-25 Years Old
If you are now past your draft year, you are no longer eligible to play under 18s pathway football. Your best bet now is to play senior state league football.
If you are not already playing state league football (VFL, SANFL, WAFL) you may wonder how do I make a state league team?
Most players get invited off the back off strong u18s footy and if you have just missed out on being drafted, you are almost guaranteed to get a call from a VFL, SANFL OR WAFL side in the weeks post national draft.
If you haven’t been invited, you can take a similar approach to what we suggested above- create a highlights tape and a football resume and send it to the head of football, a recruiter or even the head coach.
This is exactly what we have done with Trainstop Club members such as Eddie King (Melbourne VFL), Jack Meacham (GWS VFL), Jack Mccartney (Western Bulldogs VFL), Josh Smith (GWS VFL)- The list goes on!
We also have players like Lachlan Monteath (Essendon VFL) and Jett Hartman (Collingwood VFL) who got picked up off strong Talent league form the year prior.
If you want to make a VFL team your best bet is to send your highlights and Resume to a non-AFL affiliated VFL team (Think Werribee, Coburg, Williamstown etc.)
These teams don’t have an influx of AFL players playing in their team every week and are not inundated with resources and talent scouts so are more likely to say yes to your email asking them to come and trial during their pre-season.
From there it’s up to you and if you’re not good enough ask why, then go back to local footy, ply your trade and go back again next pre-season.
Another thing players in this bracket can do is consult an AFL player agent. Even if you haven’t played a state league or Talent League game AFL player agents will more often than not be happy to have a chat. We have set up over 10 of our Trainstop Club athletes with AFL player agents.
The role of the player agent is to act on behalf of their player to get them drafted, negotiate their contract and get them brand endorsements. Player agents work off commission so if a player on their books is not playing AFL they are not being paid (in most cases), therefore it is in their best interest to do everything they can to get you drafted into the AFL.
25+ Years Old
If you are over 25 the likelihood of you getting drafted is (unfortunately) very low. AFL club recruiters look at career value and unless you are absolutely dominating state league footy like Shaun Mannagh was (Drafted to Geelong at 26 from the VFL) your likely value to a club is otherwise quite low and that draft pick would be better used on an 18 year old they can potentially develop into having a 10+ year AFL career.
Having said that, if you are a 25+ year old, it would still be worth talking to a player agent, your local coach and seeing if there is state league or even AFL interest.
If you have decided that maybe AFL is too far out of reach, don’t forget you make a killing playing local football.
If you are 25+ years old and a good-great local player you can command anywhere from $500-$5,000 per game. Just check out some of the offers from clubs on our app
If you are after more assistance making the AFL, follow and message us on Instagram and we can assist further.
If you want to make money playing AFL, check out our app here
If you want to recruit players check out our recruiting database
