hey I'm not sure if there's a thread on this already, but with free agency coming in a mid season trade/drafting period should be introduced. obviously contractually there would be hurdles to overcome, but there would be positives for both teams who are struggling and those that are competing. I would love to see some of the dead-wood disposed of asap and get in some players (other clubs, vfl, sanfl, wafl....) who will have a crack, but 2013 is a long way away. at the top end it looks like a number of teams could win the flag this year and it has been suggested that it will be the team with the fittest list; mid-season trade/draft period could help quell the effect of injuries. It could also provide a chance for clubs to get something for players looking to leave at the end of year. I know it's not going to be available this year and we have to be 'patient' but i think it has a big upside. thoughts?

I've never been in favour of a mid-season draft because it would pillage the VFL, SANFL and WAFL of it's best talent with them having a chance to top up.

It would cripple those competitions and it would only be of marginal benefit to AFL clubs.

I have however been thinking the last few weeks that purely a mid-season TRADE period would be beneficial.

Blokes like Moloney could be moved on before his value is completely gone.

A team like St Kilda could snatch a ruckman (Warnock?) so their season doesn't go down the drain due to injury.

I can only see it as being beneficial for all parties, and I think player movement would be at a minimum, only really used to facilitate teams with list holes getting players who need more opportunity.

That couldn't possinly be a bad thing, could it?

Some might think that players would jump ship from teams out of the finals, but as always teams would need to agree to trades before they happen.

It could happen, but imho it wouldn't be commonplace.