The Rookie List is a means for Australian Football League clubs to maintain additional players outside of the 38-man primary list. The Australian Football League (AFL), formerly known as the Victorian Football League, and sometimes known as the VFL/AFL, is the elite Australian national competition in the sport of Australian rules football. ...

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for rookie status, players generally must be between 18 and 23 years of age. However, each team can select one older player, providing they have not been on a primary or rookie list previously. One notable exception to this is the case of Adam Ramanauskas at Essendon. Special dispensation was granted to allow the club to place the 26-year-old Ramanauskas, who had played over 100 AFL games, on the list due to his ongoing fight against cancer.^[1] Adam Ramanauskas (born November 19, 1980) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ... Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club that is part of the Australian Football League. ...

Recruitment

Rookies are usually placed on the list via the Rookie Draft, which occurs annually during the off-season, immediately after the Pre-Season Draft. However, to encourage investment in local players, Brisbane and Sydney are additionally allowed to recruit eligible rookies who have resided for at least three years in Queensland or New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory respectively. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of young talent by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League. ... The pre-season draft is a draft conducted in the AFL following the AFL Draft. ... Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club (the trading name for the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy Football Club) are an Australian Football League club based in Brisbane, Queensland. ... Sydney Swans is an Australian Football League (AFL) club based in Sydney, New South Wales. ...

List Maintenance

Each club is allowed to maintain a list of up to six eligible players, whilst Brisbane and Sydney can list a maximum of nine. Up to three rookies can be retained for a second or third season, with the others having to be either delisted or elevated to the primary list at the time of the National Draft. The AFL Draft is the annual draft of young talent by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League. ...

Only half of the salary paid by a club to players on the rookie list counts towards the league's salary cap, and in general they cannot be selected to play. However, any club that has less than two veterans outside of its primary list can nominate two rookies to be available for normal selection. In addition, teams can promote a rookie temporarily to replace a senior player who has been moved to the long-term injury list. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

International Rookies

From 2006 onwards, clubs have been additionally allowed to sign up to two international rookies each year. The total number is limited to a maximum of six players at any one time, and payments do not count towards the salary cap.

In order to be eligible players must be aged between 15 and 23, and cannot be Australian citizens. Additionally, in order to protect the AFL's relationship with the Gaelic Athletic Association, Irish players do not qualify, and as such most be signed to either a club's primary or rookie list.^[2] A stylised Celtic cross serves as the traditional logo of the GAA. The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael) is an organisation which is mostly focussed on promoting Gaelic Games - traditional Irish sports, such as hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball, and rounders. ...

Notable Former Rookies

• Nathan Bassett
• Matthew Boyd
• Dean Brogan
• Robert Copeland
• Dean Cox
• Aaron Davey
• Michael Doughty
• Michael Firrito
• Chad Fletcher
• Mark Johnson
• Tadhg Kennelly
• Brett Kirk
• Tarkyn Lockyer
• Andrew Lovett
• Nathan Lovett-Murray
• Quinten Lynch
• Martin Mattner
• James McDonald
• Mal Michael
• Stephen Milne
• Dale Morris
• Heritier O'Brien
• Setanta Ó hAilpín
• Danyle Pearce
• Dean Rioli
• Russell Robertson
• Max Rooke
• Ben Rutten
• Aaron Sandilands
• Bret Thornton
• Greg Tivendale

Nathan Bassett has becone one of Adelaides best defenders. ... Matthew Boyd (born 27 August 1982) is an Australian Rules football player who has come through the Western Bulldogs rookie list, debutting in 2003. ... Dean Brogan (born December 14, 1978) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ... Robert Copeland (born May 26, 1981) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ... Dean Cox (born August 1, 1981) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League. ... Aaron Davey is an indigenous Australian rules football player. ... Michael Doughty (born June 10, 1970), often credited as Mike Doughty or M. Doughty, is a New York City musician, best known for his work as songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist for the band Soul Coughing from 1993 to 2000. ... Michael Firrito (born 27 November 1983) is an Australian Rules footballer for the North Melbourne Football Club. ... Chad Fletcher (born 30 August 1979) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League. ... Mark Johnson (born May 23, 1978) is an Australian rules footballer. ... Tadhg Kennelly (born 1 July 1981) is a former Gaelic football player from Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland, who is now a backline Australian Rules football player for the Sydney Swans, in the AFL. He is the son of Tim Kennelly, a former champion footballer with Kerry. ... Brett Kirk (born 25 October 1976) In England came to Australia when he was 6 and grew up in Dubbo, NSW is a south country NSW Australian football player with the Sydney Swans of the AFL, and is known colloquially as Kirky, Captain Kirk or during the 2005 Finals Series... Tarkyn Lockyer (born October 30, 1979) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ... Andrew Lovett (born November 18, 1982) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the AFLs Essendon Football Club. ... Nathan Lovett-Murray (born November 18, 1982) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the AFLs Essendon Football Club. ... Quinten Lynch (born January 23, 1983) is a West Coast Eagles Australian rules footballer sometimes known as The Big Unit (TBU), The Big Q The Q-stick or Quinchy because of his solidly built frame of 104kg. ... Martin Mattner (born August 6, 1982) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ... James I. McDonald (born October 5, 1976) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ... Malcolm Roberto Mal Michael (born June 24, 1977 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea) is an Australian rules footballer. ... Stephen Milne (born March 8, 1980) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ... Dale Morris (born 29 December 1982) is an Australian rules football player for the Western Bulldogs. ... Heritier Harry OBrien (born November 15, 1986) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League He was born to a Brazilian mother and an African father in Rio de Janeiro, and moved to Western Australia when he was 3 years old. ... Setanta Carlos Ó hAilpín (born in Sydney, Australia on 18 March 1983) is an Irish/Rotuman Australian sportsman, born of an Irish father and Rotuman mother. ... Danyle Pearce (born 7 April 1986) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ... Dean Rioli (born 20 May 1978) is an aboriginal Australian rules football player with silky skills and an abundance of natural talent. ... Russell Robertson (born November 24, 1978) is an Australian rules footballer, and currently plays for the Melbourne Demons Football Club. ... Max Rooke (born Jarad Maxwell Rooke on December 19, 1981) is a defender and midfielder with the Geelong Football Club. ... Ben Rutten (born May 28, 1983) is an Australian rules footballer who plays in the Australian Football League. ... Aaron Sandilands (born 6 December 1982) is an Australian rules footballer. ... Bret T-Bird Thornton (born November 15, 1983) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ... Greg Tivendale (born April 11, 1979) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. ...

See also

• AFL Draft

The AFL Draft is the annual draft of young talent by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League. ...

References