THE 2021 NAB AFL Draft is fast approaching, with the first round taking place at 6.10pm (7.10pm AEDT) on Wednesday, November 24.
The following night the rest of the national draft will be completed, and on the Friday, November 26, the NAB AFL Pre-Season and Rookie Drafts will begin.
Our recruiting team will be heading back to Marvel Stadium for this year's draft after last year making their picks from separate locations around the country. They'll be on a direct link back to Queensland where Senior Coach Chris Fagan and our football admin team will be based.
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As the draft moved to a virtual event in 2020 to deal with COVID-19 restrictions and protocols, club recruiters made selections via their draft 'war rooms' where they linked into the broadcast via online meetings.
Clubs are also discussing plans if they draft a player who has to cross state borders and whether prospects might not make the trip to certain clubs until January because of travel restrictions.
For instance, players heading from Victoria or New South Wales to Western Australia or Queensland may not be able to enter as soon as they are drafted under COVID-19 controls.
Regardless the decisions on those situations won't be a factor in clubs' draft plans or how they rank prospective players.
Outside of the 2021 NAB Draft, there are still plenty of key dates for list lodgement and rookie drafts to be across.
Check it all out below:
Monday 15 November by 4.30pm – AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (2) Closes
Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period Closes –Selections Only
Wednesday 17 November by 2.30pm – Delisted Primary List Draft Nomination Form Lodgement; Non–Retained Rookie Players NAB AFL Draft Nomination Form Lodgement; Players Not Registered or Played for 3 years Rookie List Form lodgement; International Players Inclusion on Rookie List Form Lodgement; AFL Father-Son Bidding Nominations lodged with AFL
NAB AFL Draft Nominations close
Wednesday 24 November at 6.40pm – Round 1 - NAB AFL Draft Selection Meeting including Father/Son, Academy, NGA Players Bidding
Thursday 25 November at 5.15pm to 6:00pm – Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period – Selections Only
Thursday 25 November at 6.30pm – Round 2 to completion - NAB AFL Draft Selection Meeting
Thursday 25 November at 9.30pm – Rookie Upgrade Period opens; AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (3) commences
Thursday 25 November at 10.30pm – Rookie Upgrade Period closes; AFL Delisted Player Free Agency Period (3) closes
Friday 26 November at 9.30am – AFL Club List Lodgement (3)
Friday 26 November at 11.30am-12 – Pre-Selected Rookies; NSW and Queensland Eligible Pre-Selected Rookie Player Nominations Lodged; Father-Son
Pre-Selected Rookie Player Nominations Lodged; Academy Pre-Selected Rookie Player Nominations Lodged; NGA Pre-Selected Rookie Player Nominations Lodged
Note: These nominations remain confidential until announced between NAB AFL Pre-Season/Rookie Draft
Friday 26 November at 2.30pm – NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft Selection Meeting
Friday 26 November at 2.45pm – Notification of Pre-Selected Rookies Nominated on Friday 26 November by 12.30pm if not selected in the NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft
Friday 26 November at 2.50pm – NAB AFL Rookie Draft Selection Meeting
Monday 29 November by 3.30pm – Final AFL Club List Lodgement
Monday 29 November – 1 - 4 year players return for Pre-Season training
