The introduction of ‘Free Agency’ into the AFL competition last year didn’t seem to have a profound impact on the Brisbane Lions’ list.

The Lions headed into the 2012 season with five Free Agents – namely Jed Adcock (restricted), Josh Drummond (restricted), Ash McGrath (unrestricted), Jonathan Brown (unrestricted) and Simon Black (unrestricted) – but were able to maintain four of them.

The only exception was Drummond, whose ongoing struggle with injury forced him into an early retirement.

The Lions moved a step further towards another potentially stress-free Free Agency period in 2013 by recently securing full-back Daniel Merrett for another three years.

Merrett was one of only two ‘restricted’ Free Agents for the Lions this year, with the other being his defender partner-in-crime and reigning Club Champion Joel Patfull.

The Club is confident of securing Patfull’s signature soon, while Black and Brown will likely remain ‘unrestricted’ Free Agents each year for the remainder of their playing days.

Lions National Talent Manager Rob Kerr said the Club has intently tried to shore up its required talent during the season to avoid having them ‘poached’ by other teams.  

“I think Free Agency means you are certainly conscious of who your Free Agents are, and when they are coming out of contract,” Kerr told lions.com.au.

“If their form warrants it, then there’s no reason to wait on signing such players, particularly when they have a history of preparing and performing well.”

“Some agents are more open to the idea of signing earlier than others, so that's also a consideration.”

The Lions themselves, however, seem to have benefited from the process after signing Brent Moloney as a Free Agent from Melbourne.

“You need to judge each player on his merits. You wouldn't take on a Free Agent unless you felt he was going to improve you in some way,” Kerr said of Moloney’s recruitment.

“You also need to maintain the balance of bringing in youth so that you don't have a hole in your list in five years’ time. So a number of factors are considered in making your decision about adding in mature age players.”

“The thing with Brent is that he is hungry to demonstrate that he is still a good AFL player.”

“The combination of having a point to prove and a willingness to move to Brisbane without any fuss were pluses for Brent, not to mention the fact that we had a need in an area that is one of his strengths, contested ball and clearances.”

The Lions’ recruiting team have already started doing their homework on the long list of Free Agents who will become available at the end of 2013.

“You know who they are, so you do tend to keep track of their form throughout the year,” Kerr said.

“We are always reviewing other clubs’ lists to see how players are performing. The difference with the Free Agents is that you understand they are potentially more attainable if there is some level of dissatisfaction with their current club.”

Please find below a full list of all Free Agents in 2013.

Restricted Free Agents
Scott Thompson, Nathan Van Berlo (Adelaide Crows); Joel Patfull (Brisbane Lions); Eddie Betts (Carlton); Nick Maxwell, Dale Thomas (Collingwood); Jobe Watson (Essendon); Lance Franklin (Hawthorn); Aaron Davey, Colin Sylvia (Melbourne); Alipate Carlile, Kane Cornes (Port Adelaide); Nick Dal Santo (St Kilda); Mark Le Cras (West Coast); Adam Cooney, Dale Morris (Western Bulldogs).

Unrestricted Free Agents
Graham Johncock, Jason Porplyzia, Brent Reilly, Ben Rutten (Adelaide Crows); Simon Black, Jonathan Brown (Brisbane Lions); Andrew Carazzo, Heath Scotland (Carlton); Alan Didak, Ben Johnson, Alan Toovey (Collingwood); Dustin Fletcher, David Hille, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Jason Winderlich (Essendon); Michael Johnson (Fremantle); Paul Chapman, Joel Corey, Corey Enright, Josh Hunt, Matthew Stokes (Geelong Cats); Max Bailey, Xavier Ellis, Brent Guerra, Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Michael Osborne (Hawthorn); Michael Firrito, Brent Harvey, Scott McMahon, Drew Petrie (North Melbourne); Brett Ebert, Tom Logan, Matt Thomas (Port Adelaide); Daniel Jackson, Luke McGuane, Chris Newman, Shane Tuck, Matthew White (Richmond); Jason Blake, Lenny Hayes, Justin Koschitzke, Stephen Milne (St Kilda); Jude Bolton, Adam Goodes, Nick Malceski (Sydney Swans); Dean Cox, Andrew Embley, Darren Glass, Mark Nicoski, Adam Selwood, Beau Waters (West Coast); Dylan Addison, Daniel Cross, Daniel Giansiracusa (Western Bulldogs).

HOW THE FREE AGENCY SYSTEM WORKS

A player has served seven seasons or less of AFL football at one club, and is now out of contract.

The player is not eligible for free agency if his club wishes to retain him. He may only move clubs via a trade or the Draft. If he delists himself, he is subject to the Draft, and may be selected by any club.

A player has served seven seasons or less of AFL football at one club, and has been delisted by his club.

The player is a Free Agent and is eligible to field offers from all rival AFL clubs.

The player must decide on the best offer of his choice from one rival club.

The player can move AUTOMATICALLY to the new club of his choice.

His original club, which chose to delist him, does not receive any compensation pick for the loss of the player.

A player has served eight or more seasons of AFL football at one club, is one of the top 25 per cent highest-paid players at his club, and is now out of contract for the first time since March 1 in his eighth season. (Restricted Free Agent)

The player is eligible to field offers from all rival AFL clubs.

If he wishes to change clubs, the player must decide on the best offer of his choice from one rival club.

His club has the right to match the presented offer.

If the club matches the offer, he may choose to remain with his original club, seek a trade or enter the Draft.

If the club does not or can not match the offer, the player can move to the new club of his choice.

His original club will receive a compensation pick for the loss of the player, on an AFL-determined formula to apply where clubs lose more free agents than they gain in any single transfer period.

A player has served eight or more seasons of AFL football at one club, is NOT one of the top 25 per cent highest-paid players at his club, and is now out of contract for the first time since reaching eight seasons of service. (Unrestricted Free Agent)

The player is eligible to field offers from all rival AFL clubs.

If he wishes to change clubs, the player must decide on the best offer of his choice from one rival club.

His club does NOT have the right to match the presented offer, and the player can move AUTOMATICALLY to the new club of his choice.

His original club will receive a compensation pick for the loss of the player, on an AFL-determined formula to apply where clubs lose more free agents than they gain in any single transfer period.

A player has served ten or more seasons of AFL football at one club, has already come out of contract once in the period after March 1 in his eighth season, and is now out of contract. (Unrestricted Free Agent)

The player is eligible to field offers from all rival clubs.

If he wishes to change clubs, the player must decide on the best offer of his choice from one rival club.

His club does NOT have the right to match the presented offer, and the player can move AUTOMATICALLY to the new club of his choice.is original club will receive a compensation pick for the loss of the player, on an AFL-determined formula to apply where clubs lose more free agents than they gain in any single transfer period.