I'd like to propose the following for next year; 1. List size expanded to 24 2 Keepers expanded to 18 3 Rolling lockout per below - Thursday players in FW lineups to be named by start of play Thursday - Friday players in FW lineups to be finalised by start of play Friday - Rest of round players to be finalised by start of play Saturday All three points are to help folks name full teams, to reduce the gap between top and bottom teams, and most importantly ease the path to full participation.
At the risk of being too radical, I wouldn't mind seeing the trading of players and picks enabled outside of season.
/2c @Batfink @anthak @That KI Guy @dmandrews @Chloe @Schmitty @YAD69 @Peter W @ver_redit_optatum @Tracey
Thanks Len. I like the ideas but I'm not sure if they'll narrow the gap or not. List size expansion makes sense now that so many more AFLW players are available. You get more injury coverage, more ability to roll the dice on someone who might have a breakout year and to wait on young players. But more keepers means I don't have to delist any of my good players, and if it had applied in previous years there are other players I might still own, like Rylie Wotherspoon was a reluctant delist who is now having a strong year. Cynthia Hamilton, Emily Everist and Vikki Wall were also Galahs in their first year. Of course I don't remember who I picked up from other people... Rolling lockouts I'm neutral on. I would be slightly disadvantaged overseas but that's ok But I don't know if other people prefer being more hands off or not.
Cheers List expansion I see as a must, for the reasons you state, coaches who can't name a full team week to week tend to be the first to drop interest levels. More keepers means the coaches picking at the top end of the draft in particular will have more time to wait before being forced to delist, something I know has stung most of us, with increased lists it's effectively only one less to cut. The rolling lockouts are centred on rounds with Thursday games and Friday games starting early for those who have a good proportion of their squad's status not known, or not confirmed, beyond that I'm ambivalent. To be honest I spend so much time away from access due to health/travel/life that I would benefit from the extra time to name a squad, but that's just me. Noting that list size increase may make that less of an issue. The other one which would help us all (I think?) is interteam trading of players and possibly picks in the pre-season window. I am confident we will get some polls up during the AFLW finals, and hopefull we see more input like yours
100%. It's something I love when it comes to these kinds of games. Give longer time to think about it, less stress to push something through, more options if injuries occur post-draft. I think there would have to still be a window, but make it say a few months at least where coaches can post trades. Of course in this game it's smaller lists (so therefore less to trade) but I think it would provide some activity in the off-season. I'd love to see the lists extended eventually to resembling AFLW list sizes and naming 16-a-side/5-bench teams. Really immerse in the game as if you're a real life full AFLW coach with the same squad at your finger tips. Of course it requires extra involvement from players, but for me that would be a great place to get to IMHO.
1. I think we should definitely expand list sizes. There are so many good players who are not rostered in our league. Im sure we all have lots of names remaining on our short list at the end of each draft. 2. Im not sure about expanding keepers. I guess i dont mind either way. There are some players I really didnt like to delist over the years - Cathy Svarc, Charlie Thomas, Sabrina Frederick to name just a few.... but Im not sure its better for the comp to allow the top teams to hold onto these types. 3. I would vote against a rolling lockout. We had a rolling lockout in 2024 and, largely because of some issues we had with that format, we decided to change to a full lockout at the start of the first game of the round for this 2025 season. And I thought it worked well this season, and a lot better than last season. 4. Im open to the odea of trading picks and players. I have experience of it in other keeper leagues and it is a lot of fun, but I also like that we dont have the option in this league because it puts more emphasis on the drafts. And also, some people have more time for trades than others and it could benefit those with time on their hands over those who dont. But I am open to it.
Thanks mate, appreciate the thoughts, I'll check with @FreoDockers but will likely post the polls during the mens pre-season as we will get more traffic/traction. On 1 I do think it's a no brainer. On 2 I totally agree, but from a contrasting position as a team at the bottom end for most of the time I've been in the comp, by far the most frustrating part was having to delist underperforming 18,19 and year olds that I still thought would blossom, and plenty have, some even when subsequently drafted into those top teams because I had to let them go. On 3 I'm a fan but I'm also retired with far too much time on my hands, so happy to be told to bugger off on this one On 4 I'd like to see it happen, maybe in a 1 month window before PSD delist deadlines, but also content with majority vote