How is the 2026 AFL draft order decided?

The eight clubs that missed the finals take picks 1 to 8, worst ladder position first. The ten finalists take picks 9 to 18 in the order they were knocked out, so the premier picks last. Every later round repeats that order. Trades, free agency compensation picks and matched bids then move picks around, and this page is rebuilt each time the AFL confirms a change.

How many draft points is each pick worth?

Each pick from 1 to 54 has a value in the AFL's Draft Value Index, and picks after 54 are worth nothing. Pick 1 is worth 3,000 points, pick 18 is worth 836 and pick 54 is worth 14. The order above shows the points beside every pick.

How does the draft points calculator work?

In Trade, enter the picks each club gives up. The calculator adds up their points, says which side comes out ahead and roughly which pick the difference is worth. In Match a bid, choose the pick a rival club bids with and the club matching it, and it works out the price and which picks that club would hand over.

How does matching a bid work?

Father-son, academy and next-generation academy players are tied to a club. When another club bids on one, the price starts at the points value of the pick it bid with. Then it is adjusted for where the matching club finished: grand finalists pay 20% more on bids at picks 1 to 18, preliminary finalists pay 10% more on bids at picks 1 to 18 and clubs that finished 11th to 18th get 10% off on bids at picks 1 to 36. The club pays with its next picks in order. Leftover points come back as a later pick, and a club can fall up to 412 points short and repay it from next year's first-round pick.

When does the draft order change?

During free agency and the trade period in October, when clubs swap picks and the AFL hands out compensation picks, and again on draft night as bids are matched. A traded pick shows the club it came from.

Footy Draft Engine

2026 AFL draft orderand draft points calculator

Updated 27 September 2026.

1ESS
2RICH
3WCE
4PORT
5NM
6MELB
7GWS
8STK
9COLL
10MELB
11CARL
12WB
13ADEL
14GEEL
15HAW
16CARL
17FRE
18BL

Traded in

—

Traded out

—

Points guide a trade; they do not decide it.

Picks 1–8 go to the eight clubs that missed the finals, in reverse ladder order. From pick 9 the finals decide it: the sooner a club went out, the earlier it picks.

Points are the AFL's Draft Value Index. How the index works

Round 1, picks 1 to 18: pick number, the club holding it and where it came from, and its draft points value
Pick	Club	Points
1	Essendon	3,000
2	Richmond	2,481
3	West Coast Eagles	2,178
4	Port Adelaide	1,962
5	North Melbourne	1,795
6	Melbournevia Gold Coast Suns	1,659
7	GWS Giants	1,543
8	St Kilda	1,443
9	Collingwood	1,355
10	Melbourne	1,276
11	Carlton	1,205
12	Western Bulldogs	1,140
13	Adelaide Crows	1,080
14	Geelong Cats	1,024
15	Hawthorn	973
16	Carltonvia Sydney Swans	924
17	Fremantle	879
18	Brisbane Lions	836

Round 2, picks 19 to 36: pick number, the club holding it and where it came from, and its draft points value
Pick	Club	Points
19	Essendon	796
20	Richmond	757
21	West Coast Eagles	721
22	Port Adelaide	686
23	Carltonvia North Melbourne	653
24	Carltonvia Gold Coast Suns	621
25	Hawthornvia GWS Giants	590
26	Hawthornvia St Kilda	561
27	Collingwood	533
28	GWS Giantsvia Melbourne	505
29	Port Adelaidevia Carlton	479
30	Western Bulldogs	454
31	Adelaide Crows	429
32	Geelong Cats	405
33	Hawthorn	382
34	Sydney Swans	360
35	Fremantle	338
36	Brisbane Lions	317

Round 3, picks 37 to 54: pick number, the club holding it and where it came from, and its draft points value
Pick	Club	Points
37	Adelaide Crowsvia Essendon	297
38	Richmond	277
39	West Coast Eagles	257
40	Port Adelaide	238
41	North Melbourne	220
42	Port Adelaidevia Gold Coast Suns	202
43	Melbournevia GWS Giants	184
44	St Kilda	167
45	Sydney Swansvia Collingwood	150
46	Brisbane Lionsvia Melbourne	134
47	Sydney Swansvia Carlton	118
48	Western Bulldogs	102
49	Adelaide Crows	86
50	Geelong Cats	71
51	Brisbane Lionsvia Hawthorn	57
52	West Coast Eaglesvia Sydney Swans	42
53	Fremantle	28
54	Carltonvia Brisbane Lions	14

Round 4, picks 55 to 72: pick number, the club holding it and where it came from, and its draft points value
Pick	Club	Points
55	Essendon	0
56	Richmond	0
57	West Coast Eagles	0
58	Port Adelaide	0
59	North Melbourne	0
60	Gold Coast Suns	0
61	Collingwoodvia GWS Giants	0
62	St Kilda	0
63	Collingwood	0
64	Hawthornvia Melbourne	0
65	Carlton	0
66	West Coast Eaglesvia Western Bulldogs	0
67	North Melbournevia Adelaide Crows	0
68	Geelong Cats	0
69	Sydney Swansvia Hawthorn	0
70	Collingwoodvia Sydney Swans	0
71	Fremantle	0
72	Brisbane Lions	0

Each club's picks in this year's draft, its total draft points, where it finished on the ladder, and how many next-season picks it holds
Club	Picks	Points	Ladder	2027
Essendon	1 19 55	3,796	18th	4
Richmond	2 20 38 56	3,515	17th	4
West Coast Eagles	3 21 39 52 57 66	3,198	16th	4
Port Adelaide	4 22 29 40 42 58	3,567	15th	4
North Melbourne	5 41 59 67	2,015	14th	4
Melbourne	6 10 43	3,119	7th	4
GWS Giants	7 28	2,048	12th	4
St Kilda	8 44 62	1,610	11th	4
Collingwood	9 27 61 63 70	1,888	9th	4
Carlton	11 16 23 24 54 65	3,417	10th	4
Western Bulldogs	12 30 48	1,696	8th	4
Adelaide Crows	13 31 37 49	1,892	6th	4
Geelong Cats	14 32 50 68	1,500	5th	4
Hawthorn	15 25 26 33 64	2,506	4th	4
Fremantle	17 35 53 71	1,245	1st	4
Brisbane Lions	18 36 46 51 72	1,344	3rd	4
Sydney Swans	34 45 47 69	628	2nd	4
Gold Coast Suns	60	0	13th	4

The draft, explained

About the 2026 AFL draft order

The questions people ask most, answered from the same rules and points the order above uses.

All the 2026 draft rules, with sources

How is the 2026 AFL draft order decided?
The eight clubs that missed the finals take picks 1 to 8, worst ladder position first. The ten finalists take picks 9 to 18 in the order they were knocked out, so the premier picks last. Every later round repeats that order.
Trades, free agency compensation picks and matched bids then move picks around, and this page is rebuilt each time the AFL confirms a change.
How many draft points is each pick worth?
Each pick from 1 to 54 has a value in the AFL's Draft Value Index, and picks after 54 are worth nothing.
Pick 1 is worth 3,000 points, pick 18 is worth 836 and pick 54 is worth 14. The order above shows the points beside every pick.
How does the draft points calculator work?
In Trade, enter the picks each club gives up. The calculator adds up their points, says which side comes out ahead and roughly which pick the difference is worth.
In Match a bid, choose the pick a rival club bids with and the club matching it, and it works out the price and which picks that club would hand over.
How does matching a bid work?
Father-son, academy and next-generation academy players are tied to a club. When another club bids on one, the price starts at the points value of the pick it bid with. Then it is adjusted for where the matching club finished: grand finalists pay 20% more on bids at picks 1 to 18, preliminary finalists pay 10% more on bids at picks 1 to 18 and clubs that finished 11th to 18th get 10% off on bids at picks 1 to 36.
The club pays with its next picks in order. Leftover points come back as a later pick, and a club can fall up to 412 points short and repay it from next year's first-round pick.
When does the draft order change?
During free agency and the trade period in October, when clubs swap picks and the AFL hands out compensation picks, and again on draft night as bids are matched. A traded pick shows the club it came from.

Draft points calculator

The 2026 draft order