The state of the game, a mid-season player exchange period and the future of AFLX will be high on the agenda when the AFL's Competition Committee meets for the first time on Thursday in Melbourne.
The 12-person committee was recently established to oversee the laws of the game, player movement, competition structure, feeder and second-tier competitions, and innovation.
Its members include Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, senior coaches Chris Fagan and Brad Scott, and players Patrick Dangerfield and Steven May.
On Wednesday, the AFL released the agenda for the committee's inaugural meeting, which will cover:
- The committee's terms of reference and charter for the game;
- The evolution of the game and 2018 trends;
- Player movement, including an NFL Draft report and trade/draft processes;
- The competition, including AFLX and the AFL calendar.
The state of the game has been a popular topic of debate this year, with scoring down on the previous two seasons and most of the blame assigned to growing congestion, especially in teams' forward 50s.
AFL football operations manager Steve Hocking, who will chair the committee, said last month the League was keeping a "watching brief" on the dip in scoring and wanted to encourage free-flowing football.
"My role and the team's role is to understand what are the levers we need to pull to make sure the game's in good health in three, five, 10 years' time," Hocking said.
The committee members' input on these 'levers' will be keenly sought.
Hocking also said last month that the introduction of a mid-season player exchange period would be one of the first items he put before the committee.
The League footy boss is "fairly confident" that mid-season player movement will be introduced next year, and has said all options are on the table for the form that period takes.
A trade period and a draft involving state league players appear the most likely options, but Hocking has said, for example, he is open to player loans and an annual trade window from January to June.
"When is the best time for it? What does it look like? It's not a case of just making one decision in isolation. There are a range of things we need to consider," Hocking said.
"And the players have to be considered in all of that, because they're the ones that potentially may need to move, and then the greater good of the game."
AFLX was played by AFL clubs for the first time this pre-season, but Hocking has floated it could be played internationally or in a franchise-based competition involving new teams.
When the committee considers the AFL calendar, one of the pressing issues it will have to address is the timing of the expanded women's competition in 2019.
Does the AFLW start earlier, say in mid-January when it will clash with the Australian Open tennis? Or does it extend further into the AFL season?
The committee replaces the League's previous raft of advisory boards and committees, including the laws of the game committee and player movement advisory panel, while its charter is to ensure all the different areas of the AFL business are working in concert to best grow the game.
Its members are: presidents Colin Carter (Geelong), Eddie McGuire (Collingwood) and Peggy O’Neal (Richmond); CEOs Andrew Fagan (Adelaide), Andrew Ireland (Sydney) and Justin Reeves (Hawthorn); senior coaches Chris Fagan (Brisbane) and Brad Scott (North Melbourne); football managers Chris Davies (Port Adelaide) and Craig Vozzo (West Coast FC); and players Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong, AFLPA President) and Steven May (Gold Coast SUNS FC Club Captain).
Thursday's meeting will be the first of three the committee holds this year, while it will meet four times a year from 2019.
Any recommendations made by the committee will require endorsement by the AFL executive and ultimately the Commission before they are adopted.
