Victorian AFLW clubs will need to give up between two and four players next year based on a points rating system as part of the AFL's plans to ensure North Melbourne and Geelong hit the ground running when they enter the competition in 2019.
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The AFL has outlined its list mechanisms ahead of the women's league's first expansion season, with draft concessions also likely to be granted to the Kangaroos and Cats.
Existing Victorian AFLW clubs Melbourne, Carlton, Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs were involved in the process of formulating the expansion player rules, as were North and Geelong.
The AFL has determined that the AFLW All-Australian committee will give each player at a Victorian club a points rating between 10 and 50, based on performance, but also taking into account injury, age and other relevant factors.
A window will open shortly after the end of the second AFLW season in which the Demons, Blues, Magpies and Dogs will need to give up players to their rivals. Existing clubs will give up between two and four players to a total worth of 100 points.
"We've created a set of list rules, which aim to allow expansion teams to be as competitive as possible straight away, which we think is important for the competition," the league's head of female football, Josh Vanderloo, told Fairfax Media.
"Notionally your top rated players are worth 50 points, your low-rated players are worth 10 points."
The expansion clubs will subsequently be allowed to sign any non-AFLW players over 18, before the league determines exact concessions for the 2018 draft.
Vanderloo said the AFL would then review the first round of expansion ahead of a decision on the second round in 2020, with Richmond, St Kilda, Gold Coast and West Coast set to enter the league that year.
The situation with the Suns and Eagles is complicated given AFLW players have a choice of which state they wish to play in, with Brisbane and Fremantle currently holding an effective monopoly over their respective states' talent.
Meanwhile, Vanderloo also confirmed the AFL has been exploring rule changes ahead of the second AFLW season, which are set to be finalised soon.
The AFL has toyed with the idea of nine-point super goals from outside 40 metres, as was trialled in this year's state of origin match, but this is unlikely to eventuate. Anti-density rules, the length of quarters and the amount of bench players per team have also been considered.
