Clubs were shocked during the trade period when Geelong received the same compensation for losing Steven Motlop to Port Adelaide as the Brisbane Lions received for losing their former skipper Tom Rockliff.

Both clubs received a selection after the first round, with the Lions handed pick 18 for losing their two-time best and fairest Rockliff, 27, and the Cats given pick 19 for losing Motlop, 26, who was runner-up in the Cats best and fairest in 2015.

Both players signed four-year deals to continue their careers with Port.

The Lions took their concerns to the AFL on Wednesday with CEO Greg Swann and football manager David Noble seeking an explanation for how both clubs received an end-of-first-round compensation.

Noble has suggested that if a similar situation arose in the future then clubs which finish outside the top eight could receive compensation after selection 10 in the national draft, while clubs which finished the year inside the top eight might receive a selection after the first round.

"We don't believe that there's enough mechanisms or enough levels in there," Noble told Trade Radio on Tuesday.

It is understood the Lions intend to put the issue on the agenda at the next AFL CEOs meeting.

Geelong eventually ended up using the selection 19 they received as compensation for losing Motlop in the trade with Gold Coast that enabled Gary Ablett to return to his former club.

The Cats traded out pick 19 and a future round-two selection for Ablett, pick 24 and a future round-four selection.

The compensation formula has been a closely guarded secret since the introduction of free agency with the AFLPA arguing compensation should be scrapped.

The AFL has to make a change to the free agency rules by October 31 with parties anticipating free agents will maintain their free agency status when they come out of contract even if they change clubs.