Australian Football Association of North America

The AFL National Draft and Rookie Draft were held in late November. All the selections are listed below by team so readers can scroll to their favorites. The listings are as follows: the first number is the selection, followed by player name, (junior club), age, height and weight, in metric with the conversions in ( ), and position. Many players tested at the draft combine. Twenty meters is 65 feet and 2 kilometers is 1.24 miles. Many also represented their state at the national tournament which is referred to here as the U-18's.

ADELAIDE

17) MAX MICHALAMEY (Norwood, SANFL), 18, 190 (6'1"), 78 (171), medium defender
Disciplined and team-oriented, uses his reach and speed with great effectiveness against opposition forwards, runs well and uses the ball well. Represented South Australia at the U-18's and was best on ground against the Allies and Vic Country, winning All-Australian honors. Played three senior games for Norwood. Has already signed with the Crows as a father-son selection as his father John was a four-time premiership player with Norwood and played over 200 games. Showed his athletic prowess at the draft combine with 3.03 seconds for the 20 meter (65 ft) sprint and 6:30 minutes for the 2km (1.24 miles) time trial.

43) WILL DOWLING North Adelaide, SANFL), 18, 187 (6'), 80 (1767), medium midfielder

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan may have resigned back in April, but the date of his actual departure is still up in the air. After almost 20 years in the AFL, he said he wanted to spend more time with his family. His line has changed now and he said recently there are several pending issues which he still has to oversee, not the least of which is the Hawthorn racism investigation. It's not clear why the next CEO can't handle them. He told The Melbourne Age, “The timeline is, I’m leaving, but I ... there are a few things going on that I feel it’s my responsibility to be settled down enough and on an even footing when I leave ... The priority is for the leadership to feel comfortable, that you feel stable so that when you handover it’s in a good spot. What that date is I can’t tell you, but it’s not going to be into late next year, but over the coming months ...".

First year field umpire Michael Pell and three others were arrested in mid-November for leaking Brownlow votes. Apparently. the votes from specific matches were leaked. The AFL was alerted by one of its betting partners who detected suspicious betting and the AFL launched an investigation, leading to the arrests. The irregularities and leaks did not compromise the Brownlow count on the night according to the AFL. The bets which raised red flags ranged in size up to several thousand dollars.

However, the fallout could be severe in that it allegedly involves a match official divulging information. A police statement said in part that, " ... The criminal offenses police are investigating are engaging in conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome of event or event contingency, and using corrupt conduct information for betting purposes ...". When the three others were arrested, cell phones and computers were also seized. Criminal charges are pending, but conviction carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Police are investigating how many matches potentially had votes released and the magnitude of the bets involved. If the allegations are found to be true, the umpire could also face AFL sanctions.

Despite the fact that the AFL has appointed an independent panel to investigate the racism allegation against Hawthorn, the indigenous families involved are still wary of participating in the investigations. Some of the families involved wrote an open letter to the AFL, requesting the league admit its failings in dealing with the issue of racism. The allegations focus on a period between 2008 and 2016. The letter continued, "We have decided to participate in the AFL Independent Investigation on the basis that the AFL is also committed to independently look at its own failings, and promises to all First Nations families it will do better as a result ... the issue of racism in the AFL cannot be dealt with by a narrowly targeted investigation on a club-by-club, or crisis-by-crisis, basis. We want the AFL to take a good hard look at itself and how it has dealt with racism in the past. Not because we want to trawl over 100 years of neglect, or conduct a witch-hunt or to bring legal claims, but because we want the AFL to be a safer place for our children."

Roster changes in the leadup to the AFL draft later this month continued at Gold Coast, Essendon, and Adelaide. In early November, inaugural Sun Rory Thompson announced his retirement citing ongoing knee issues as the reason. Thompson, 31, played 106 games for the Suns and leaves as the longest serving player in the club's short history. He was a local zone selection for the club and was one of only four players from the Gold Coast region selected for their inaugural 2011 season.

Two knee reconstructions disrupted his career, and he made a comeback early this season after almost four years on the sidelines. In making the announcement, Thompson said, “It’s been such a long journey with so many ups and downs and wonderful people ... I’m super grateful to the Suns for giving me that opportunity so many years ago as a young kid and having stuck with me all this time, it’s pretty hard to put into words what that means to me ... Towards the end of last year it was getting hard to back up games and keep my body moving and it just felt like the right time ... I ... didn’t think I would get drafted, so to go to where I am now after 14 years, I’m very proud of myself and the work I’ve put in and very grateful to the people that have helped me get this far.”