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"Serious concerns": Why Twomey is against the father-son lockout
Jaiden Sciberras • September 7th, 2025 5:00 pm
AFl.com.au draft expert Cal Twomey has conceded that the AFL should introduce a transitional period to the father-son/academy lockout proposed by footy boss Greg Swann.
Earlier this week, Port Adelaide made a submission to the AFL regarding the proposed changes, which would see father-son and NGA prospect bids eliminated from the early stages of the draft to promote fairness within a compromised system.
In their submission, Port Adelaide CEO Matthew Richardson expressed his concerns over the integral planning that has gone into list management and strategy over years past in anticipation of top prospects joining the club via father-son and NGA rights.
As explained by Twomey, the club is seeking a transitional period of multiple years to allow for reconfiguration of future list management in preparation for the exclusion of specific prospects.
“They’re obviously still waiting on the approval of Dougie Cochrane for next year, who is potentially an NGA player for them and potentially the number one pick,” Twomey told SEN Fireball.
“The year after that, in 2027 a couple of father sons, including Louis Salopek – son of Steven, and also an NGA player in Zemes Pilot, who is looking a highly talented player.
“They’ve put though a submission this week, urging the AFL with serious concerns not to change the bidding system as soon as 2026.
“They put forward an idea that it should be - if there is going to be change - transitioned out over two or three years so that the planning that’s gone into long-term list management isn’t just pushed to the wayside.
“They won’t be the only ones who will be pretty fierce about this, because there are a lot of clubs who have a bit to lose over the next couple of years if this is brought in in 2026 – which the AFL has floated.
“This arose out of the club’s meeting the footy managers a couple of weeks ago at the AFL, and the AFL speaking about, ‘be prepared that there could be a lockout of the top five, top 10, first rounders for selection at the draft’, and the clubs certainly aren’t wrapped about that as a whole.”
Twomey, a draft and list management expert, has publicly agreed with the notion that a transitional period should be permitted, referencing Brisbane’s list decisions surrounding their influx of club-tied prospects that led to their Grand Final triumph in 2024.
“That’s been my view (that a transition period is required),” Twomey said.
“Brisbane have done it wonderfully. The Lions didn’t win the flag last year because of the academy and father-sons, that is not the way it rolled out, but knowing they had the Ashcroft boys (Will and Levi), Jaspa Fletcher on the horizon and this year Dan Annable as another midfielder, it allowed them to recruit around them.
“They targeted top end players at either end of the ground as free agents and recruits, they drafted in that sort of way as well – they picked up Logan Morris in a draft where they knew they could only really take the talls.
“It’s a long-term strategy, and to bring it in overnight, to change that and to lock it out would really affect that.
“Not to mention the fact that if we want to preserve the father-son, and I know there’s different views on that, but the AFL has said it wants to preserve the role of the father-son – it’s not going to be preserved by belated picks. The later father-sons just generally don’t play very much, it’s the top-end guys that do.
“There is a way to make it fairer though, which I think is real, but just make that over a couple of years.”
