Draft prospects who test positive to illicit drugs under the AFL's widened testing program will not carry any strikes into their senior careers.
While teenagers who return positive hair or urine tests will be target tested from their first year in the system, they will not start out at immediate risk of suspension.
Recruiters will not be told of any draftees' testing results, with their club's doctor to be informed after the draft so that the player can be appropriately counselled.
It means a draftee could go into his first season with two strikes and record a third shortly after arriving but not be rubbed out.
The AFL has always conducted drug testing on prospective recruits but will ramp up the testing at the October draft combine and state screening sessions. A number of clubs have argued that they should have access to any information that the testing program produces given the hefty investment they make in each draftee.
As the league continues to review the current illicit drugs policy, with the benefits a two-strike system being examined, junior players on the elite talent pathway may be asked to undergo hair or urine testing. AFL players recently agreed to undergo six months of in-season hair testing for research purposes.
Recruiters were also told during a meeting on Wednesday the league is looking at the potential to create club-based academies for Indigenous and multicultural prospects. The academies would be run by the clubs, who would have access to certain zones across the country as part of the embryonic idea.
They would work similarly to the northern academies run by Sydney, GWS, Gold Coast and Brisbane that are starting to produce a significant amount of first-round draft talent. The league has already said it is considering reintroducing zone academies for all clubs, encouraged by the success of the northern academies.
Some clubs believe the academies for Indigenous and multicultural prospects could be introduced as soon as next season, but the logistics are still being discussed.
The imminent introduction of future pick trading will see the AFL provided clubs with more information on under-17 prospects so that they can plan further ahead.
Players at the under-16 championships are likely to undergo the sort of psychological screening normally done at under-18 level, for instance. Some clubs believe the league should complement future trading by introducing an under-17 national series, or will push for more bottom-age players to be picked in the under-18 state team during the national championships.
The AFL has still not confirmed a date for this year's draft, but that could happen next week when the chief executives are due to meet.
The Queensland government has increased its offer to stage the draft on the Gold Coast again, but it may yet be scheduled for Adelaide.
Recruiters were told of a the AFL's plan for talented prospects to have the chance to spend some time in-season at a club, as a sort of work experience.
More players are also likely to be exposed at VFL level as part of their development.
The AFL Academy will travel to Florida again in January, for a week-long training camp at the IMG Academy near Sarasota.
In other news, Carlton father-son prospect Jack Silvagni will have shoulder surgery after injuring himself on the weekend, ending his season.
