CLUBS will push for an extended pre-season supplemental signing period (SSP) after serious injuries struck over the weekend, just 24 hours after the window closed.
There were 11 players signed as SSP rookies between December and last Friday’s deadline, however clubs are expected to seek a longer period in future SSP windows that cover off at least each club’s first practice game.
Jagga Smith’s season-ending ACL injury on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the SSP window closed on Friday and just two days after Carlton’s decision to sign Francis Evans for its final list spot, means the Blues will now carry the list vacancy into the Mid-Season Rookie Draft.
Melbourne’s Andy Moniz-Wakefield also learned on Sunday that he will miss the entire season due to an ACL injury suffered in the Demons’ clash with North Melbourne on Saturday, which came after the Demons had listed Jack Henderson to fill their final list spot earlier in the week.
The AFL brought forward its deadline for the SSP window several years ago with the backing of clubs, largely to support state leagues, who were losing players too close to the start of their own seasons. The earlier end date allowed second tier clubs to finalise their lists without the chance of losing one of their best players to the top level.
The window is also designed to cut off before the commencement of the AAMI Community Series of official practice games, where only listed players are able to play.
The AFL has granted extensions in the past for clubs wanting to watch internal or competitive match simulations before making SSP decisions, with clubs likely to seek a longer window to ensure every club’s initial practice game is covered in the window.
There was a fixture quirk this year with the match simulation schedule that meant Essendon, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs played games with their SSP hopefuls before the SSP cut-off, but Carlton and Melbourne did not.
The Bombers (Tom Edwards) and Eagles (Sandy Brock) both made SSP signings in the days after their match simulations, while the Bulldogs opted to keep their list spot open.
Jaxon Prior and Edwards (Essendon), Henderson (Melbourne), Matt Carroll and Evans (Carlton), Brock (West Coast), Quinton Narkle and Isaiah Dudley (Fremantle), Harry Boyd (St Kilda), Josh Lai (Port Adelaide) and Ben Jepson (Gold Coast) all joined clubs in the SSP window across 2024-25.
2025 SSP signings
Francis Evans – Carlton
Matt Carroll – Carlton
Tom Edwards – Essendon
Jaxon Prior – Essendon
Isaiah Dudley – Fremantle
Quinton Narkle – Fremantle
Ben Jepson – Gold Coast
Jack Henderson – Melbourne
Josh Lai – Port Adelaide
Harry Boyd – St Kilda
Sandy Brock – West Coast
