# List of AFL debuts in 2016

The following is the list of players in the Australian Football League (AFL) who have either made their AFL debut or played for a new club during the 2016 AFL season.

## Summary

Summary of debuts in 2016 :
| Club | AFL debuts | Change of club |
| Adelaide | 3 | 1 |
| Brisbane Lions | 9 | 3 |
| Carlton | 3 | 7 |
| Collingwood | 6 | 3 |
| Essendon | 5 | 13 |
| Fremantle | 3 | 0 |
| Geelong | 2 | 4 |
| Gold Coast | 6 | 4 |
| Greater Western Sydney | 3 | 1 |
| Hawthorn | 6 | 1 |
| Melbourne | 5 | 2 |
| North Melbourne | 2 | 2 |
| Port Adelaide | 5 | 2 |
| Richmond | 7 | 2 |
| St Kilda | 3 | 0 |
| Sydney | 7 | 2 |
| West Coast | 2 | 3 |
| Western Bulldogs | 4 | 2 |
| Total | 81 | 52 |

## AFL debuts

| Name | Club | Age at debut | Debut round | Notes |
| Daniel Rioli | Richmond | 18 years, 343 days | 1 | Pick 15 (2015 national draft), round 22 2016 Rising Star nomination |
| Jacob Weitering | Carlton | 18 years, 122 days | 1 | Pick 1 (2015 national draft), round 3 2016 Rising Star nomination |
| Clayton Oliver | Melbourne | 18 years, 248 days | 1 | Pick 4 (2015 national draft), round 1 2016 Rising Star nomination |
| Callum Ah Chee | Gold Coast | 18 years, 169 days | 1 | Pick 8 (2015 national draft) |
| Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti | Essendon | 22 years, 339 days | 1 | Pick 22 (2016 rookie draft) |
| Darcy Parish | Essendon | 18 years, 245 days | 1 | Pick 5 (2015 national draft), round 2 2016 Rising Star nomination |
| Mitch McGovern | Adelaide | 21 years, 167 days | 1 | Pick 43 (2014 national draft) |
| Wayne Milera | Adelaide | 18 years, 194 days | 1 | Pick 11 (2015 national draft) |
| George Hewett | Sydney | 20 years, 88 days | 1 | Pick 32 (2013 national draft) |
| Callum Mills | Sydney | 18 years, 359 days | 1 | Pick 3 (2015 national draft), academy selection, round 16 2016 Rising Star nomination |
| Tom Papley | Sydney | 19 years, 257 days | 1 | Pick 14 (2016 rookie draft), round 5 2016 Rising Star nomination |
| Marcus Adams | Western Bulldogs | 22 years, 271 days | 1 | Pick 35 (2015 national draft) |
| Josh Dunkley | Western Bulldogs | 19 years, 79 days | 1 | Pick 25 (2015 national draft), round 20 2016 Rising Star nomination |
| Jade Gresham | St Kilda | 18 years, 216 days | 1 | Pick 18 (2015 national draft) |
| Josh Schache | Brisbane Lions | 18 years, 219 days | 1 | Pick 2 (2015 national draft) |
| Marc Pittonet | Hawthorn | 19 years, 299 days | 1 | Pick 50 (2014 national draft) |
| Jayden Short | Richmond | 20 years, 69 days | 2 | Pick 11 (2015 rookie draft) |
| Dougal Howard | Port Adelaide | 20 years, 9 days | 2 | Pick 56 (2014 national draft) |
| Michael Hartley | Essendon | 20 years, 300 days | 2 | Pick 68 (2015 national draft), previously rookie listed by Collingwood |
| Charlie Curnow | Carlton | 19 years, 61 days | 2 | Pick 12 (2014 national draft) |
| Darcy Byrne-Jones | Port Adelaide | 20 years, 201 days | 3 | Pick 52 (2013 national draft) |
| Matthew Goodyear | Collingwood | 19 years, 264 days | 3 | Pick 48 (2014 national draft) |
| Josh Wagner | Melbourne | 21 years, 291 days | 3 | Pick 6 (2016 rookie draft) |
| Tom Ruggles | Geelong | 23 years, 351 days | 3 | Pick 44 (2016 rookie draft)) |
| Jayden Hunt | Melbourne | 21 years, 14 days | 4 | Pick 57 (2013 national draft) |
| Darcy Tucker | Fremantle | 19 years, 93 days | 5 | Pick 27 (2015 national draft) |
| Mason Cox | Collingwood | 25 years, 44 days | 5 | Pick 60 (2015 rookie draft), international selection |
| Josh Smith | Collingwood | 22 years, 115 days | 5 | Pick 25 (2016 rookie draft) |
| Christian Petracca | Melbourne | 20 years, 118 days | 6 | Pick 2 (2014 national draft), round 9 2016 Rising Star nomination |
| Kieran Lovell | Hawthorn | 18 years, 352 days | 6 | Pick 22 (2015 national draft) |
| Jason Castagna | Richmond | 19 years, 293 days | 6 | Pick 29 (2014 rookie draft) |
| Mackenzie Willis | Gold Coast | 20 years, 267 days | 6 | Pick 52 (2015 national draft) |
| Aliir Aliir | Sydney | 21 years, 239 days | 6 | Pick 44 (2013 national draft) |
| Ben Keays | Brisbane Lions | 19 years, 69 days | 6 | Pick 24 (2015 national draft), academy selection |
| Kaiden Brand | Hawthorn | 22 years, 030 days | 7 | Pick 66 (2012 national draft) |
| Ben Crocker | Collingwood | 19 years, 79 days | 7 | Pick 65 (2015 national draft) |
| Mason Redman | Essendon | 18 years, 255 days | 7 | Pick 30 (2015 national draft) |
| Darcy Macpherson | Gold Coast | 18 years, 191 days | 7 | Pick 21 (2016 rookie draft) |
| Jacob Hopper | Greater Western Sydney | 19 years, 99 days | 8 | Pick 7 (2015 national draft), academy selection, round 8 2016 Rising Star nomination |
| Jack Hiscox | Sydney | 21 years, 54 days | 8 | Pick 38 (2014 national draft), academy selection |
| Bailey Williams | Western Bulldogs | 18 years, 218 days | 8 | Pick 48 (2015 national draft) |
| Rhys Mathieson | Brisbane Lions | 19 years, 134 days | 9 | Pick 39 (2015 national draft) |
| Kieran Collins | Western Bulldogs | 18 years, 160 days | 9 | Pick 26 (2015 national draft) |
| Harrison Marsh | Sydney | 22 years, 136 days | 10 | Pick 44 (2012 national draft) |
| Sam Collins | Fremantle | 21 years, 348 days | 10 | Pick 55 (2015 national draft) |
| Tom Cole | West Coast | 19 years, 1 day | 10 | Pick 36 (2015 national draft) |
| Kade Stewart | Hawthorn | 19 years, 141 days | 11 | Pick 36 (2016 rookie draft) |
| Jarrad Jansen | Brisbane Lions | 21 years, 35 days | 11 | Traded in (2016 trade period), previously listed by Geelong |
| Jesse Joyce | Gold Coast | 18 years, 292 days | 11 | Pick 67 (2016 rookie draft) |
| Logan Austin | Port Adelaide | 20 years, 333 days | 11 | Pick 69 (2014 national draft) |
| Lewis Pierce | St Kilda | 21 years, 209 days | 12 | Pick 75 (2012 national draft) |
| Tom Phillips | Collingwood | 20 years, 38 days | 12 | Pick 58 (2015 national draft) |
| Corey Wagner | North Melbourne | 19 years, 88 days | 13 | Pick 43 (2015 national draft) |
| Eric Hipwood | Brisbane Lions | 18 years, 279 days | 13 | Pick 14 (2015 national draft), academy selection |
| Matthew Kennedy | Greater Western Sydney | 19 years, 76 days | 13 | Pick 13 (2015 national draft), academy selection |
| Nathan Broad | Richmond | 23 years, 73 days | 14 | Pick 67 (2015 national draft) |
| Matthew Hammelmann | Brisbane Lions | 20 years, 110 days | 14 | Pick 75 (2015 rookie draft), academy selection |
| Jack Silvagni | Carlton | 18 years, 198 days | 15 | Pick 53 (2015 national draft), son of Stephen Silvagni |
| Reuben William | Brisbane Lions | 18 years, 191 days | 16 | Pick 20 (2015 national draft) |
| Oleg Markov | Richmond | 20 years, 63 days | 16 | Pick 50 (2015 national draft) |
| Ryan Clarke | North Melbourne | 19 years, 25 days | 16 | Pick 31 (2015 national draft), round 18 2016 Rising Star nomination |
| Harrison Himmelberg | Greater Western Sydney | 20 years, 71 days | 17 | Pick 16 (2015 national draft) |
| Jordan Foote | Sydney | 20 years, 204 days | 18 | Pick 76 (2014 national draft) |
| Josh Schoenfeld | Gold Coast | 19 years, 20 days | 18 | Pick 34 (2015 national draft) |
| Shane Yarran | Fremantle | 27 years, 53 days | 18 | Pick 61 (2015 national draft) |
| Sam Menegola | Geelong | 24 years, 139 days | 18 | Pick 66 (2015 national draft) |
| Aaron Francis | Essendon | 18 years, 349 days | 18 | Pick 6 (2015 national draft) |
| Adam Marcon | Richmond | 24 years, 2 days | 19 | Pick 47 (2016 rookie draft) |
| Blake Hardwick | Hawthorn | 19 years, 177 days | 19 | Pick 44 (2015 national draft) |
| Rupert Wills | Collingwood | 23 years, 73 days | 19 | Pick 63 (2015 national draft) |
| Malcolm Karpany | West Coast | 21 years, 61 days | 19 | Pick 31 (2013 national draft) |
| Archie Smith | Brisbane Lions | 21 years, 11 days | 19 | Pick 69 (2014 rookie draft) |
| Kurt Heatherley | Hawthorn | 21 years, 219 days | 20 | Pick 61 (2014 rookie draft) |
| Sam Weideman | Melbourne | 19 years, 43 days | 20 | Pick 9 (2015 national draft), son of Mark Weideman, grandson of Murray Weideman |
| Reilly O'Brien | Adelaide | 20 years, 352 days | 20 | Pick 9 (2015 rookie draft) |
| David Cuningham | Carlton | 19 years, 138 days | 21 | Pick 23 (2015 national draft) |
| Ryan Burton | Hawthorn | 19 years, 196 days | 21 | Pick 19 (2015 national draft) |
| Jesse Palmer | Port Adelaide | 19 years, 301 days | 21 | Pick 78 (2014 national draft) |
| Jake Long | Essendon | 20 years, 194 days | 21 | Pick 47 (2015 rookie draft), son of Michael Long |
| Callum Moore | Richmond | 19 years, 352 days | 22 | Pick 12 (2016 rookie draft) |
| Brayden Fiorini | Gold Coast | 18 years, 364 days | 22 | Pick 20 (2015 national draft) |
| Josh Clayton | Brisbane Lions | 20 years, 218 days | 22 | Pick 86 (2014 national draft), son of Scott Clayton |
| Riley Bonner | Port Adelaide | 19 years, 175 days | 23 | Pick 37 (2015 national draft) |
| Will Snelling | Port Adelaide | 19 years, 21 days | 23 | Pick 10 (2016 rookie draft) |
| Brandon White | St Kilda | 19 years, 229 days | 23 | Pick 40 (2015 national draft) |

## Change of AFL club

| Name | Club | Age at debut | Debut round | Former clubs | Recruiting method |
| Jacob Townsend | Richmond | 22 years, 278 days | 1 | Greater Western Sydney | traded in 2015 |
| Jed Lamb | Carlton | 23 years, 157 days | 1 | Sydney & Greater Western Sydney | traded in 2015 |
| Sam Kerridge | Carlton | 22 years, 333 days | 1 | Adelaide | traded in 2015 |
| Matthew Wright | Carlton | 26 years, 101 days | 1 | Adelaide | signed as a delisted free agent in 2015 |
| Andrew Phillips | Carlton | 24 years, 265 days | 1 | Greater Western Sydney | traded in 2015 |
| Tomas Bugg | Melbourne | 22 years, 356 days | 1 | Greater Western Sydney | traded in 2015 |
| Ben Kennedy | Melbourne | 22 years, 23 days | 1 | Collingwood | traded in 2015 |
| Steve Johnson | Greater Western Sydney | 32 years, 266 days | 1 | Geelong | traded in 2015 |
| Matt Rosa | Gold Coast | 29 years, 124 days | 1 | West Coast | traded in 2015 |
| Ryan Davis | Gold Coast | 26 years, 293 days | 1 | West Coast | pick 38, (2016 rookie draft) |
| Matt Dea | Essendon | 24 years, 165 days | 1 | Richmond | Essendon top-up signings in 2015 |
| Mitch Brown | Essendon | 25 years, 211 days | 1 | Geelong | pick 54, (2015 national draft) |
| Mathew Stokes | Essendon | 31 years, 125 days | 1 | Geelong | Essendon top-up signings in 2015 |
| Jonathan Simpkin | Essendon | 28 years, 150 days | 1 | Hawthorn | Essendon top-up signings in 2015 |
| Matthew Leuenberger | Essendon | 27 years, 293 days | 1 | Brisbane Lions | signed as a restricted free agent in 2015 |
| Ryan Crowley | Essendon | 32 years, 21 days | 1 | Fremantle | Essendon top-up signings in 2015 |
| Craig Bird | Essendon | 27 years, 66 days | 1 | Sydney | traded in 2015 |
| James Kelly | Essendon | 32 years, 88 days | 1 | Geelong | Essendon top-up signings in 2015 |
| Jed Anderson | North Melbourne | 22 years, 54 days | 1 | Hawthorn | traded in 2015 |
| Paul Seedsman | Adelaide | 24 years, 66 days | 1 | Collingwood | traded in 2015 |
| Michael Talia | Sydney | 23 years, 45 days | 1 | Western Bulldogs | traded in 2015 |
| Callum Sinclair | Sydney | 26 years, 185 days | 1 | West Coast | traded in 2015 |
| Adam Treloar | Collingwood | 23 years, 17 days | 1 | Greater Western Sydney | traded in 2015 |
| Matt Suckling | Western Bulldogs | 27 years, 246 days | 1 | Hawthorn | signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2015 |
| Charlie Dixon | Port Adelaide | 25 years, 186 days | 1 | Gold Coast | traded in 2015 |
| Jack Redden | West Coast | 25 years, 109 days | 1 | Brisbane Lions | traded in 2015 |
| Josh Walker | Brisbane Lions | 23 years, 136 days | 1 | Geelong | traded in 2015 |
| Ryan Bastinac | Brisbane Lions | 24 years, 279 days | 1 | North Melbourne | traded in 2015 |
| Tom Bell | Brisbane Lions | 24 years, 288 days | 1 | Carlton | traded in 2015 |
| Lachie Henderson | Geelong | 26 years, 105 days | 1 | Brisbane Lions & Carlton | traded in 2015 |
| Patrick Dangerfield | Geelong | 25 years, 358 days | 1 | Adelaide | traded in 2015 |
| Zac Smith | Geelong | 26 years, 36 days | 1 | Gold Coast | traded in 2015 |
| James Aish | Collingwood | 20 years, 145 days | 2 | Brisbane Lions | traded in 2015 |
| Jimmy Toumpas | Port Adelaide | 22 years, 92 days | 2 | Melbourne | traded in 2015 |
| Lewis Jetta | West Coast | 26 years, 335 days | 2 | Sydney | traded in 2015 |
| Jeremy Howe | Collingwood | 25 years, 285 days | 3 | Melbourne | traded in 2015 |
| Andrew Moore | Richmond | 24 years, 321 days | 4 | Port Adelaide | signed as a delisted free agent in 2015 |
| Liam Sumner | Carlton | 22 years, 224 days | 4 | Greater Western Sydney | traded in 2015 |
| Lachie Plowman | Carlton | 21 years, 218 days | 4 | Greater Western Sydney | traded in 2015 |
| Jed Adcock | Western Bulldogs | 30 years, 153 days | 4 | Brisbane Lions | traded in 2015 |
| Jarrad Grant | Gold Coast | 26 years, 292 days | 5 | Western Bulldogs | signed as a delisted free agent in 2015 |
| Daniel Currie | Gold Coast | 27 years, 69 days | 5 | North Melbourne | traded in 2015 |
| Sam Grimley | Essendon | 25 years, 114 days | 5 | Hawthorn | Essendon top-up signings in 2015 |
| James Polkinghorne | Essendon | 27 years, 102 days | 6 | Brisbane Lions | Essendon top-up signings in 2015 |
| Nathan Grima | Essendon | 30 years, 267 days | 7 | North Melbourne | Essendon top-up signings in 2015 |
| Daniel Gorringe | Carlton | 23 years, 354 days | 9 | Gold Coast | signed as a delisted free agent in 2015 |
| Farren Ray | North Melbourne | 30 years, 61 days | 9 | Western Bulldogs & St Kilda | pick 15, (2016 rookie draft) |
| Mark Jamar | Essendon | 32 years, 293 days | 10 | Melbourne | Essendon top-up signings in 2015 |
| Jonathan Giles | West Coast | 28 years, 163 days | 13 | Greater Western Sydney & Essendon | traded in 2015 |
| Sam Michael | Essendon | 23 years, 5 days | 16 | Brisbane Lions | Essendon top-up signings in 2015 |
| Scott Selwood | Geelong | 26 years, 135 days | 20 | West Coast | signed as a restricted free agent in 2015 |
| Jack Fitzpatrick | Hawthorn | 25 years, 65 days | 23 | Melbourne | traded in 2015 |