A maximum of seven of these players could be open-age signings who had nominated for the 2018 AFL Women's draft but not been selected.
A final three spots were reserved for three junior players of minimum draft age (born in 2001) and who hailed from the clubs' designated development regions.
All existing clubs other than Brisbane and Fremantle could lose no more than four players to the mechanism while Brisbane and Fremantle can each lose a maximum of eight due to the entry of Gold Coast and West Coast into their previously exclusive state-zones.
New players to this list must not have played Australian rules football within the previous three years or been involved in an AFLW high-performance program.
Before the opening round of the season, clubs were permitted to replace players who had suffered a long-term injury or for whom personal circumstances had ruled them out for playing in any match that year.