Three Otago Riot players have been snapped up in the inaugural AFL New Zealand premiership draft.
Reyne Westbury, Ben Miller and Hayden Johnston are the only Otago players to be drafted so far, but a secondary draft will be held next month to complete team rosters.
The premiership has replaced the defunct weekend-long national championships, which is usually held in December.
Otago does not have its own team. Instead, four new teams - Northern Suns, Central Giants, Western Crows and Southern Saints - will compete in the premiership, which will run from February 14 to April 17.
For the inaugural season, 96 players throughout New Zealand will be allocated to teams via drafts.
Westbury was the first to be picked up, when the Saints swooped on him with the fifth pick of the third round.
Miller, a Taieri premier rugby player and Otago sevens representative, was snapped up by the Crows with the eighth and final pick of the third round.
Miller also plays for the New Zealand Hawks AFL team.
The other Otago Riot player to be picked up was Johnston, whom the Saints took with the seventh pick of the fifth round.
AFL New Zealand has set up the premiership to create a bigger competition in a bid to increase player numbers and interest in the sport in the country.
Otago AFL president Michael Bruhn has criticised the new competition in the past, because only a few local players would be picked in the draft, he said.
