Carlton and Gold Coast didn't get the priority draft picks they were after but they did get first crack at the best players in state leagues across the country.
The AFL Commission met in Melbourne on Monday to assess special assistance submissions made by the Blues and Suns as well as St Kilda and Brisbane.
Gold Coast, who finished 17th, will get the most help, with wooden-spooners Carlton also given a leg up this off-season.
The Saints and Lions, 16th and 15th respectively, walked away empty-handed.
The Suns, who are yet to make the finals in eight seasons in the league, will be allowed to recruit three players who have previously been on an AFL list or have nominated for the draft, and have also been given two extra rookie spots.
The Blues don't get any extra rookies but can pre-list two players outside the draft system as part of their assistance package.
Both clubs can do so with the intention of boosting their playing stocks or on-trading them to gain extra draft picks or experienced players from rival clubs.
"In the case of both clubs, it is the AFL's view that the addition of 2018 player draftees, coupled with the current younger talent within both club lists, will be able to lift the clubs up the ladder through the next three years," AFL boss Gillon McLachlan said in a statement.
Tim Kelly's success at Geelong in his first AFL season has put the spotlight back on recruiting mature-aged talent.
Kelly, a 24-year-old midfielder, played 23 games for the Cats in 2018 after he was picked out of the WAFL.
Geelong coach Chris Scott has been a vocal critic of the plan to allow struggling clubs special access to such players, citing the extensive work his recruiting team has already done before this years draft.
Carlton's failure to land a priority pick, which would most likely have come after the top 10, could hurt their efforts to work a trade for wantaway Adelaide forward Mitch McGovern.
All four clubs would have been delighted to have the extra ammunition of a priority pick when the trade period gets underway.
"If you help (with draft picks) then you're doing that at the expense of the competition generally," McLachlan explained on SEN.
"There was an assessment that the clubs had a lot of young talent.
"So there was a view that they needed some mature bodies."
Australian Associated Press
