The 2006 AFL pre-season had plenty of headlines and adventures between clubs and players.

Player moves

• 30 players retired from the game, including Matthew Primus, Nick Holland, Martin Pike, Wayne Campbell, Justin Murphy, Brenton Sanderson, Austinn Jones, Angleo Lekkas, Phil Matera, Jason Ball and Stuart Maxfield
• Shane Woewodin, a Brownlow Medallist was delisted
• Trade Period saw Jonathan Hay and Jade Rawlings both go to Kangaroos as the biggest moves.
• The 2005 AFL Draft sees Marc Murphy the no.1 draft pick, going to Carlton. Dale Thomas and Xavier Ellis were no.2 and no.3 respectively. Brett Montgomery and Kasey Green each got drafted to new clubs.
• The 2005 AFL Pre-season Draft saw Dylan McLaren go at no.1, while Scott Camporeale and Chris Heffernan were picked up as experienced campaigners at Essendon
• Matthew Lloyd will be the new captain of Essendon, as James Hird steps down as club leader.
• Ex-Geelong footballer Ben Graham had been a highlight in the NFL league, after retiring from AFL Football, chasing the big bucks. He has received a 7 year contract from the New York Jets.
• Sydney announce Leo Barry, Barry Hall and Brett Kirk as co-captains, while Warren Tredrea will be the new skipper at Port Adelaide.

Other matches

• Essendon Coach Kevin Sheedy coaches the Australians to a 2-0 victory in the International Rules Series against Ireland. Andrew McLeod wins the Jim Stynes Medal.
• Fremantle defeat West Coast Eagles by 17 points in an Exhibition match played in London.
• Sydney and the Kangaroos play an Exhibition match in the United States at UCLA. Kangaroos won by 48 points.

Pre-season training

• Collingwood started training early, but in Arizona, experiencing a high-altitude training camp.
• Brisbane Lions endured a tough test on the Kokoda Trail as St Kilda travelled to China for a week.
• Western Bulldogs captain Luke Darcy re-injures his knee, which will set him on the sidelines for the second consecutive season. Brad Johnson will captain the side.

Other incidents

Main article: List of Australian rules football incidents

• Adam Ramanauskas gets another sign of cancer, and will miss the rest of the season. This is the third case of cancer for Rama.
• Ben Cousins steps down as captain after a Booze Bus incident, which saw Cousins escape his car with passengers inside it. Police charges are pending.