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2017 AFL Draft FAQ: Everything you need to know

Expert
22nd November, 2017
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AFL CEO Gillon Mclachlan speaks during the 2016 AFL Draft at Hordern Pavilion on November 25, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Expert
22nd November, 2017
73
1268 Reads

The AFL Draft is just a day away! It’s one of my favourite events on the AFL calendar, and I’ve put together everything you need to know to enjoy it to the fullest right here.

» 2017 AFL Phantom Draft top 25, rumours, bolters, sliders
» The top five according to Twitter
» A club-by-club guide to the 2017 AFL Draft

The key info

When is it?
The event gets underway at 6:30pm AEDT on Friday 24 November. However, there’ll be some pomp and ceremony before the actual picking of players begins.

Where is it?
The draft will be held at the Sydney Showground Exhibition Centre which is in Olympic Park, near Spotless Stadium and ANZ Stadium.

Can I watch it?
It’s on TV via Fox Footy, so you can live stream it with the Foxtel App or Foxtel Now, or through AFL live pass. We’ll have a live blog here on The Roar too.

Can I go?
Maybe! Tickets are free, but limited. You can register for a chance to get some here.

Who is going No.1?
Good question! There’s some debate about that this year, but it looks like it will be Cam Rayner. Sam Landsberger reported on Wednesday that Brisbane have settled on him as the No.1 pick, and Cal Twomey has him going there in his phantom draft.

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Cameron Rayner AFL Draft 2017 tall

What’s the full draft order?
You can find it here.

Who will my club pick?
Nobody can say for sure, but I’ve taken a stab at a club-by-club guide here.

How about a mock/phantom draft?
Myself and Maddy Friend put one together last week that you can read here, and I’ll be putting out one final stab at a phantom tomorrow morning.

What about the pre-season and rookie drafts?
They’re on Monday 27 November, kicking off at about 5pm AEDT. They won’t be on TV or anything, but we’ll be live blogging them here on The Roar.

The players

Who is the best tall defender?
Aaron Naughton. He’s played a decent run of senior WAFL footy towards the end of the year and acquitted himself well, and could go as early as pick 5 or 6 in the draft.

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Who is the best tall forward?
A hard question to answer because there are some swingman types who could settle as forwards or backmen. Of the players who look destined to be forwards, Oscar Allen is probably the most highly rated, but even he is arguably a little short for the job at 191cm.

Who is the best inside midfielder?
It’s hard to split as many of the midfielders in the mix are hybrid players to some degree, but big-bodied Luke Davies-Uniacke is probably the best of the group in terms of ability to win the ball inside the contest. Charlie Constable would be the clubhouse leader when it comes to players who are closer to being purely inside mids.

Who is the best outside midfielder?
In terms of a players whose roles are almost exclusively outside the contest, Lochie O’Brien is probably the leading prospect here, with Ed Richards also a chance to go early.

Who is the best ruckman?
Sam Hayes is widely regarded as the best ruck talent in the pool, but the reluctance of clubs to invest high picks in this area means he is still unlikely to be drafted inside the top 20.

Sam Hayes

Who is the most versatile?
This draft doesn’t necessarily have that sort of play-everywhere utility that we see crop up every now and then. It might be Jaidyn Stephenson whose height and speed give him the ability to play a number of roles, or defender Nick Coffield who has the attributes to match up on just about any opponent.

Who is the best kick?
There isn’t necesarilly a player who has separated themselves from the pack in this regard as has often happened in years previous. Adam Cerra is widely regarded for being extremely classy user of the ball, Lochie O’Brien would also be in the mix.

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Who has the most pace?
Jack Petrucelle is the best sprinter in the mix, running 20 metres in 2.87 seconds. Aiden Bonar, Nick Coffield, Jaidyn Stephenson and Paddy Dow are some other players in the mix that are known for their speed.

Who is the tallest?
208cm Ned Reeves is probably the tallest player with a serious chance of getting selected, though he might wind up needing to take his chances in the rookie draft. Sam Hayes will certainly get picked up by someone and he is 203cm.

Who is the smallest?
Brent Daniels (171cm) and Charlie Spargo (172cm) look to be the smallest players in the mix to get picked up. Daniels is a small forward, Spargo a mid-forward who has drawn a few comparisons to Brent Harvey.

Who has the funniest name?
Aiden Bonar by a country mile. Seriously, if I ever get the sack here at The Roar, it’ll be because of an inappropriate pun headline involving this bloke. Jordon Butts, Alex Martini and Oscar Clavarino are all worth a giggle too.

Aiden Bonar AFL

Father-son and academies

How does it work?
Safe to say the bidding system can be a bit of a headscratcher at times. Check out the first half of this article for a full explanation. On draft night itself the equation will flash up on screen, so you won’t need to have your calculator on hand.

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Who are the father-son players?
The only father-son player likely to attract a bid in the early area of the draft is Patrick Naish for Richmond, the son of Chris. He’s a promising wingman but is a bit undersized and will probably attract a bid somewhere in the 20s.

Tyler Brown is the son of former Collingwood captain Gavin Brown and will likely join his brother Callum at the Pies, with a bid probably not coming until the third round or even later.

Jackson Edwards (son of Tyson) will join the Crows as a rookie if he doesn’t get picked up by another club in the national draft.

Who are the academy players?
Connor Ballenden is the highest-rated academy prospect this year, a tall player who was rated high at the start of the season but indifferent form has seen him slide to probably being bid on the 20s or 30s. The Lions may also pick up Jack Payne in this way.

Brayden Crossley to Gold Coast and Nicholas Shipley to GWS are other academy picks that look reasonably likely to happen, while Changkuoth Jiath might make history as the first ‘next generation’ academy player to be taken in the national draft.

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