Live trading and crafty bidding were the order of the day as the remainder of the 2018 AFL Draft unfolded on Friday at Marvel Stadium.
After the first round unfolded on Thursday night it was West Coast and Adelaide who held the first two selections of the second round, but both managed to negotiate canny deals for their selections.
The Eagles sent pick 23 and a 2019 fifth-round pick to Gold Coast for picks 28 and 35, allowing the Suns to draft Jez McLennan while West Coast turned those picks into Xavier O’Neill and Bailey Williams.
Adelaide meanwhile sent pick 24 and a 2019 fifth-round pick to the GWS Giants for pick 30 and a future second-round pick, as the Giants snapped up Ian Hill and Adelaide later secured Will Hamill.
However perhaps the cheekiest move of the day was made by the Essendon Bombers who placed an earlier-than-expected bid on Hawthorn’s NGA academy player Irving Mosquito at pick 38.
The Hawks opted not to match the bid, becoming the first club in history to make that decision on an NGA player, a decision which saw Mosquito – an indigenous small forward – join the Dons.
The decision not to match meant Hawthorn retained their later picks in the draft, which they used to select Jacob Koschitzke (pick 52) and Mathew Walker (pick 63).
While McLennan and Hill both found themselves taken early, other draft invitees Luke Valente, Curtis Taylor, Will Kelly and Kieren Briggs had to wait their turn.
Kelly and Briggs both eventually drew bids that were matched in the second round by Collingwood and GWS respectively, while Valente was drafted at pick 32 by the Fremantle Dockers.
Taylor however proved to be the biggest slider of the evening and eventually got snapped up by North Melbourne who pulled off some canny live trading to secure him.
With a bid for father-son prospect Bailey Scott still yet to come in the 40s, North Melbourne traded a future third-round selection to the Western Bulldogs for pick 46, where they selected Taylor – ranked in the top 30 or even top 20 of the draft by many pundits.
North then was able to match a bid for Scott several selections later, ironicly made by the other club to whom he was eligible to join as a father-son selection – Geelong.
Day 2 also saw academy and father-son players Rhylee West, Jarrod Cameron, Connor McFayden, Joel Crocker, Ben Silvagni, Caleb Graham, Oscar Brownless, Toby Bedford and Atu Bosenavulagi join their respective clubs.
It proved also to be a busy day for mature-age players, as a number of clubs picked from the state leagues in the hopes of uncovering the next Tim Kelly or Liam Ryan.
Briggs, Luke Foley and Noah Answerth were notable 19-year-olds to be taken, but perhaps the best story is that of Ben Cavarra, a 22-year-old small forward from Williamstown who has long been considered a potential AFL player and finally gets his chance at the Western Bulldogs.
After adding inside midfielder Jack Bytel to their earlier selection of Max King, St Kilda finished off their draft with three mature players: Matthew Parker, Nick Hind and Robert Young.
Fremantle took a mature pair in Lachlan Schultz and Brett Bewley, while Melbourne picked another in Marty Hore, and Footscray VFL best and fairest winner Will Hayes joined the Dogs with the last pick of the draft.
As for those who missed out on an opportunity, Sydney Stack was the most notable. The indigenous midfielder from WA has been praised for his talent but faces questions over his professionalism.
He’ll hope to get a chance in the rookie draft.
Below you can see the complete list of every player picked in the 2018 national draft, and which club they went to.
| Round | Pick | Club | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Carlton Blues | Sam Walsh |
| 1 | 2 | Gold Coast Suns | Jack Lukosius |
| 1 | 3 | Gold Coast Suns | Izak Rankine |
| 1 | 4 | St Kilda Saints | Max King |
| 1 | 5 | Port Adelaide Power | Connor Rozee |
| 1 | 6 | Gold Coast Suns | Ben King |
| 1 | 7 | Western Bulldogs | Bailey Smith |
| 1 | 8 | North Melbourne Kangaroos | Tarryn Thomas |
| 1 | 9 | Adelaide Crows | Chayce Jones |
| 1 | 10 | Sydney Swans | Nick Blakey |
| 1 | 11 | GWS Giants | Jye Caldwell |
| 1 | 12 | Port Adelaide Power | Zak Butters |
| 1 | 13 | Collingwood Magpies | Isaac Quaynor |
| 1 | 14 | GWS Giants | Jackson Hately |
| 1 | 15 | Geelong Cats | Jordan Clark |
| 1 | 16 | Adelaide Crows | Ned McHenry |
| 1 | 17 | Fremantle Dockers | Sam Sturt |
| 1 | 18 | Port Adelaide Power | Xavier Duursma |
| 1 | 19 | Carlton Blues | Liam Stocker |
| 1 | 20 | Richmond Tigers | Riley Collier-Dawkins |
| 1 | 21 | Brisbane Lions | Ely Smith |
| 1 | 22 | GWS Giants | Xavier O’Halloran |
| 1 | 23 | Gold Coast Suns | Jez McLennan |
| 2 | 24 | GWS Giants | Ian Hill |
| 2 | 25 | Sydney Swans | James Rowbottom |
| 2 | 26 | Western Bulldogs | Rhylee West |
| 2 | 27 | Melbourne Demons | Tom Sparrow |
| 2 | 28 | West Coast Eagles | Xavier O’Neill |
| 2 | 29 | Collingwood Magpies | Will Kelly |
| 2 | 30 | Adelaide Crows | Will Hamill |
| 2 | 31 | West Coast Eagles | Luke Foley |
| 2 | 32 | Fremantle Dockers | Luke Valente |
| 2 | 33 | Melbourne Demons | James Jordon |
| 2 | 34 | GWS Giants | Kieren Briggs |
| 2 | 35 | West Coast Eagles | Bailey Williams |
| 2 | 36 | Brisbane Lions | Tom Berry |
| 2 | 37 | Western Bulldogs | Laitham Vandermeer |
| 2 | 38 | Essendon Bombers | Irving Mosquito |
| 2 | 39 | West Coast Eagles | Jarrod Cameron |
| 2 | 40 | Brisbane Lions | Tom Joyce |
| 2 | 41 | St Kilda Saints | Jack Bytel |
| 2 | 42 | Brisbane Lions | Connor McFadyen |
| 2 | 43 | Richmond Tigers | Jack Ross |
| 3 | 44 | Sydney Swans | Justin McInerney |
| 3 | 45 | Western Bulldogs | Ben Cavarra |
| 3 | 46 | North Melbourne Kangaroos | Curtis Taylor |
| 3 | 47 | St Kilda Saints | Matthew Parker |
| 3 | 48 | Geelong Cats | Ben Jarvis |
| 3 | 49 | North Melbourne Kangaroos | Bailey Scott |
| 3 | 50 | Geelong Cats | Jacob Kennerley |
| 3 | 51 | Sydney Swans | Zac Foot |
| 3 | 52 | Hawthorn Hawks | Jacob Koschitzke |
| 3 | 53 | Melbourne Demons | Aaron Nietschke |
| 3 | 54 | St Kilda Saints | Nick Hind |
| 3 | 55 | Brisbane Lions | Noah Answerth |
| 4 | 56 | Melbourne Demons | Marty Hore |
| 4 | 57 | Fremantle Dockers | Lachlan Shultz |
| 4 | 58 | Richmond Tigers | Fraser Turner |
| 4 | 59 | Fremantle Dockers | Brett Bewley |
| 4 | 60 | Essendon Bombers | Noah Gown |
| 4 | 61 | GWS Giants | Connor Idun |
| 4 | 62 | Richmond Tigers | Luke English |
| 4 | 63 | Hawthorn Hawks | Mathew Walker |
| 4 | 64 | Adelaide Crows | Lachlan Scholl |
| 4 | 65 | Geelong Cats | Darcy Fort |
| 4 | 66 | Carlton Blues | Finbar O’Dwyer |
| 4 | 67 | St Kilda Saints | Robert Young |
| 4 | 68 | Geelong Cats | Jake Tarca |
| 4 | 69 | North Melbourne Kangaroos | Joel Crocker |
| 5 | 70 | Carlton Blues | Ben Silvagni |
| 5 | 71 | Gold Coast Suns | Caleb Graham |
| 5 | 72 | Essendon Bombers | Brayden Ham |
| 5 | 73 | Port Adelaide Power | Riley Grundy |
| 5 | 74 | Geelong Cats | Oscar Brownless |
| 5 | 75 | Melbourne Demons | Toby Bedford |
| 6 | 76 | Port Adelaide Power | Boyd Woodcock |
| 8 | 77 | Collingwood Magpies | Atu Bosenavulagi |
| 11 | 78 | Western Bulldogs | Will Hayes |
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Pure Hayden Ballantyne in Lachie Schultz
Doctor Rotcod
Roar Rookie
Watson a Donnybrook boy and another Swans product. Did suggest that he was a smoky but a bit skinny yet.
Col from Brissie
Roar Guru
Josh, in your phantom draft you had him going to Richmond at pick 20 and said he would be ready to go next year. Also if Richmond wanted help in their clearances he would help. What changed your mind?
Aransan
Roar Rookie
Very happy that Nick Hind was drafted.
Birdman
Roar Rookie
Haha. Maybe focus on going back to back first?
Birdman
Roar Rookie
Instagram is your friend. Always on hols together. Sorry Jordy but it's happening ????
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
WC will drive a harder bargain than that, Pauline...what's with this donald bit?
Paul D
Roar Guru
You do realise there’s things called draft picks donald
Paul D
Roar Guru
Rich you can have, was saying years ago I’d love to be shot of him
Slane
Guest
They were definitely keen on Stocker. But I couldn't tell you which player they would have picked between the two of them. Most phantom drafts I've seen had RCD going 12-15 and Stocker rarely getting picked earlier than Richmond. You know I think the draft is mostly a lottery anyway.
Macca
Roar Rookie
The rumour is your blokes we're going to take Stocker, you heard anything in that?
Macca
Roar Rookie
I a man not going to pretend to know which player is better but Bolton said to Stocker we got you because you are a competitor, he was super impressive in his interview on the blues website, he seemed genuinely grateful, his highlights seem to point to him being a good pairing with Walsh but most of all SOS has the runs in the board just both at the blues and GWS for me to trust his judgment. Worst case scenario I am confident he is better than the mid we would have taken at pick 64!!
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
Big new era. I think Luke Valente is a huge chance to be a regular. He will probably have to prove he is better than either Langdon or Blakely. Sturt will have to prove he is better than maybe Cerra.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Let's hope it isn't 'Not Tobe Watson'.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
Yep Bonus
Professor X
Guest
Strange how they drafted o neill and not even me a die hard draft tragic knew he was. The eagles have an over abundance of tall forwards and ruckmen. Here's how I think the pecking order will work Tall FWDS 1. Darling 2. Kennedy (If 100% fit)(If he not's 100% don't play him) 3. O. Allen (or will he be played a half black flanker. 4. Brander 5. Waterman 6. B. Williams 7. Bines 8. Matty Allen 9. McInnes RUCKMEN 1. Naitanui (if fully fit) 2. Hickey 3. Vardy 4. Brooksby 5. Williams- play more ruck than fwd 6. McInnes Other quick notes: Marlion Pickett extreme unlucky not to be drafted. This guy was meant to go by the 3rd round. Same thing with Tom Lewis. Sydney stack Hartung- he deserved a gig No michael gibbons Jye bolton? No sokol? No Tom Campbell? Surely adelaide could have offered him a rookie spot
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
When were Jaeger and Coniglio mates. They played at different WAFL clubs and went to different schools. An old teacher of mine who went to school with Coniglio would probably know Jaeger if they were mates.
User
Roar Rookie
Does he have a medal to strip?
Liam Salter
Roar Guru
Yeah, Carter's officially ours as a category-B rookie. Also, I'm surprised we got Valente - he slid a fair bit for sure.
User
Roar Rookie
Trade in Kelly and get Coniglio I think that sounds alright