Four delisted AFL players have found lifelines at new clubs via the 2018 AFL Rookie Draft which was conducted on Friday a few hours after the national draft concluded.
Hugh Goddard formerly of St Kilda and Tom Bugg formerly of GWS and Melbourne will both get a chance to extend their careers at the Carlton Blues, taken at picks 1 and 19 in the rookie draft.
Meanwhile delisted Magpie Josh Smith was acquired by West Coast at pick 34, and delisted Giant Tim Mohr landed at Hawthorn with pick 43.
A large number of the picks in this year’s rookie draft featured clubs re-drafting players already on their list who were being moved to the rookie list for various reasons.
Particularly notable are Sam Murray, who Collingwood will keep on their rookie list despite him facing a potential multi-year ASADA suspension, and Kurt Tippett, who will remain technically on the Sydney Swans’ list despite having retired almost 12 months ago.
A number of potential draftees who missed out in the national draft managed to find spots as rookies with some of the most notable including Tom McKenzie to North Melbourne, Durak Tucker to the Sydney Swans, and Damon Greaves and Will Golds to Hawthorn.
Talented Western Australian midfielder Sydney Stack however has missed out on this opportunity to become an AFL-listed player amid concerns over his lack of professionalism.
Numerous clubs also chose to pass on some of their available rookie selections, leaving the window open to acquire former AFL players under the new rule which allows clubs to do so starting from December 1.
It’s already known that Shane Mumford is likely to return to the GWS Giants via this new mechanism, while Zac Clarke will land at Essendon, Maverick Weller at Richmond, Corey Wagner at Melbourne, and Keegan Brooksby at the West Coast Eagles.
Below you can see the complete list of players taken in the rookie draft, and the clubs that picked them.
| Round | Pick | Club | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Carlton Blues | Hugh Goddard |
| 1 | 2 | Gold Coast Suns | Michael Rischitelli |
| 1 | 3 | St Kilda Saints | Callum Wilkie |
| 1 | 4 | Brisbane Lions | Ryan Bastinac |
| 1 | 5 | Fremantle Dockers | Ethan Hughes |
| 1 | 6 | Western Bulldogs | Lachie Young |
| 1 | 7 | Adelaide Crows | Kieran Stachan |
| 1 | 8 | Essendon Bombers | Tuth Jok |
| 1 | 9 | Port Adelaide Power | Tobin Cox |
| 1 | 10 | North Melbourne Kangaroos | Tom McKenzie |
| 1 | 11 | Geelong Cats | Tom Atkins |
| 1 | 12 | Sydney Swans | Durak Tucker |
| 1 | 13 | GWS Giants | Pass |
| 1 | 14 | Hawthorn Hawks | Damon Greaves |
| 1 | 15 | Melbourne Demons | Kade Chandler |
| 1 | 16 | Richmond Tigers | Jake Aarts |
| 1 | 17 | Collingwood Magpies | Tim Broomhead |
| 1 | 18 | West Coast Eagles | Harry Edwards |
| 2 | 19 | Carlton Blues | Tom Bugg |
| 2 | 20 | Gold Coast Suns | Jack Leslie |
| 2 | 21 | Brisbane Lions | Jacob Allison |
| 2 | 22 | Fremantle Dockers | Tobe Watson |
| 2 | 23 | Western Bulldogs | Jordon Sweet |
| 2 | 24 | Adelaide Crows | Paul Hunter |
| 2 | 25 | Essendon Bombers | Matt Dea |
| 2 | 26 | Port Adelaide Power | Cameron Hewett |
| 2 | 27 | North Melbourne Kangaroos | Kyron Hayden |
| 2 | 28 | Sydney Swans | Harry Reynolds |
| 2 | 29 | GWS Giants | pass |
| 2 | 30 | Hawthorn Hawks | Will Golds |
| 2 | 31 | Melbourne Demons | pass |
| 2 | 32 | Richmond Tigers | Jacob Townsend |
| 2 | 33 | Collingwood Magpies | Sam Murray |
| 2 | 34 | West Coast Eagles | Josh Smith |
| 3 | 35 | Carlton Blues | pass |
| 3 | 36 | Gold Coast Suns | Brad Scheer |
| 3 | 37 | Fremantle Dockers | Ryan Nyhuis |
| 3 | 38 | Western Bulldogs | pass |
| 3 | 39 | Adelaide Crows | Jordon Butts |
| 3 | 40 | Essendon Bombers | pass |
| 3 | 41 | North Melbourne Kangaroos | Tom Wilkinson |
| 3 | 42 | Sydney Swans | Kurt Tippett |
| 3 | 43 | Hawthorn Hawks | Tim Mohr |
| 3 | 44 | Melbourne Demons | pass |
| 3 | 45 | Richmond Tigers | Mabior Chol |
| 3 | 46 | West Coast Eagles | pass |
| 4 | 47 | Gold Coast Suns | Harrison Wigg |
| 4 | 48 | North Melbourne Kangaroos | pass |
| 4 | 49 | Hawthorn Hawks | Will Langford |
| 4 | 50 | Richmond Tigers | pass |
| 5 | 51 | Gold Coast Suns | pass |
| 5 | 52 | Richmond Tigers | pass |
WCE
Roar Rookie
I am stunned that Josh Deluca and both Hickmont boys from Subiaco WAFL club didn't get picked
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
He'll be fine...once he cranks out a strong WAFL season.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Graeme Melrose, Phil Kelly, Mario Turco, Kevin Bryant, Alex Ishchenko...
Birdman
Roar Rookie
Dayle Garlett that is.....
IAP
Guest
The Dogs drafted the Footscray b&f winner Will Hayes (son of horse trainer David Hayes). Or do you mean league b&fs?
Birdman
Roar Rookie
Maybe seen by clubs as too risky like Garlett?
JamesH
Roar Guru
I was surprised Stack didn’t get picked up late in the draft, and then stunned that he didn’t get a rookie spot. Seemed like a small risk to take for such potential.
Ravi
Roar Rookie
LOL love it Maths
jim white
Roar Rookie
Did any b&f from the three major leagues (vfl, sanfl & wafl) get drafted.
Cat
Roar Guru
Atkins will be the next Tom Stewart – yet another astute 'promotion' from the Cat VFL side. Atkins is a tackling machine – just what we need.
Josh
Expert
As a previously AFL-listed player, he could still be picked up in the window opening December 1.
Macca
Roar Rookie
The blues get Goddard 4 years after SOS would have taken him instead of Boekhorst. Hopefully he gets a good run at it. Not convinced on Bugg but he will be a good depth player.
Aligee
Roar Rookie
I can go back to about the Krakouer's, WA players have been consistently undervalued East, in fact i would say WA players are even undervalued West. Makes you wonder why a desperate club like North Melbourne and at the time they were desperate got the .....Krakouer's, Cable, Glendinning, McCann etc etc ahead of every other club with money ...and so it goes....
Birdman
Roar Rookie
Strange year for WA footy. I reckon some gems were missed but with some on clubs in the east being spooked by the so called 'go home factor' that's maybe going to happen a bit more.
Aligee
Roar Rookie
What i can say is just last year apparently Tassie football was shot, dead and buried, with no draftees and no future - this year apparently - a miraculous comeback, more draftees than WA, NSW also had more draftees than WA. Having seen colts footy in a variety of states this year i can guarantee that WA footy has much more depth, more talent and a much larger amount of kids playing playing the game at that age level. Stand by for a number of Geelong type Kelly's from WA.
Birdman
Roar Rookie
Meh! Mohr adds some depth to our thin def. stocks but I'm not expecting too much based on exposed form but just maybe this pick pays off Mat Spangher-style.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
Yep, no biasm. On a side note, how was Jye Bolton not drafted. He has won 2 Sandover Medals in 3 years. I feel very sorry for him.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Hawthorn picking up Tim Mohr as a rookie is an interesting one. Was pretty good in the Giants' early years as a big body amongst a bunch of skinny kids when they were getting routinely thrashed. Has had a lot of injuries last couple of seasons, in fact, I'm not sure whether he has ever appeared in a finals game for the giants.
Aligee
Roar Rookie
WA boys continuously underated, to the detriment of the game.
User
Roar Rookie
In Edwards we may very well have the next Fraser McInnes everyone.