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The 2022 AFL draft has been completed, with a host of the game’s newest crop of stars set to head to their new homes for the 2023 season.
While the rookie draft is still to come on Wednesday night, the building blocks for your team’s future success have been set in place over the last two nights, all the way from new Giant Aaron Cadman at pick one, down to the final player taken – Port Adelaide’s Kyle Marshall at pick 59.
Here is The Roar’s 2022 draft recap, where we look at each player your team has snapped up, and the biggest steals from around the country.
>> The full 2022 AFL draft order
Draftees: Max Michalanney (pick 17), Billy Dowling (43), Hugh Bond (50)
Verdict:
The Crows’ first ever father-son selection, Michalanney, whose dad Jim played in four premierships with Norwood during the 1970s and 80s, was always going to be drafted. But a surprise early bid from Sydney saw the 18-year old officially become a Crow on night 1 of the draft.
Blessed with the ability to take on both talls and smalls at Under-18 level, Michalanney will stiffen up a Crows’ defence building nicely around young pillar Jordon Butts. Throw in another South Aussie in ball magnet Billy Dowling, who they liked enough to facilitate a pick swap with Gold Coast when he remained on the table at 43, and a hard-tackling tough nut in Hugh Bond who looms as a Rory Sloane replacement in the not-too-distant future, and Adelaide fans can be very pleased with their nights’ work.
Draftees: Will Ashcroft (2), Jaspa Fletcher (12)
Verdict:
Even before draft night began, the Lions looked almost certain to be among the biggest winners. And for (arguably) the third season in a row, following Nick Daicos in 2021 and Jamarra Ugle-Hagan in 2020, the brightest prospect in the draft pool hasn’t landed with the side holding pick 1 heading in, with Will Ashcroft officially joining Brisbane with pick 2 after a bid from North Melbourne was matched.
Virtually the complete midfielder, Ashcroft the younger wins plenty of footy, is brilliant by foot, is a natural leader and is already a proven big-game player, having won best-afield honours in the NAB League grand final as Sandringham Dragons skipper.
Less highly rated but equally certain to become a Lion was Jaspa Fletcher, who arrived slightly earlier than expected after the Western Bulldogs bid on the outside midfielder with pick 12.
A lovely kick with a brilliant turn of pace, the Academy prospect looms as the perfect foil for the Lions’ healthy crop of star midfielders from Lachie Neale to Hugh McCluggage (and now Ashcroft too).
Draftees: Oliver Hollands (11), Lachlan Cowan (30), Jaxon Binns (32), Harry Lemmey (47)
Verdict:
The fact the Blues’ social media team had a highlights package ready to go of Hollands tells you both how keen the club were on him with their first pick, and also how confident they were he’d still be on the table.
Regarded as the best two-way runner in the draft, Hollands has the ability to ease into AFL life in defence or up forward, handy traits with the Blues already spoilt for midfielders. As for the rest, Tasmanian Cowan was one of the biggest steals of the night, with the long-kicking half-back touted as a potential first-rounder; while Binns’ incredible running ability could see him lock down a spot on the opposite wing to Blake Acres.
The Blues’ final pick was used on key position prospect Harry Lemmey, who has plenty of upside despite an injury- and form-affected 2022 season that saw him slide well down the draft order.
Draftees: Ed Allan (19), Jakob Ryan (28), Joe Richards (48)
Verdict:
West Coast chose not to pick up local boy Allan with either of their two top-15 picks, with the draft bolter – an outstanding finish to the U18s season for WA saw him shoot into top-10 calculations – eventually sliding to 19. A big-bodied midfielder with exceptional skills on both sides, there’s a hint of Marcus Bontempelli about him (no pressure, kid).
The Magpies were linked heavily to Ryan with their first selection, and would have been over the moon that the intercept king slid to 28: with Jeremy Howe and Darcy Moore as teammates, he’s got some exceptional tutors to learn from. Mature-ager Joe Richards, who dominated country football to force his way into AFL calculations after being first overlooked in 2017, is one of the great stories of the draft to boot.
Draftees: Elijah Tsatas (5), Lewis Hayes (25), Alwyn Davey (45), Jayden Davey (54)
Verdict:
All the talk heading into night 1 was the Bombers’ deep consideration of whether to trade their prized pick 5 (4 at the time before the Marcus Ashcroft bid). In the end, they stuck to their guns, with the reward the best attacking midfielder in the draft pool in Tsatas. Explosive from stoppages, accurate by foot and with an outside game, he wouldn’t have looked out of place as a central figure in the James Hird-era Bombers.
The rest of the draft, with an honourable mention to developing key defender Hayes, was about waiting to match a bid for the exciting Davey twins. That it took until 45 for Hawthorn to force the Bombers’ hand with Alwyn was a great result for Adrian Dodoro; brother Jayden, whose junior career was curtailed by two ACL injuries, followed with their next pick.
Tackling machines with every touch worth their weight in gold, the twins will make for exciting watching for Dons fans in attacking 50 for years to come.
Draftees: Hugh Davies (33), Tom Emmett (41), Max Knobel (42), Corey Wagner (57)
Verdict:
Without a pick on night 1 due to their trade for Luke Jackson, the Dockers proved you can never have too many key defenders by opting for local pillar Hugh Davies with their first pick. A sensible backman with good hands and a knack for intercept marking, the presence of Alex Pearce and Brennan Cox gives Freo plenty of time to develop him into an AFL-ready prospect.
Ditto that with Knobel, the second ruckman picked on the night, who seems set to slot into Lloyd Meek’s vacated role as Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson’s understudy. Wagner has received his third chance at an AFL career after spending time with North Melbourne and Melbourne, while Western Australian goalsneak Tom Emmett is very much in the Lachie Schultz mould as a pressure forward with plenty of goal nous – but he’s nearly a foot taller.
Draftees: Jhye Clark (8), Phoenix Foster (52)
Verdict
If you wanted to bet on a draftee not named Will Ashcroft being the pick of this year’s pool in a decade’s time, it could very well be Clark. The Geelong Falcons prospect was always destined to be a Cat, virtually from the moment a top-10 pick landed in their hands as part of the Jack Bowes trade.
Clark’s list of attributes – leadership, toughness, clean hands and powerful in the contest – are pretty similar to a certain Geelong champion that just recently announced his retirement after 355 games and four premierships. Trust Geelong to send Joel Selwood out with a premiership and then immediately pick up his clone a few months later.
South Australian Foster, a forward-ruck who is as raw as they come but athletically gifted, also has the benefit of having the coolest first name in this year’s draft pool.
Draftees: Bailey Humphrey (6)
Verdict:
It was one and done for the Suns in this year’s draft – unsurprising considering their jam-packed list and salary cap. But Humphrey is more than enough for Gold Coast fans to feel like they’ve got more than enough talent out of it anyway.
Despite a relatively small 185cm frame, the Gippsland power prospect is exceptional overhead, hits the scoreboard as a midfielder and hits the contest at breakneck speed – all qualities that suggest a role up forward with stints on the ball alongside Matt Rowell, Touk Miller and Noah Anderson could be the perfect fit while he develops.
Draftees: Aaron Cadman (1), Harry Rowston (16), Darcy Jones (21), Max Gruzewski (22), Toby McMullin (34)
Verdict:
The Giants knew exactly what they were doing when they jumped into the Jason Horne-Francis trade intent on securing pick 1. A bid on Marcus Ashcroft was never forthcoming – as a result, key forward Aaron Cadman now has the prestige of the top selection, and the Giants have a man around whom they can build a forward line for the next decade.
From there, though, things got frustrating: the Swans’ bid for Rowston came earlier than they were anticipating, before they then snapped up Jacob Konstanty from under their noses. Clever goalsneak Jones was a handy consolation prize – he looms as a Bobby Hill replacement nipping at the heels of Cadman and Jesse Hogan – while versatile if raw key position prospect Gruzewski could make his home at either end of the field and speed demon Toby McMullin has his work cut out for him to be the best ‘Toby’ at the Giants.
Draftees: Cameron Mackenzie (7), Josh Weddle (18), Henry Hustwaite (37), Jack O’Sullivan (46), Bailey Macdonald (51)
Verdict:
Mackenzie was long linked to the Hawks as a strong-bodied midfielder set to combine with Josh Ward and Connor Macdonald in the brown and gold engine room for years to come. But the bold move to trade, among other things, next year’s second-rounder to Sydney shows just how much they rate gun young defender Weddle.
Keen to stock up on more talent than most rivals, the Hawks added five new recruits to their already youthful list: big-bodied mid Hustwaite shone in the NAB League with his penetrating left boot, inside bull O’Sullivan provides more midfield depth, and line-breaking half-back Macdonald could be a long-term wing option on the other side to new recruit Karl Amon.
Draftees: Matthew Jefferson (15), Jed Adams (38)
Verdict:
Few players in this year’s pool have as much upside as Jefferson, with the key tall annoucing himself with seven goals in an U18s game against WA. Still only 18, the Victorian is exceptional overhead and could be anything with a few years’ development and 20 extra kilograms on his frame.
Up the other end, the Dees have added to their key back stocks with Adams, a Western Australian is a consummate defender with a killer spoil who could be just the lockdown defender to complement the intercept skills of Jake Lever and Steven May the Demons have been looking for.
Draftees: Harry Sheezel (3), George Wardlaw (4), Brayden George (26), Cooper Harvey (56)
Verdict:
With the top four prospects in this year’s draft quite clear and the clear top choice of Ashcroft unavailable, the Roos’ decision to trade their pick 1 in the Jason Horne-Francis deal now looms as the right move. And in Sheezel and Wardlaw, they have a pair of young guns ready to fill gaping holes.
A specialist forward in the Josh Rachele mould, Sheezel is electric at ground level and hits the scoreboard as much as any junior small in many a year; while tough as teak inside midfielder Wardlaw adds yet more young midfield talent to the Kangaroos’ books as Ben Cunnington approaches the twilight of his career.
Speaking of Cunnington…
Brayden George, too, is an exciting small forward who fell down the draft order after a string of knee injuries, but has upside to burn. With their final pick, son of a gun Harvey has his work cut out for him to emulate his dad’s AFL record 432 games, but might already have Brent beat when it comes to overhead marking.
Draftees: Tom McCallum (36), Thomas Scully (53), Kyle Marshall (59)
Verdict:
Tall and quick as a flash, McCallum dazzled for Tasmania in the U18 Championships as a running half-back after spending much of his junior career as a forward. But even more fascinating to watch will be Scully, who tore the SANFL U18 season to shreds with 37 goals in the first seven rounds of the season, with three bags of seven.
202cm tall, few defenders will be able to cope with Scully’s pure reach, and while question marks over his relatively slight frame saw him slide into the 50s, you don’t often find proven goalkickers that low in the draft.
Taken with the final pick in the draft, South Australian key back Marshall is tall and raw, but with the Power desperately needing a long-term key defender, is well worth the punt and has plenty of upside.
Draftees: Kaleb Smith (49), Steely Green (55)
Verdict:
Just hold off on the analysis for a second and embrace the pure glory of the name ‘Steely Green’. An inside powerhouse who is tough enough to have actually survived being struck by lightning (yes, that really happened. Here’s the proof.), the Western Australian has some improvement to be made, but has some quintessentially Richmond attributes in his tackling pressure and clean hands.
Smith couldn’t possibly compete with his new teammate in the name stakes, but as a small defender for East Fremantle, caught the eye with some electric dash from the backline.
Draftees: Mattaes Phillipou (10), James Van Es (31), Olli Hotton (35), Isaac Keeler (44)
Verdict:
There mightn’t be a more 2022-style player in the draft than Phillipou. He’s a tall midfielder who hits the scoreboard, marks well overhead, is clean as they come thanks to a basketball background, and played SANFL reserves footy against men last season and more than held his own.
Of the later picks, Van Es might be the best pure defender in the draft pool, a no-nonsense powerful prospect who is already pushing 100kg at just 18 years of age. Hotton’s clean hands and speed off the mark make him an ideal fit in the Saints’ future forward line, while Keeler is a forward-ruck with mobility to spare who looms as a long-term foil for Rowan Marshall.
Draftees: Jacob Konstanty (20), Cooper Vickery (27), Caleb Mitchell (40)
Verdict:
The Swans were the villains of draft night, frequently disrupting their rivals’ plans in more ways than one. They started by bidding on first GWS prospect Rowston, then Adelaide father-son Michalanney; amusingly, after all that, they then traded the pick to Hawthorn for a sizeable return that includes the Hawks’ 2023 second-rounder.
Rubbing salt into the wounds for the Giants, they then pounced on tough-tackling small forward Konstanty, who their crosstown rivals had been eyeing closely, with pick 20.
And they weren’t done yet – the Hawks were powerless to stop Academy prospect Vickery heading north, where his outside game and foot skills will work nicely with the Swans’ run and gun game. Rounding things out, Mitchell is another elite outside runner but is solid enough to potentially develop into a genuine on-baller, and is exceptional overhead to boot.
Draftees: Reuben Ginbey (9), Elijah Hewett (14), Harry Barnett (23), Coby Burgiel (29), Noah Long (58)
Verdict:
The Eagles stocked up on local talent with their two top-20 picks, as it was expected they would when they traded their pick 2, alongside Junior Rioli, for two bites at the cherry.
The reward is draft bolter Ginbey, the inside mid the Eagles have been crying out for for years, and Hewett, whose grunt work at the coalface is matched by explosive speed away from the contest and some elite aerial skills.
South Australian ruckman Barnett was the top-rated ruck of the draft class, and looms as the long-term Nic Naitanui replacement the Eagles desperately need; Burgiel is a highly rated mid-forward with excellent goal nous, and slight but smart youngster Long has had some injury woes that give him upside well worth a punt with pick 58.
Draftees: Jedd Busslinger (13), Charlie Clarke (24), Harvey Gallagher (39)
Verdict:
Busslinger was the Bulldogs’ number one target for weeks heading into the draft, and it’s easy to see why. Exceptional overhead and a tremendous reader of the play, the Western Australian defender is the intercept-marking defender the Dogs have needed since Easton Wood’s retirement.
There’s a lot of Cody Weightman about small forward and serial pest Clarke; there’s every chance you’ll come to despite the Dogs’ twin smalls in years to come. The Bulldogs clearly identified a gap in their list, because Gallagher is cut from the same cloth as a small forward who also excelled as a ball-winning rebounder when shifted into defence in the 2022 NAB League season.
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