The conclusion of the AFL Trade Period has turned the industry's attention to the AFL Draft, which will take place from November 19.
While the big names such as Charlie Curnow have dominated headlines, many clubs improved their draft hand either by increasing the number of points they have to match a bid for tied talent, or advanced their place in the order.
Below is a club-by-club breakdown of how each club is positioned a month out from the AFL Draft.
Sydney
Draft hand: 31, 32, 42, 63, 88, 106 = 1036 points
Max King, Lachy Carmichael and Harry Kyle are viewed by many as all being talents in the second half of the first round, but with their current hand of 1036 points, Sydney will need to either do some pick swapping or prioritise accordingly.
Hypothetically, the Swans would be able to match a bid for Max King at about Pick 20, but would then be unable to match another pick unless it came at about Pick 35 or later. If a bid for King didn't come until Pick 26 – or the Swans bypass King and then a bid for Kyle or Carmichael at Pick 26 – and then there was another bid at Pick 30, Sydney would be able to match both of those.
In short, as it stands, best case scenario is that Sydney will be able to get two of the aforementioned prospects, not all three. The Swans have their 2026 second-rounder, two third-rounders and a fourth rounder, as well as two seconds, a third and a fourth in 2027 if it wants to do some pick swapping.
Sydney also has Noah Chamberlain, who could receive a bid but there's a likelihood that bid will come after Pick 54, so the Swans won't need any points to match it.
