The 2015 draft was a bumper draft, with many of the players who went in these proceedings going on to be stars of the competition.
Whilst there have been some who haven't exactly lit up the competition that were drafted highly, there have also been some massive movers who have come from later picks to achieve big things.
Here is the original first 18 of the draft for context:
- Jacob Weitering (Carlton)
- Josh Schache (Brisbane)
- Callum Mills (Sydney)
- Clayton Oliver (Melbourne)
- Darcy Parish (Essendon)
- Aaron Francis (Essendon)
- Jacob Hopper (GWS)
- Callum Ah Chee (Gold Coast)
- Sam Weideman (Melbourne)
- Harry McKay (Carlton)
- Wayne Milera (Adelaide)
- Charlie Curnow (Carlton)
- Matthew Kennedy (GWS)
- Eric Hipwood (Brisbane)
- Daniel Rioli (Richmond)
- Harrison Himmelberg (GWS)
- Tom Doedee (Adelaide)
- Jade Gresham (St Kilda)
For context, in this draft, several teams bid for Academy players and shuffled up the draft order (i.e. Sydney with Callum Mills). However, to avoid hypotheticals, the draft order will stay the same, so Sydney for example still will slide in at Pick 3 regardless of the player they draft. Teams will also be drafting for need, and not necessarily the best player.
Without further ado, here is the 2015 draft, re-done.
9. Daniel Rioli - Melbourne (Original position - Pick 15)
A strange one to see for Tiger fans is Daniel Rioli running around in a Dees jumper over his natural yellow and black, as the Dees select him at Pick 9 in this draft instead of Sam Weideman.
His rejuvenation as a dashing halfback saw him become a stalwart of Damien Hardwick's side this year, but the Dees would have loved him in his 2017 form, terrorising defences with his run-and-chase style of play.
Whether or not he would follow the same trajectory and find a new home in defence is up for debate, but the excitement he would bring would have lifted Dees fans out of their seats regularly.
