Each year AFL clubs decide their list strategies and assess whether a strong draft hand is likely to yield benefits comparable to the trade assets the picks are worth.
As clubs push higher up the draft board they gain the security that they can draft the players they rate the highest before other clubs and, consequently, increase their chance of securing successful long-term recruits.
Nonetheless, this strategy is not foolproof and hindsight exposes the difficult reality of ranking the ability and potential of players before they have been introduced to an AFL environment.
In this list, the first round of the 2016 National Draft will be reassessed with the benefit of six years of AFL data.
Below is the original 2016 first round:
- Andrew McGrath
- Tim Taranto
- Hugh McCluggage
- Ben Ainsworth
- Will Setterfield
- Sam Petrevski-Seton
- Jack Scrimshaw
- Griffin Logue
- Will Brodie
- Jack Bowes
- Oliver Florent
- Jy Simpkin
- Daniel Venables
- Harry Perryman
- Jordan Gallucci
- Todd Marshall
- Jarrod Berry
- Sam Powell-Pepper
- Tim English
- Isaac Cumming
- Will Hayward
In this draft year, a number of players were taken as father-son and academy selections (eg. Will Setterfield, Jack Bowes, Harry Perryman). The nominal draft order will be adjusted to reflect what clubs would have actually taken into this hypothetical draft.
Where these players are selected it will be assumed that the clubs that matched their bids in the original 2016 draft will continue to do so regardless of where they land in this order.
1. Pick One:Â Shai Bolton - Essendon (Original position - Pick 29)
Originally taken at pick 29, Bolton has become one of the most exciting young talents in the AFL.
He recently added five years to his contract at Richmond in a deal that will ensure that he remains with the club until 2028, but in this re-draft he would be plying his trade under Brad Scott in 2023.
Bolton had a breakout year in 2022, building on an electric 2021 season by kicking 43 goals and finishing in the top-five of the Tigers best-and-fairest for the third consecutive year.
Given that he is just 24 years of age and considered by many to be the heir to Dustin Martin's throne as the attacking juggernaut at Punt Road, it would be a no-brainer for Essendon to select Bolton and introduce some x-factor into their rebuilding list.
