Experts touted the 2017 draft pool as being quite weak compared to previous years, but with seven round one debuts announced already, it appears the coaches disagree.
Six of the top ten draft picks from last year have already been announced as playing and there could be more with full round one teams still yet to be revealed.
Second and third picks, Andrew Brayshaw (Fremantle) and Paddy Dow (Carlton), are both already locked in to play and it is expected that the top pick from last year, Cameron Rayner, will feature in Brisbane’s line-up when it drops tonight.
Andrew Brayshaw, younger brother of Angus, was selected by Fremantle with pick number two but was in the mix to be selected with pick one.
From the south-east of Melbourne, he went to school at Haileybury College and played for the Sandringham Dragons.
Brayshaw is an inside midfielder with a high footy IQ that can push forward and hit the scoreboard.
He averaged 25 touches and seven tackles in the TAC Cup and has been rated as elite for his kicking efficiency and score involvements.
With pick three in the 2017 draft, Carlton took Bendigo Pioneers/Vic Country inside midfielder, Paddy Dow.
Now nicknamed ‘Paddy Wow’, the Blues have already extended his contract until the end of 2022 which shows how highly the club thinks of the 18-year-old.
Carlton coach Brendon Bolton says Dow is “clearly a talented young player but is a terrific young man with strong character and values. In terms of on-field, he is an explosive midfielder who has shown he has the ability to push forward and contribute on the scoreboard too.”
Dow averaged 18.5 disposals and was in the top five for contested possessions and clearances in the U18 championships for Vic Country last year.
With their highest pick in the draft since 2006, North Melbourne took Luke Davies-Uniacke back to Arden Street with pick number four.
Davies-Uniacke is a powerful inside midfielder from the Dandenong Stingrays who also wins the ball on the outside and has a penetrating kick going forward.
Last year in the TAC cup, ‘LDU’ pulled his team back into the game from 50 points down against the Eastern Ranges with 33 disposals, 21 contested possessions, six clearances and a goal to win the match by 13 points.
With pick six in the 2017 draft, Collingwood selected high half forward turned inside midfielder, Jaidyn Stephenson.
After the U18 Championships, Stephenson averaged over a goal a game and 132 ranking points in the TAC Cup for the Eastern Rangers.
He showed that he has the potential to rack up big numbers in a game, scoring a bag of five goals on two occasions last year.
St Kilda took Dandenong Stingray, Hunter Clark, with pick number seven in the 2017 draft.
Clark played his bottom age TAC Cup footy as a half back but pushed up into the midfield in 2017.
He averaged 26.8 disposals a game for the Stingrays and was ranked elite for disposals, contested possessions and clearances.
While his skills have been labelled as outstanding, his toughness and ability to hunt the footy is what stood out to recruiters.
Desperate to add to their backline, the Western Bulldogs selected WA backman Aaron Naughton with pick number nine in last year’s draft.
Naughton is an agile and athletic key defender who was rated as the best intercept mark of last year’s draft pool.
Standing at 194cm, he played seven games for the Peel Thunder where he was able to match it with AFL level talent and average 14 possessions and seven marks per game.
South Australian Darcy Fogarty landed at the Adelaide Crows with pick 12 in the 2017 draft.
The 193cm forward was recruited from Glenelg and can also play down back and in the midfield.
He was originally touted at last year’s number one pick, but injuries and inconsistency saw him drop down the order and land at his hometown AFL club.
Fogarty showed glimpses of brilliance kicking four goals in an U18 championships game and collecting 32 possessions, 15 contested, and kicking two goals in a match for Glenelg U18s.
With Tex Walker out of the side, Fogarty gets his chance at AFL level.
