Carlton have picked the bookends they hope will be the foundation of their side for a generation, drafting a key defender and a key forward with their two picks in the top 10 of this year's national draft.

The Blues predictably claimed key back Jacob Weitering with pick one in the draft then paired him with key forward Harry McKay with their next pick at 10.

Weitering is the athletic tall defender who becomes the fourth No.1 draft pick on the Blues' list joining captain Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs and Matthew Kreuzer.

McKay, at 200 centimetres, is an athletic key forward and good left-foot kick from Gippsland Power who will be developed into the Blues' long-term key forward.

They then took tall midfielder Charlie Curnow – who can also play tall forward – with pick 12.

The Blues are hoping this draft will provide a Jarryd Roughead-Lance Franklin-like base, which Hawthorn used as the cornerstone of redeveloping their team.

"It's an amazing opportunity I have just been given ... I am very excited, I can't wait to get underway," Weitering said.

Clubs, recognising that elite key-position players are drafted with elite picks or taken as father-sons or in academies, chased key position players with five of the top 10 players in the draft – and seven of the top 15.

Essendon and Melbourne both had two top-10 picks and took different approaches. The Bombers took two talented running players while the Demons took a midfielder and a tall forward.

The Bombers, with picks five and six, claimed clever midfielder Darcy Parish with their first selection and versatile running flanker Aaron Francis with their next.

Parish was a safe pick for his exposed form as a pure onballer and Francis is a very clever player at reading the play and intercepting the ball.

Melbourne took brutish midfielder Clayton Oliver, who was a bolter in draft calculations when he was taken at pick four. Oliver did not play at the national under-age championships – which means he is the first player to be taken with a pick as early as this without playing at the nationals. That said, recruiters did not consider Oliver to be a speculative pick to be taken this early as interest in him intensified in the second half of the year.

The Demons took Sam Weideman, the grandson of Collingwood premiership hero Murray and son of Magpies player Mark, with their pick. Weideman is a strong, 196-centimetre leading forward who has been brought in to be able to pair with Jesse Hogan.

The Lions chose key forward Josh Schache from the Murray Bushrangers at pick two so that, with key forward Eric Hipwood from the northern academy, they were able to select their long-term forward line.

The new academy points system introduced this year, which added another layer of complication, took until just pick three to come into effect when Melbourne bid for the northern academy player Callum Mills, forcing the Swans to use points accrued through multiple draft picks to secure him as a priority. That meant that Melbourne had the next pick and chose Oliver.

GWS were also required to use their draft points to secure bullocking midfielder Jacob Hopper after Gold Coast bid for the talented academy player, which ended up being pick seven in the draft. Having missed Hopper, the Suns then chose clever small forward Callum Ah Chee with their next pick.

Charlie Curnow's recent arrest for refusing a breath test and failing to stop did not deter the Blues from picking him to join his brother Ed.

The Tigers' first pick was supposed to be at 13 but when they bid for two successive northern academy players - Matthew Kennedy and then Hipwood, and had those bids matched by GWS and Brisbane Lions – the Tigers' pick ended up being pick 15.

Richmond opted for romance – and a clever player – in small forward Daniel Rioli, second cousin of Hawthorn's Cyril.

For the first time a bid was not matched by a club for a father-son or academy player when the Swans decided not to match the Western Bulldogs' selection of Josh Dunkley, son of full-back Andrew.

Carlton was able to secure Jack Silvagni as a father- (and grandfather-) son selection despite Essendon's bid for the son of Carlton recruiter Stephen.

The Dogs chose a mature-aged player with 22-year-old Marcus Adams with their next pick at 35.

Hawthorn's pick of small midfielder Keiren Lovell at pick 22 was a mild surprise as the prolific ball winner is only 174-centimetres tall and the trend is certainly for bigger midfielders.

Like Silvagni's path to Carlton, St Kilda was able to secure father-son pick Bailey Rice, despite Richmond's bid for him.