THE WINNERS

We won't know for a while, will we? But Essendon took plenty of picks and while they didn't go for one of the key forwards on offer, got a nice mix of players, adding some speed, excitement and toughness to their list and addressing a few of their obvious needs. Counting rookie Jesse Glass-McClasker, Carlton got four talls in and will be hoping they have their next spine in place. They've got some talent in. Things worked out perfectly for the Lions, who got academy players Eric Hipwood and Ben Keays cheaply enough that they could hold onto two well-placed second- and third-round picks, sit back and see who got to them. North got a good group – a key-position prospect and plenty of run – and while Port got lucky with Riley Bonner making it into the 30s, they got in him and Aidyn Johnson some pace and excitement. Fremantle and West Coast got their hands on two players (Darcy Tucker and Harley Balic for the Dockers; Luke Partington and Tom Cole for the Eagles) that were probably  around the mark for their first picks. The Bulldogs got a player (Kieran Collins) who would have been a logical selection had they held pick 11 instead of trading it for two selections in the 20s. Their bonus was Josh Dunkley, even though they called him first. St Kilda and Richmond found some speed and creativity and their squads look better balanced for it. The Giants got two elite midfielders, an athletic forward and a ruckman, all via their academy, which will have the other clubs feeling a little unwell.  This draft was talked down a lot in the lead-in, but someone's bound to do well out of it.

THE SURPRISES

There weren't too many massive shocks. Adelaide chose Tom Doedee earlier than most clubs would have once the Giants matched their bid for Harry Himmelberg, but he was the one they wanted and they are a thorough club. They would have discussed their chances of getting the Geelong utility later in the draft when the Troy Menzel trade deal came their way, and also looked at whether they could have split 13 into two later picks like the Bulldogs did with 11. Himmelberg would have been just an interesting a selection, had GWS let him through. But Brayden Sier, Collingwood's choice at 32, was the most left-field pick, given he played just two games for the Northern Knights. The Pies knew Carlton was considering the midfielder with their last pick, in the 50s, and would possibly have missed out had they left him sitting there.

THE BARGAINS

They turned up in the 30s. Riley Bonner (Port Adelaide, pick 37) got down a fair way. Mitchell Hibberd (North Melbourne, 33) was great value as were Cole (36) and Balic (38). Brisbane might not have got Rhys Mathieson at 39 had clubs bid earlier on Hipwood and Keays. Brandon White (40) and Aidyn Johnson (45) are others, and Jack Silvagni is one to watch. He is young and hasn't been exposed much at under-18 level, but did enough (including kicking six goals in one game for Vic Metro) to suggest he could end up better than your average pick 53. Ben Crocker, Collingwood's last pick at 65, is another to keep an eye on, and Stephen Wells is bound to have found a player or two with his four late picks for Geelong.

LAND OF THE GIANTS

The midfielders fell partly because so many key-position prospects were picked early. Five of the first 10 picks were talls – Jacob Weitering, Josh Schache, Sam Weideman, Harry McKay and Sam Weideman – and Aaron Francis isn't exactly small. Charlie Curnow, Hipwood, Himmelberg and Ben McKay were all picked in the first round, with Collins snapped up at the start of the second.

THE NEW SYSTEM

It seemed to work well. From a media perspective it was hard to follow what clubs were giving up to match bids while working at the draft, and whether the Giants came close to going into deficit, which was frustrating. There was concern before the draft about whether clubs had agreed not to bid for players while striking trade deals, and it was legitimate, but at the same time we don't really want the AFL telling clubs to bid. Kennedy and Hipwood got down a little way, but Himmelberg was bid for earlier than most would have anticipated. There's time now for the league to take everything in, look at how northern clubs traded down during the trade period to stockpile points and decide whether they want there to be less incentive for them to take that approach again next year.

THE NEW FORMAT

I love that Fox Footy covers the draft, and that the league wants to make it bigger. But it dragged on far too long and the crowd didn't have anything much to look at after the first round, clearing out early and almost entirely. There was confusion in the main room about what was going on at times, especially when the audio dropped out at the start of the second round just as the Bulldogs bid for Keays then Dunkley, and I don't imagine we will ever again see chief executive Gillon McLachlan walking on and off stage to announce passes to an almost-empty room. What was interesting was that more people tuned into the second channel (showing the clubs making their picks) than the main channel, which turned into more of a panel show with interviews after the first round was over. The good news is that at least now we know what doesn't work.

BACK-UP PLANS

A lot of mature-age players were picked up, in both drafts. Interestingly, a lot came out of the NEAFL, which suggests clubs are looking more closely there than they have in the past. Clubs' are looking everywhere for key defenders, which was emphasised in the national draft, when four mature-agers – Marcus Adams (Western Bulldogs), Sam Collins (Fremantle), Mitch Brown (Essendon) and Michael Hartley (Essendon) – were picked. Richmond's Nathan Broad can play tall as well.

THE NUMBERS

From the start, this didn't look like being a fantastic year for Vic Metro or Western Australia. Both clubs had a few extra players picked up in the rookie draft, but only three members of the WA under-18 team were called in the national draft. Eleven Metro players went. Including North Ballarat's Jacob Hopper and a few others, Vic Country produced six of the top 10 picks and 22 draftees all up. Queensland will be rapt: between both drafts, the state had 10 players drafted. Eight players from the NEAFL went in the national draft, and another 10 were chosen as rookies.

THE SUDANESE KIDS

Gach Nyuon, Reuben William and Mabior Chol played some good footy this year. Nyuon and Chol backed it up with some great results at the combine, where William was unable to test. He and Nyuon were unlucky to be overlooked in the main draft but all three got their chance as rookies. There are five Sudan-born players on AFL lists, with Sydney recontracting Aliir Aliir and North Melbourne redrafting Majak Daw as a rookie.