Essendon kept the suspense to the last minute, refusing to declare their hand even to the player they eventually chose, before finally calling out the name of Andrew McGrath with their first No.1 pick in an AFL draft.
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McGrath becomes the shortest of all No.1 picks in 30 years, the first player less than 180 centimetres tall, but he is a powerful, versatile player who plays tall, belying his height.
A 400-metre hurdler who won multiple national championships as a schoolboy, he is an elite athlete who has played in midfield and defence as a rebounding runner but can also shut a player down or go forward and kick a goal.
While pundits and other clubs felt it likely the Bombers would choose McGrath, this was the most uncertain prediction since the super draft of 2001 when there was doubt whether Hawthorn would choose Luke Hodge, Luke Ball or Chris Judd. The evenness of the top 10 created that uncertainty and, unlike some clubs in previous years, Essendon chose not to pre-empt thedraft by informing the player beforehand.
After a year to work it out, the Bombers then teased, waiting another minute before confirming McGrath, who was no wiser than anyone else whether the pundits were correct in choosing him one. "Not at all [no inkling to being taken]," McGrath said. "Adrian [Dodoro] texted three of us before saying we can't give anything away ... it's awesome [to be at Essendon], I could not have asked for anything more." As a trivia note he also becomes the first Canadian to be taken in the national draft. He migrated to Australia as a five-year-old after his dad got a job in Melbourne, though he is not the first Canadian player to join an AFL club after Mike Pyke won a flag with Sydney from the international rookie list.
While the choice for the top pick was assumed to be a choice in two for the Bombers between McGrath and Hugh McCluggage, GWS were always known to favour Tim Taranto highly and they chose him with pick two while McCluggage went to the Lions at three.
Carlton at pick five went for academy player Will Setterfield – a pick that was matched by GWS in a heartbeat, costing them only picks 15 and 37 to match the bid with points. So the Giants were able, through the academy, to claim two top-10 picks while beginning the draft with one top-10 pick.
The Blues then chose tough Indigenous midfielder Sam Petrevski-Seton from WA at pick six. The dynamic midfielder is a ready-to-go player having played senior football for Claremont in WA, having made his debut there as a 16-year-old. With four picks in the top 10, Gold Coast were able to not only re-craft their list but shape the direction of the draft. The Suns took Ben Ainsworth at four and Jack Scrimshaw at seven. After the Dockers took West Australian tall running defender Griffin Logue at eight, the Suns nabbed Will Brodie at nine and Jack Bowes at 10. Oliver Florent, the son of former tennis player Andrew who died earlier this year after a long battle with cancer, was selected at pick 11 by the Swans.
The Western Bulldogs took the first ruckman in the draft – 205-centimetre Tim English – at the end of the first round with pick 19. As the reigning premier and, with Jordan Roughead and Tom Boyd at the club, the Dogs have the time to be able to invest in English to physically mature.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan started the draft with a condolence message to the family of coaches Brad and Chris Scott over the sudden death from anaphylactic shock of their brother Ben this week.
Collingwood secured both of their father-son candidates, Callum Brown and Josh Daicos. The Pies matched a bid by North Melbourne at pick 30 for Brown. North is the club where Callum's dad Gavin works as a coach. The Magpies didn't need to match a bid to claim Daicos as a father-son, using their regular pick at 50 to select Peter's son. With their first pick Collingwood chose Sam McLarty who was born profoundly deaf and now has a bionic ear implanted. The key defender plays in a helmet.
In keeping with romantic selections, Carlton chose Patrick Kerr, the grandson of Blues champion Laurie, who was named on the bench in Carlton's team of the century. St Kilda recruited Ben Long, a relative of Essendon champion Michael, who played for the Bulldogs in the VFL this year.
The Giants chose former Docker Matt De Boer at pick 58 as the first 'recycled' player.
The Draft
1 ANDREW McGRATH
(Essendon)
179cm, 77kg
Sandringham Dragons
Tough, versatile onballer who can win the ball in the middle and set play up from defence.
2 TIM TARANTO
(GWS)
186cm, 76kg
Sandringham Dragons
Tall midfielder who kicks goals, hauls in overhead marks and steps up in big moments.
3 HUGH McCLUGGAGE
(Brisbane Lions)
186m, 76kg
North Ballarat Rebels/South Warnambool
Classy, goalkicking midfielder who glides through traffic.
4 BEN AINSWORTH
(Gold Coast)
178cm, 76kg
Gippsland Power
Brilliant small forward who can make games revolve around him.
5 WILL SETTERFIELD
(GWS)
190cm, 80kg
Sandringham Dragons/Caulfield Grammar/Albury
Tall midfielder who moves well in traffic and is tough to tackle.
6 SAM PETREVSKI-SETON
(Carlton)
180cm, 73kg
Claremont
Clever midfielder who can win the tough balls and set up play in space.
7 JACK SCRIMSHAW
(Gold Coast)
193cm, 84kg
Sandringham Dragons
Defender who, with his anticipation, vision and skill, is able to control play nicely.
8 GRIFFIN LOGUE
(Fremantle)
191cm, 94kg
Swan Districts
Unrelenting competitor, who can play all over the ground.
9 WILL BRODIE
(Gold Coast)
188cm, 82kg
Murray Bushrangers
Determined midfielder who excels at clearances and other tough stuff.
10 JACK BOWES
(Gold Coast)
187cm, 78kg
Cairns Saints
Classy midfielder who creates time and space.
11 OLIVER FLORENT
(Sydney)
182cm, 74kg
Sandringham Dragons
Creative half-forward who proved his midfield credentials by the end of the year.
12 JY SIMPKIN
(North Melbourne)
182cm, 75kg
Murray Bushrangers
Smart, sharp half-forward with one of the best kicks in the draft.
13 DANIEL VENABLES
(West Coast)
185cm, 82cm
Western Jets
Midfield bull, who puts his power and strength to good use in the forward line too.
14 HARRY PERRYMAN
(GWS)
184cm, 80kg
Collingullie
A smart, instinctive and versatile player with great vision and nous.
15 JORDAN GALLUCCI
(Adelaide)
180cm, 78kg
Eastern Ranges
A powerful and crafty midfield utility that has a big leap.
16 TODD MARSHALL
(Port Adelaide)
197cm, 86kg
Murray Bushrangers
Athletic key forward who can twist, turn and do some special things.
17 JARROD BERRY
(Brisbane Lions)
191cm, 82kg
North Ballarat Rebels
Courageous defender who some see developing as a big midfielder.
18 SAM POWELL-PEPPER
(Port Adelaide)
187cm, 90kg
East Perth
Bull-at-a-gate onballer who can burst through packs.
19 TIM ENGLISH
(Western Bulldogs)
205cm, 90kg
South Fremantle
Nimble, athletic ruckman with one of the best kicks in the draft.
20 ISAAC CUMMING
(GWS)
184cm, 74kg
Broken Hill/GWS Academy
Defender who likes to take off and open games up with his kicking.
21 WILL HAYWARD
(Sydney)
185cm, 77kg
North Adelaide
Bouncy, energetic half-forward who can kick a lot of goals.
ROUND 2
22 Essendon: Jordan Ridley
23 Brisbane Lions: Alex Witherden
24 Brisbane Lions: Cedric Cox
25 St Kilda: Ben Long
26 Geelong: Brandan Parfitt
27 Carlton: Zac Fisher
28 W Bulldogs: Patrick Lipinski
29 Richmond: Shai Bolton
30 Collingwood: Sam McLarty
31 Essendon: Joshua Begley
32 Port Adelaide: Joe Atley
33 Port Adelaide: Willem Drew
34 North Melb: Declan Watson
35 Collingwood: Callum Brown
36 North Melb: Josh Williams
37 West Coast: Josh Rotham
38 Fremantle: Sean Darcy
39 St Kilda: Josh Battle
40 Geelong: Thomas Stewart
41 Fremantle: Brennan Cox
ROUND 3
42 Essendon: Kobe Mutch
43 Geelong: Esava Ratugolea
44 Adelaide: Myles Poholke
45 Sydney: Jack Maibaum
46 Melbourne: Mitchell Hannan
47 Carlton: Harrison Macreadie
48 Sydney: Darcy Cameron
49 W Bulldogs: Lewis Young
50 Collingwood: Kayle Kirby
51 Adelaide: Elliot Himmelberg
52 West Coast: Willie Rioli
53 Richmond: Jack Graham
ROUND 4
54 GWS: Lachlan Tiziani
55 Brisbane Lions: Jacob Allison
56 St Kilda: Edward Phillips
57 Collingwood: Josh Daicos
58 GWS: Matthew de Boer
59 Carlton: Cameron Polson
60 Geelong: Quinton Narkle
61 Carlton: Tom Williamson
62 Adelaide: Matthew Signorello
63 Essendon: Dylan Clarke
64 Melbourne: Dion Johnstone
65 Carlton: Pat Kerr
66 Fremantle: Luke Ryan
67 Gold Coast: Brad Scheer
68 Geelong: Timm House
69 Geelong: Ryan Abbott
70 W Bulldogs: Fergus Greene
ROUND 5
71 Brisbane: Corey Lyons
72 Richmond: Ryan Garthwaite
73 North Melbourne: Nick Larkey
74 Hawthorn: Harry Morrison
75 Adelaide: Ben Davis
76 Hawthorn: Mitchell Lewis
ROUND 6
77 West Coast: Jake Waterman