The co-captain and the rat, who the Power and Crows picked up in 2012
The Crows shot back up to the preliminary final, while Port bottomed out and sacked a coach. This is how the 2012 AFL Draft went.
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Adelaide and Port Adelaide were at the opposite ends of the ladder after different seasons.
After struggling in 2011, the Crows smashed their way to the top two of the ladder, but fell short in the preliminary final to Hawthorn in Brenton Sanderson’s first season as coach.
Over at Alberton, it was panic stations with Port Adelaide cutting ties with Matthew Primus after an embarrassing loss to GWS, which left Garry Hocking in charge for the rest of the year.
It was a horrific off-season for the Power as well, with the tragic death of John McCarthy in Las Vegas.
The Crows’ off-season was overshadowed by controversy with the Kurt Tippett salary cap sage, which saw the club relinquish its early draft picks, meaning it didn’t enter the draft pool until Pick 62.
In the trade period, Port Adelaide saw Danyle Pearce and Troy Chaplin depart for Fremantle and Richmond respectively, while the Crows lost Chris Knights, also to the Tigers.
PORT ADELAIDE
Pick 7 – Ollie Wines (Bendigo Pioneers)
Port absolutely nailed the selection of the ready-made bull Wines with its first pick in 2012.
It looked as if Melbourne would take the highly-rated Wines at Pick 4, but instead opted for Jimmy Toumpas, who would find himself at Alberton eventually anyway.
Wines was an instant hit, and has been a regular in the Power’s line-up since, playing 141 games, kicking 63 goals and was named co-captain at the start of 2019.
Players missed before next pick: Nick Vlastuin (Pick 9), Brodie Grundy (Pick 18).
Pick 29 – Tom Clurey (Murray Bushrangers)
The tall defender has turned out to be another terrific selection by the Power, even though he took a few years to get moving.
Clurey played the first game of 2014 against Carlton but wasn’t seen again at AFL level for the remainder of the campaign as Jackson Trengove, Jack Hombsch and Alipate Carlile dominated in defence.
However, Clurey began to break into the side throughout 2015 and 2016 before securing his place in 2017.
A reliable defender alongside Tom Jonas.
Players missed before next pick: N/A (Port had Pick 30)
Pick 30 – Mason Shaw (South Fremantle)
A tall forward who could never crack into the AFL side, Shaw was Port’s only miss from a decent draft offering.
The West Australian didn’t get a chance at AFL level and was delisted after a couple of years in the system.
Players missed before next pick: Kamdyn McIntosh (Pick 31), Tim Membrey (Pick 46).
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ADELAIDE CROWS
Pick 62 – Sam Siggins (Lauderdale)
The Crows entered the draft late, and they selected young defender Sam Siggins with Pick 62.
Siggins produced some promising performances in the SANFL following his selection, but ultimately returned to Tasmania citing personal reasons to end his career.
Players missed before next pick: Kaiden Brand (Pick 66), Dean Terlich (Pick 68).
Pick 81 – Rory Atkins (Calder Cannons)
It’s amazing the Crows actually achieved something out of this draft, and they won with Rory Atkins so late.
Since debuting in 2015, Atkins has become a regular in the Crows line-up, including throughout their run to the 2017 grand final.
He’s played 97 games since being drafted, but he needs to step up with consistency if he is to become one of the Crows’ best players.
Players missed before next pick: Nil.
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