AFL draft 2018: Sam Landsberger and Jay Clark predict how the first round will unfold
Tonight will kick off the AFL draft and it will be far from ordinary, with academy and father-son bids setting the scene for a dramatic night. SAM LANDSBERGER and JAY CLARK forecast how the first round will unfold and who your club is set to pick.
Draft news
Don't miss out on the headlines from Draft news. Followed categories will be added to My News.
This won’t be any ordinary national draft.
With academy and father-son bids plus the additon of live trading, there could be dramatic changes at the 2018 national draft at Marvel Stadium.
DON’T MISS OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF THE AFL DRAFT FROM 5PM TONIGHT. EVERY CLUB, EVERY PICK LIVE
Sam Walsh is tipped to go at No.1 as SAM LANDSBERGER and JAY CLARK forecast how the first-round draft cards will fall in their phantom draft.
DRAFT BIDS: WHO DID YOUR CLUB WANT?
NO.1 PICK? WALSH TICKS EVERY BOX TO BE A STAR
NATIONAL DRAFT: CATS EYE SELWOOD’S SUCCESSOR
1. CARLTON — Sam Walsh (Geelong Falcons)
184cm, 74kg midfielder
Patrick Cripps can breathe a sigh of relief. Super safe onballer who averaged 29 disposals across 25 TAC Cup games. Think Marc Murphy.
2. GOLD COAST — Jack Lukosius (Woodville West Torrens)
194cm, 85kg key forward
Defenders will think they’re in a sauna playing on this supreme runner. Beautiful kick belies his height. Tom Lynch replacement.
3. GOLD COAST — Izak Rankine (West Adelaide)
180cm, 76kg half-forward
Think Chad Wingard. Freakish goalkicker will be an excitement machine. Ready to wow, now.
4. ST KILDA — Max King (Sandringham Dragons)
202cm, 87kg key forward
Super-athletic key forward can reach above the rest with his sky-scraping grabs. Quick and agile, too. Shades of Joe Daniher.
5. PORT ADELAIDE — Connor Rozee (North Adelaide)
185cm, 71kg midfielder
Execution in front of 40,000 at the SANFL grand final showed he is ready. Clean hands, breakaway speed and can play anywhere.
6. GOLD COAST — Ben King (Sandringham Dragons)
202cm, 83kg swingman
Steve May replacement who also shone as a key forward. Every Victorian club will attempt to lure him back in two years.
7. WESTERN BULLDOGS — Bailey Smith (Sandringham Dragons)
185cm, 82kg midfielder
Graduated from half-back into the midfield this year and won Vic Metro’s MVP and the second-most disposals, behind Sam Walsh. Non-Victorian clubs won’t touch him.
8. SYDNEY — Nick Blakey (Sydney academy)
194cm, 77kg utility
Versatile forward-midfielder should thrive under Buddy’s wing at Sydney. Will be handful for defenders working around the ground.
9. ADELAIDE — Jye Caldwell (Bendigo Pioneers)
189cm, 78kg midfielder
Dynamic midfielder will add some zest to the Crows’ onball operation. Helps plan for life after Sloane and Gibbs. Like Joel Selwood, injury-hit but talented in draft year.
10. GWS — Jordan Clark (Claremont)
182cm, 78kg defender
Here is the Giants’ Heath Shaw replacement. Tough and athletic defender has been hit late in the year by glandular fever.
11. PORT ADELAIDE — Chayce Jones (Launceston)
180cm, 74kg midfielder
Handy with Chad Wingard gone and Robbie Gray 31 next season. Slight small forward who is hard at it and a super character. Resembles Dayne Zorko.
12. GWS — Zak Butters (Western Jets)
181cm, 70kg forward-midfielder
Nippy small forward should graduate into the midfield. Trusted ball user hits targets and works hard on defence.
13. NORTH MELBOURNE — Tarryn Thomas (North Melb academy/North Launceston)
189cm, 76kg midfielder
Thomas is capable of the impossible near goals and ready to rock after three senior grand finals for two premierships. Grew up playing rugby league in western Sydney.
14. GEELONG — Jackson Hateley (Central District)
190cm, 81kg midfielder
Here’s the Cats next onball beast. Strong clearance winner could take over from Joel Selwood in the guts. Danger is he could be gone by Cats pick.
15. COLLINGWOOD — Isaac Quaynor (Collingwood academy/Oakleigh Chargers)
182cm, 82kg, half-back
Quaynor will take Rising Star winner Jaidyn Stephenson’s No.35 jumper and burst off the halfback line in it next year. Averaged 419m gain for Vic Metro. Think Jason Johannisen.
16. ADELAIDE — Riley Collier-Dawkins (Oakleigh Chargers)
193cm, 88kg midfielder
Strong-bodied midfielder could develop into a Patrick Cripps or Marcus Bontempelli. But do Crows already have enough inside weapons?
17. FREMANTLE — Ian Hill (Perth)
175cm, 76kg small forward
Some experts have No.17 too high for Ian Hill. Will Fremantle reach to get the second cousin of Bradley and Stephen Hill? Or perhaps try to trade down? The lightning-quick Ian started the year as top-five prospect and will enjoy playing at Jesse Hogan’s feet.
18. PORT ADELAIDE — Xavier Duursma (Gippsland Power)
185cm, 71kg midfielder
Nicely balanced midfielder would give Port some polish and running power in an outside midfield role.
19. GWS — Kieren Briggs (GWS academy)
200cm, 98kg ruckman
Adelaide forces GWS to pay a high price for the only quality teenage ruckman in the draft. The Crows need a Sam Jacobs successor but the Giants are expected to match.
20. ADELAIDE — Ned McHenry (Geelong Falcons)
178cm, 71kg small forward
No.1 tackler at the Under-18 championships and boasted the best kicking efficiency of the TAC Cup’s major ball winners. Imagine this extrovert lurking opposite Eddie Betts.
21. RICHMOND — Liam Stocker (Sandringham Dragons)
183cm, 83kg midfielder
Tigers need to add to their midfield stocks and Stocker is a strong and accomplished ballwinner. Needs to build tank.
22. BRISBANE LIONS — Luke Valente (Norwood)
186cm, 80kg midfielder
South Australian skipper averaged 22 disposals as one of the year’s big improvers. Could the Suns trade up to pinch Valente and pair him with South Australian teammates Rankine and Lukosius?
23. GWS — Sam Sturt (Dandenong Stingrays)
188cm, 78kg half-forward
Late-developing half forward has come from the clouds. Plays with a natural flair and dominated the tail of the TAC Cup season. GWS could live trade this pick before matching bid on Briggs.
24. WEST COAST — Curtis Taylor (Calder Cannons)
186cm, 79kg forward
First pick on Friday. Will a flood of trade offers come overnight? If not, a damaging forward who could replace Mark LeCras. Strong overhead and straight set shot.
DON’T MISS OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF THE AFL DRAFT FROM 5PM TONIGHT. EVERY CLUB, EVERY PICK LIVE
Originally published as AFL draft 2018: Sam Landsberger and Jay Clark predict how the first round will unfold
Full rankings: AFL Draft’s top 60 prospects rated and scouted
The 2024 AFL Draft is just over a month away, and to get you ready for the arrival of footy’s next generation, our draft experts CHRIS CAVANAGH and DAN BATTEN rank every prospect.
Inside AFL’s draft combine: See the standouts, surprise packet
Draft hopefuls for both the AFL and AFLW were put to the test at this year’s combine, with one Victorian key forward producing a stunning 20m sprint. See the results and more here.