Draft rewind: We rewrite the top 10 of the 1988 and 1989 AFL drafts

CHRIS Grant wins a giant promotion, Bomber punt pays off and more Tiger heartache as we rewrite the 1988 and 1989 drafts.

SUPERFOOTY revisits the national drafts of past years and rewrites the top 10 picks.

Yesterday we took a look back at the first VFL draft in 1986 and the following year's edition, with the main take-out being a lot of the picks were little more than stabs in the dark.

The tradition continued the next two years, with a combination of threadbare recruiting departments and the last years of Victorian club zones making the draft a lot less of a science than it is today.

But that doesn't mean there weren't stars to be found - and missed.

Now it's time to correct the record and re-arrange the Top 10 based on who has been the best value recruit.

Did we get it right? Leave a comment below.

1988 VFL DRAFT

ORIGINAL TOP 10

1. Alex McDonald (Hawthorn)
2. Todd Breman (West Coast)
3. Carl Dilena (Fitzroy)
4. John McNamara (North Melbourne)
5. Chris Naish (Richmond)
6. Ray Sterrett (Geelong)
7. Leon Cameron (Footscray)
8. Dion Scott (Sydney)
9. Michael Werner (Essendon)
10. Peter Higgins (West Coast)

REVISED TOP 10

1. Chris Grant (105)
2. Michael Long (23)
3. Anthony Stevens (18)
4. Leon Cameron (7)
5. Adrian Fletcher (20)
6. Daryn Cresswell (34)
7. Michael Sexton (54)
8. Scott Russell (39)
9. Tony Francis (95)
10. Brad Sholl (32)

THE WINNERS

The Bombers took what was a punt at the time by taking an Aboriginal player at pick 23 and it paid off massively, but even then he was Essendon's third player chosen after Michael Werner (pick 9) and Brad Fox (12). "I wanted to take him with our first pick," recruiter Noel Judkins says in Bombers historic tome Glory and Fame. "But the club wanted a key-position player. I remember when the club alongside us didn't choose him, I looked across at Sheeds and I couldn't get the name out quickly enough."

North nailed a couple of country stars in Anthony Stevens and Craig Sholl and also recruited a bloke named Derek Kickett with pick 60. Despite winning the Sandover Medal the previous year, he lasted only one season at Arden St before being delisted. He was later given another chance by Essendon and Sydney.

Hats off to the Doggies for picking Daylesford 15-year-old Grant - who went on to be one of the club's all-time greats - and Cameron from South Warrnambool. They also used pick 35 on John Georgiadis, who kicked eight goals on debut but didn't do much after that.

West Coast joined its first draft and picked almost exclusively from WA, picking up five players including Peter Sumich and Scott Watters with pre-draft selections.

Geelong finally struck paydirt after 10 misses from 10 attempts in 1986-87, landing Adrian Fletcher and Daryn Cresswell, plus Ken Hinkley in a trade with Fitzroy for pick 48 (which the Lions used to recruit a kid named Scott Jordan). The Cats never got the benefit of either draft pick though. Creswell quit after three months in the Cats reserves and didn't return until 1991 when he was snapped up by Sydney in the mid-year draft - and went on to play 244 games in red and white. Fletcher played 231 games at four clubs, with only the first 23 at Geelong.

Carlton missed with most of their picks but they nailed a 200-gamer in Sexton at pick 54. His brother Ben was selected by the Bulldogs at pick 86 and was a handy player too but only managed 43 matches at the top level.

And Collingwood deserves a mention for landing two premiership rovers in Scott Russell and Tony Francis.

Follow Al Paton on Twitter: @al_superfooty

THE LOSERS

St Kilda became the first club to trade away a No.1 pick when it did a deal with Hawthorn to get Paul Harding, Peter Russo and Robert Handley to the Saints in exchange for pick 1. Handley played four games while the other two were handy but hardly superstar acquisitions.

The deal didn't entirely blow up in St Kilda's face, with McDonald a good player at Hawthorn and Collingwood but not a matchwinner.

Of the Hawks' next nine picks, only two played senior footy - for a grand total of nine matches.

The Demons' top pick Darren Bennett was a good footballer but had a much more lucrative career in another sport. They also picked a familiar name at pick 83 in Brian Stynes, brother of Jim. Unfortunately he wasn't as successful at his new code, playing just two senior games. But you can't blame Melbourne for having a crack (craic?).

Follow Al Paton on Twitter: @al_superfooty

1989 VFL DRAFT

ORIGINAL TOP 10

1. Anthony Banik (Richmond)
2. Matthew Croft (Footscray)
3. Jody Arnol (St Kilda)
4. Peter Matera (West Coast)
5. Brad Rowe (Brisbane)
6. Mark Brayshaw (North Melbourne)
7. Stephen Edgar (Carlton)
8. Brad Tunbridge (Sydney)
9. Dale Kickett (Fitzroy)
10. Daryl Groves (Collingwood)

REVISED TOP 10

1. Gavin Wanganeen (12)
2. Peter Matera (4)
3. Dean Kemp (post-draft selection)
4. Wayne Campbell (29)
5. Paul Williams (70)
6. Shaun Hart (33)
7. Ashley McIntosh (112)
8. Ben Allan (14)
9. Brett Heady (92)
10. Matthew Croft (2)

THE WINNERS

The Eagles blitzed this draft, snagging Matera and Heady plus Dean Kemp as one of three extra post-draft picks and Ashley McIntosh under the father-son rule.

The draft went off the rails for a few years from '89 with up to 120 players chosen and many clubs selecting more than 10 players in a recruiting crap shoot.

Collingwood had 14 picks and got one right, which isn't a great strike-rate - but fortunately that one was Williams, who played 189 games with the Pies and another 117 at Sydney.

THE LOSERS

The Tigers got another No.1 pick wrong, with Won Wron Woodside prodigy Banik failing to live up to the hype and plenty of other poor choices. But on the flip side Wayne Campbell arrived from Golden Square and went on to captain the club and play 297 games.

Fitzroy only got one season out of No.9 pick Dale Kickett before he returned home to WA. He had a go at West Coast, St Kilda and Essendon before finally finding his feet as a Docker.