Draft-off: Best of 2001 AFL Draft against best of 2003 AFL Draft

WHICH AFL draft class was the best of the 2000s? We select a 22-man team from the 2001 and 2003 drafts and pit them against each other. VOTE

23/11/2001. Chris Judd, Luke Hodge and Luke Ball are draft picks for the AFL.

WHICH AFL draft class was the best of the 2000s?

We’ve selected a 22-man team from each national draft between 2001 and 2008 and pitted them against each other.

And you get to decide which is the best draft by casting your vote.

The draft-off match-ups are ...

Quarter-final 1: ‘01 draft v ‘03 draft

Quarter-final 2: ‘05 draft v ‘02 draft

Quarter-final 3: ‘07 draft v ‘08 draft

Quarter-final 4: ‘06 draft v ‘04 draft

The winners will progress through to semi-finals, which will be held over the next week.

Remember it’s you who decides who should advance to the grand final, so make your votes count.

Gary Ablett, Steve Johnson, Jimmy Bartel and James Kelly were all included in the best team from the 2001 National AFL Draft.

BEST OF ‘01 DRAFT

B: Jason Gram (Pick 19) Brian Lake (71) Brent Reilly (12)

HB: Luke Hodge (1) Matt Maguire (21) Sam Mitchell (36)

C: Leigh Montagna (37) Dane Swan (58) James Kelly (17)

HF: Steve Johnson (24) Jarrad Waite (46) Nick Dal Santo (13)

F: Jimmy Bartel (8) David Hale (7) Adam Schneider (60)

Foll: Mark Seaby (22) Chris Judd (3) Gary Ablett (40 — F/S)

I/C: Luke Ball (2) Campbell Brown (32) Lewis Roberts-Thomson (29) Paul Medhurst (56)

It’s not known as “The Super Draft” for no reason.

A star-studded team, particularly through the midfield and backline.

The infamous top three picks — Luke Hodge, Luke Ball and Chris Judd — all feature in the side, while bargain picks Dane Swan and Leigh Montagna add more depth to a star-studded on-ball brigade.

A solid defensive unit, led by the biggest bargain of all Brian Lake at full-back, while Hodge, Jason Gram and Sam Mitchell provide the rebound from the 50m arc.

A young Andrew Walker, with mum Kathy and dad Rob, after being selected by Carlton with pick 1.

BEST OF ‘03 DRAFT

B: Troy Chaplin (Pick 15) Sam Fisher (55) Jed Adcock (33)

HB: Andrew Walker (2) Beau Waters (11) Heath Shaw (48)

C: Michael Rischitelli (61) David Mundy (19) Brent Stanton (13)

HF: Daniel Jackson (53) Kepler Bradley (6) Colin Sylvia (3)

F: Amon Buchanan (45) Ben Hudson (58) Sam Butler (20)

Foll: Mark Blake (38) Brock McLean (5) Adam Cooney (1)

I/C: Farren Ray (4) Shane Tuck (73) Andrew Raines (76) Zac Dawson (41)

A workmanlike 22-man team, but nowhere near the class of its quarter-final opposition.

A well-balanced backline, including No. 2 pick Andrew Walker off half-back and Heath Shaw on the other flank.

The midfield is solid without being spectacular, led by David Mundy and Brownlow Medallist Adam Cooney.

However the forward line is noticeably thin, with only one genuine forward playing at least 10 years. And in all fairness to Kepler Bradley, he never set the world on fire.

Originally published as Draft-off: Best of 2001 AFL Draft against best of 2003 AFL Draft