AFL Draft 2023: The Murray Bushrangers who are in contention

The Murray Bushrangers were the story of the night in the AFL draft with four picks in the first round. But the highlight was when Phoenix Gothard was surprisingly picked by GWS, which set off mass celebrations by the team. Here’s how their night unfolded.

The Murray Bushrangers were aware Phoenix Gothard might be selected early in the draft but even they were caught off-guard by how quickly it happened.

Gothard and his Bushrangers teammates provided the highlight of the night when GWS picked him at number 12, sparking mass celebrations among the team.

After fellow Bushrangers teammate, and Gothard’s best friend, Connor O’Sullivan was picked by Geelong with pick 11, the team was then shocked when the small forward was picked up by the Giants.

As the team celebrated there was also a mad scramble to get Gothard into a Bushrangers shirt to receive his GWS jersey from Phil Davis.

O’Sullivan handed Gothard his shirt and put on his Cats jersey to allow his teammate to continue the formalities.

Bushrangers coach Mark Brown revealed Gothard was not expected to be there on the opening day of draft night at Marvel Stadium but came to support others.

“This year under Andrew Dillon there’s been the opportunity for the draft boys, about 15 of them, who have been invited to bring a cohort of 20-30 friends and family,” he said.

“Phoenix is fantastic mates with Connor and Connor was always going to be going pretty early in the night.”

But the Bushrangers did start to hear rumours Gothard could be higher than anticipated and made plans for him but his selection at 12 took them by surprise.

“We started to get an inkling probably two or three days out that Phoenix would go reasonably high,” Brown said.

“We thought he’d go last night but we didn’t think he’d go at 12, maybe the 16 to 17 mark.

“We had a shirt there for him, it’s one of those things you are a little bit reluctant to give it to him, you don’t want to pump him up and let his expectation drop off.

“When it all transpired it turned pretty hectic and Connor stripped off his shirt to give it to him.

“It provided the highlight of the night in terms of the natural reaction and how elated everyone was.”

The Bushrangers had O’Sullivan and Gothard joined by Darcy Wilson at pick 18 to make it three picks inside the top 20.

But there was one more surprise for the night when Adelaide picked Shepparton United Bushranger Oscar Ryan at pick 26.

“I was sitting next to Oscar at the time, to say fantastic night, your opportunity will hopefully come tomorrow and then he got a missed phone call from (Crows player) Josh Rachelle,” Brown said.

“He looked at me and said that’s fairly suggestive.

“I said ‘it’s either the worst practical joke of all time or you are about to get drafted by Adelaide’.

“He thoroughly deserves his opportunity.”

Brown said it was a fantastic night for the club to get four picked and it was a credit to the team around him to deliver the good results.

The Bushrangers could have a fifth player picked later tonight (Tuesday) with Charlie McCormack in contention to be selected.

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The Murray Bushrangers incredible record at the AFL Draft is set to continue this year with two players expected to be drafted in the first round.

And it will be an interesting night for one Bushranger employee as he watches his son’s dreams come true.

Darcy Wilson is the son of Bushrangers development manager Mick who helps the under-18 team throughout the season.

But Mick has stepped aside to allow his son the opportunity to shine and attract interest from AFL clubs.

“It’s no doubt been an interesting ride for Mick and he’s handled it extremely well,” Bushrangers coach Mark Brown said.

“To his credit he has taken a step back to give Darcy some clear air.”

And Darcy has shone , putting himself right in contention to be a first-round draft pick.

The way he plays, on the wing, has drawn comparisons to fellow Bushranger Ollie Hollands who was selected with pick 11 by Carlton in last year’s draft.

But Brown is confident Darcy might be better than Hollands.

“Darcy is a standout athlete in the whole of the country and he combines that with a lot of upside with his football,” he said.

“He won the best and fairest with us pretty comfortably.

“He had some top end games where he had 30 plus possessions and combined that with some goals.

“It’s very easy to draw the comparison (to Hollands), both are top end endurance runners but there is some real differences to their game.

“Darcy is a little more dynamic, a little bit taller, bit better in the air.

“Darcy has got some different elements to his game that make him a different player.”

Brown hopes Darcy can be selected in the first 10 picks of the draft but if he isn’t another Bushranger should.

Connor O'Sullivan is expected to go inside the top 10 in the AFL draft. Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Bushranger Connor O’Sullivan is one of the best defenders in the draft according to his coach.

“He was one of the standout key defenders not only in the Coates Talent League but the national competition,” Brown said.

“An All Australian (under-18) full back and won the best and fairest at the Allies who won the national championships.

“While everyone sees him as a key back, and an intercept mark, we think he’s got more scope than that.

“Everyone seems to think he’ll go 6-10 which is pretty right.”

If O’Sullivan or Wilson gets picked in the first round it will be the sixth draft in a row the Bushrangers have had a first-round pick.

If both get picked inside the top-20 it will be take the total amount of Bushrangers picked there to 11 in the past 11 years.

But the pair aren’t the only players set to be drafted this year.

Brown said three other players could find AFL homes.

Phoenix Gothard is in contention to be drafted. Photo by Graham Denholm/AFL Photos

“We go from Phoenix (Gothard) who’s our next best to Oscar Ryan from Shepparton United who had a really strong year,” he said.

“He’s a rebounding half back, 188cm, really tough kid.

“He battled a couple of injuries late but continued to put his hand up to play.

“He’s very aggressive with his kicking and takes the game on. He provides some real bounce from half-back and a strong presence physically.

“There’s also Charlie McCormack who played the last half of the year with us from the GWS Academy.

“He came over to us in the back half of the year off the back of a good national carnival.”

Brown added Gothard, who is a small forward, has worked his way into serious calculations to be drafted after a strong season.

“Has had an exceptional year when you consider he came in (to the Bushrangers) in his draft year,” he said.

“He performed well at Coates Talent League level and at Allies where he had a fantastic carnival.”

The AFL draft will be held on November 20 and 21.