Who has your club drafted with its first round picks since Greater Western Sydney joined the AFL?
GWS has had a staggering 29 first round draft picks between 2011 and 2016. In some cases that is 20 more than other clubs. See where your team ranks on the draft ladder.
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NOTHING sets up a dynasty quite like a swag of top line draft picks.
The Cats and Hawks nailed it, combining for seven flags in 10 years. And if the trend continues Greater Western Sydney is in for one heck of a ride at the top end of the ladder.
The Giants have used a staggering 29 first round picks between 2011 and 2016.
That is 15 more than its closest rival and in the most extreme case, 27 more than one club.
Of those 29 picks, 17 still remain at the Giants.
The Giants have had so many first round picks that they have even been able to afford a draft wipe-out along the way.
In 2014 they selected Jarrod Pickett, Caleb Marchbank and Paul Ahern in the first round.
Less than three years later the trio are all at Melbourne based clubs after combining for seven games with GWS.
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In 2012 the Giants had four of the top 12 picks. Of those, Lachie Whitfield is the only one still at the club with Jonathan O’Rourke, Lachlan Plowman and Kristian Jaksch all moving on.
The only club to get within a mile of the Giants at the draft has been Gold Coast. The Suns have had 14 first round picks since 2011 with 11 of those players still at the club.
So what has your club been able to do with limited access to first round picks?
ADELAIDE
In: Brad Crouch (mini draft), Jake Lever, Wayne Milera, Tom Doedee, Jordan Gallucci
Lost: None
The Crows have farewelled some top talent over the years including Patrick Dangerfield, Kurt Tippett and Jack Gunston and while that stings, they have been able to somewhat balance that by nailing their first round picks. The trio of Crouch, Lever and Milera have all been Rising Star nominees. The big question from here is, can the Crows hang on to Lever? As reported in the Herald Sun last week, rivals are circling the star defender.
BRISBANE
In: Sam Mayes, Marco Paparone, Josh Schache, Eric Hipwood, Hugh McCluggage and Jarrod Berry
Lost: James Aish, Billy Longer, Sam Docherty and Elliot Yeo
How different would life be for Brisbane with Docherty and Yeo running around each week? While that will always hurt, the Lions are now on the right track. Hipwood could be anything and securing Schache’s signature earlier this month is a huge win.
CARLTON
In: Patrick Cripps, Blaine Boekhorst, Jacob Weitering, Harry McKay, Charlie Curnow, David Cuningham and Sam Petrevski-Seton
Lost: Josh Bootsma and Troy Menzel
There are some big-time ticks for the Blues among this lot. Cripps and Weitering both finished second in Rising Star voting across two years while Cuningham and Petrevski-Seton have secured nominations this year.
COLLINGWOOD
In: Brodie Grundy, Tim Broomhead, Matthew Scharenberg, Jordan De Goey and Darcy Moore
Lost: Nathan Freeman and Ben Kennedy
Finally the Pies are seeing what former No. 6 pick Matthew Scharenberg is capable of. After a horror run with injuries, Scharenberg has had a clean bill of health in 2017. Grundy as a late first round selection was a huge win. He might become the best ruckman in the competition in the next 12 months.
ESSENDON
In: Joe Daniher, Kyle Langford, Jayden Laverde, Darcy Parish, Aaron Francis and Andrew McGrath
Lost: Elliott Kavanagh
The Bombers might have the next Lance Franklin in Daniher and the next Heath Shaw in McGrath. How many clubs would sign up for that right now? With Parish showing some good signs in the middle, there are plenty of ticks.
FREMANTLE
In: Tom Sheridan, Hayden Crozier, Michael Apeness, Lachlan Weller and Griffin Logue
Lost: Josh Simpson
Of the five first round picks still at the Dockers, only Weller has been able to secure a Rising Star nomination.
GEELONG
In: Jackson Thurlow, Darcy Lang and Nakia Cockatoo
Lost: None
The Cats have used just three first round picks since 2011 but unlike the Hawks, Geelong is still at the top end of the ladder and challenging for a premiership. How have they managed to do that? Some guy by the name of Patrick Dangerfield might have something to do with it.
GOLD COAST
In: Jack Martin (mini draft), Jesse Lonergan, Kade Kolodjashnij, Jack Leslie, Peter Wright, Callum Ah Chee, Brayden Fiorini, Ben Ainsworth, Jack Scrimshaw, Will Brodie and Jack Bowes
Lost: Henry Schade, Jarrod Garlett and Jaeger O’Meara
The Suns have had the second most first round picks in the league since 2011 and out of all of them, Wright might be the most important. With him and Tom Lynch playing side-by-side in the forward 50, opposition backlines better watch out. The Suns didn’t want to lose O’Meara but given his injuries have followed him to Hawthorn, the first round pick last year (Jack Bowes) and a second this year isn’t too bad in return.
HAWTHORN
In: Ryan Burton and Kieran Lovell
Lost: None
Incredible. The Hawks have used two first round picks in the same amount of time GWS has used 29. Hawthorn has also traded its 2017 pick as part of the Jaeger O’Meara deal and now must trade to get into the first round before 2018. You can’t argue with four premierships over eight years but there is some pain coming.
MELBOURNE
In: Jesse Hogan (mini draft), Christian Salem, Christian Petracca, Angus Brayshaw, Clayton Oliver and Sam Weideman
Lost: Jimmy Toumpas
Hogan, Petracca and Oliver are more than just exciting talents. They are the sort of players you can build a top four team around. The question is, can Weideman and Salem take the next step?
NORTH MELBOURNE
In: Taylor Garner, Luke McDonald, Sam Durdin, Ben McKay and Jy Simpkin
Lost: Bradley McKenzie
The Kangaroos have a solid bunch of players to show from their first round picks. But what they want is an absolute superstar. If the season stopped today they would be getting the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft. The club also has a lot of money to throw at a big free agent. Between those two swings, they need to hit a home run.
PORT ADELAIDE
In: Oliver Wines, Todd Marshall, Sam Powell-Pepper and Chad Wingard
Lost: None
We haven’t seen Marshall yet but the Power are three out of three on their other picks. Wines and Wingard are stars while Powell-Pepper is third favourite to win this year’s Rising Star award.
RICHMOND
In: Nick Vlastuin, Ben Lennon, Corey Ellis, Daniel Rioli, Brandon Ellis and Todd Elton
Lost: None
It has all but reached the point where if someone’s surname is Rioli, you just take them as quickly as possible. There is something seriously special about Daniel who the Tigers got with a late first rounder. While the Tigers haven’t lost any first round picks, Lennon did request a trade out of the club at the end of last season but a deal couldn’t be done.
ST KILDA
In: Jack Billings, Luke Dunstan, Blake Acres, Patrick McCartin, Hugh Goddard, Jade Gresham and Seb Ross
Lost: None
There are a lot of nice players here for the Saints but have they landed their club changing star? The Saints could get another two cracks at it this year. They own Hawthorn’s first pick which could land in the top four, as well as their own. They need to hit a home run soon.
SYDNEY
In: Dean Towers, Zak Jones, Isaac Heeney, Callum Mills, Oliver Florent and Will Hayward
Lost: Tom Mitchell
Regardless of whether the Swans can fight their way back into the eight this year, there is no doubt the future is bright with Heeney and Mills on the way through. However, after losing Mitchell last season, the club now faces a fight to keep Jones.
WEST COAST
In: Dominic Sheed, Liam Duggan and Daniel Venables
Lost: Murray Newman
Sheed has been a win for the Eagles and Duggan looks to have a bright future ahead. It is too early to make a call on Venables.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
In: Jake Stringer, Jackson Macrae, Marcus Bontempelli, Tim English and Clay Smith
Lost: Nathan Hrovat
The trio of Stringer, Macrae and Bontempelli have all had premiership winning experience before turning 23. How important will that be in the coming years? Perhaps even more important, it was the Bulldogs who managed to strike first against the Giants. Despite having 23 fewer first round picks since 2011, the Dogs trumped GWS in last year’s preliminary final.
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