AFL Draft 2021: All the picks, news, action and everything you need to know
St Kilda was thrilled to pick up a future star with pick 11, but Brownlow medallist Gerard Healy says a much more obvious pick was right under the Saints’ nose.
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St Kilda has rebuffed Brownlow Medallist Gerard Healy’s criticism of their draft strategy after ignoring a dashing local defender for silky South Australian Nasiah Milera-Wanganeen.
Healy said St Kilda should have weighed the flight risk of selecting Milera-Wanganeen when they selected him at pick 11 when Vic Metro captain Josh Sinn was available at that pick.
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Sinn went to Port Adelaide with the No.12 selection, with 3AW’s Healy asking: “Why would you take a wingman from interstate, with all the issues associated with it, when you have a kid in your own heartland – Josh Sinn – who is captain of Sandringham Dragons, captain of Vic Metro, and still available.
“Both of them, I’m sure, are terrific young players. But it doesn’t seem to me that there is enough between them to create all the issues associated with relocation as opposed to sending a bike to the end of South Road.”
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St Kilda list boss James Gallagher made clear the Saints were thrilled Milera-Wanganeen was still available at pick 11 and exactly what the club needed given he was so brilliant by foot.
St Kilda has battled with its finishing polish in recent years so Milera-Wanganeen hitting leading targets laces-out is exactly what Brett Ratten requires.
Gallagher said the club backed in its capacity to keep interstate players despite Healy’s critique.
“He wasn’t too far away, Josh, but geography doesn’t play a big role in our recruiting,” Gallagher said.
“We have got a club that people want to stay at. History has shown if they come to our club they don’t want to leave. Josh is a really talented player. Good kid, he has some upside, but we need to bring in elite talent to our club and we have done it.
“It is best available. We had (Nasiah) inside (pick 11). He is exceptionally talented, he is a beautiful mover, very light on his feet, very comfortably the best kick in the draft. That is something we need. Max King is pretty happy to have him at the club. He is a pretty skinny kid. There is enormous growth in him.”
St Kilda was thrilled to secure a pair of NGA talents in fearless wingman Mitch Owens (pick 33) and mid forward Marcus Windhager after matching bids from rival clubs.
The Saints had been nervous a rival might bid on Owens within the first 20 picks, which under new AFL rules would have meant they would have lost him to that team.
Every pick: Did your club draft a star in the top 20?
The first round of the AFL Draft had it all with live trades, a Giant surprise, a bizarre TV blackout, the Lethal-like slider and the realisation of father-son dreams shaping the top 20.
As expected, North Melbourne crowned Jason Horne-Francis the No. 1 pick but not before a ‘weird’ delay, with two live trades being lodged, and the TV screen going blank with Horne-Francis watching, as North was on the clock.
The Giants pulled the suprise of the first-round, taking athletic Central District defender Leek Alleer at pick 15, while Essendon list boss Adrian Dodoro has compared the club’s new midfielder, Ben Hobbs, to AFL Hall of Fame legend Leigh Matthews.
In the first swap of the night which caused the delay, the Bulldogs traded pick 23 - which would’ve been wiped out with the Sam Darcy bid - for Geelong’s picks 32 and 34.
In the second deal, North Melbourne gave up picks 42, 47 and its 2022 third-round pick in return for the Dogs’ picks 32, 52 and next year’s third-rounder.
The deals helped the Bulldogs match the bid for father-son gun Darcy, which came from GWS at pick 2, before the Giants took Sandringham midfielder Finn Callaghan.
Callaghan revealed soon after that he knew he would be heading to Greater Western Sydney after a home visit on Sunday.
“The Giants came around on Sunday and they gave me a little inkling that if everything stayed the same… they would mostly pick me… which was great at the time when they told me but you never know (what happens) on draft night,” Callaghan told News Corp.
Collingwood officially made Nick Daicos, the youngest son of club great Peter, a Magpies player, matching Gold Coast’s bid at pick 4.
Daicos says he is grateful to attract a bid at pick-four from the Suns, stating that he was not disappointed that the Giants passed on him with their prized selection.
The now-Collingwood player had been met with criticism after admitting he felt “a bit upset” by GWS, who did not meet with the midfielder-forward in the lead-up to the draft.
Daicos revealed that he met with just two clubs ahead of the draft.
“Nah I wasn’t disappointed at all, I was just grateful to get on a list. It would have been nice to just go as high as I can and that was four so. Super happy with the work I’d put in and all the boys had put in,” Daicos told News Copr moments after being drafted.
“I’m super excited to get started (with the Pies).”
“I’d like to think that they know that they can get 100% out of me.”
The Suns then took Dandenong’s Mac Andrew, making him the first player of Sudanese heritage to be drafted in the top 10.
The athletic 201cm ruckman, who was born in Egypt, was joined by his proud family at the London Tavern in Richmond, saying they were forced to keep a lid on it after seeing his name flash up on the screen.
“It’s so good, so keen to get up there. They’ve got good young talent up there, good young crop and they’re heading in the right direction,” Andrew told News Corp.
“I was one of the boys who was pretty keen to go interstate. I don’t really think it’ll affect me too much – obviously you’ll miss your family and that but I’m keen for a new change and a new environment.
“They kind of knew previous because all the cameras came out so they were just trying not to get hyped, but they were really happy for me.”
As expected, Adelaide swooped on skilful small Josh Rachele and Fremantle went local with Jye Amiss and Neil Erasmus, leaving the Tigers to pounce on Josh Gibcus with the ninth selection.
It was a decisive night for Richmond which recharged its premiership ambitions snaring a second intercepting defender in Tom Brown with pick 17.
The duo will bolster the Tigers’ defensive stocks two years after losing Alex Rance to a shock retirement as well as talls Callum Coleman-Jones and Mabior Chol in this year’s exchange period.
Gibcus, at 196cm, has been likened to Demon Jake Lever, while 186cm Brown, who is the son of former Cat Paul, has been compared to another Geelong star Tom Stewart.
A message to you from our newest Crow 💙â¤ï¸ðŸ’›
— Adelaide Crows (@Adelaide_FC) November 24, 2021
Welcome to the Club Josh! #AFLDraft#weflyasonepic.twitter.com/Ig8AMBY7rn
The moment Sam Darcy became a Bulldog 🔴⚪ï¸ðŸ”µ#AFLDraft@superfootypic.twitter.com/e2WlLpP6ao
— Dan Batten (@danbatten_) November 24, 2021
The Tigers and Dockers overlooked Ben Hobbs, with the inside bull sliding to the Bombers at pick 13, after Port Adelaide traded their way ahead, in an exchange with West Coast, to grab Sandringham speedster Josh Sinn.
Essendon rated Hobbs inside the top seven players and will help provide a strong-bodied presence around the ball which the Bombers have missed since ex-captain Jobe Watson retired.
List boss Adrian Dodoro said Hobbs could press for selection from Round 1 after revealing the club knocked back several offers from rival clubs for the Hobbs pick live on the night.
“It was a great surprise he got through and we think he is going to be a fabulous midfielder for us,” Dodoro said.
“Physically he is ready to go. He can play inside and outside.
“We have got a pretty good midfield but we always wanted a stronger mid.
“He is built like Leigh Matthews with his legs and you would have seen by his reaction tonight (crying) he is a class kid.”
Horne-Francis, who many believe is the best prospect to ever come out of South Australia, was presented with his new jumper at the Cathedral Hotel in Adelaide.
“It was a bit weird. The TV shut off and we couldn’t see anything,” Horne-Francis said of the early delay.
“Luckily Benny, my manager, set us up on his phone and we were able to watch it.”
The 18-year-old, who has been a key player for South’s senior side over the past 18 months, is strong on the inside, but also electrifying away from the contest, boasting a mix of speed, evasiveness and terrific hands overhead.
But it’s the sheer competitiveness that sets Horne-Francis apart, and something that should see him push for a Round 1 berth.
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Originally published as AFL Draft 2021: All the picks, news, action and everything you need to know
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