GWS’s Tom Green declares he would be the number one pick in 2019 redraft ahead of clash with that year’s first pick Matt Rowell

By Tom Green’s admission, he ‘slid’ in the 2019 super-draft order, so where does he place himself when re-selecting ahead of a Gather Round match up with the Suns no.1 from that year Matt Rowell?

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 24: Tom Green of the Giants looks for options as he runsdown the field during the round two AFL match between West Coast Eagles and Greater Western Sydney Giants at Optus Stadium, on March 24, 2024, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by James Worsfold/AFL Photos/via Getty Images )

“It’s a good draft, it’s a really good draft.”

Giants midfielder Tom Green doesn’t stand alone in his reflections of the 2019 AFL draft.

The 23-year-old headlines an incredible crop of young players who are currently in their fifth season of senior footy and beginning to really turn heads.

Fremantle has arguably cashed in the most with top 10 picks Caleb Serong, Hayden Young and Luke Jackson all plying their trade out west, while Sam De Koning is already a premiership-winning star for Geelong.

But on Sunday in the Adelaide Hills, five of the top 11 picks from 2019 will be doing battle in the game dubbed as the ‘Expansion Cup’. Gold Coast and GWS might be the two youngest teams in the AFL yet it’s clear they have some of the most exciting young talent in the competition.

A fast start to the year by Matt Rowell has seen him live up to his No.1 pick tag. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

And it’s the battle between Green and the No.1 draft pick from his draft year, Matt Rowell, that’s really set to get tongues wagging.

“I’m sure they’ll be matched up a lot of the times around stoppages,” Giants coach Adam Kingsley said. “(Rowell is) their clearance king, Tom’s probably ours.

“If Matt Rowell is bobbing up then certainly we’ll try and minimise that damage that he can inflict on the opposition. Opening Round he had 20 clearances in a single game of footy which is extraordinary.”

Green was one of the hottest prospects heading into draft night on 2019 after an impressive campaign in the under-18 national championships for the Allies. He averaged 16 contested possessions and eight clearances a match, well above Rowell’s numbers for Vic Metro that year.

However, a bid for Green didn’t come until pick 10, with Carlton bidding for the Giants’ Academy product purely to buy themselves more time knowing that GWS would eventually match it.

The Giants went into the draft night of 2019 confident they would match whatever bid came Tom Green’s way. Picture: AAP Image/Michael Dodge

Five years on, the midfield star has made no secret of the fact that he thinks he slid in the draft. Most recently, on the club’s new In The Green Room podcast, he re-drafted the class of 2019 and put himself at No.1.

“I think I’ve gone on the record before somewhere and said (I slid),” Green said. “Matt Rowell that year was easily the consensus pick one (ahead of the draft).

“It’s hard to justify putting myself at one. I think there’s maybe guys who have more runs on the board. But in terms of how I think I can stack up against anyone there, I’ll put myself at number one.”

Unlike Green, naturally the Giants were both surprised and pleased that the Canberra product dropped down the order as far as he did.

The club went into the draft night with Green inside the top three on their draft board. But when they realised no club would bid on him through the top five picks, they traded selections with Adelaide to move from pick No.6 to No.4.

That allowed them to select Lachie Ash as a rebounding defender and essentially bring in two of their top-four rated players in the draft only weeks after appearing in the 2019 grand final.

“We had had a good year but we were worried about our ball movement,” GWS’ national recruiting manager Adrian Caruso said. “We became stagnant as a defensive team and so we thought who was the best attacking half back and that was Lachie.

“We didn’t actually need Tom Green, the last thing we needed at the time was an inside mid because we had six or seven and couldn’t fit them in. But with Tom, it was like, we think he’ll be better than all of them in time. So we were always going to take him because he’s a local product.

“Ultimately he slid down which surprised us but I think it wasn’t a shock that he slid because I think everyone just realised, well the Giants are going to match so what’s the point in bidding? Everyone reflects on it now, he shouldn’t have gone at pick 10.”

The Giants were also keeping a close eye on Jackson who was eventually taken at No.3 by Melbourne. If a bid had come on Green in the top three selections, there was a temptation to not match the bid with the confidence that the ruckman would then drop through to them. But as his draft year went on, Green became too good for the Giants to pass up.

Rowell has had a slower start to life in the AFL but without a doubt has come of age in Damien Hardwick’s first season in charge at the Suns. And it’s part of the reason why Sunday’s game at Mt. Barker is so highly anticipated.

Rowell’s combination with Noah Anderson continues to build nicely, but it’s a game where Green is always keen to spoil the party.

Green has asserted himself as the main man in a GWS midfield tipped as premiership favourites. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“Tom Green you could argue was better in that draft year, he just didn’t have that exposure of Rowell over the journey as a Canberra kid,” Caruso said. “If Tom was at Oakleigh, Tom would have probably been better.

“Tom is the one who drives the rivalry, he feels like he wasn’t given the recognition that he deserved in that draft. And when they met in the championships, he had the better of Rowell.

“Since then, I think he’s always set himself for these sort of games because I think he likes the challenge of going up against Rowell who is talked about as being one of the best prospects.

“Jackson, Day, Sarong, it’s a great draft. I think based on what they’ve done now and probably what we think they’re going to do for the next 10 years, Tom is (number) one.”

Originally published as GWS’s Tom Green declares he would be the number one pick in 2019 redraft ahead of clash with that year’s first pick Matt Rowell