After several years of research and preparation, Adelaide’s list management team has settled on their draft order before the multi-day event at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne later this week.
The opening round of the national draft will take place on Thursday evening from 7pm AEDT, with the remainder of selections and the subsequent rookie draft to be held on Friday.
Crows National Recruiting Manager Hamish Ogilvie confirmed there would be very little movement in the Club’s approach, but the order in which picks and players fell was still up in the air.
2018 DRAFT: Final draft order
“With two or three days to go, we’ve settled on our order. (Live pick) trading could affect that, but we’ll stay pretty true to that,” Ogilvie said.
“With four picks inside, say, 25 it’s a lot easier. You don’t have to have as much strategy whereas if you’ve got draft picks across say four or five rounds, you could get a variety of players.
“I think most clubs are going to have a pretty similar 25, so it’ll just be the order that happens where we’ll all probably differ.”
The Crows enter this year’s draft armed with picks No. 8, 13, 16 and 21, the first time Adelaide has ever held three first-round selections.
However, the introduction of live pick trading has added further complexity to the event, emphasising the importance of communication and teamwork amongst the Club’s recruiting staff.
“With the strongest hand we’ve had, certainly in my time, we’re very comfortable,” Ogilvie said.
“But it’s hard to get too comfortable because of the live trading on the night. We think there’s a chance some (trades) might happen so depending on that, things could go in a different direction, so we’ve got to be prepared for everything.
He said the team had a book of scenarios that could apply to each club.
“Justin [Reid, List Manager] and Binuk [Kodituwakku, Pro Scout and Player Analytics] have done a heap of work on that and I’ve pretty much stayed true to the drafting process,” he said.
“I’ll look after our draft list and order and how that might be affected by trade, but it’s a real team effort more than it’s ever been.”
Despite it looking unlikely, Ogilvie said Adelaide remained open-minded when it came to striking a deal on draft night to jump up the selection order.
“Whether you trade up or stay with the hand you’ve got, that’s been a question we’ve looked at lots and we’ve talked to other clubs about,” he said.
“We’ve looked at all the options. Whether we go up much higher, I’m not sure, but there’s always a possibility so we’re open when that phone call comes, and some have already come, to how that looks,” he said.
As for who he would take with the prized first selection, he said Geelong Falcons midfielder Sam Walsh made sense for Carlton.
But if Adelaide had the opportunity, South Australian Jack Lukosius would likely be the name read out by AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan.
“If I was Carlton, I’d probably take (Sam) Walsh at one,” Ogilvie said.
“If I’m Gold Coast or Adelaide, I’d probably take ‘Luko’ [Jack Lukosius] or Izak (Rankine) one.
“There’s not a lot in it, they’re all terrific players and they bring different things. Obviously, Jack being the taller can play at both ends. I actually really like him as a defender, Izak’s got the X-factor and Sam Walsh is just rock solid.
“Whoever gets those players, and hopefully we get in a position to get one of them, they’ll be very pleased.”
