List Manager David Noble says Adelaide’s recruiting team is well prepared for Thursday night’s NAB AFL Draft despite a late change in picks.

After relinquishing their first two selections in Thursday’s NAB AFL Draft (No.20 and 54) as a gesture of good will in the ongoing AFL investigation, the Crows will now enter the meet at pick No.62 and take their second pick at No.81. The Club’s third selection, which sits at No.95, will still be used to confirm rookie Ian Callinan’s promotion to the senior list.

Noble said he, National Recruiting Manager Hamish Ogilvie and Adelaide’s recruiters across the country had put extra work into scouring the entire talent pool while the investigation was ongoing.

“Rest assured, we’ve been working behind the scenes on some of the likely scenarios that could potentially crop up. We now need to engage one of those scenarios where our first pick is at No.62,” Noble said on FIVEaa.

“We had a lot of scenarios prepared and we’re well organised.”

The Crows have a good record of unearthing talent with latter-round picks.

Line-breaking wingman David Mackay was selected with pick No.48 in the 2006 NAB AFL Draft. Emerging star Rory Sloane joined the Club with a third-round pick (No.44 in 2008), while NAB Rising Star nominee Sam Shaw became a Crow at pick No.45 in 2009.

Young midfielder Jarryd Lyons was also a steal in the fourth round of the 2011 AFL National Draft, being snapped up with pick No.61 overall. Versatile game-breaker Graham Johncock is arguably the Club’s best-ever value pick. Adelaide secured the 225-game veteran with pick No.67 back in the 2000 NAB AFL Draft.

Noble said he was confident the Crows could unearth two more gems on Thursday night.

“Sam Shaw was picked in the mid-40s (in 2009) and we didn’t think Rory Sloane would be there (at No.44 in 2008) either. We’ll still go through our talent order and if there’s someone there at No.62, who has been overlooked, is on our list and we rate … we’ll still pick them as the best talent available," he said.

“If not, then you work your other ‘what if?’ scenarios. I’ve previously instructed our recruiters to go back and have a look at all the mature-age players and how they match up to the talent coming through.

“Maybe, there might be a little gold nugget we might be able to pick there.”

Former players Ivan Maric (pick No.40) and Chris Knights (pick No.56) also slipped to the third and fourth rounds of the national meet in 2004, while journeyman ruckman Ben Hudson was selection No.58 in 2003.


Below is a list of some of the best ‘draft’ steals since in national meets 1990:

James Hird (Essendon) - pick No.79 in 1990
Damien Hardwick (Essendon) - pick No.87 in 1992
Michael O’Loughlin (Sydney) - pick No.40 in 1994
Ben Dixon (Hawthorn) - pick No.77 in 1994
Brent Harvey (North Melbourne) - pick No.47 in 1995
Darren Milburn (Geelong) - pick No.48 in 1995
Daniel Bradshaw (Brisbane) - pick No.56 in 1995
Adam Goodes (Sydney) - pick No.43 in 1997
Heath Scotland (Carlton) - pick No.44 in 1998
Andrew Embley (West Coast) - pick No.57 in 1998
Ryan O’Keefe (Sydney) - pick No.56 in 1999
Dom Cassisi (Port Adelaide) - pick No.50 in 2000
Graham Johncock (Adelaide) - pick No.67 in 2000
Dane Swan (Collingwood) - pick No.58 in 2001
Brian Lake (Western Bulldogs) - pick No.71 in 2001
Kade Simpson (Carlton) - pick No.45 in 2002
Nick Malceski (Sydney) - pick No.64 in 2002
Sam Fisher (St Kilda) - pick No.55 in 2003
Andrew Swallow (North Melbourne) - pick No.43 in 2005
Mathew Stokes (Geelong) - pick No.61 in 2005
David Mackay (Adelaide) - pick No.48 in 2006
Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide) - pick No.55 in 2006
Chris Mayne (Fremantle) - pick No.40 in 2007
Mitch Robinson (Carlton) - pick No.40 in 2008
Rory Sloane (Adelaide) - pick No.44 in 2008
Shane Savage (Hawthorn) - pick No.75 in 2008
Allen Christensen (Geelong) - pick No.40 in 2009