It is 4pm on AFL draft day and Adelaide’s recruiting team has assembled in a Gold Coast apartment.

There’s only a couple of hours before the Crows will select two new young footballers but recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie appears relaxed.

He knows his team has done the work, double-checked and ticked and crossed lots of boxes for the draft hopefuls. Many hours have been spent across Australia watching, assessing, studying, testing, debating and sorting. 

They have their final list of players, ranked and ready.

The Ashes Test is on the TV, coach Brenton Sanderson is being updated on the latest whispers and General Manager List Development and Strategy David Noble is still seeking clarification. Why is this player just ahead of this other one? What was the deciding factor? Are you sure? Yes.

The talk in the short cab ride to the draft venue is about last minute thoughts on the clubs with picks just before Adelaide at No 23. Sando is keen to add Matt Crouch – the brother of Crow Brad – to Adelaide’s list but is uncertain if the tough midfielder will still be available.

Ogilvie is confident that one of a group of five players will be available when he takes his turn on the microphone. Privately, Ogilvie and SA-based recruiter Phil Bunn have already told Sanderson who they think Adelaide will claim at 23 and 46.

But it’s a draft where there are a dozen players who are definitely going to be claimed early and then the diverse opinions of each club would come into play and take the order away from the scripts of many of the published ‘mock’ drafts. 

To the fans who love the mock lists, the reality is that the club lists look remarkably different, particularly beyond the top dozen. Some high-profile names are not even on Adelaide’s list, for a range of reasons. Others have worked their way up the rankings in recent weeks.

Talent is a clear priority in the rating criteria but there is a range of elements factored into the final order. Their football is the focus. Interviews, testing and background checks add to the mix. 

Then, at last, it’s time. GWS Giants start the lottery, predictably claiming the massive Tom Boyd at No 1.

Pick 23 seems a long way away at this stage but once the top ten is presented there is a quick charge to No 20. Although some names have not been crossed off Adelaide’s list, Port and Brisbane are still to select before the Crows. 

At 23, Ogilvie almost starts reading before introduced by AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou. 

Player 214163 Matt Crouch, North Ballarat/Beaufort Football Club. Behind Ogilvie on the Crows table, Sanderson grins. Got him!

The focus quickly shifts to our next pick, at 46. The different player ratings of the respective clubs becomes obvious in the following picks and the Crows still have a solid group of candidates. 

Then it’s Ogilvie’s turn again. The next name called is Riley Knight, a midfielder/forward from Woodville-West Torrens and Clare.

Incredibly, Adelaide’s draft has fallen exactly as he predicted to the coach nearly two hours earlier.

Once the draft count is over, there is a whirlwind of media interviews and phone calls. A late dinner is story time, full of draft discussion. The mood is cheerful, a job done. 

But recruiting rarely stops for a rest. Hamish and Phil book a taxi to the airport for 5.45 the next morning to return to Melbourne and then travel to Ballarat to see Matt Crouch and family. They also need to prepare for Wednesday’s rookie draft, when the Crows have four picks.

And recruiting co-ordinator scout Scott Aquilina heads off early to watch the latest intake of AIS/AFL Academy players train at Metricon Stadium.

The search has already started for the Crows of the 2014 draft.