A QUARTET of clubs with three first-round picks each
Gold Coast is the only one among them to have three single-digit selections – a hand that should kick along the Stuart Dew era – while two of Port Adelaide's are in the top 10.
OAK DRAFT AND TRADE HUB
The two other teams with a strong assortment of picks, the Crows and Giants, will start at eight and nine, respectively, if the status quo remains, then twice more before the round ends.
There could, of course, be some shuffling of the order, given live draft pick trading will be operational for the first time.
Gold Coast, the Power, Adelaide and Greater Western Sydney have an interesting recent history at the pointy end of the draft, using the Suns' introduction in 2010 as the base point.
VIEW THE INDICATIVE DRAFT ORDER
A look back at their track record might help predict what we should expect from them on Thursday night.
Adelaide
2010: Brodie Smith (14)
2011: N/A (Sam Kerridge was an end-of-first-round priority pick at No.27)
2012: N/A (voluntarily relinquished as part of Kurt Tippett draft tampering hearing)
2013: N/A (lost as part of Kurt Tippett draft tampering penalty)
2014: Jake Lever (14)
2015: Wayne Milera (11), Tom Doedee (17)
2016: Jordan Gallucci (15)
2017: Darcy Fogarty (12)
2018 first-round draft picks: 8, 13, 16
SUMMARY: The Crows' most recent draft with multiple first-round picks produced two quality youngsters in Milera and Doedee – and there isn't a 'miss' among their top-end choices since 2010. Their last single-digit selection was also No.8 in 2004, which was used on ruckman John Meesen. Adelaide rarely gets it wrong in the first round, so bank on a trio of young guns finding their way to West Lakes (unless the Crows package them up to climb the order).
Defender Tom Doedee (left) finished second in the NAB AFL Rising Star this year. Picture: AFL Photos
Gold Coast
2010: David Swallow (pick one), Harley Bennell (two), Sam Day (three), Josh Caddy (seven), Dion Prestia (nine), Daniel Gorringe (10), Tom Lynch (11), Seb Tape (13)
2011: Henry Schade (24)
2012: Jesse Lonergan (13)
2013: Kade Kolodjashnij (five), Jack Leslie (20)
2014: Peter Wright (eight), Jarrod Garlett (15)
2015: Callum Ah Chee (eight), Brayden Fiorini (20)
2016: Ben Ainsworth (four), Jack Scrimshaw (seven), Will Brodie (nine), Jack Bowes (10)
2017: N/A (Wil Powell was an end-of-first-round free agency compensation pick at No.19)
2018 first-round draft picks: 2, 3, 6
SUMMARY: This is a tale of woe for the Suns. Bennell, Caddy, Prestia, Lynch, Kolodjashnij, Garlett and Scrimshaw are all at rival clubs, while Gorringe, Tape, Schade and Lonergan are no longer in the AFL. That's 11 out of 20 gone, with Leslie also delisted this year and set to be redrafted as a rookie in a fall from grace. Swallow has been a good player without quite living up to the No.1 status – in part because of injuries – but there is great hope that the likes of Wright, Ainsworth, Brodie and Bowes will realise their potential.
David Swallow hasn't quite lived up to his No.1 billing. Picture: AFL Photos
Greater Western Sydney
2010: N/A (not in the competition)
2011: Jon Patton (pick one), Stephen Coniglio (two), Dom Tyson (three), Will Hoskin-Elliott (four), Matt Buntine (five), Nick Haynes (seven), Adam Tomlinson (nine), Liam Sumner (10), Toby Greene (11), Taylor Adams (13), Devon Smith (14)
2012: Lachie Whitfield (one), Jono O'Rourke (two), Lachie Plowman (three), Kristian Jaksch (12), Aidan Corr (14)
2013: Tom Boyd (one), Josh Kelly (two), Cameron McCarthy (14)
2014: Jarrod Pickett (four), Caleb Marchbank (six), Paul Ahern (seven)
2015: Jacob Hopper (seven), Matthew Kennedy (13), Harry Himmelberg (16)
2016: Tim Taranto (two), Will Setterfield (five), Harry Perryman (14), Isaac Cumming (20)
2017: Aiden Bonar (11)
2018 first-round draft picks: 9, 11, 19
SUMMARY: The Giants have not only had more first-round picks (30) than any other club but their strike rate has also been very good. That said, half of them have departed: Tyson, Hoskin-Elliott, Sumner, Adams, Smith, O'Rourke, Plowman, Jaksch, Boyd, McCarthy, Pickett, Marchbank, Ahern, Kennedy and Setterfield. Where they've done better than fellow expansion club Gold Coast is they've rarely missed and generally received maximum value when the wantaway group left. Coniglio, Whitfield and Kelly are the biggest gems here, with Taranto tracking nicely, too.
Stephen Coniglio and Lachie Whitfield have been two of the Giants' biggest stars. Picture: AFL Photos
Port Adelaide
2010: Ben Jacobs (16)
2011: Chad Wingard (six)
2012: Ollie Wines (seven)
2013: N/A (traded to Brisbane as part of Jared Polec deal)
2014: N/A (traded to Essendon as part of Paddy Ryder deal)
2015: N/A (traded to Gold Coast as part of Charlie Dixon deal)
2016: Todd Marshall (16), Sam Powell-Pepper (18)
2017: N/A (traded to Gold Coast in 2016 as part of
2018 first-round draft picks: 5, 10, 15
SUMMARY: This year's draft almost mirrors the Power's draft haul from 2009, when it secured John Butcher (eight), Andrew Moore (nine) and Jasper Pittard (16). That doesn't look pretty with hindsight and Port preferred to trade in proven talent in three of the past eight years – a strategy that paid off with Polec (before he left), Ryder and Dixon. However, the Power's shaky 2009 effort looks to be the exception to the rule, given the club's success rate since, including netting Marshall and Powell-Pepper in the same draft two years ago.
Sam Powell-Pepper looks like a bargain at pick 18. Picture: AFL Photos
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