Mid-year draft: Blues take ex-Docker at No.1
Former Fremantle midfielder Josh Deluca became the first mid-season draftee in more than a quarter of a century when he was recruited by Carlton on Monday night.
However Coburg forward Sam Lowson was the heartbreak story of the night, missing out after hurting his ankle in the VFL on the weekend.
Deluca, 23, was taken by the Blues with pick No.1 of the mid-season rookie draft, the first of its kind since 1993.
Deluca played four games for Fremantle in 2017 before being delisted, but has starred with Subiaco in the WAFL, leading Carlton to take a punt on him. The hard nut is the type of player who could make an immediate impact for the Blues, who earned the first pick in the draft by being at the bottom of the ladder at the end of round 10.
However Carlton list manager Michael Agresta said there was no selection pressure on Deluca to play at AFL level straight away.
Gold Coast opted for another midfielder at pick No. 2, selecting Dandenong Stingrays overager Mitchell Riordan, who missed much of last year through injury.
Another teenager, Kyle Dunkley, was taken by Melbourne at pick No. 3. Mid-sized Dunkley, the younger brother of Western Bulldogs midfielder Josh Dunkley, and son of former Sydney defender Andrew Dunkley, had been overlooked in last year's national draft but impressed early this year with Gippsland Power, and also had a taste of VFL football with Footscray.
The versatile Dunkley had been eligible to be taken as a father-son selection by the Swans last year.
Sydney, who picked next at No. 4, sprung a minor surprise by taking 26-year-old South Adelaide ruckman Michael Knoll, who had been playing local football for Vermont as recently as last year.
North Melbourne selected leading SANFL goalkicker Lachlan Hosie at pick No.5, while the Western Bulldogs plucked ex-Geelong tall Ryan Gardner from their Footscray VFL program at pick No.6.
Essendon picked ex-Port Adelaide-listed midfielder Will Snelling with pick seven, with St Kilda opting for Jack Mayo from Subiaco at No. 8.
Port Adelaide took former Fremantle player Cameron Sutcliffe with pick nine, who had been playing with Port Magpies in the SANFL.
Hawthorn passed at pick 10, while Fremantle took Dillon O'Reilly – the son of former Docker Stephen O'Reilly – at No.11. Adelaide passed at pick 12. Richmond took mature-age South Fremantle star Marlion Pickett at No.13 despite the 27-year-old suffering a broken finger on the weekend.
At pick 14, Collingwood took John Noble, the son of Brisbane Lions football chief David Noble.
Gold Coast passed at pick 15, while Sydney took Cody Hirst from the Eastern Ranges at pick 16. The Dogs (pick 17) and Essendon (pick 18) chose to pass.
West Coast, Geelong and the Lions didn't have list vacancies so didn't participate, while Greater Western Sydney decided not to take a pick despite having the option to do so.
Lowson and Coburg teammate Lochlan Dickson were both overlooked despite considerable hype leading up to the draft.
Players picked up on Monday night will earn a $50,000 contract for their services until the end of the season. Clubs will have the option to retain players, as they would any other rookies. If players aren't retained, they will be paid out an extra $20,000.