AFL Draft lotto is here! Source: Herald Sun
EVERY AFL national draft is different, yet some things will never change. As certain as death and taxes, here is the list of things to expect.
* The certainty of the No.1 draft pick
REMEMBER the last time there was genuine suspense about who will go pick No.1? Me neither. These days, the mystery of who will have their name read out first is solved sometimes months out. The inclusion of the Suns and Giants the past two years has made it even worse given they have also owned the picks No.2 and No.3. But despite this, the No.1 to be - which tomorrow night will be Lachie Whitfield - will still sit stony-faced in the front row surrounded by his parents and claim to be "nervous" in the minutes beforehand despite knowing exactly where he is going.
Surprise, surprise - No.1 draft pick David Swallow and Guy McKenna in 2010. Source: Herald Sun
* The player/players who don't want to go
ALL players who enter the draft say the same thing - they don't care where they get picked, they just want to play AFL football. That sounds great on paper, but it is much scarier when it hits you square in the face. Take 1998 No.1 draft pick Des Headland, for example. Headland was desperately hoping to go pick No.2 - as Fremantle had the selection and he wanted to stay in his native Western Australia. But the Lions wanted him. Headland put on a brave face as his name was read out, but it was written all over his face. Headland is not alone - every year there is at the very least one youngster shattered that he is about to pack up and move to Adelaide/Perth/Brisbane etc. Sometimes the parents take it harder than the player himself.
Des Headland meets Lions coach Leigh Matthews on draft day in 1998. Source: Herald Sun
* The Sheeds declaration
NOT to be outshone by the recruiting managers, the great Kevin Sheedy has a tendency to interject himself into the draft. Not shy to make big calls, don't be surprised if Sheeds stays true to form and declares one of his new GWS recruits will be the next James Hird or Matthew Lloyd.
Then Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy with pick No.2 Scott Gumbleton in 2006. Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun
* The obscure smokie
JOURNALISTS and news organisations spend countless hours preparing player profiles for draft night. But you can be sure there will be at least one player taken at the back end of the draft where almost everyone turns to the person next to them and says: "Who?" Ah yes - everyone loves a good draft smokey. The best ones are players from a very small town who play maybe one reserves game that year in the middle of nowhere to fulfil the minimal draft requirement before vanishing until there name is read out on draft night.
Any self-respecting recruiting boss, such as Scott Clayton, loves a good draft smokey. Source: Herald Sun
* The awkward set-up shots with the first three picks
Each year, the top three draft picks are required to pose together with the cameras at the conclusion of the draft. This makes for some awkward set-up pictures, as you can see below in 2005 with fresh-faced teens Marc Murphy, Dale Thomas and Xavier Ellis. The players tend to tire of the long photo shoot after about five minutes. Two years ago, Suns' No.2 draft pick Harley Bennell walked off after only a few clicks of the camera because he had had enough. When you look at some of the set-up pictures from years gone by, few can blame him.
Fresh-faces - Marc Murphy, Dale Thomas and Xavier Ellis after the 2005 AFL National Draft. Source: Herald Sun
* Your club will be thrilled with the result
Relax, you can go to bed after the draft knowing your club aced it. How do you know? Because they will tell you so. It is the one night of the year where club recruiting manager becomes a rock stars and laps up the attention. Fans are hungry for reaction and clubs are happy to oblige. You are almost 100 per cent certain to hear this line at least three times: "Very happy to get John Smith at pick No.28 - we rated him much higher than that." Often these don't work out as history says. One example, but there are many more, is Tasmanian big forward Billy Morrison - taken by Collingwood at pick No.17 in the 2003 draft. Then recruiting chief Noel Judkins said at the time: "He's a big, strong boy - he's got a great work ethic, uses his body in contests, has huge hands. We rated him in the top 12." Big Billy never played a game and was delisted two years later. Never in the history of the draft has a club publicly claimed to be anything but thrilled with the players they pick on the night. Just once, it would be refreshing to hear something along these lines: "Yeah, not the best result. We were really hoping for John Smith at pick No.12, but he got snapped up at Pick No.10. Our bloke is not too much chop, but fingers crossed because you never know. He might come on. But for now, not happy with how it unfolded."
Stephen Silvagni, back when he was working out at Collingwood, does some work with Billy Morrison in 2005. Source: Herald Sun
* Supporter outrage/euphoria immediately concluding the draft
As well as club reaction, the immediate supporter reaction is even more predictable. Despite the vast majority of supporters having little knowledge of the players in question, everyone suddenly becomes a draft expert on draft night. A quick check of Facebook and/or Twitter or footy bulletin boards following the draft and you will see posts like this: "Yes! Joe Blobbs at 4 and John Citizen at 18!!! We killed it!" Or you might see a few posts like this: "What the hell?! We overlooked Joe Blobbs at 3?! Idiots! Can't believe how bad we stuffed up again." It takes many years to determine the success of draft selections, but many supporters on draft night declare it then and there.
Fans are at their passionate best on draft day. Source: Herald Sun
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