All eyes are on Essendon as the 2022 AFL national draft gets underway at Marvel Stadium tonight.
Plus the players who’ve been invited to the first round revealed – which could shed light on how thing will play out.
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WHICH PLAYERS HAVE BEEN INVITED TO THE DRAFT?
The AFL has invited 13 of the top prospects to Monday night’s first round at Marvel Stadium, with a handful of notable snubs.
Notably they are the 13 players predicted to go in the top 13 in Fox Footy’s Phantom Draft.
The consensus top four – Aaron Cadman, Will Ashcroft, George Wardlaw and Harry Sheezel – got the nod, along with Victorians Bailey Humphrey, Cameron Mackenzie, Elijah Tsatas, Jhye Clark and Oliver Hollands.
South Australian top-five bolter Mattaes Phillipou will be there in person, as will West Australian pair Reuben Ginbey and Jedd Busslinger, plus Jaspa Fletcher, the second Lions father-son prospect expected to go early after Ashcroft.
The most notable absentees are WA’s Ed Allan, the son of ex-Docker and Hawk Ben, plus Victorian key forward Matt Jefferson and the highly-rated but potential slider Elijah Hewett.
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WHY BOMBER CALL WILL SHAPE THE DRAFT
Tonight’s first four picks are widely expected to be Aaron Cadman (to GWS), Will Ashcroft (to Brisbane as a father-son matched bid), and George Wardlaw and Harry Sheezel (to North Melbourne).
The big question at the top remains whether the Giants force the Lions to match the Ashcroft at No.1 (as his talent warrants), or let him slide to No.2 and force the Kangaroos to bid.
From there, the draft opens up, with Essendon appearing torn between two talented midfielders – and answering phone calls from numerous rival clubs who are desperate to move up and nab their No.4 pick.
It was reported on Sunday night Melbourne had offered three first-round picks – pick 13 this year, plus future picks tied to the Demons and Fremantle – for picks 4 and 22.
But coach Brad Scott made it clear the Demons weren’t the only team showing interest in moving up to the pointy end of the draft.
“We’re the night before the draft and we’re still discussing it, mainly because there are a lot of clubs really interested in that pick. There’s been a lot of offers coming our way but to get a pick inside five, I can’t think of many clubs that have been able to trade into the top five over a long period of time,” he said on AFL Media.
“They’re valuable for a reason, that’s where a lot of the superstars and great players come from. There are a lot of good players there and it’d have to be, I’d have thought, an extraordinary offer for us to give that up.”
If the Bombers do stick at No.4 (which will become No.5 after the Ashcroft bid), they’ll have to weigh up whether to select Mattaes Phillipou or Elijah Tsatas.
The latter could drop all the way to the bottom of the top 10, which would be particularly surprising in the case of Tsatas, ranked No.3 on Fox Footy’s overall draft board.
Trades can be completed during the draft itself, but not before.
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