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Essendon have rounded out an attempt to be transformative with their list in one off-season and traded up to secure a dynamic power forward with Jake Stringer attributes.
In his last draft at Essendon, outgoing list manager Adrian Dodoro, who will stay on to mentor his replacement Matt Rosa, completed a final cheeky trade to slip into the top 10.
Nate Caddy has joined the Bombers after a pick swap on the first night of the draft.Credit: Justin McManus
In doing so, he ensured the Bombers snared Nate Caddy, a powerful and dynamic forward who has played some time in the midfield this year.
Harley Reid, the Tongala-raised boy wonder, entered the year as the consensus best prospect in the 2023 draft crop, and West Coast confirmed he remained there by anointing him the No.1 selection at the AFL draft on Monday night.
But there were some unexpected moves in a first round that stretched to 29 picks as seven bids were made and matched for academy and father-son prospects.
Top draft pick Harley Reid in his new Eagles jumper.Credit: Justin McManus
The draft went to script until pick eight, when Adelaide swooped on Greater Western Sydney’s coveted eighth selection – trading picks 11 and 31 – to draft key defender Daniel Curtin.
The Crows, along with most clubs, did not expect Curtin to be available so late in the draft until last week and did their homework across the weekend to ready themselves for the opportunity.
Here is how last night’s first round played out and which players ended up at which clubs.
All the picks from the 2023 AFL draft. This article will be updated throughout Tuesday night when the second night of the draft commences.
1. Harley Reid, West Coast
What Reid said: “It’s a big relief, good luck to all the other boys out there tonight,” he told Fox Footy. Asked how he handled the hype that came with the talk that he would be taken with pick one, he said: “I was pretty laid back with it all to be honest, I was just super grateful for the people around me … I appreciate all you guys.”
Hello and welcome to our AFL draft live blog on night two of the league’s annual player draft.
The first round, 29 picks, was completed last night and we will work through the remaining rounds this evening.
The second round is expected to begin a little after 7pm AEDT and will finish when all clubs have used up their selections.