There were absolutely no surprises to be had whatsoever as the highly intriguing 2015 AFL Draft, which took place at the Adelaide Convention Centre – only the second time the National Draft has emanated from South Australia.
Sticking true to just about every prediction under the sun, the Carlton Blues snapped up Jacob Weitering with their highly coveted number one draft pick.
Weitering, from Victoria, was widely considered to be the best player in this year’s draft class. A gun key defender with a league-ready build, he stands at 195cm tall with a bulky 90kg frame, and looks set to slot directly into the struggling Blues backline as their club begins another rebuild; this time under newly appointed coach Brendon Bolton.
The draft also featured, for the first time, the AFL’s new points bidding system for Father/Son and Academy developed players, which forced clubs like Sydney and Greater Western Sydney to offer up the combined worth of multiple lower order draft picks in order to move up into the top ten to snare highly fancied players like new Swan Callum Mills (the consensus best midfielder in the draft), or the Giants’ Jacob Hopper.
Elsewhere, Essendon began their new era under coach John Worsfold by bolstering their midfield stocks with a pair of top ten draft picks in Darcy Parish and Aaron Francis.
The full thirty picks of the draft went as follows.
2015 AFL NATIONAL DRAFT – FIRST THIRTY SELECTIONS
- Carlton Blues – Jacob Weitering (Dandenong Stingrays)
- Brisbane Lions – Josh Schache – (Murray Bushrangers)
- Sydney Swans – Callum Mills (Swans Academy)
- Melbourne Demons – Clayton Oliver (Murray Bushrangers)
- Essendon Bombers – Darcy Parish (Geelong Falcons)
- Essendon Bombers – Aaron Francis (West Adelaide)
- GWS Giants – Jacob Hopper (GWS Academy)
- Gold Coast Suns – Callum Ah Chee (South Fremantle)
- Melbourne Demons – Sam Weideman (Eastern Ranges)
- Carlton Blues – Harry McKay (Gippsland Power)
- Adelaide Crows – Wayne Milera (Central District)
- Carlton Blues – Charlie Curnow (Geelong Falcons)
- GWS Giants – Matthew Kennedy (GWS Academy)
- Brisbane Lions – Eric Hipwood (Lions Academy)
- Richmond Tigers – Daniel Rioli (North Ballarat Rebels)
- GWS Giants – Harrison Himmelberg – (GWS Academy)
- Adelaide Crows – Tom Doedee (Geelong Falcons)
- St. Kilda Saints – Jade Gresham (Northern Knights)
- Hawthorn Hawks – Ryan Burton (North Adelaide)
- Gold Coast Suns – Brayden Fiorini (Northern Knights)
- North Melbourne Kangaroos – Ben McKay (Gippsland Power)
- Hawthorn Hawks – Kieran Lovell (Kingborough)
- Carlton Blues – David Cunningham (Oakleigh Chargers)
- Brisbane Lions – Ben Keays (Lions Academy)
- Western Bulldogs – Josh Dunkley (Gippsland Power)
- Western Bulldogs – Kieran Collins (Dandenong Stingrays)
- Fremantle Dockers – Darcy Tucker (North Ballarat Rebels)
- West Coast Eagles – Luke Partington (Norwood)
- Essendon Bombers – Alex Morgan (Oakleigh Chargers)
- Essendon Bombers – Mason Redman (Glenelg)
Photo: Scott Barbour via Getty Images.
