IF YOU listen to some club recruiters, the glory days of the Phantom Draft are done.

Live pick trading, and Academy and father-son bids, have conspired to make the task of predicting how the first 30-odd picks of the AFL Draft just too difficult.

Adelaide recruiting boss Hamish Ogilvie told AFL.com.au's draft expert Cal Twomey exactly that, just hours before the 2023 AFL Draft.

DRAFT TRACKER Follow every pick as it happened

"I actually think your job is so hard. I think the Phantom Draft is finished," Ogilvie said on Gettable Draft Countdown on Monday afternoon.

"You actually can't have it anymore. There was a time a few days ago when five picks in the top 10 could have moved. No one can do a Phantom Draft. So maybe we need to think of another way."

"He's retiring you," Cal's co-host Riley Beveridge said with a laugh.

Well, the task of picking a Phantom Draft might have become much harder but Twomey proved with his 2023 list that he's still up to the challenge.

Twomey correctly picked the first seven selections in order, and nailed 13 of the first 16. He was also right in tipping versatile Tasmanian James Leake to go to GWS, albeit with the club's first selection rather than its second.

Overall, Twomey's Phantom Draft identified 27 of the first 29 players selected, and tipped the correct destination club for 21 of those players.

He correctly tipped 15 of the first 20 picks, and 17 of the first 21 if you allow for Leake and Phoenix Gothard's arrival at GWS with that club's first two picks.

It backs up Twomey's incredible record of predicting the first round of the AFL Draft over the past 11 years, including tipping 16 of the first 21 last year.

Even when considering the COVID-affected year of 2020, when North's surprise pick of Will Phillips at pick No.3 threw everyone out of whack, Cal has averaged 8.5 out of 10 correct predictions for the top 10 of the draft. Take 2020 out of the mix and Twomey's strike rate soars to an incredible 9 out of 10.

CAL TWOMEY'S PHANTOM DRAFT LATE MAIL STRIKE RATE

*The above scores are based on Cal Twomey correctly predicting player destinations and do not take into account where father-son/Academy/NGA bids and live trades occur

It's a wealth of knowledge and insight gained by countless hours of watching junior footy, talking to club recruiters, players and their agents, to develop an understanding of the AFL's talent pipeline that is unrivalled in the media industry.

You can get the latest draft and trade news and analysis each week throughout the season with Gettable, hosted by Cal and Riley, while AFL.com.au's team of gun reporters brings you the stories of each year's draft crop with feature articles throughout the season.

Be sure to tune in for night two of the 2023 AFL Draft from 6.45pm AEDT on Tuesday, and come back later this week for an early look at the players most likely to shine next season, when Cal releases his top 10 players to watch for 2024. As a guide, seven of the 10 players Cal named this time last year were taken inside the top 10 of the 2023 draft.

It all adds up to the best AFL Draft content available anywhere, and you can get it right here on AFL.com.au and the AFL Live Official App, all year round.