AHEAD of the AFLX draft, Jack Riewoldt, the captain of Team Rampage, identified Lachie Whitfield as the player he wanted in his side.

And as the draft was revealed on Wednesday night, the Richmond premiership star was true to his word, selecting the gun Greater Western Sydney runner with his first choice. 

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It was the start of a run of picks that has made Team Rampage the side to beat in the one-night tournament at Marvel Stadium on Friday, February 22. 

Riewoldt hit the mark with his selections. With Carlton star Patrick Cripps already by his side, he bolstered his midfield by adding Rory Sloane, Isaac Smith, Dylan Shiel, Dayne Zorko and Shaun Higgins. It's a perfect blend of skill, grunt, poise, long-kicking, pace and class. 

Phil Davis can control the back half with Easton Wood, while Riewoldt and Tom McDonald form the most potent tall forward pairing of any of the sides. 

Nat Fyfe's Flyers side looks Rampage's most obvious challenger and it is certainly the most star-studded line-up. 

With a roll-call of Fyfe, vice-captain Marcus Bontempelli, Scott Pendlebury, Alex Rance, Jeremy Cameron and Isaac Heeney as the first five players for the Flyers, Fyfe has secured some of the game's biggest names.

We're wondering whether they may have gone too tall by selecting Michael Hurley and Aliir Aliir as key defenders alongside Rance, and although their midfield is the best of the lot, they don't have the same forward power in attack. 

Patrick Dangerfield raised eyebrows when he chose teammate Tom Hawkins with his first live choice for the Bolts, when he probably could have secured him later in the draft.

The selection of Mark Blicavs was a winner – Dangerfield well knows the versatility and athleticism of his Cats teammate that will suit the AFLX format – and he has put faith in a group of youngsters, including NAB AFL Rising Star winners Jaidyn Stephenson and Andrew McGrath, and Saints forward Jack Billings.

Robbie Gray gives the Bolts some spice, and they will be relying on Dangerfield, Steele Sidebottom and Andrew Gaff for run. With Hawkins and a couple of inside ball-winners in the middle, they could be exposed for pace. 

Team Deadly is the hardest to assess. What they lack in robust midfielders and key position players, they make up for in exhilarating pace, extreme skill and goalkicking nous.

Breaking into the Deadly forward line will be difficult – captain Eddie Betts, Chad Wingard, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Willie Rioli will take some stopping.  

The four teams are competing for a prize pool of $50,000, with $30,000 given to the nominated charity of the winner, $10,000 to the runner-up and $5,000 each to the other two teams.   

Team Deadly are playing for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, Team Bolts for Variety SA, Team Rampage for Maddie’s Vision and Team Flyers for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.   

Information and ticket sales via X.afl

STARTING LINE-UPS

DEADLYS

Defender: Joel Hamling
Defender: Jarrod Harbrow
Midfielder: Tim Kelly
Wing: Bradley Hill
Wing: Lewis Jetta
Ruck: Cameron Ellis-Yolmen
Forward: Chad Wingard
Forward: Steven May

BOLTS

Defender: Robbie Tarrant
Defender: Luke Hodge
Midfielder: Patrick Dangerfield
Wing: Andrew Gaff
Wing: Steele Sidebottom
Ruck: Mark Blicavs
Forward: Tom Hawkins
Forward: Robbie Gray

FLYERS

Defender: Rory Laird
Defender: Alex Rance
Midfielder: Josh Kennedy
Wing: Stephen Coniglio
Wing: Scott Pendlebury
Ruck: Marcus Bontempelli
Forward: Isaac Heeney
Forward: Jeremy Cameron

RAMPAGE

Defender: Phil Davis
Defender: Lachie Whitfield
Midfielder: Patrick Cripps
Wing: Dayne Zorko
Wing: Isaac Smith
Ruck: Tom McDonald
Forward: Jack Riewoldt
Forward: Luke Breust