GOLD Coast has given up a hefty price to land the slider of the NAB AFL Draft after a shock trade with Carlton.

Sam Flanders was tipped to be drafted at pick No.5 in Cal Twomey's Phantom Draft, but the Swans ended up going with fellow midfielder Dylan Stephens, who Twomey suggested was well in the mix.

Dylan Stephens and Sydney co-captain Josh Kennedy.

Gold Coast list manager Craig Cameron was surprised Flanders was still available at pick No.11, making the decision to select him an easy one.

"We rated Sam really highly, but [other clubs] had their own choices I suppose," Cameron said.

"Sam will bring flexibility, play midfield and forward, he’s got good speed and agility. Matt Rowell's a hard working inside mid, Noah (Anderson) is a big-bodied mid, so there’s a good mix of players there."

DRAFT TRACKER Every pick, every player

Flanders slipped through after being overlooked by Adelaide, which was set on key defender Fischer McAsey, and then Fremantle, which took three successive picks in Hayden Young, Caleb Serong and Liam Henry.

The Dockers matched Carlton's bid for Henry to take him at No.9, but the Blues weren't done with keeping other clubs honest.

They then bid on onballer Tom Green, who was tied to the Greater Western Sydney Academy, and the Giants matched that to select Green.

The Suns swooped on the opportunity to nab Flanders, giving up picks No.17 and 22 and sending those selections to Carlton, in exchange for picks No.11 and 62.

It seemed a lopsided trade and that was evidenced by the draft value index, which saw the Suns give up 1,870 points while receiving 1,452 points.

That means the Blues gained an extra 418 points according to the draft value index.

The Suns have enjoyed strong trade and draft period so far and with picks No.62 and 66 still to come, Cameron was keen to keep expectations in check for season 2020.

"They're only young boys, and we’ll still be a young list (in 2020), so the most important thing is we get some games into them, so they can develop and play a bit more exciting footy in the future," he said.