SINCE the first NAB AFL Draft was held in 1986, clubs have been trying to perfect the inexact science of identifying and recruiting the best young talent each year.
So, while Blair Hartley and the Port Adelaide recruiting team put the finishing touches on their selection order ahead of the much anticipated 2008 NAB AFL Draft on November 29, portadelaidefc.com.au reflects on some of the Power’s biggest hits (and misses) in drafts gone by starting with the late 90s.
This was Port Adelaide’s first regular NAB AFL Draft after receiving concession picks and uncontracted player selections in 1996, in preparation for the club’s long-awaited entry into the AFL.
The Power, who finished just outside the eight in their maiden season, entered the draft armed with pick number nine and used it to ruffle Crows’ feathers by securing Chad Cornes, son of inaugural Adelaide coach, Graham.
The club backed up by selecting Victorian teenager Nick Stevens at number 25, lightly-framed local Danny Morton at pick 40 and Essendon reserves player Darren Fraser at number 57.
Fitzroy defender Stephen Paxman arrived at Alberton via the NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft and he, Cornes and Stevens would go on to play in excess of 400 games-combined for the black, white and teal.
Brett Chalmers (Adelaide) and Chris Nash (Richmond) were traded to the Power in exchange for Ian Downsborough and former first-round draft pick John Rombotis, but neither played more than 25 games for the club.
Top-three picks Travis Johnstone (Melbourne/Brisbane), Brad Ottens (Richmond/Geelong) and Trent Croad (Hawthorn/Fremantle/Hawthorn) all required club changes to really kick-start their careers, but this wasn’t the case for would-be Brownlow Medallists Simon Black and Adam Goodes.
Black, somehow, slipped through to the Brisbane Lions at pick 31 and Goodes had to wait even longer (pick 45) to hear his name called by the Swans.
Expectations were high as Port Adelaide entered the 1998 NAB AFL Draft with pick number five after doing a complicated deal to send Adam Heuskes to the Lions. But fans were left feeling let down with the Power’s eventual first-round choice.
Victorian Michael Stevens, brother of North Melbourne star Anthony, came with a good pedigree, but managed only 17 games with the Power before being moved on.
The Power did significantly better with their next pick, securing West Australian tough nut and would-be premiership player Josh Carr with selection number seven.
Port Adelaide picked up Adam Morgan with pick number 37, which they received from Geelong in exchange for defender Tom Harley, and also opted for little-known tall Toby Thurstans.
The Power gave pick 23 to Essendon in return for livewire Che Cockatoo-Collins and traded Scott Cummings for the smaller Jarrad Schofield.
This unpredictable draft saw Des Headland go to the Brisbane Lions at pick number one, Justin Longmuir to Fremantle at number two and Nic Fosdike and Ryan Fitzgerald to Sydney at picks three and four.
Carlton spearhead Brendan Fevola fell through to pick 38, West Coast snared a gem with premiership star Andrew Embley at pick number 57 and Adelaide infamously chose forward Ken McGregor over the then-17-year-old Matthew Pavlich.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
