The Cats used pick 32 to select the forward.
Joel represented Western Australia at the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships, averaging five marks. He kicked six goals during the championships and was particularly impressive against the Northern Territory and Tasmania. He tested extremely well at the NAB AFL Draft Combine, recording an impressive time of 2.90 seconds for the 20m sprint, along with a running vertical jump of 84cm, putting him in the top 10 per cent. He is a mobile forward who can also move to defence and hails from Broome in far north Western Australia.
The second pick, 34, the Cats took Shane Kersten from South Fremantle FC. A powerful forward who is strong overhead and a long kick. He had a taste of senior WAFL football in 2010. Kersten kicked five goals against Queensland in the 2010 NAB AFL U18 Championships as a 17-year-old but missed the 2011 series with injury. At the NAB AFL Draft Combine he received an efficiency rating of 83 per cent in the Matthew Lloyd Clean Hands Test and recorded 2.96 seconds for the 20m sprint test. His running vertical leap of 83cm was also impressive, putting him in the top 13 per cent.
With the third pick, 48, the Cats selected Jordan Murdoch from Glenelg.
Jordan represented SA at the NAB AFL U18 Championships as a 19-year-old. He is a left footed, speedy medium forward with neat disposal skills and excellent agility. His 2.76 seconds for the 20m sprint highlighted his outstanding pace. He was the quickest player tested at the Draft Combine this year.
With pick 66 the Cats selected Lincoln McCarthy from Glenelg. He is an explosive small forward (2.96 seconds for 20m sprint) who is dynamic around goal and overhead for his size. Former basketballer and state cricketer at Under 17 level for SA.
With pick 78 the Cats selected the 29 year old Orren Stephenson from the North Ballarat Roosters in the VFL. Orren is the premier ruckman in the VFL and a multiple representative of the VFL team of the year.
With pick 96 the Cats selected father-son pick Jed Bews from the Geelong Falcons. Bews has already played with the Cats VFL side and is a half back.
