MELBOURNE has opened its Gillette AFL Trade Period with a significant win, with the Demons securing father-son prospect Jack Viney with their second-round selection - the 26th overall selection at the NAB AFL Draft.

Joe Daniher is also now officially an Essendon player after the Bombers used selection No.10 to secure the tall forward, while Lachie Hunter went to the Bulldogs at pick 46.

However, all the intrigue around the father-son bidding process had centred around Viney's future.

GWS and Gold Coast were ahead of the Demons in the draft order and the Suns had been expected to bid their first-round selection (pick two) on the hard midfielder, which would have forced Melbourne to use its pick three on Viney.

But Gold Coast ended its game of cat and mouse with the Demons when the club opted to deal its No.2 pick to the Giants to secure WA youngster Jack Martin via the GWS mini-draft.

"All we had to worry about was whether Jack was going to be picked out or not by Gold Coast or Greater Western Sydney - he hasn't - so we're absolutely thrilled that he goes out to the second round," Melbourne list manager Tim Harrington said.

"We're really pleased. Obviously we've had Jack in our system for the last 12 months, but not knowing whether he would be [our] player or not ... was always a bit of an anxiety. Now that we've got him we're really pleased."

There had been much conjecture as to whether the Demons would select Viney with pick three if the Giants or Suns had bid for him and Harrington revealed Melbourne indeed would have used the prized selection to secure the Casey youngster if called upon.
 
Port Adelaide nominated both Viney and Daniher with its seventh overall pick, which forced the Demons and the Dons to use their next valid draft selections to secure the father-son recruits.

Melbourne has selection 13 in the NAB AFL Draft, but it is a compensation pick, which doesn't come under father-son rules.

North Melbourne bid for Hunter with pick 35, which caused the Dogs to pounce with the 46th overall selection.

The way the father-son bidding process unfolded on Monday is a huge win for the Demons, who now have picks three, four and 13 at the national draft.

"[Viney] going out to 26 means that we now have the ability to get other deals done," Harrington said.

Daniher committed to joining the Bombers almost two years ago, and has been training at the club throughout the last 12 months in preparation of his first AFL season in 2013.

Many suggest Daniher, the son of former Bombers and Swans defender Anthony Daniher, would have been a No.1 selection at this year's draft if not tied to the Bombers.

Hunter was the last father-son player to join his assigned club, with the Western Bulldogs using their third-round selection to pick the midfielder.

The Bulldogs remained tight-lipped on Hunter this season, not committing to taking him at the draft as they assessed his standing in this year's pool.

Some recruiters believed the son of former defender Mark Hunter was worth a second-round pick.

Callum Twomey and Jason Phelan are reporters for the AFL website. Follow them on Twitter at @AFL_CalTwomey and @AFL_JasonPhelan.