IT IS the part of Melbourne's ascent to the top of the ladder that has gone under the radar, but the Demons' decision to trade out their future first-round pick last year is looking like a winner.
The Dees did a deal with Brisbane in last year's exchange period to trade first-round picks – the Lions sent picks 18, 19 and a future second-rounder to the Demons in exchange for their future first-round pick, No.25, 68 and 69.
>> SCROLL DOWN TO SEE YOUR CLUB'S 2021 PICKS
Melbourne used its top draft choices on yet-to-debut small defender Jake Bowey and midfielder Bailey Laurie.
Future trading can be fraught with danger, but the Dees' decision looks set to pay off after their rise up the ladder in 2021 into premiership favouritism.
The Lions are one of three clubs to hold two first-round picks at this year's NAB AFL Draft, with AFL.com.au's indicative order for the first four rounds showing each club's hand.
The Giants hold pick No.4, which is tied to Collingwood's finishing position, as well as their own first-round pick, currently placed at No.10.
Richmond, too, has a very strong draft hand that will make it a dangerous proposition in this year's Trade Period.
The Tigers currently hold four picks inside the first 30 selections, including picks 11 and 16 (tied to Geelong after a swap of first-round picks during last year's national draft).
Gold Coast has three picks inside the first 22 selections, including No.19, which is part of the assistance package handed to the Suns in 2019. The AFL will review at the end of the season whether the Suns will be able to use the pick after they were blocked from trading it last year.
What picks do your club have? Check them out below.
ROUND ONE |
|
|---|---|
| 1 | North Melbourne |
| 2 | Hawthorn |
| 3 | Gold Coast |
| 4 | GWS Giants (tied to Collingwood) |
| 5 | Carlton |
| 6 | St Kilda |
| 7 | Adelaide |
| 8 | Fremantle |
| 9 | Essendon |
| 10 | GWS Giants |
| 11 | Richmond |
| 12 | West Coast |
| 13 | Sydney |
| 14 | Port Adelaide |
| 15 | Brisbane |
| 16 | Richmond (tied Geelong) |
| 17 | Western Bulldogs |
| 18 | Brisbane (tied to Melbourne) |
ROUND TWO |
|
|---|---|
| 19 | Gold Coast (part of assistance package in 2019) |
| 20 | North Melbourne |
| 21 | Hawthorn |
| 22 | Gold Coast |
| 23 | Hawthorn (tied to Collingwood) |
| 24 | Carlton |
| 25 | Richmond (tied to St Kilda) |
| 26 | Adelaide |
| 27 | Fremantle |
| 28 | Geelong (tied to Essendon) |
| 29 | Geelong (tied to GWS Giants) |
| 30 | Richmond |
| 31 | West Coast |
| 32 | Sydney |
| 33 | West Coast (tied to Port Adelaide) |
| 34 | Melbourne (tied to Brisbane) |
| 35 | Geelong |
| 36 | Collingwood (tied to Western Bulldogs) |
| 37 | Adelaide (tied to Melbourne) |
ROUND THREE |
|
|---|---|
| 38 | North Melbourne |
| 39 | Melbourne (tied to Hawthorn) |
| 40 | Richmond (tied to Gold Coast) |
| 41 | Collingwood |
| 42 | Gold Coast (tied to Carlton) |
| 43 | St Kilda |
| 44 | Collingwood (tied to Adelaide) |
| 45 | Collingwood (tied to Fremantle) |
| 46 | Essendon |
| 47 | GWS Giants |
| 48 | Richmond |
| 49 | Brisbane (tied to West Coast) |
| 50 | West Coast (tied to Sydney) |
| 51 | Essendon (tied to Port Adelaide) |
| 52 | Brisbane |
| 53 | Geelong |
| 54 | Melbourne (tied to the Western Bulldogs) |
| 55 | Gold Coast (tied to Melbourne) |
ROUND FOUR |
|
|---|---|
| 56 | Hawthorn (tied to North Melbourne) |
| 57 | Port Adelaide (tied to Hawthorn) |
| 58 | Richmond (tied to Gold Coast) |
| 59 | Gold Coast |
| 60 | Carlton |
| 61 | St Kilda |
| 62 | Adelaide |
| 63 | Adelaide (tied to Fremantle) |
| 64 | Gold Coast (tied to Essendon) |
| 65 | GWS Giants |
| 66 | Hawthorn (tied to Richmond) |
| 67 | West Coast |
| 68 | Sydney |
| 69 | Port Adelaide |
| 70 | North Melbourne (tied to Brisbane) |
| 71 | Port Adelaide (tied to Geelong) |
| 72 | Western Bulldogs |
| 73 | Brisbane (tied to Melbourne) |
YOUR CLUB'S 2021 PICKS
| Adelaide | 7, 26, 37, 62, 63 |
| Brisbane | 15, 18, 49, 52, 59, 73 |
| Carlton | 5, 24, 60 |
| Collingwood | 36, 41, 44, 45 |
| Essendon | 9, 46, 51 |
| Fremantle | 8, 27 |
| Geelong | 28, 29, 35, 53 |
| Gold Coast | 3, 19, 22, 42, 55, 58, 64 |
| GWS | 4, 10, 47, 65 |
| Hawthorn | 2, 21, 23, 56, 66 |
| Melbourne | 34, 39, 54, |
| North Melbourne | 1, 20, 38, 70 |
| Port Adelaide | 14, 57, 69, 71 |
| Richmond | 11, 16, 25, 30, 40, 48 |
| St Kilda | 6, 43, 61 |
| Sydney | 13, 32, 68 |
| West Coast | 12, 31, 33, 50, 67 |
| Western Bulldogs | 17, 72 |
Draft value index
| ROUND ONE | ROUND TWO | ROUND THREE | ROUND FOUR | ROUND FIVE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pick/Pts | Pick/Pts | Pick/Pts | Pick/Pts | Pick/Pts |
| 1. 3000 | 19. 948 | 37. 483 | 55. 207 | 73. 9 |
| 2. 2517 | 20. 912 | 38. 465 | 56. 194 | 74. - |
| 3. 2234 | 21. 878 | 39. 446 | 57. 182 | |
| 4. 2034 | 22. 845 | 40. 429 | 58. 170 | |
| 5. 1878 | 23. 815 | 41. 412 | 59. 158 | |
| 6. 1751 | 24. 785 | 42. 395 | 60. 146 | |
| 7. 1644 | 25. 756 | 43. 378 | 61. 135 | |
| 8. 1551 | 26. 729 | 44. 362 | 62. 123 | |
| 9. 1469 | 27. 703 | 45. 347 | 63. 112 | |
| 10. 1395 | 28. 677 | 46. 331 | 64. 101 | |
| 11. 1329 | 29. 653 | 47. 316 | 65. 90 | |
| 12. 1268 | 30. 629 | 48. 302 | 66. 80 | |
| 13. 1212 | 31. 606 | 49. 287 | 67. 69 | |
| 14. 1161 | 32. 584 | 50. 273 | 68. 59 | |
| 15. 1112 | 33. 563 | 51. 259 | 69. 49 | |
| 16. 1067 | 34. 542 | 52. 246 | 70. 39 | |
| 17. 1025 | 35. 522 | 53. 233 | 71. 29 | |
| 18. 985 | 36. 502 | 54. 220 | 72. 19 |