Updated November 23, 2018 14:01:14

Photo: Sam Walsh carries the hopes of Carlton fans after he was selected with the first pick in the 2018 AFL Draft. (AAP: Daniel Pockett)

The buzz is real around the top-end talent at this year's AFL Draft. Sam Walsh took the headlines at pick one for Carlton, but intriguing storylines — on the players, and how and why they were picked — were spread throughout the opening round of selections.

A number of teams had maximised their presence at this year's draft, because a range of pundits and analysts had tagged the talent pool for 2018 as the best since the so-called "SuperDraft" in 2001, that brought the likes of Gary Ablett Jr, Luke Hodge, Chris Judd, Steve Johnson and Dane Swan — and many others — into the league.

The big question was whether Carlton would go the safe route and select Victorian midfielder Walsh, or take a risk on potential bigger returns from South Australian key position player Jack Lukosius.

In the end, the Blues opted for Walsh — who starred for Geelong Falcons in the TAC Cup and was the player of the Under-18 national titles for Vic Metro, winning the Larke Medal averaging nearly 30 disposals a game.

Their move was an attempt to help pick up some slack in the Carlton midfield from gun on-baller Patrick Cripps.

The Blues have had a raft of top-10 picks in recent years given their poor results and trading strategy to focus on the draft. In fact this was Carlton's fifth number one selection in 14 years.

Given that Carlton finished with the wooden spoon again in 2018, Walsh's arrival is not going to lift Brendan Bolton's men into the stratosphere but as he joins the likes of Cripps, Paddy Dow, and Sam Docherty [returning from a knee injury] the Blues are beginning to fill in pieces of the puzzle in the middle of the ground.

If there was any doubt where Carlton's focus was this year, it was erased late in the round when the Blues traded up to get pick 19 — they used it to take Liam Stocker, the ball-winning Sandringham midfielder who won the Morrish Medal as best player in the TAC Cup.

That they managed to grab the man who was predicted to go to Richmond may have sweetened the pot.

The deal could be big for Adelaide, with the teams swapping round one picks for 2019. If the Blues stay anchored to the bottom, the Crows could have pick one next year.

The spotlight next landed on Gold Coast, one of a handful of clubs destined to be major players in round one.

Suns settle on SA star schoolmates

Photo: Forward Jack Lukosius is headed to the Gold Coast to join a group of South Australian recruits at the Suns. (AAP: Andy Brownbill)

Aside from the Blues, there was the Suns with three selections in the top six, Port Adelaide with three in the first 18 and GWS also with three in the first round.

The latter three clubs had to respond through the draft to the departure of key personnel in the trading period, such as Tom Lynch, Steven May and Aaron Hall for the Suns; Chad Wingard, Jared Polec and Jasper Pittard for the Power; and Dylan Shiel, Rory Lobb and Tom Scully for the Giants.

Given Carlton's call, there was little surprise when the Suns used picks two and three to select South Australian pair Lukosius and Izak Rankine.

Comparisons at draft time are particularly odious, but Lukosius has been likened as a footballing type to former St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt, while Rankine's range of skills including speed, agility, reading the play and the ability to kick exciting goals have some looking back to the Crows' Andrew McLeod.

The nexus between the pair is great as Lukosius and Rankine both played in South Australia's national under-18 title win, but more than that they shared a state schoolboy title at Henley High in Adelaide.

We've seen this line of thinking before with the Suns.

In 2016, the Suns had four picks in the top 10, and they chose Ben Ainsworth and Jack Scrimshaw from Sandringham, plus Will Brodie from the Murray Bushrangers — along with Academy player Jack Bowes — three players who knew each other well going into the AFL Draft, with the hope they would stay together and avoid the go-home factor. Scrimshaw struggled and was traded to Hawthorn at the end of 2018, but the other pair remain.

The Suns went outside South Australia for their third pick of the night, choosing Sandringham's Ben King, whose marking and scoring abilities could provide help for Gold Coast at both ends of the ground.

King's twin brother Max — who some were tipping earlier in the year to go at number one before an ACL injury — went at pick four to St Kilda.

The SA strategy continued for the Suns, with half-back Jez McLennan [another member of the under-18 champion side] selected with pick 23 before the start of round two after a pick swap with West Coast.

Only time will tell whether the Suns have a) chosen well and b) can hang on to this new elite group — but clearly, given the problems at Carrara in recent years, there will be a lot riding on the success or failure of this year's decisions.

The Power went for Connor Rozee with pick five, a midfielder who shone at half-back for North Adelaide late in the season in the Roosters' run to the SANFL premiership. His burst speed — second in the 20m sprint at the Combine — will be handy in Polec's absence.

Port Adelaide needed help in defence, with the loss of Pittard and Jack Hombsch. But the Power opted instead to focus on the middle of the ground. Aside from Rozee, they took Western Jets midfielder Zak Butters with pick 12, and Gippsland Power skipper and midfielder Xavier Duursma with pick 18.

Swans game the new draft well

The AFL had tweaked the process for this year's draft, with the ability for clubs to live-trade picks for the first time.

The Sydney Swans were quickly testing the operation of the new system, and they used it to their advantage to steal a march on the rest of the league.

Mobile, tall forward Nick Blakey could have been a father-son pick for North Melbourne or Brisbane through his father John, but opted to go with the Swans, where his dad is now an assistant coach.

Sydney put together a series of trades with West Coast to give themselves the draft points to take Blakey with three picks in the 30s, matching a bid from GWS at pick 10.

Not only that, but the Swans also — by effectively exchanging their 2019 second-round pick for the Eagles' third-rounder next year — kept themselves in this year's second round by getting West Coast's pick 25 for 2018, meaning they avoided putting all their eggs in the Blakey basket.

This was a definite win for the Swans, who have made a habit of securing top talent through the academy system with the likes of Isaac Heeney and Callum Mills.

He is strong and tall, a good left-foot kick, a good lead and mark. The Swans have hinted they will move the likes of Mills and Jake Lloyd from defence into the midfield, leaving Blakey a likely third forward for Sydney with Lance Franklin and new acquisition Dan Menzel.

Good draft for Tassie

In the last 20 AFL Drafts, a total of four Tasmanian players had been taken in the top 10. Last night there were two.

Adelaide tried and failed to pry Academy player Tarryn Thomas from North Launceston — who had the joint-best kicking test at the Draft Combine — away from North Melbourne, who matched the bid at pick eight with points from a series of draft selections.

Then the Crows went again with pick nine and chose versatile Launceston midfielder Chayce Jones, who can also play forward or back. Adelaide later took small forward Ned McHenry for his elite endurance-running ability and forward pressure.

GWS did some solid business, with the strong kicking Jye Caldwell from Bendigo and taller midfielder Jackson Hately from Central Districts in the SANFL — the latter another member of the victorious SA under-18 team.

They also came in at the end of the round for Vic Metro under-18 skipper Xavier O'Halloran, who had a great Draft Combine with solid results for both speed and endurance.

Some bargains outside the top 10

The combination of live trading and the willingness of teams to bid for other sides' Academy selections meant that some fancied players dropped further than expected in the order.

Geelong was able to grab Claremont defender Jordan Clark at pick 15.

Clark won All-Australian at the Under-18 championships at half-back where he averaged 20 disposals and six rebound 50s, and played senior football for Claremont in the WAFL.

Before committing to football, Clark was a solid prospect as a cricketer, taking five wickets (including a hat-trick) for the Australian under-16 team against Pakistan under-16s in January 2017.

He has stamina (he was eighth in the 2km time trial at the Combine), but is not ultra-speedy.

Collingwood secured highly rated Academy rebounding half-back Isaac Quaynor with pick 13.

The Oakleigh Chargers/Vic Metro defender has decent speed and good disposal — he also was the only person to get a perfect score in the goal-kicking test at the Draft Combine.

In other moves the Western Bulldogs took Sandringham midfielder Bailey Smith with pick seven, and the Lions came away with big-bodied midfielder Ely Smith (Murray Bushrangers) with pick 21.

The Crows selected Vic Country and Geelong Falcons player Ned McHenry [pick 16], who can play midfield or small forward.

Richmond ended up with tall midfielder Riley Collier-Dawkins (pick 20) from the Oakleigh Chargers and Vic Metro, while the premiers West Coast did not have a pick in the opening round, and will kick off round two today.

What does SuperDraft II have to match?

Photo: The 2001 AFL Draft class has won seven Brownlow Medals, including two each to Chris Judd (L) and Gary Ablett. (AAP: David Crosling)

Obviously, picking the draftees who will succeed is largely a matter of gauging potential — who can step up and show more than they did at age level — and partially a leap of faith in hoping that the most exciting under-18s can keep going, and maybe go on to replicate a rookie season like Collingwood's Jaidyn Stephenson in 2018 with 38 goals in 26 games.

Looking at the top 10, and a sizeable portion of the top 20, the potential for a group rivalling 2001 is clearly there.

Even SuperDraft I, as good as it was, had the odd miss — however a look at the list also shows some superb players dropping very low as well.

There was Geelong's father-son selection Gary Ablett Jr at pick 40 (under rules much more lenient than today's for the cost to nominating clubs), there was Jarrad Waite at pick 46 who went on to kick 377 goals in play 244 games for North Melbourne and Carlton.

Then there was the Magpies' Dane Swan at pick 58, and of course Western Bulldogs defender Brian Lake at pick 71, who eventually won three flags with Hawthorn.

Will there be some gems hidden deep in the next 50 picks made on day two? Who knows.

But the buzz from regular draft-watchers about this year's selection group means that if nothing else, fans have some exciting times ahead watching this talent establish just how far they can go in the AFL.

Topics: australian-football-league, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, sydney-2000, nsw, brisbane-4000, carrara-4211, qld, adelaide-5000, sa, hobart-7000, tas, perth-6000, wa, australia

First posted November 23, 2018 13:12:36