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Harley Reid, the Tongala-raised boy wonder, entered the year as the consensus best prospect in the 2023 draft crop, and West Coast confirmed he remained there by anointing him the No.1 selection at the AFL draft on Monday night.<\/p>\n
But there were some unexpected moves in a first round that stretched to 29 picks as seven bids were made and matched for academy and father-son prospects.<\/p>\n
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Top draft pick Harley Reid in his new Eagles jumper.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Justin McManus<\/cite><\/p>\n The draft went to script until pick eight, when Adelaide swooped on Greater Western Sydney\u2019s coveted eighth selection \u2013 trading picks 11 and 31 \u2013 to draft key defender Daniel Curtin.<\/p>\n The Crows, along with most clubs, did not expect Curtin to be available so late in the draft until last week and did their homework across the weekend to ready themselves for the opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a bit hectic and a bit all over the place, too, but I tried to stay away from it as much as possible, and I\u2019m happy for it to finally be done,\u201d Curtin said. \u201cI had a lot of clubs contacting myself and my manager [Jason Dover] today but I\u2019m absolutely stoked to be going to Adelaide Crows and excited to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n After Gold Coast matched Geelong\u2019s bid on their academy ruckman Ethan Read at pick nine, Essendon traded places with the Cats to nab key forward Nate Caddy, whom they hope will add much-needed firepower to their attack.<\/p>\n New Bomber Nate Caddy.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Justin McManus<\/cite><\/p>\n Geelong then grabbed key defender Connor O\u2019Sullivan with pick 11 before the first draft twist occurred, with GWS using Adelaide\u2019s old pick to select small forward Phoenix Gothard, who was tipped to be a late first-round pick at best.<\/p>\n The room erupted as Gothard\u2019s name was read out and his peers piled onto Gothard \u2013 who had to borrow O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s Bushrangers shirt \u2013 in celebration.<\/p>\n The Giants were widely expected to instead select mid-sized swingman James Leake at that selection, but they managed to grab Leake, too, at No.17 after a pick swap with St Kilda \u2013 moving up with a future second-rounder.<\/p>\n The other first-round shock was the Crows\u2019 third pick of the night, speedy Murray Bushrangers and Shepparton United defender Oscar Ryan, who was as surprised as anyone to hear his name called out.<\/p>\n Ryan was attending the draft as a plus-one, and like Gothard had to borrow a Bushrangers shirt to slip on over his casual clothes as his name was unexpectedly called out on the first night.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a massive shock to me, I\u2019m so grateful to the club for putting trust in me,\u201d he told Fox Footy.<\/p>\n Top pick Reid will wear Nic Naitanui\u2019s old No.9 \u2013 the retired Eagles great presented the 18-year-old with his jumper moments after his name was read out. Brownlow medallist Ben Cousins is another West Coast champion who donned that famous number.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a huge relief. I was pretty cruisy going into it, and butterflies kind of got to me in the end, but I\u2019m just super grateful to be in the position I am, and lucky enough to have \u2018Nic Nat\u2019 present the jumper to me,\u201d Reid said.<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t think of anything better to look at the number on my back, too, so it\u2019s a huge privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n Speculation swirled for most of the season that Reid \u2013 the most-hyped AFL prospect in years \u2013 wanted to remain in Victoria and the Eagles would trade the top pick, after they regained it with North Melbourne\u2019s final-round upset of Gold Coast in Hobart.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was obviously pretty annoying at times, when they say it and they really haven\u2019t even met you,\u201d Reid said.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest, it\u2019s [West Coast\u2019s jumper] on me now, so hopefully that puts a bit of word out there that I\u2019m keen to go over there and get stuck into it.<\/p>\n \u201c[Handling the interest and expectation] is part of the journey, I suppose, and obviously, it\u2019s pretty humbling, too, but obviously motivation, too, to be a superstar, and get in there and earn respect off the teammates. There\u2019s a great young core group there, and obviously a lot of experience and a lot of history behind that club, too.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m keen to get in there and hopefully influence that club and help them get back to the top and play finals footy, where they play their best footy.\u201d<\/p>\n There were no shortage of attempts to prise the pick out of West Coast\u2019s hands, with North Melbourne, Hawthorn and Melbourne all making offers.<\/p>\n However, it became apparent that Eagles list boss Rohan O\u2019Brien meant it when he said during the trade period they were leaning towards keeping the selection \u2013 and instead clubs\u2019 pursuit of trades to nab Western Australian Curtin dominated headlines.<\/p>\n The Eagles will benefit from new draft rules from the latest collective bargaining agreement, whereby first-round draft picks sign three-year initial contracts instead of two.<\/p>\n Reid boasts a fend-off Dustin Martin would be proud of, and can dominate games as a midfielder, where his physicality comes to the fore, or out of the goal square, just like Richmond\u2019s triple Norm Smith medallist.<\/p>\n The 18-year-old did exactly that in a three-goal, 10-minute blitz to start Victoria Country\u2019s national under-18 championships clash with South Australia. Reid is one of only two players in this class, along with Gold Coast\u2019s Walter, to be a dual under-18 All-Australian.<\/p>\n Asked how his fend-off matched up with Martin\u2019s, Reid joked he would have to \u201ctest it out on him\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s obviously had that trademark, so I\u2019ve looked at him and seen him do that, and look up to him,\u201d Reid said. \u201cI think that\u2019s something that he does really well, and hopefully, I can implement that to my game at the highest level, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Colby McKercher (No.2) and Zane Duursma (No.4) joined North Melbourne either side of a bid on Gold Coast\u2019s hulking academy forward Jed Walter, while small forward Nick Watson joined Hawthorn, midfielder Ryley Sanders went to the Western Bulldogs and winger Caleb Windsor became a Demon.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m super stoked to be joining the Dogs \u2013 it\u2019s a dream come true. They\u2019ve got so many good players, and amazing midfielders, who I\u2019m so keen to learn off \u2026 and hopefully be as good players as them [eventually],\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m trying to work as hard as I can. I understand it\u2019s going to be a tough midfield to crack into, so I might have to start in other positions, but I\u2019m more than happy to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryley Sanders in his Western Bulldogs jumper.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Justin McManus<\/cite><\/p>\n Sanders also loved seeing fellow Tasmanian Leake find an AFL home at pick 17, pumping his fist as league chief executive Andrew Dillon read out Leake\u2019s name.<\/p>\n Forward-midfielder Koltyn Tholstrup was Melbourne\u2019s second selection at pick 13, after being heavily linked to the Demons in the lead-up, before Sydney made consecutive bids, as they were tipped to do, on Gold Coast academy midfielder Jake Rogers and Bulldogs father-son forward Jordan Croft.<\/p>\n The Swans eventually selected their ruckman of the future with pick 16, 204-centimetre Will Green, who was the No.1 big man in this year\u2019s Talent League team of the year and will develop under recruit Brodie Grundy.<\/p>\n Green was one of two ruckmen snapped up in the first round, with North Melbourne drafting South Australia\u2019s Taylor Goad, a 206-centimetre project big man who ran under three seconds for the 20-metre sprint at the combine.<\/p>\n The Saints not only added a 2024 selection, their pre-draft hope that hard-running Murray Bushranger Darcy Wilson would make it to them eventuated. Wilson, who finished runner-up in the two-kilometre time trial at the draft combine, delivers in spades on coach Ross Lyon\u2019s wish for more running power.<\/p>\n They also selected West Australian goalsneak Lance Collard, a mercurial talent with high upside likened to Collingwood\u2019s Norm Smith medallist Bobby Hill.<\/p>\n Carlton took a punt on gifted South Australian Ashton Moir, once regarded as a top-five prospect but who struggled with injury and form throughout this year, with the final pick of the first round.<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A fend-off like Dusty\u2019s<\/h3>\n
\u2018A dream come true\u2019<\/h3>\n
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