This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Essendon agonised long and hard before selecting Victorian midfielder Andrew McGrath with the No1 pick at the AFL draft.

The Bombers began Friday night’s draft in Sydney by claiming McGrath, from TAC Cup club the Sandringham Dragons, with the first No1 pick in the club’s history.

“He’s a winner ... he’s a leader and they’re hard to find, so that was probably the major reason we decided to take him,” Essendon list manager Adrian Dodoro said.

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“He performs at a high level and when he performs he wins.”

Greater Western Sydney opted for another Victorian midfielder in Tim Taranto with the second overall pick, with Brisbane pouncing on North Ballarat onballer Hugh McCluggage at No3.

Gold Coast dominated early proceedings at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion and the Suns selected three midfielders and a defender with their four picks inside the top 10.

AFL national talent manager Kevin Sheahan declared this year’s talent pool heavy with midfielders and the first round proved him right.

Most players picked early were midfielders or projected to move into the middle as they gained AFL experience.

Fremantle chose a tall defender, local product Griffin Logue of Swan Districts, at No8 and Port Adelaide snared a tall forward – the Murray Bushrangers’ Todd Marshall at No18.

The Western Bulldogs finished off the first round with the only ruckman picked – South Fremantle’s Tim English.

Six clubs – Collingwood, St Kilda, Geelong, Richmond, Hawthorn and Melbourne – didn’t have a pick in the first round after dealing them away during the trade period.

The Pies snared both their father-son targets, matching a North Melbourne bid for Gavin Brown’s son Callum at pick 35 and securing Peter Daicos’ son Josh at pick 57 after no other clubs bid for him.

West Coast landed Chris Waterman’s son Jake with the 77th and final pick of the draft.

Those aren’t the only famous names to return to the AFL, however, after the Saints picked Ben Long, the nephew of Michael Long, with their first selection at 25.

Willie Rioli, cousin to Hawthorn’s Cyril and Richmond’s Daniel, will play for West Coast after the Eagles swooped at pick 52.

However, Ben Jarman, son of Adelaide and Hawthorn great Darren, did not get picked up, leaving the Crows to claim him at Monday’s rookie draft.

Mature-age players were also well-represented as Geelong picked Tom Stewart and Timm House from the Cats’ VFL side and Melbourne selected Footscray forward Mitch Hannan.

The Giants also threw de-listed Docker Matt de Boer a lifeline, selecting the defender with the 58th pick overall.