Did you find yourself reading as much about draft points as you did about draft picks, in the last two weeks? Did you wonder why on earth Sydney swapped pick 14 for picks 23 and 44, then turned 23 into two even crummier selections? Will it feel weird on draft night when a club calls Callum Mills' name out early, only for the Swans to use those lousy picks to leapfrog everyone, "buy" that high pick and get their academy star?

This trade period was our first taste of the new points-based draft system – in which every pick has a points value – introduced to ensure clubs pay a proper price for their academy and father-son draftees.

It was always going to be interesting to how the northern clubs (not to mention all the others) tried to manipulate it, or use it to their advantage. Assessments so far have ranged from interesting, to inventive, to a total rort. The phrase "unintended consequences" has come up, as it often does when new AFL rules come into play. In any case, it seems fair to say the trade period did not unfold exactly as the league intended.

This was not the first time clubs have traded up or down the draft order. Since you have been able to trade picks without players attached, plenty have done it in order to improve their overall draft position. Just 12 months ago Adelaide swapped picks 10 and 47 for 14 and 35, the Crows keen for the earlier second round selection and the Cats keen on Nakia Cockatoo.