ADELAIDE
23 Matt Crouch - midfielder
46 Riley Knight - midfielder
What they needed: Another key forward, young blood in midfield.
What they got: A family reunion with ball magnet Matt joining his brother Brad at the Crows. Brilliant at getting the footy - averaging 30-plus touches in the Victorian under-18 comp - and he's a really good long-term replacement for Scott Thompson, though he's probably ready to go in 2014. Knight is also a midfielder, so got what they needed with their two picks.
BRISBANE
7 James Aish - midfielder
22 Darcy Gardiner - defender
25 Daniel McStay - defender
28 Lewis Taylor - midfielder
33 Tom Cutler - midfielder
34 Nick Robertson - def/mid
62 Jonathan Freeman - forward
What they needed: Elite young players in every position.
What they got: Potentially some real bargains. Losing five third and fourth-year players they had put time into developing meant the Lions had plenty of gaps to fill. And they've done well. They'll be pinching themselves to get Aish - who has played two seasons of senior footy in the SANFL. Defenders Darcy Gardiner and Daniel McStay look decent gets and meet needs, while the Lions may have got a bargain in undersized midfielder Lewis Taylor. He was tipped to go first round by most.
CARLTON
13 Patrick Cripps - midfielder
39 Cameron Giles - defender
51 Nick Holman - midfielder
What they needed: A quality tall forward, young midfielders.
What they got: A big-bodied midfielder with their first pick, and Cripps fits the bill. Good user by hand and just the ticket to back up Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs through the midfield long-term, with Chris Judd and Kade Simpson not getting any younger. Giles, a tall SA defender, does address their need for tall timber, but interestingly they didn't go for a forward.
COLLINGWOOD
6 Matt Scharenberg - defender
10 Nathan Freeman - midfielder
65 Tom Langdon - defender
77 Jonathon Marsh - forward
What they needed: Midfielders, a key position prospect.
What they got: Heath Shaw's possible replacement in Scharenberg, a terrific half-back-flanker who uses the ball well by foot, and could eventually become a key position defender. Freeman addresses their midfield need, and will complement Scott Pendlebury, Swan, Beams and company nicely. Smokey could be WA forward Marsh who is lightning quick. All in all, good night's work from the Pies.
ESSENDON
26 Zach Merrett - mid/fwd
55 Orazio Fantasia - mid/fwd
What they needed: Not to squander their first pick, midfield depth.
What they got: Brothers in arms. Merrett was a solid choice, a goalkicking half-forward who joins brother Jackson at the Bombers. Interesting to see long-term if the Bombers have gone the right way, with Lewis Taylor still available then and going to Brisbane two picks later. The discussion which went on before Merrett was selected suggests there was a fair bit of debate. Fantasia wins best name of draft night. He's a small forward/midfielder type from SA.
FREMANTLE
17 Michael Apeness - ruckman
37 Alex Pearce - forward
58 Brady Grey - midfielder
What they needed: No urgent needs.
What they got: Apeness offers a tall ruck-forward option, and with Aaron Sandilands not getting any younger, hopes will be high he can develop. A couple of Tasmanians in 199cm Pearce and Grey who will get time to grow.
GEELONG
16 Darcy Lang - midfielder
36 Jarrad Jansen - midfielder
41 Jake Kolodjashnij - defender
What they needed: Some added height.
What they got: Some surprises. Lang is a midfielder who can win his own footy, and the recruiters chose him a fair bit higher than most thought. But the Cats may have got a steal in Kolodjashnij, who was tipped to go as high as 20. He's a terrific defender. The Cats love their strong-bodied midfielders, and got one from WA in Jansen. All three look good gets.
GOLD COAST
5 Kade Kolodjashnij - defender
20 Jack Leslie - ruckman
27 Sean Lemmens - defender
What they needed: No obvious weaknesses.
What they got: The Suns liked Tasmanian Kolodjashnij from the get-go, and got who they wanted. Victorian ruckman Leslie was a minor surprise, while SA backman Lemmens is very lightly framed and will need time.
GWS
1 Tom Boyd - forward
2 Josh Kelly - midfielder
14 Cameron McCarthy - forward
29 Rory Lobb - ruckman
What they needed: Not to misread the names at one and two.
What they got: More tall timber than a rainforest. Obviously, the Giants were going to pick Boyd and Kelly with one and two. But McCarthy, also a tall forward, suddenly gives GWS four excellent targets inside their forward 50 if all are up and running. Jeremy Cameron, Jon Patton, Boyd and McCarthy could be an amazing combination in a few years. Throw in highly-rated ruckman Lobb lower down than many thought, and there's no doubt that they were aiming to hit the heights - figuratively and literally. We'll know in a few years if they've managed it.
HAWTHORN
24 Billy Hartung - midfielder
38 Dayle Garlett - forward
56 James Sicily - forward
What they needed: To add speed and strength through midfield.
What they got: Exactly what they needed in Dandenong Stingrays' Hartung, who has endurance to run all day. But it is second pick Garlett, the wayward WA forward who could be anything, who will attract most interest. He kicked 48 goals in the WAFL last season, and there's no doubt he's a super player. But off-field problems, which included missing interviews with recruiters, mean he comes with risk. If a strong club like Hawthorn, and a wonderful indigenous role model at the Hawks in Shaun Burgoyne can't get him right, no one can.
MELBOURNE
9 Christian Salem - midfielder
40 Jay Kennedy-Harris - forward
57 Jayden Hunt - mid/def
What they needed: Midfielders, and pretty much everything else.
What they got: Salem is a medium-sized midfielder who uses the ball well by foot. They went Salem over Nathan Freeman and Ben Lennon - and time will tell if the Dees got this right. Kennedy-Harris is a small forward. Hunt, from Brighton Grammar, is a smokey. Has good speed, but may take time to develop.
NORTH MELBOURNE
8 Luke McDonald - defender
30 Trent Dumont - midfielder
47 Ben Brown - ruck/fwd
What they needed: Long-term replacements for their 30-somethings.
What they got: No surprise with their first pick, and a pleasant surprise with their second. Father-son McDonald shone late-season in the VFL and will slot straight in on a half-back-flank next season. SA midfielder Dumont could be a steal at 30, as he was projected to go between 15 and 20. He can break games open with a penetrating kick. In a team which prides itself on slick ball use, he should fit right in. Brown is a huge 199cm ruckman who has also been playing in the VFL. Could he be the long-term replacement for Drew Petrie? With a well-balanced list already, the first two picks look particularly promising.
PORT ADELAIDE
21 Jarman Impey - def/fwd
45 Mitch Harvey - forward
52 Darcy Byrne-Jones - defender
68 Karl Amon - midfielder
What they needed: Some more height.
What they got: Exactly that in SA forward Harvey, a giant who could become Jay Schulz's eventual replacement and fit nicely with the likes of Justin Westhoff and John Butcher up forward, should the latter develop. Impey is a utility with good hands who can play as a small defender or forward. There's not much of Byrne-Jones, who will need time to fill out. But he has speed and endurance and was on several clubs' late draft wishlist.
RICHMOND
12 Ben Lennon - fwd/mid
50 Nathan Gordon - midfielder
66 Sam Lloyd - forward
What they needed: Another elite midfielder who kicks goals.
What they got: Lennon is just the right fit. For a club with plenty of half-back/midfielder types like Brett Deledio, Reece Conca, Brandon Ellis and Nick Vlastuin, Lennon joins Dustin Martin as a mid who can kick goals. A half-forward type who can rotate through the middle, he appeals as yet another good draftee for the Tiges. Gordon is a big-bodied midfielder. The Tigers may have got a gem in Lloyd, a 23-year-old from the VFL originally from Deniliquin in southern NSW. He booted four goals for Victoria in a recent state game to put himself into draft contention. Booted 110 goals in a season with Deniliquin a few years back.
ST KILDA
3 Jack Billings - fwd/mid
18 Luke Dunstan - midfielder
19 Blake Acres - fwd/def
What they needed: To get their drafting spot-on.
What they got: Time will tell. Billings, a talented big-match player with a knack for important goals, is a really good get for the Saints. Needing to top up their midfield badly, he and SA ball-winning midfielder Dunstan will give Jack Steven and David Armitage the chopout they need. Acres is a versatile West Australian, who can play in the forward line as well as across half-back, where he'll probably slot straight in for the Saints in 2014.
SYDNEY
15 Zak Jones - def/mid
32 George Hewett - midfielder
35 Toby Nankervis - ruckman
44 Aliir Aliir - defender
What they needed: Depth to back up big-money Buddy Franklin, young ruckman.
What they got: Bingo. Upset a few apple carts by calling out Jones, the younger brother of Melbourne's Nathan but a different style player, earlier than many thought. The Dandenong Stingrays player is more a rebounding half-back type, and should develop into an eventual Rhyce Shaw replacement. SA midfielder Hewett is not flashy, but brave and solid. Nankervis, a Tasmanian ruckman, is exactly what the Swans needed to replace the departed Shane Mumford. And Majak Daw, move over, there's a new Sudanese player in the AFL in Aliir. The 19-year-old moved from Queensland to WA this year and has shone at under-18 level. Real mixed bag, but a promising set of selections for the Swans.
WEST COAST
11 Dom Sheed - midfielder
31 Malcolm Karpany - forward
43 Tom Barrass - defender
49 Dylan Main - forward
What they needed: Midfield depth.
What they got: The man they wanted. Dom Sheed was their prime target, and a lot of the reason they traded down from their original pick six to 11. Their punt worked out. Whether he turns out better than Matt Scharenberg, who they could have had with pick six had they kept it, will be intriguing. Karpany is from SA, while Barrass and Main are local WA products.
WESTERN BULLDOGS
4 Marcus Bontempelli - midfielder
42 Matt Fuller - defender
60 Mitch Honeychurch - midfielder
What they needed: Midfielders to complement an emerging young group.
What they got: A few years of scrutiny by rolling the dice at pick four. Bontempelli has been a late draft riser, and the Dogs choosing a raw midfielder at four means they overlooked some real quality players. Getting another good midfielder in to give Ryan Griffen and Tom Liberatore a chopout and veteran Matthew Boyd an eventual successor was the ideal. Clearly they think Bontempelli is that man. Have stolen Fuller, a 23-year-old SANFL defender at 42. He'll play straight away. Honeychurch, from Eastern Ranges, is a kamikaze-like midfielder and has plenty of go. Could become a cult favourite at the Kennel.