Primed with the first two picks of the 2013 AFL Draft, Greater Western Sydney drafted young guns Tom Boyd and Josh Kelly on Thursday night.
The Giants added some more talented beef to their forward line with the selection of the heralded Boyd (200cm, 104kgs) to go along former No.1 pick Jonathon Patton, who has suffered an injury plagued start to his AFL career.
Much of the top end of the draft went according to plan. A candidate at last year’s mini-draft, Kelly was given another year to develop in the TAC Cup and will provide GWS with extra possession and some elegant disposal. The Saints took polished midfielder Jack Billings at three before the Bulldogs selected the allure of tall midfielder Marcus Bontempelli at four.
2014 AFL Draft Top 15
1. Tom Boyd – GWS
2. Josh Kelly – GWS
3. Jack Billings – St Kilda
4. Marcus Bontempelli – Bulldogs
5. Kade Kolodjashnij – Suns
6. Matthew Scharenberg – Collingwood
7. James Aish – Brisbane
8. Luke McDonald – North Melbourne
9. Christian Salem – Melbourne
10. Nathan Freeman – Collingwood
11. West Coast – Dom Sheed
12. Richmond – Ben Lennon
13. Carlton – Patrick Cripps
14. Greater Western Sydney – Cameron McCarthy
15. Sydney Swans – Zak Jones
Other big AFL Draft moves included Hawthorn choosing Dayle Garlett, who was overlooked last year because of off-field behaviour issues.
Brisbane had to have pleased with their AFL Draft night luck as highly touted James Aish fell to them at six before they swooped on Lewis Taylor when the top-15 predicted tiny midfielder fell all the way to No.28.
Geelong nabbed local product Darcy Lang at 16 when the inside midfielder was expected to fall into the 30s. We’ll trust the Cats on this one- their track record developing talent has top notch.
Carlton again failed to address their need of height, drafting clearance expert Patrick Cripps at 13 while Collingwood picked up the injured Matthew Scharenberg, who may miss another six months recovering from bone stress reactions in both feet.
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