Eagles, Power and Bombers to shape the draft

WEST Coast, Port Adelaide and Essendon are set to shape the first round and top 25 of Thursday's NAB AFL Draft.

The top six players appear to be locked in, although there is still a chance the order could change.

Melbourne will take Tom Scully (Dandenong Stingrays) and Jack Trengove (Sturt) with the first two picks and Richmond is committed to Dustin Martin (Bendigo Pioneers).

Expect Fremantle to stick to home-grown talent Anthony Morabito (Peel Thunder) and North Melbourne to claim Ben Cunnington, ahead of his Geelong Falcon teammate Gary Rohan, who will become a Swan.

But it is West Coast's first pick at No.7, which will dictate at least the rest of the first round.

It is leaning towards local boy Brad Sheppard now, ahead of a couple of Western Australian products Kane Lucas and Lewis Jetta. But if West Coast does opt for Lucas or Jetta, the scenarios will be quite different.

If the Eagles opt for Lucas, Sheppard and Jetta are expected to be taken much later in the first round.

The Power has consecutive picks at No.8 and No.9, which will also have an influence.

Port Adelaide is expected to select Gippsland's John Butcher and one of Kane Lucas (East Fremantle) and Jake Melksham (Calder Cannons).

This will create an interesting situation at the Bombers with Lucas, Melksham, Andrew Moore (Eastern Ranges) and Koby Stevens (Gippsland Power) all in the mix.

This will  mean a handful of players touted as first-rounders will potentially slip into the 20s.

With Melbourne, Port Adelaide and Sydney Swans having nine of the first 18 selections, their influence will also be telling. Expect that group to go with some 'needs' picks.

The sliders from 18 to 25 could include Stevens, Luke Tapscott (North Adelaide), Ryan Bastinac (Dandenong Stingrays), Jake Carlisle (Calder Cannons) and Nathan Vardy (Gippsland Power).

Log on to afl.com.au on D-day, Thursday, November 26, for the most comprehensive coverage of the 2009 NAB AFL Draft. We’ll have live chats, live audio streams, in-depth player profiles, club reaction and our famous afl.com.au Draft Tracker.