Did your club achieve its goals?

Adelaide
After stocking up on talls at the 2008 NAB AFL Draft, the Crows have visited the land of the giants once again with all four of their 'live' picks over 190cm tall. In an indication of his delight, recruiting manager Matt Rendell wasted no time calling Daniel Talia's name when the versatile big man unexpectedly slipped past Melbourne and Carlton. Such a heavy emphasis on height two years running is perhaps a little surprising, but the club certainly needn't worry about its key position stocks for a long time. They will be delighted local ruck-forward James Craig was still on the board when their fourth-round selection came around.

Brisbane Lions
The Lions swung one of the surprises of the draft when they picked Matt Maguire with pick 91, stopping Carlton from taking him in the NAB AFL Pre-Season Draft. The Lions also grabbed midfielders with their first three picks. Callum Bartlett was one of the most intriguing prospects in the draft, having spent all year out after  a knee reconstruction. The Lions had to wait until pick 27 to take the quick, goalkicking onballer, who loomed as a possible first-round selection despite the season-ending injury. Tassie clearance specialist Ryan Harwood has been brought in to help out at the coalface while SA lad Jesse O'Brien is a dasher who can break the lines.

Carlton
Most had the Blues dialed into a key-position prospect in the first round, but when the sublimely-skilled Kane Lucas fell to them at 12 they couldn't resist adding the Sandgroper with the big tank to their midfield mix. That decision may have been different if they had have known the Lions would steal Maguire away from them late, but it's hard to argue against the pick regardless. It turned out to be a midfielder's draft for the Blues, who also added Marcus Davies and Rohan Kerr, although to be fair Kerr is more of a half-forward who can run through the middle.

Collingwood
The Pies got their man, eventually, after they found Luke Ball waiting for them at pick 30. The inside midfielder theme continued with the selection of Ben Sinclair and Josh Thomas, with the latter spurning the Gold Coast for a chance to play in black and white. With Marty Clarke and Shannon Cox departing, they also added a player they feel can plug straight in and play next year in former Dee Simon Buckley.

Essendon
On the face of it, the Bombers looked to have a really nicely-balanced draft. Midfielder Jake Melksham has definite star qualities after taking out the medal for best on ground in the TAC Cup Grand Final, while Jake Carlisle was one of the more sought-after talls in the draft and will surely get plenty of opportunities as the Dons look to recast their forward line without Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas. Travis Colyer is an All-Australian midfielder who fits Matthew Knights' need for speed in light of Andrew Lovett's departure. Perhaps most pleasing for the Essendon faithful is the continuation of the Long name at Windy Hill with Michael's nephew Anthony taken at 33.

Fremantle
Freo went into the draft with needs across most lines and they certainly ticked plenty of boxes. They went local with their first three picks, with livewire winger Anthony Morabito at four the jewel in the crown. Nat Fyfe and Joel Houghton are small and tall forwards who can add something to Fremantle's forward line almost straight away, while Dylan Roberton is a good decision maker across half-back.

Geelong
The Cats entered this draft with a focus on snaring a range of youthful talent given their relatively even current list. They've stocked up with a "little bit of everything", according to recruiting manager Stephen Wells, with two strong versatile types (Daniel Menzel and Mitchell Duncan), a small and skilful midfielder (Allen Christensen), a ruckman (Nathan Vardy) and a winger with senior experience (Josh Cowan). They also elevated half-back Jeremy Laidler. Given where the Cats list is at, their intake will give them developing options for years to come. 

Hawthorn
The Hawks were never going to have an easy night of it, having traded away their early picks, but they'll be happy to have bolstered their depleted ruck stocks with Northern Knights big man Sam Grimley. They also chose to take a punt on talented, but sometimes wayward, small forward Rhan Hooper who could form an interesting combination with Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead, Cyril Rioli and co. if they can keep him on track. They have big plans for East Perth defender Ben Stratton, whose versatility could prove a big bonus down back.

Melbourne
Not satisfied to add two blue-ribbon midfielders in Tom Scully and Jack Trengove with the first two picks of the draft, the Dees went looking for more depth through the middle. Jordan Gysberts and Croweater Luke Tapscott have big wraps on them, and with those four players alone the Demons could have the nucleus of their onball brigade for years to come. After that they were free to address some pressing needs in the tall department and did so with gigantic ruckman Max Gawn and Western Jets ruck prospect Jack Fitzpatrick. 

North Melbourne
The rebuilding Kangaroos were predictable snaring midfielders and forwards. As expected Ben Cunnington was snapped up with selection No.5, with his recruitment soon complemented by the acquisition of fellow Victorian and midfielder Ryan Bastinac at pick 21. North's only interstate pick-up came at No.25 when they invited West Australian Aaron Black to Arden Street, and then it was back to home-grown heads and midfielders at selection 37 when they selected Scotch College's Jamie Macmillan. Goalkicking pair Ayden Kennedy and Brayden Norris completed their young swag, with the elevation of Cruize Garlett with selection 80 rounding out their evening.

Port Adelaide
With only three live picks within the top 16, the Power were free to pursue dinner plans after the first round. They wasted no time in securing three players who will set them up well in years to come. Highly-rated forward John Butcher was their first option, and even then they considered the former Gippsland Power player a "steal" at selection eight. They surprised Essendon when they shunned Jake Melksham in favour of Eastern Ranges midfielder Andrew Moore with the following pick. Then, just in case the backline felt left out, they directed selection No.16 towards defender Jasper McMillan-Pittard. The elevation of rookies Daniel Stewart and Wade Thompson used up their last two picks, No.82 and No.88.

Richmond
With a league-high 10 picks, the Tigers could afford to be a little speculative after securing can't-miss prospect Dustin Martin at three, and they did just that when they punted on injury-prone forward Ben Griffiths. A true power forward, Griffiths could prove a steal if they can get him right. They continued to prepare for life without Matthew Richardson inside forward 50 with their next pick, David Astbury, another tall forward who finished in the top 10 in the kicking test at the NAB AFL Draft Camp. Matthew Dea, Troy Taylor and Ben Nason are also forwards Damien Hardwick can begin to mould next year.

St Kilda
Given the Saints were so close to tasting premiership success this year, they were keen to revisit the experienced player avenue in their attempt to be a serious contender again in 2010. Their first pick secured running half-back Nicholas Winmar, the nephew of club legend Nicky. Then they locked in two tried and tested players in Jesse Smith and Adam Pattison. They believe they can fix Smith's body and will benefit from an experienced ruckman in the former Tiger. The "Matthew Egan-like" Will Johnson is their other acquisition, who could play next year and fits soundly into their immediate plans. Zac Dawson and Luke Miles also earned rookie promotion.

Sydney Swans
The Swans look to have added a healthy serving of excitement to their mix with their latest draft class. First rounders Gary Rohan and Lewis Jetta have caught the eye of recruiters all year and could be anything. Rohan has come from the clouds with his performances at the Under-18 championships and for the Falcons and looks set to thrill crowds at the SCG for years to come. Byron Sumner and Trent Dennis-Lane both have plenty of toe while Sam Reid from the Murray Bushrangers is an intriguing prospect across half-back at 194cm.

West Coast
The Eagles were aiming for quality over quantity with just three picks and they look to have done pretty nicely for themselves with three prospects who could all play a bit next year. Having decided against Lewis Jetta at seven they turned to another local in Brad Sheppard, who looks like he can slot straight into the senior line-up from round one. Small forward Gerrick Weedon, another local, has all the attributes to become a key part of John Worsfold's 'work-in-progress' attack. Gippsland midfielder Koby Stevens is as hard as they come and will be a nice complement to the likes of Daniel Kerr, Matt Priddis and Chris Masten.

Western Bulldogs
Having stashed away a whole school of tall options over the past two years, the Dogs were simply looking for the best available talent with a slight bias towards defenders this year. They pulled the first unexpected move at pick 15 when they recruited the precise and pacy left-footer Christian Howard. They scored a similar type player in Canberra's Jason Tutt next, before surprising again with the little-known mature-aged Lukas Markovic as the ready-made backman they were keen for. Indigenous talent Shane Thorne completed the package as a 23-year-old x-factor player from their adopted home Darwin. Liam Picken and defender James Mulligan were promoted to the primary list.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.