The Peter Jackson VFL enjoyed its best NAB AFL Draft night since 2006, with four players selected by AFL clubs tonight.
Back in 2006 five VFL players were recruited including the likes of Aaron Edwards and Mitch Thorp, but the class of 2015 needed to wait till late in the draft to hear their names read out.
VFL fans waited patiently till pick 54 for the selection of Sandringham’s Mitch Brown, but it would be the first of four selections in the final 17 picks in the draft.
Brown heads to the Bombers after spending the preseason and early NAB Challenge with the club after being delisted by Geelong at the end of 2014. His NAB Challenge form sparked interest from a number of AFL clubs, and it was not a surprise to hear his name read out on draft night, with the VFL Team of the Year player impressing up forward and in defense for the Zebras this year.
He will be joined by Coburg defender Michael Hartley who will also get his second chance at AFL level after being a Collingwood rookie previously. The Lion defender was also a Team of the year selection and tied for the Coburg best and fairest with Daniel Venditti.
Box Hill Hawk defender Sam Collins will be hoping to boost the Fremantle backline, picked at selection 55 in the draft. The 194cm 21-year-old played 19 games for the Hawks in his third season at the club, recruited from the Oakleigh Chargers/Donvale.
The surprise of the VFL selections would have to be Rupert Wills, snapped up by Collingwood from their VFL team at pick 63. The 22-year old 191cm midfielder played just the six games for the VFL Magpies in 2015, recruited from Old Scotch.
Attention now turns to the preseason and rookie draft on Friday, with a number of VFL players still in the mix to receive and AFL opportunity.
Pick |
Players Name |
VFL CLUB |
AFL CLUB |
54 |
Mitch Brown |
Sandringham |
Essendon |
55 |
Sam Collins |
Box Hill Hawks |
Fremantle |
63 |
Rupert Wills |
Collingwood VFL |
Collingwood |
68 |
Michael Hartley |
Coburg |
Essendon |
Last Modified on 24/11/2015 23:14