Leading up to the AFL National Draft, we will look at the top 10 picks from then – going back 25 years, 20 years, 15 years, 10 years and five years.
In the first edition of this series – we look back 25 years ago to the 1996 National Draft.
It was the first draft to feature Port Adelaide, about to join the competition in 1997 and many Fitzroy players that didn’t get picked up by Brisbane after the merger.
The class of ’96 featured some serious talent such was Warren Tredrea, Byron Pickett, Peter Burgoyne, Nathan Brown, Russell Robinson who was taken as a rookie based on a video seen on The Footy Show’s Almost Footy Legends, Shane Woewodin and Cameron Mooney just to name a few.
We take a look at the top 10 picks from the 1996 National Draft and how those selections fared for their respective clubs
PICK 1 (West Coast) – Michael Gardiner
FROM: Claremont (WAFL)
GAMES PLAYED FOR CLUB: 129
Gardiner made his debut in the 1997 season and became the Eagles’ first-choice ruckman within three years.
He would be named All-Australian in 2003 but missed most of 2004 with an injury.
His time at West Coast was marred by off-field controversies and was traded to the Saints in 2006.
Arguably, the most iconic moment of his career was his game-saving mark in the iconic Round 14, 2009 St Kilda v Geelong blockbuster.
Unfortunately, Michael Gardiner can lay claim to playing in three losing Grand Finals – one for West Coast (2005) and two for St Kilda (2009, 2010).
But he can also lay claim to having won the Ross Glendinning Medal in 2003 when the man who the medal was named after, ignored the judges votes.
He would retire at the end of the 2011 season.
PICK 2 (Essendon) – Chris Heffernan
FROM: Geelong (U18)
GAMES PLAYED FOR CLUB: 123
A favourite amongst Bomber fans, Chris Heffernan was a staple in their dominant 2000 premiership winning season.
In 2002, Heffernan would be subject to the Bombers salary cap pressures and was traded to Melbourne only three months after signing a new contract.
This resulted in the AFLPA introducing the Heffernan Clause into the players CBA, which prevented players being traded less than 12 months into a contract.
His time at the Dees lasted three seasons, but managed to get back to Essendon in 2006 to finish his career.
PICK 3 (Brisbane) – Rory Hilton
FROM: Murray (U18)
GAMES PLAYED FOR CLUB: 9
Hilton was picked up by the then newly formed Brisbane Lions as a quality key-positon player but was recovering from an ACL injury, resulting in him missing the 1997 season.
He would only play nine games for the Lions before requesting a trade at the end of 1998, wanting to go home, joining Richmond where he would play a further 82 games over seven seasons.
PICK 4 (Sydney) – Mark Kinnear
FROM: Calder Cannons
GAMES PLAYED FOR CLUB: 6
Kinnear was just 17 when he made his senior debut for the Swans, playing three games in 1997 and another three games in 1998.
He would be traded to Collingwood in 1999, but failed to play a game for the Magpies.
Six more games than most readers of this blog will ever play.
PICK 5 (Essendon) – Daniel McAlister
FROM: Tassie Mariners
GAMES PLAYED FOR CLUB: 6
One of only a few Maori Australians to play in the AFL, the Kiwi born McAlister would play just six games in three seasons between 1997-2002.
McAlister was initially delisted after just two games, but the Bombers picked him up again in the 2001 AFL draft at pick 64, however he was delisted again at the end of 2002.
PICK 6 (Port Adelaide) – John Rombotis
FROM: Fitzroy
GAMES PLAYED FOR CLUB: 9
Rombotis didn’t make it to the Gabba when the Roys merged with the Bears in 1996, and was taken by the newly formed Port Power as the sixth pick in the 1996 draft.
Failing to make an impact at the Power, he was traded to Richmond at the end of 1997 with Chris Nash joining the Power.
PICK 7 (Port Adelaide) – Bowen Lockwood
FROM: Geelong U18
GAMES PLAYED FOR CLUB – 50
Lockwood earned a rising star nomination in his debut season, but a training incident in 1999 where he crashed into a teammate resulting in a bulging disc injury saw him struggle for the remainder of his career.
He retired in 2002.
PICK 8 (Geelong) – Leigh Brockman
FROM: Tassie Mariners
GAMES PLAYED FOR CLUB – 2
Brockman arrived at the Cats at pick eight but only managed two games for the club with constant injury struggles.
The Cats delisted him, only for Brockman to be rookie listed by the Swans where he would play 10 games in red and white.
PICK 9 (Port Adelaide) – Mark Harwood
FROM: Tassie Mariners
GAMES PLAYED FOR CLUB: 30
Harwood was the third top-10 pick for Port in 1996.
He didn’t play a game in 1997, but managed 30 for the Power from 1998-2001 with injury struggles getting the better of his AFL career.
PICK 10 (Western Bulldogs) – Nathan Brown
FROM: Bendigo U18
GAMES PLAYED FOR CLUB: 137
In his time at the Bulldogs from 1997 to 2003, Brown made a name for himself as a dangerous medium-sized forward and had the long blonde locks in his early years.
When the Bulldogs asked for their high profile players to take a paycut, Brown opted to move to Richmond.
In the beginning of the 2005 season, Brown was producing some of the best individual performances by any player and winning games off his own boot for Richmond, only to break his leg against the Dees in Round 10 of that year.
His form was never the same after that.