The 2008 AFL draft consisted of four opportunities for player acquisitions during the 2008/09 Australian Football League off-season. These were trade week (held between 6 October and 10 October), the national draft (held on 29 November), the pre-season draft (16 December) and the rookie draft (16 December).2008 Key Dates It was considered to be the last uncompromised draft before the draft concessions given to the and expansion teams restrict the existing AFL clubs' access to the best young players in the future years drafts.Gough, Paul; Lovett, O'Keefe the big prizes ; Sportal; 6 October 2008
Player changes Trades Throughout the year there was much speculation about high-profile players such as Jonathan Brown, Alan Didak and Daniel Kerr being likely to be traded during the AFL's annual trading period, but each re-signed with their clubs before the trading period started. The main discussions during trade week were the surprise request by Ryan O'Keefe to be traded from Sydney, as well as the destination of young Fremantle ruckman Robert Warnock, both of whom wished to be traded back to their home city of Melbourne. Other players to request trades include Andrew Lovett, Brent Prismall, Mark Seaby, Farren Ray, Josh Carr and Daniel Harris.
North Melbourne surprised many early in the week by naming Hamish McIntosh and Corey Jones as players available to trade, with McIntosh later being withdrawn from the offer after a backlash from his manager and club legend Glenn Archer.
Like most years, no trades were completed during the first three days of the trade week and for the first time the AFL was requested to assist by providing a mediator to solve the stand-off between Fremantle and Carlton over the Warnock deal. Carlton had offered its second round selection, #24 overall, but Fremantle wanted its first round selection, the sixth overall. On the final day of trade week Warnock was traded. The deal included Fremantle's pick No. 69, in exchange for Carlton's picks 24, 56 and 72.
In total only six trades were completed, with O'Keefe, Lovett, Seaby, Carr and Harris unable to finalise deals during the week. The low number of completed trades prompted calls by the AFLPA for a form of free agency to be introduced, although it could be explained as a one-off event due to a combination of the high regard for the players available in year's draft and the impending concessions to be given to the expansion teams, and in the coming years.
PlayerOriginal clubNew clubTraded forAdam Thomson draft pick #42Rhyce Shaw and draft pick #61 draft pick #46 Anthony Corrie draft pick #93 Farren Ray and draft pick #48 draft pick #31 Brent Prismall draft pick #39 Robert Warnock and draft pick #69 draft pick #24, #56 and #72
Retirements and delistings Name Club Date Retired Reason Beau McDonald 14 February Retired due to ongoing injury Danny Jacobs 12 March Retired due to a hip injury. Hugh Minson 9 April Retired due to knee problems.David Neitz19 May Retired due to neck problems. Matthew Carr 19 May Retired due to leg problems. Michael Braun 7 July (finished season) Retired Peter Bell 7 July Retired Andrew McDougall 17 July Retired Shaun McManus 29 July Retired Michael Wilson 5 August Retired due to ongoing injury. Robert Harvey 6 August (finished season) Retired Heath Black 6 August Retired due to ongoing injury Mal Michael 15 August (finished season) Retired Rhett Biglands 18 August Retired due to knee injury Nigel Lappin 19 August Retired due to an achilles injury . Mark Johnson 20 August (finished season) Retired Jason Johnson 25 August Retired Adam Ramanauskas 25 August Retired Shannon Grant 26 August (finished season) Retired Luke Webster 27 August Retired Nathan Bassett 27 August (finished season) Retired due to health concerns. Ben Holland 30 August Retired Jeff Farmer 2 September Retired Nathan Ablett 2 September Retired Ben Mathews 2 September Retired Jess Sinclair 10 September Retired Peter Everitt 12 September Retired Fraser Gehrig 13 September Retired Ryan Lonie 15 September Retired due to ongoing injury Shane Wakelin 15 September Retired Nathan Thompson 19 September Retired Scott Burns 22 September Retired Ken McGregor 30 September Retired Jason Saddington 13 October Retired Shane Crawford 8 November Retired Courtney Johns 15 AugustDelisted Damien Peverill 25 AugustDelisted Jeff White 26 AugustDelisted Adem Yze 26 AugustDelisted Greg Tivendale 28 AugustDelisted Ryley Dunn 3 SeptemberDelisted Steven Armstrong 4 SeptemberDelisted Chad Jones 4 SeptemberDelisted James Thomson 4 SeptemberDelisted Jace Bode 4 SeptemberDelisted Isaac Weetra 4 SeptemberDelisted Robert Copeland 19 SeptemberDelisted Chris Schmidt 19 SeptemberDelisted Wayde Mills 19 SeptemberDelisted Haydn Kiel 19 SeptemberDelisted Brodie Holland 23 SeptemberDelisted Chris Egan 23 SeptemberDelisted Sam Iles 23 SeptemberDelisted Scott West 23 SeptemberDelisted Peter Street 23 SeptemberDelisted Nick Davis 12 OctoberDelisted Liam Bedford 15 OctoberDelisted Jason Davenport 15 OctoberDelisted Chris Kangars 15 OctoberDelisted Tim Clarke 16 OctoberDelisted Zac Dawson 16 OctoberDelisted Luke McEntee 16 OctoberDelisted Garry Moss 16 OctoberDelisted Jayden Attard 22 OctoberDelisted Matthew Ferguson 22 OctoberDelisted Michael Rix 22 OctoberDelisted Shane Birss 22 OctoberDelisted Charlie Gardiner 22 OctoberDelisted Glenn Chivers 22 OctoberDelisted Luke Van Rheenen 22 OctoberDelisted Aaron Fiora 31 OctoberDelisted Chris Johnson 31 OctoberDelisted
2008 national draft The 2008 national draft was held on 29 November. Melbourne finished the 2008 AFL season in last position and had the first selection in the draft. As both Melbourne and West Coast Eagles won less than 5 games during the season, they were eligible for a priority pick. As this was the first year in which they qualified, the priority pick was allocated between the first and second rounds of selections.
Ayce Cordy was the first player selected in the draft as the only father–son selection. The Western Bulldogs had to use their 1st round selection, #14, to secure him after St Kilda bid their #1st round selection for him. His father, Brian, played 124 games for the Bulldogs in the 1980s.
The top two selections were widely tipped to be Jack Watts and Nic Naitanui, with Daniel Rich, Ty Vickery, Stephen Hill, Chris Yarran and Hamish Hartlett to fill the next few selections.
Round Pick Player Recruited from League Club 1 1 Jack Watts Sandringham Dragons TAC Cup 1 2Nic Naitanui Swan Districts WAFL 1 3 Stephen Hill West Perth WAFL 1 4 Hamish Hartlett West Adelaide SANFL 1 5Michael Hurley Northern Knights TAC Cup 1 6 Chris Yarran Swan Districts WAFL 1 7Daniel Rich x Subiaco WAFL 1 8 Ty Vickery Sandringham Dragons TAC Cup 1 9 Jack Ziebell Murray Bushrangers TAC Cup 1 10 Phil Davis North Adelaide SANFL 1 11 Steele Sidebottom Murray Bushrangers TAC Cup 1 12 Lewis Johnston North Adelaide SANFL 1 13 Tom Lynch Sandringham Dragons TAC Cup 1 14 (F/S) Ayce Cordy Geelong Falcons TAC Cup 1 15 Mitchell Brown Sandringham Dragons TAC Cup 1 16Ryan Schoenmakers Norwood SANFL Priority 17 Sam Blease Eastern Ranges TAC Cup Priority 18Luke Shuey Oakleigh Chargers TAC Cup 2 19 James Strauss Oakleigh Chargers TAC Cup 2 20 Tom Swift Claremont WAFL 2 21Hayden Ballantyne Peel Thunder WAFL 2 22 Jackson Trengove Calder Cannons TAC Cup 2 23 David Zaharakis Northern Knights TAC Cup 2 24 Nick Suban North Ballarat Rebels TAC Cup 2 25Jack Redden Glenelg SANFL 2 26 Jayden Post Western Jets TAC Cup 2 27 Sam Wright Murray Bushrangers TAC Cup 2 28 Shaun McKernan Calder Cannons TAC Cup 2 29Dayne Beams Southport QAFL 2 30Dan Hannebery Oakleigh Chargers TAC Cup 2 31Jordan Roughead North Ballarat Rebels TAC Cup 2 32 Liam Jones North Hobart TFL 2 33 Tom Gillies Dandenong Stringrays TAC Cup 2 34Liam Shiels Eastern Ranges TAC Cup 3 35 Jamie Bennell Swan Districts WAFL 3 36 Ashley Smith Dandenong Stingrays TAC Cup 3 37 Zac Clarke Oakleigh Chargers TAC Cup 3 38 Matthew Broadbent Woodville-West Torrens SANFL 3 39 Steven Motlop Wanderers NTFL 3 40 Mitch Robinson Tasmanian Devils VFL 3 41 Todd Banfield Swan Districts WAFL 3 42 Mitch Banner Western Jets TAC Cup 3 43 Liam Anthony East Fremantle WAFL 3 44Rory Sloane Eastern Ranges TAC Cup 3 45 Jarrad Blight Swan Districts WAFL 3 46 Luke Rounds Geelong Falcons TAC Cup 3 47 Rhys Stanley West Adelaide SANFL 3 48 Nicholas Heyne Gippsland Power TAC Cup 3 49 Taylor Hunt Sandringham Dragons TAC Cup 3 50 Jordan Lisle Oakleigh Chargers TAC Cup 4 51 Neville Jetta Swan Districts WAFL 4 52 Jordan Jones Geelong Falcons TAC Cup 4 53Michael Walters Swan Districts WAFL 4 54 Jarrad Redden Woodville-West Torrens SANFL 4 55 Michael Still Northern Knights TAC Cup 4 56 Ben Bucovaz Geelong Falcons TAC Cup 4 57 Aaron Cornelius Tasmanian Devils VFL 4 58 Tom Hislop Essendon AFL 4 59 Nathan O'Keefe Eastern Ranges TAC Cup 4 60 Tom Lee Claremont WAFL 4 61 Campbell Heath Gippsland Power TAC Cup 4 62 Alistair Smith Perth WAFL 4 63 Luke Lowden Sandringham Dragons TAC Cup 5 64 Rohan Bail Mount Gravatt QAFL 5 65 Rhys O'Keeffe North Adelaide SANFL 5 66 Glenn Dawson Woodville-West Torrens SANFL 5 67 Tyson Slattery West Adelaide SANFL 5 68 Tim Ruffles North Ballarat Rebels TAC Cup 5 69 Bart McCulloch South Launceston TFL 5 70 Pass 5 71 Warren Benjamin Claremont WAFL 5 72 Will Young North Ballarat Rebels TAC Cup 5 73 Leigh Brown North Melbourne AFL 5 74 Paul Cahill Sturt SANFL 5 75 Shane Savage Dandenong Stingrays TAC Cup 6 76 Pass 6 77 Chris Hall Woodville-West Torrens SANFL 6 78 Jason Davenport Geelong AFL 6 79 Pass 6 80 Caleb Tiller Murray Bushrangers TAC Cup 6 81 Kieran King East Fremantle WAFL 6 82 Pass 6 83 Colm Begley Brisbane Lions AFL 7 84 Pass 7 85 Pass
2009 pre-season draft The pre-season draft was held on 16 December 2008 (but is referred to as the 2009 pre-season draft in continuation from the early years of the AFL draft when it was held in January or February) and most pre-draft interest was on whether or not former West Coast Eagles captain and Brownlow Medal winner Ben Cousins would be selected by the Richmond Football Club. Richmond, the only club to show interest in recruiting Cousins, had one selection in the pre-season draft (because it had only one space left on its senior list). In the week leading up to the pre-season draft, Richmond requested to have Graham Polak (who had been hit by a tram the previous season, with it not clear at this stage whether or not the resulting injuries would end his career) moved to the rookie list, to free up an additional list space and give them a second selection in the pre-season draft. The request was similar to one made by and granted to the Essendon Football Club a few years earlier with respect to Adam Ramanauskas, but there were key differences which led to Richmond's request being rejected by the AFL and a majority of rival clubs on 15 December.Ben Cousins denied AFL return; 15 December 2008 Although Richmond had maintained throughout the previous week that it would draft Cousins only if its request to put Polak on the rookie list was granted, they selected Cousins anyway with their only selection in the pre-season draft. Josh Carr's return to Port Adelaide was the other major player move.2009 NAB AFL Pre-Season and rookie drafts
Round Pick Player Recruited from League Club 1 1 Liam Jurrah Yuendumu CAFL 1 2 Josh Carr AFL 1 3Hayden SkipworthBendigo Bombers VFL 1 4 Chris Johnson AFL 1 5Tom RockliffMurray Bushrangers TAC Cup 1 6 Ben Cousins West Coast Eagles AFL
2009 rookie draft Due to the expansion in the number of rookie places available for clubs to use - from the previous maximum of six players to the maximum of eight rookies and veteran listed players combined - the 2009 rookie draft featured more selections than usual.