The Geelong Cats haven’t headlined a National Draft for quite some time now but have managed to draft successfully for several years, quietly scooping up an elite crop of talent in the latter stages of the draft.
Their recent hauls include budding defensive star Connor O’Sullivan, exhilarating speedster Ollie Dempsey and emerging half-back Lawson Humphries, all three of which starred in the club’s September campaign, and were arguably Geelong’s best three in the grand final loss.
Recruiting Manager Stephen Wells is hopeful to repeat the success of that trio in this year’s National Draft, as Geelong hold a first-round selection for the first time since 2023.
While many teams opt to select the best available talent in the first round, Wells inclined that the Cats would play their cards differently, looking to plug holes in their “well-balanced” list as the club looks to avenge their grand final loss.
“The main thing we’re trying to achieve with the draft is bring in players that complement the group that we’ve already got and also complement the recent draftees,” Wells said to Cats Media.
“We’ve had the two or three years of young players that are helping the team right now, and others will help the team in the future. There’s going to be options for us in all sorts of different positions.
“Fortunately, we think our list is well balanced, not only age-wise but experience and positionally. We’re confident we can go to the draft and see who is left and available at our picks and pick players that we think are going to complement the whole group.”
Wells also suggested that the Cats are open to trading their draft picks and won’t be steadfast on their plan with the draft an ever-evolving night with bidding and a plethora of pick swaps expected.
“We have to adapt a lot more these days than we have the past. There’s a few rule changes that impact clubs now,” Well said.
Geelong Cats legend Joel Selwood with new recruit Connor O’Sullivan at the 2023 AFL Draft (Image via Geelong Cats)
“The main one for draft night is the trading of picks. In the past, we’d go to the draft with the picks that we have and know that there’d be a group of players that are probably around those picks that we’d consider.
“These days we have to prepare as if we’re going to trade our picks… and we’re certainly preparing for other clubs trading up in front of us as well.”
Read up on Geelong’s draft blueprint here, including potential targets, list needs and their current draft hand.