The Western Bulldogs shape as winners in the AFL national draft, with an unexpected slider and another player they feel slipped under the radar complementing their early picks.
There were no major surprises when the Dogs, who already had father-son pick Lachie Hunter locked in at selection No.49, pounced on tough, highly-rated key forward Jake Stringer at No.5 and creative midfielder Jackson Macrae at No.6.
Stringer took some thought after sitting out 2011 with a broken leg, but the Dogs are confident that won't cause future issues.
But it was lower in the draft order where they found some potential bargains.
They snared tenacious inside midfielder Nathan Hrovat at No.21, after it had been tipped the 175cm Victorian could be taken by North Melbourne six spots earlier.
"We were sweating on that one, it's fair to say," Dogs list manager Jason McCartney told AAP.
He believes inside information helped them again get value later, taking another strong contested midfielder Josh Prudden at No.50.
Prudden captained the team at renowned Victorian football breeding ground Assumption College, coached by former Bulldog Brownlow medallist Scott Wynd, whose information helped the Dogs.
"We knew probably too many mightn't have been onto him," McCartney said.
Greater Western Sydney, who had the first three picks and six of the first 27, were an obvious winner, snaring hard-running, sweet-kicking midfielder Lachie Whitfield as a stand-out No.1.
After taking another midfielder, Jonathan O'Rourke, their remaining four selections ranged from 192-198cm, with list manager Stephen Silvagni saying they had been keen to bolster key position depth.
Melbourne were delighted GWS let line-breaking South Australian midfielder Jimmy Toumpas slip to No.4.
That meant tough-tackling, big-bodied Victorian midfielder Oliver Wines thrilled Port Adelaide by falling to No.7.
Carlton believe they landed a gem, freakishly talented 186cm forward Troy Menzel, the brother of Geelong's Daniel, at No.11.
The Blues are prepared for him to need a traditional knee reconstruction at some stage of his career, after having a LARS reconstruction at age 16.
Collingwood were excited the draft's top-rated ruckman, aggressive 202cm South Australian Brodie Grundy, reached them at pick No.18.
Even Adelaide, who sat out the early rounds as they await expected salary cap-related sanctions, received a surprise when 194cm Tasmanian key position prospect Sam Siggins was still there at No.62.
The Crows had been desperate for a decent tall, having lost Nathan Bock and Phil Davis in recent years, with Kurt Tippett also leaving and said there were not that many they rated highly.
"Sam was one of them so we're rapt," Crows list manager David Noble said.
AAP
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