# 1991 AFL draft

The 1991 AFL draft is the annual draft of talented players by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League. It consisted of the main national draft, the pre-season draft and the trade period.
In 1991 there were 89 picks to be drafted between 15 teams in the main national draft.

## History

When the competition was known as the Victorian Football League (VFL), the league introduced the first incarnation of a draft system in 1981, where teams had two selections each of interstate players determined by reverse finishing position order. This was introduced as an equalisation strategy in response to the increasing transfer fees and player salaries at the time, which in combination with declining attendances, threatened to derail the league. It was also a result of the failure of country zoning, introduced in the late 1960s, which had led to a systematic inequality whereby the clubs with the best zones, like Carlton and Hawthorn, could dominate over clubs with poorer zones like Melbourne.
In 1986, the first VFL draft was held. The draft saw players tied to zones based on their location of residence, with each club having first call on players falling within that zone. The West Coast Eagles received access to all West Australian players, while the Brisbane Bears received six concessionary picks before the other clubs.

## Draft rules

The minimum draft age was 16. Clubs were allowed to select only one WA player each and South Australia was off-limits because of the introduction of Adelaide. Players in Queensland and NSW/ACT could only be selected by clubs other than the Brisbane Bears and Sydney Swans respectively, if the player was older than 19 and not required by the 'local' club. Faced with these restrictions the league reduced the number of choices from eight to six. In exchange for the SA moratorium, the Crows were excluded from the draft (they could pick any South Australian, but only South Australians).

## Background

The talent pool was clearly shallow and most clubs shied away from investing too much hope in the draft. A number of the Victorian clubs, notably Richmond and Fitzroy, couldn't afford to recruit established players so stuck with country footballers and young unproven youngsters. Clubs were believed to be looking to Tasmania as perhaps the only recruiting ground which hadn't been ravaged. The Under-19's competition was still in operation and clubs had only to list players who had been drafted, and those over the age of 19. Essendon and North Melbourne at this point for example had very talented reserves sides drawn from their metropolitan zones (these zones would later provide the basis for the Northern Knights Under-18 teams).

## Pre-draft picks

| # | Player | Recruited by | Recruited from | Games with new team |
| 1 | Jason Ball | West Coast | Swan Districts (WAFL) | 103 |

## Pre-draft trades

| Player | Recruited by | Recruited from | Games played with club |
| Colin Alexander | Brisbane | Collingwood | 5 |
| Russell Jeffrey | Brisbane | St Kilda | 8 |
| Rod Owen | Brisbane | Melbourne | 9 |
| Brendon Retzlaff | Brisbane | Collingwood | 15 |
| Ron De Iulio | Carlton | North Melbourne | 104 |
| Earl Spalding | Carlton | Melbourne | 102 |
| Greg Williams | Carlton | Sydney | 109 |
| Brad Hardie | Collingwood | Brisbane | 2 |
| Gary Pert | Collingwood | Fitzroy | 70 |
| Brad Rowe | Collingwood | Brisbane | 51 |
| Tony Woods | Collingwood | Fitzroy | 18 |
| Sean Denham | Essendon | Geelong | 142 |
| Russell Evans | Essendon | North Melbourne | 0 |
| Shane Strempel | Essendon | Brisbane | 0 |
| Paul Abbott | Fitzroy | Hawthorn | 26 |
| Brad Boyd | Fitzroy | Collingwood | 70 |
| Dale Fleming | Fitzroy | Hawthorn | 13 |
| Ashley Matthews | Fitzroy | Carlton | 6 |
| Peter Sartori | Fitzroy | Carlton | 23 |
| Tony Campbell | Footscray | Melbourne | 35 |
| Darren Morgan | Footscray | Sydney | 0 |
| Ricky Jackson | Footscray | Melbourne | 0 |
| Bernard Toohey | Footscray | Sydney | 40 |
| John Barnes | Geelong | Essendon | 144 |
| Colin Gasden | Geelong | North Melbourne | 0 |
| John McNamara | Geelong | North Melbourne | 0 |
| Geoff Miles | Geelong | West Coast | 20 |
| Jason Taylor | Hawthorn | Fitzroy | 80 |
| Michael Pickering | Melbourne | Richmond | 015 |
| Tim Bourke | North Melbourne | Geelong | 0 |
| Richard Dennis | North Melbourne | Carlton | 13 |
| Stevan Jackson | Richmond | West Coast | 21 |
| Steven O'Dwyer | Richmond | Melbourne | 5 |
| Todd Breman | Richmond | West Coast | 25 |
| Craig O'Brien | St Kilda | Essendon | 52 |
| Adrian Fletcher | St Kilda | Geelong | 22 |
| Darren Flanigan | St Kilda | Geelong | 8 |
| Lawrence Bingham | St Kilda | Hawthorn | 22 |
| Darren Kappler | Sydney | Fitzroy | 59 |
| Gavin Rose | Sydney | Collingwood | 55 |
| Stuart Wigney | Sydney | Footscray | 1 |
| Simon Minton-Connell | Sydney | Carlton | 46 |
| Paul Gow | West Coast | Footscray | 0 |
| Paul Harding | West Coast | St Kilda | 43 |
| Trent Nichols | West Coast | Richmond | 4 |
| David Regan | West Coast | Richmond | 4 |

## 1991 mid-season draft

| Pick | Player | Recruited from | Recruited by |
| 1 | Ashley Byrne | Box Hill | Brisbane Lions |
| 2 | David Giles | Clarence | Fitzroy |
| 3 | Ernie Hug | Prahran | Sydney |
| 4 | Fraser Murphy | Carlton | Collingwood |
| 5 | Athas Hrysoulakis | Prahran | Richmond |
| 6 | Mark Naley | South Adelaide | Footscray |
| 7 | Brendan Parker | Tongala | Carlton |
| 8 | Michael Ryan | St Mary's | Hawthorn |
| 9 | Grant Williams | Sandy Bay | Melbourne |
| 10 | Stephen Zamykal | Williamstown | North Melbourne |
| 11 | Trevor Spencer | Melbourne | Geelong |
| 12 | Jason Briggs | Robinvale | St Kilda |
| 13 | David McMurray | Keilor | Essendon |
| 14 | Simon Kenny | Kedron Grange | Brisbane Lions |
| 15 | David Morrison | Melbourne | Fitzroy |
| 16 | Mark Stockdale | Traralgon | Sydney |
| 17 | Dean Strauch | Golden Square | Collingwood |
| 18 | Shane Fell | Glenorchy | Richmond |
| 19 | Paul Brown | Dandenong | Footscray |
| 20 | Trevor Robinson | Sturt | Carlton |
| 21 | Simon Palmer | Western Suburbs | Hawthorn |
| 22 | Stephen Wearne | Sandringham | Melbourne |
| 23 | Passed | N/A | North Melbourne |
| 24 | Steven Handley | Swan Districts | Geelong |
| 25 | Justin Pascoe | Whorouly | St Kilda |
| 26 | Rod Saunders | North Adelaide | Essendon |
| 27 | Peter Bennett | North Adelaide | Brisbane Lions |
| 28 | Alan Thorpe | Tatura | Fitzroy |
| 29 | Damian Hogan | Sale | Sydney |
| 30 | Passed | N/A | Collingwood |
| 31 | David Preston | Grovedale | Footscray |
| 32 | Passed | N/A | Carlton |
| 33 | Ross Hart | Golden Point | Hawthorn |
| 34 | Dean Smith | St Joseph's | Geelong |
| 35 | Passed | N/A | St Kilda |
| 36 | David Ryan | Terang | Brisbane Lions |
| 37 | Daryl Argus | Kyabram | Footscray |
| 38 | Passed | N/A | Carlton |
| 39 | Shaun Ballans | Lara | Hawthorn |
| 40 | Darren Enever | Werribee | Geelong |
| 41 | Passed | N/A | St Kilda |
| 42 | Tony Lithgow | Casterton | Geelong |
| 43 | Brad Nicholls | Bell Park | Geelong |
| 44 | Robert Gilbert | South Barwon | Geelong |

## 1991 national draft

| # | Player | Recruited by | Recruited from | Games with new team |
| 1 | John Hutton | Brisbane | Claremont | 18 |
| 2 | Marcus Seecamp | Fitzroy | East Perth | 51 |
| 3 | Darren Kowal | Melbourne | Claremont | 105 |
| 4 | Andrew McGovern | Sydney | Claremont | 29 |
| 5 | Jason Norrish | Melbourne | Claremont | 20 |
| 6 | Paul Burton | Sydney | Claremont | 0 |
| 7 | Jeremy Guard | Fitzroy | Claremont | 68 |
| 8 | Michael Symons | Essendon | Subiaco | 109 |
| 9 | Stephen O'Reilly | Geelong | Swan Districts | 36 |
| 10 | Andrew Lamprill | Melbourne | Hobart | 33 |
| 11 | Leigh Willison | Geelong | East Perth | 3 |
| 12 | Rob Malone | St Kilda | Claremont | 0 |
| 13 | Shane Crawford | Hawthorn | Finley (VCFL) | 305 |
| 14 | Fabian Francis | Brisbane | Southern District (NT) | 22 |
| 15 | Kieran O'Dwyer | Hawthorn | Barooga (NSW) | 0 |
| 16 | Daniel Metropolis | West Coast | Subiaco | 108 |
| 17 | Anthony Cole | Sydney | North Hobart | 0 |
| 18 | Matthew Hogg | Carlton | Footscray | 114 |
| 19 | Phil Gilbert | Melbourne | Claremont | 25 |
| 20 | Brett Cook | Fitzroy | Broken Hill (NSW) | 25 |
| 21 | Willie Dick | Essendon | Perth | 7 |
| 22 | Simon Crawshay | Hawthorn | Hawthorn | 19 |
| 23 | Mathew McKay | Melbourne | Hawthorn | 0 |
| 24 | Kane Morphett | West Coast | East Fremantle | 0 |
| 25 | Steven Davies | West Coast | Subiaco | 0 |
| 26 | Ben Herrald | Hawthorn | Hawthorn | 0 |
| 27 | Terry Board | Brisbane | Fitzroy | 0 |
| 28 | Cale O'Keefe | Carlton | South Launceston | 0 |
| 29 | Matthew Connell | West Coast | Subiaco | 3 |
| 30 | Kane Purcell | Collingwood | North Shore (T) | 0 |
| 31 | Haydon Kilmartin | Melbourne | North Hobart | 0 |
| 32 | Micah Berry | Melbourne | Melb. Gr. (APS) | 0 |
| 33 | Paul Morrish | Fitzroy | Essendon | 20 |
| 34 | Tim Leng | Nth Melbourne | Nth Melbourne | 0 |
| 35 | Darryl Donald | Geelong | Wangaratta (VCFL) | 0 |
| 36 | Jason Dullard | Melbourne | Essendon | 0 |
| 37 | Ryan O'Connor | Essendon | Ulverstone | 63 |
| 38 | Jamie Rundle | Footscray | Dandenong (VFA) | 0 |
| 39 | Richard Taylor | Hawthorn | Hawthorn | 4 |
| 40 | Nick White | Melbourne | Richmond | 0 |
| 41 | Todd Curley | Collingwood | West Perth | 3 |
| 42 | Peter Freeman | West Coast | St Kilda | 0 |
| 43 | David Strooper | Sydney | Fitzroy | 32 |
| 44 | Brett Sholl | Carlton | Nth Melbourne | 35 |
| 45 | Gary Barrow | Footscray | Essendon | 6 |
| 46 | Bruno Italiano | Collingwood | South Fremantle | 0 |
| 47 | Glenn Manton | Essendon | Essendon | 21 |
| 48 | Kevin Mitchell | Essendon | Claremont | 0 |
| 49 | Todd Hawes | Richmond | Swan Districts | 0 |
| 50 | Bruce Hando | Nth Melbourne | St Arnaud (VCFL) | 0 |
| 51 | Shaun Brooker | Richmond | Sydney | 0 |
| 52 | Mathew Henderson | Hawthorn | Morwell (VCFL) | 0 |
| 53 | Alistair Gray | St Kilda | Carey Grammar (APS) | 0 |
| 54 | Leigh Snooks | Carlton | Derinallum (VCFL)) | 0 |
| 55 | Glenn Hoffman | Richmond | Essendon | 0 |
| 56 | Andrew Dunkley | Sydney | North Launceston | 217 |
| 57 | Anthony McDonald | Carlton | Carlton | 0 |
| 58 | Justin Pickering | Footscray | Richmond | 0 |
| 59 | Greg Turner | Collingwood | South Fremantle | 0 |
| 60 | James Billington | Essendon | Subiaco | 0 |
| 61 | Michael Addison | St Kilda | Carey Gr. (APS) | 0 |
| 62 | Peter Maclean | Geelong | Seymour (VCFL) | 0 |
| 63 | Brendan Bower | Essendon | Richmond | 3 |
| 64 | Chris Barrett | Fitzroy | Geelong | 4 |
| 65 | Heath Shephard | Brisbane | Burnie Hawks (T) | 4 |
| 66 | Nick Roney | Richmond | North Launceston | 0 |
| 67 | Shane Ellen | Footscray | Footscray (VCFL) | 11 |
| 68 | Mathew Bell | Sydney | Sydney | 0 |
| 69 | Brad Sholl | North Melbourne | North Melbourne | 2 |
| 70 | Jon Lister | Collingwood | Sandy Bay (T) | 0 |
| 71 | Luke Chambers | Brisbane | Brisbane | 0 |
| 72 | Michael Shields | St Kilda | St Kilda | 0 |
| 73 | Cameron Burke | Geelong | Warragul (VCFL) | 0 |
| 74 | Brendan Krummel | West Coast | East Fremantle | 9 |
| 75 | Travis Edmonds | Hawthorn | Swan Districts | 0 |
| 76 | Matt Rendell | Brisbane | Fitzroy | 13 |
| 77 | Jay Burton | Richmond | Subiaco | 0 |
| 78 | Mathew Dickson | Carlton | Sandhurst (VCFL) | 0 |
| 79 | Bevan Smillie | Carlton | Essendon | 0 |
| 80 | Damian Ryan | Footscray | Coburg (VFA) | 0 |
| 81 | Brendan Barrows | Collingwood | Claremont | 0 |
| 82 | Scott Morrison | St Kilda | Nth Melbourne | 0 |
| 83 | Peter Jacks | Geelong | Ballarat YCW (VCFL) | 0 |
| 84 | Alistair Burke | Hawthorn | Hawthorn | 0 |
| 85 | John Kennedy | Richmond | Hawthorn | 0 |
| 86 | Jamie Madigan | Footscray | Footscray | 0 |
| 87 | Sam Jones | St Kilda | Sandy Bay | 3 |
| 88 | Aiden Bussell | Hawthorn | Whorouly (VCFL) | 0 |
| 89 | Paul Dimattina | Richmond | Richmond | 0 |

## 1992 pre-season draft

| # | Player | Recruited by | Recruited from | Games with new team |
| 1 | Ashley Green | Brisbane Bears | Essendon | 23 |
| 2 | Gavin Exell | Fitzroy | Geelong | 5 |
| 3 | Mark McQueen | Richmond | Richmond | 34 |
| 4 | Damien Mellow | Sydney Swans | Adelaide | 0 |
| 5 | Mark Athorn | Carlton | Sydney Swans | 15 |
| 6 | Greg Jones | Footscray | St Kilda | 0 |
| 7 | Alex Ishchenko | North Melbourne | Brisbane Bears | 70 |
| 8 | Ross Napoli | Collingwood | Essendon | 0 |
| 9 | Alan Schwartz | Essendon | Essendon | 0 |
| 10 | Michael Ford | St Kilda | Footscray | 2 |
| 11 | Wayne Henwood | Melbourne | Sydney Swans | 1 |
| 12 | Tim McGrath | Geelong | North Melbourne | 219 |
| 13 | Tim Watson | West Coast Eagles | Essendon | 0 |
| 14 | Ricky Nixon | Hawthorn | St Kilda | 8 |
| 15 | Jason Jones | Brisbane Bears | Darwin (NTFL) | 0 |
| 16 | Danny Sexton | Fitzroy | North Melbourne | 0 |
| 17 | David Honybun | Richmond | Richmond | 16 |
| 18 | Alan Thorpe | Sydney Swans | Fitzroy | 3 |
| 19 | Paul McCormack | Carlton | Dandenong (VFA) | 14 |
| 20 | Mark Majerczak | Footscray | Carlton | 0 |
| 21 | Marty Christensen | North Melbourne | Geelong | 2 |
| 22 | Ross Johns | Collingwood | Carlton | 0 |
| 23 | Paul McMaster | Essendon | Carlton | 0 |
| 24 | Steven Clark | St Kilda | Melbourne | 6 |
| 25 | Andy Goodwin | Melbourne | Richmond | 17 |
| 26 | Garry Phillips | Geelong | Geelong | 0 |
| 27 | David Ogg | West Coast Eagles | Brisbane Bears | 0 |
| 28 | Ernie Hug Jr. | Hawthorn | Prahran (VFA) | 0 |
| 29 | Darren Bartsch | Brisbane Bears | West Adelaide (SANFL) | 0 |
| 30 | Simon Taylor | Fitzroy | Montmorency | 0 |
| 31 | Brad Gwilliam | Richmond | West Coast Eagles | 4 |
| 32 | Allan McKellar | Footscray | Sydney Swans | 0 |
| 33 | Rohan Welsh | Carlton | Dandenong (VFA) | 42 |
| 34 | Paul Satterley | Footscray | Footscray | 0 |
| 35 | Leigh Tudor | North Melbourne | North Melbourne | 3 |
| 36 | Paul Docherty | Collingwood | Essendon | 0 |
| 37 | Glenn Kilpatrick | Essendon | North Melbourne | 0 |
| 38 | Dale Kickett | St Kilda | West Coast Eagles | 21 |
| 39 | Ben Judd | Melbourne | Sturt (SANFL) | 0 |
| 40 | Ben Graham | Geelong | Geelong | 219 |
| 41 | Jason Disney | Richmond | West Coast Eagles | 0 |
| 42 | Austin McCrabb | Hawthorn | Geelong | 9 |
| 43 | Matthew Clarke | Richmond | Brisbane Bears | 0 |
| 44 | Simon Dennis | Richmond | Richmond | 2 |
| 45 | Andrew Peck | Sydney Swans | Sydney Swans | 0 |
| 46 | Paul Tuddenham | Carlton | Collingwood | 0 |
| 47 | Glenn Page | North Melbourne | Sydney Swans | 5 |
| 48 | Derek Percival | Collingwood | Collingwood | 0 |
| 49 | Justin Peckett | St Kilda | St Kilda | 252 |
| 50 | Cristian O'Brien | Melbourne | Melbourne | 2 |
| 51 | Campbell Black | Brisbane Bears | Southport | 0 |
| 52 | Adam Jones | Xavier College | Richmond | 0 |
| 53 | Phil Krakouer | Footscray | Sydney Swans | 0 |
| 54 | Jeremy Smith | Carlton | Carlton | 1 |
| 55 | Michael Scoon | North Melbourne | North Melbourne | 0 |
| 56 | Pass | - | Carlton | |