# 2008 AFL draft

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). It was considered to be the last uncompromised draft before the draft concessions given to the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney expansion teams restrict the existing AFL clubs' access to the best young players in the future years drafts.

## 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early in the week by naming Hamish McIntosh and Corey Jones as players available to trade, with McIntosh later being withdrawn from the offer after a backlash from his manager and club legend Glenn Archer.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, Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney in the coming years.
| Player | Original club | New club | Traded for |
| Adam Thomson | Port Adelaide | Richmond | draft pick #42 |
| Rhyce Shaw and draft pick #61 | Collingwood | Sydney | draft pick #46 |
| Anthony Corrie | Brisbane Lions | Collingwood | draft pick #93 |
| Farren Ray and draft pick #48 | Western Bulldogs | St Kilda | draft pick #31 |
| Brent Prismall | Geelong | Essendon | draft pick #39 |
| Robert Warnock and draft pick #69 | Fremantle | Carlton | draft pick #24, #56 and #72 |

### Retirements and delistings

| Name | Club | Date Retired | Reason |
| Beau McDonald | Brisbane Lions | 14 February | Retired due to ongoing injury |
| Danny Jacobs | Hawthorn | 12 March | Retired due to a hip injury. |
| Hugh Minson | Port Adelaide | 9 April | Retired due to knee problems. |
| David Neitz | Melbourne | 19 May | Retired due to neck problems. |
| Matthew Carr | Fremantle | 19 May | Retired due to leg problems. |
| Michael Braun | West Coast | 7 July (finished season) | Retired |
| Peter Bell | Fremantle | 7 July | Retired |
| Andrew McDougall | Western Bulldogs | 17 July | Retired |
| Shaun McManus | Fremantle | 29 July | Retired |
| Michael Wilson | Port Adelaide | 5 August | Retired due to ongoing injury. |
| Robert Harvey | St Kilda | 6 August (finished season) | Retired |
| Heath Black | Fremantle | 6 August | Retired due to ongoing injury |
| Mal Michael | Essendon | 15 August (finished season) | Retired |
| Rhett Biglands | Adelaide | 18 August | Retired due to knee injury |
| Nigel Lappin | Brisbane Lions | 19 August | Retired due to an achilles injury . |
| Mark Johnson | Fremantle | 20 August (finished season) | Retired |
| Jason Johnson | Essendon | 25 August | Retired |
| Adam Ramanauskas | Essendon | 25 August | Retired |
| Shannon Grant | North Melbourne | 26 August (finished season) | Retired |
| Luke Webster | Fremantle | 27 August | Retired |
| Nathan Bassett | Adelaide | 27 August (finished season) | Retired due to health concerns. |
| Ben Holland | Melbourne | 30 August | Retired |
| Jeff Farmer | Fremantle | 2 September | Retired |
| Nathan Ablett | Geelong | 2 September | Retired |
| Ben Mathews | Sydney | 2 September | Retired |
| Jess Sinclair | North Melbourne | 10 September | Retired |
| Peter Everitt | Sydney | 12 September | Retired |
| Fraser Gehrig | St Kilda | 13 September | Retired |
| Ryan Lonie | Collingwood | 15 September | Retired due to ongoing injury |
| Shane Wakelin | Collingwood | 15 September | Retired |
| Nathan Thompson | North Melbourne | 19 September | Retired |
| Scott Burns | Collingwood | 22 September | Retired |
| Ken McGregor | Adelaide | 30 September | Retired |
| Jason Saddington | Carlton | 13 October | Retired |
| Shane Crawford | Hawthorn | 8 November | Retired |
| Courtney Johns | Essendon | 15 August | Delisted |
| Damien Peverill | Essendon | 25 August | Delisted |
| Jeff White | Melbourne | 26 August | Delisted |
| Adem Yze | Melbourne | 26 August | Delisted |
| Greg Tivendale | Richmond | 28 August | Delisted |
| Ryley Dunn | Fremantle | 3 September | Delisted |
| Steven Armstrong | West Coast | 4 September | Delisted |
| Chad Jones | West Coast | 4 September | Delisted |
| James Thomson | West Coast | 4 September | Delisted |
| Jace Bode | Melbourne | 4 September | Delisted |
| Isaac Weetra | Melbourne | 4 September | Delisted |
| Robert Copeland | Brisbane Lions | 19 September | Delisted |
| Chris Schmidt | Brisbane Lions | 19 September | Delisted |
| Wayde Mills | Brisbane Lions | 19 September | Delisted |
| Haydn Kiel | Brisbane Lions | 19 September | Delisted |
| Brodie Holland | Collingwood | 23 September | Delisted |
| Chris Egan | Collingwood | 23 September | Delisted |
| Sam Iles | Collingwood | 23 September | Delisted |
| Scott West | Western Bulldogs | 23 September | Delisted |
| Peter Street | Western Bulldogs | 23 September | Delisted |
| Nick Davis | Sydney | 12 October | Delisted |
| Liam Bedford | Geelong | 15 October | Delisted |
| Jason Davenport | Geelong | 15 October | Delisted |
| Chris Kangars | Geelong | 15 October | Delisted |
| Tim Clarke | Hawthorn | 16 October | Delisted |
| Zac Dawson | Hawthorn | 16 October | Delisted |
| Luke McEntee | Hawthorn | 16 October | Delisted |
| Garry Moss | Hawthorn | 16 October | Delisted |
| Jayden Attard | St Kilda | 22 October | Delisted |
| Matthew Ferguson | St Kilda | 22 October | Delisted |
| Michael Rix | St Kilda | 22 October | Delisted |
| Shane Birss | St Kilda | 22 October | Delisted |
| Charlie Gardiner | St Kilda | 22 October | Delisted |
| Glenn Chivers | St Kilda | 22 October | Delisted |
| Luke Van Rheenen | St Kilda | 22 October | Delisted |
| Aaron Fiora | St Kilda | 31 October | Delisted |
| Chris Johnson | Melbourne | 31 October | Delisted |

## 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.
| * | Denotes player who has been a premiership player and been selected for at least one All-Australian team |
| $^+$ | Denotes player who has been a premiership player at least once |
| $^x$ | Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Australian team |
| $^#$ | Denotes player who has never played in a VFL/AFL home and away season or finals game |
| $^~$ | Denotes player who has been selected as Rising Star |
| Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | League | Club |
| 1 | 1 | Jack Watts | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup | Melbourne |
| 1 | 2 | Nic Naitanui | Swan Districts | WAFL | West Coast |
| 1 | 3 | Stephen Hill | West Perth | WAFL | Fremantle |
| 1 | 4 | Hamish Hartlett | West Adelaide | SANFL | Port Adelaide |
| 1 | 5 | Michael Hurley | Northern Knights | TAC Cup | Essendon |
| 1 | 6 | Chris Yarran | Swan Districts | WAFL | Carlton |
| 1 | 7 | Daniel Rich $^x$ | Subiaco | WAFL | Brisbane Lions |
| 1 | 8 | Ty Vickery | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup | Richmond |
| 1 | 9 | Jack Ziebell | Murray Bushrangers | TAC Cup | North Melbourne |
| 1 | 10 | Phil Davis | North Adelaide | SANFL | Adelaide |
| 1 | 11 | Steele Sidebottom | Murray Bushrangers | TAC Cup | Collingwood |
| 1 | 12 | Lewis Johnston | North Adelaide | SANFL | Sydney |
| 1 | 13 | Tom Lynch | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup | St Kilda |
| 1 | 14 (F/S) | Ayce Cordy | Geelong Falcons | TAC Cup | Western Bulldogs |
| 1 | 15 | Mitchell Brown | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup | Geelong |
| 1 | 16 | Ryan Schoenmakers | Norwood | SANFL | Hawthorn |
| Priority | 17 | Sam Blease | Eastern Ranges | TAC Cup | Melbourne |
| Priority | 18 | Luke Shuey | Oakleigh Chargers | TAC Cup | West Coast |
| 2 | 19 | James Strauss | Oakleigh Chargers | TAC Cup | Melbourne |
| 2 | 20 | Tom Swift | Claremont | WAFL | West Coast |
| 2 | 21 | Hayden Ballantyne | Peel Thunder | WAFL | Fremantle |
| 2 | 22 | Jackson Trengove | Calder Cannons | TAC Cup | Port Adelaide |
| 2 | 23 | David Zaharakis | Northern Knights | TAC Cup | Essendon |
| 2 | 24 | Nick Suban | North Ballarat Rebels | TAC Cup | Fremantle |
| 2 | 25 | Jack Redden | Glenelg | SANFL | Brisbane Lions |
| 2 | 26 | Jayden Post | Western Jets | TAC Cup | Richmond |
| 2 | 27 | Sam Wright | Murray Bushrangers | TAC Cup | North Melbourne |
| 2 | 28 | Shaun McKernan | Calder Cannons | TAC Cup | Adelaide |
| 2 | 29 | Dayne Beams | Southport | QAFL | Collingwood |
| 2 | 30 | Dan Hannebery | Oakleigh Chargers | TAC Cup | Sydney |
| 2 | 31 | Jordan Roughead | North Ballarat Rebels | TAC Cup | Western Bulldogs |
| 2 | 32 | Liam Jones | North Hobart | TFL | Western Bulldogs |
| 2 | 33 | Tom Gillies | Dandenong Stringrays | TAC Cup | Geelong |
| 2 | 34 | Liam Shiels | Eastern Ranges | TAC Cup | Hawthorn |
| 3 | 35 | Jamie Bennell | Swan Districts | WAFL | Melbourne |
| 3 | 36 | Ashley Smith | Dandenong Stingrays | TAC Cup | West Coast |
| 3 | 37 | Zac Clarke | Oakleigh Chargers | TAC Cup | Fremantle |
| 3 | 38 | Matthew Broadbent | Woodville-West Torrens | SANFL | Port Adelaide |
| 3 | 39 | Steven Motlop | Wanderers | NTFL | Geelong |
| 3 | 40 | Mitch Robinson | Tasmanian Devils | VFL | Carlton |
| 3 | 41 | Todd Banfield | Swan Districts | WAFL | Brisbane Lions |
| 3 | 42 | Mitch Banner | Western Jets | TAC Cup | Port Adelaide |
| 3 | 43 | Liam Anthony | East Fremantle | WAFL | North Melbourne |
| 3 | 44 | Rory Sloane | Eastern Ranges | TAC Cup | Adelaide |
| 3 | 45 | Jarrad Blight | Swan Districts | WAFL | Collingwood |
| 3 | 46 | Luke Rounds | Geelong Falcons | TAC Cup | Collingwood |
| 3 | 47 | Rhys Stanley | West Adelaide | SANFL | St Kilda |
| 3 | 48 | Nicholas Heyne | Gippsland Power | TAC Cup | St Kilda |
| 3 | 49 | Taylor Hunt | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup | Geelong |
| 3 | 50 | Jordan Lisle | Oakleigh Chargers | TAC Cup | Hawthorn |
| 4 | 51 | Neville Jetta | Swan Districts | WAFL | Melbourne |
| 4 | 52 | Jordan Jones | Geelong Falcons | TAC Cup | West Coast |
| 4 | 53 | Michael Walters | Swan Districts | WAFL | Fremantle |
| 4 | 54 | Jarrad Redden | Woodville-West Torrens | SANFL | Port Adelaide |
| 4 | 55 | Michael Still | Northern Knights | TAC Cup | Essendon |
| 4 | 56 | Ben Bucovaz | Geelong Falcons | TAC Cup | Fremantle |
| 4 | 57 | Aaron Cornelius | Tasmanian Devils | VFL | Brisbane Lions |
| 4 | 58 | Tom Hislop | Essendon | AFL | Richmond |
| 4 | 59 | Nathan O'Keefe | Eastern Ranges | TAC Cup | North Melbourne |
| 4 | 60 | Tom Lee | Claremont | WAFL | Adelaide |
| 4 | 61 | Campbell Heath | Gippsland Power | TAC Cup | Sydney |
| 4 | 62 | Alistair Smith | Perth | WAFL | St Kilda |
| 4 | 63 | Luke Lowden | Sandringham Dragons | TAC Cup | Hawthorn |
| 5 | 64 | Rohan Bail | Mount Gravatt | QAFL | Melbourne |
| 5 | 65 | Rhys O'Keeffe | North Adelaide | SANFL | Carlton |
| 5 | 66 | Glenn Dawson | Woodville-West Torrens | SANFL | Port Adelaide |
| 5 | 67 | Tyson Slattery | West Adelaide | SANFL | Essendon |
| 5 | 68 | Tim Ruffles | North Ballarat Rebels | TAC Cup | Fremantle |
| 5 | 69 | Bart McCulloch | South Launceston | TFL | Brisbane Lions |
| 5 | 70 | Pass | | | Richmond |
| 5 | 71 | Warren Benjamin | Claremont | WAFL | North Melbourne |
| 5 | 72 | Will Young | North Ballarat Rebels | TAC Cup | Adelaide |
| 5 | 73 | Leigh Brown | North Melbourne | AFL | Collingwood |
| 5 | 74 | Paul Cahill | Sturt | SANFL | St Kilda |
| 5 | 75 | Shane Savage | Dandenong Stingrays | TAC Cup | Hawthorn |
| 6 | 76 | Pass | | | Melbourne |
| 6 | 77 | Chris Hall | Woodville-West Torrens | SANFL | Fremantle |
| 6 | 78 | Jason Davenport | Geelong | AFL | Port Adelaide |
| 6 | 79 | Pass | | | Essendon |
| 6 | 80 | Caleb Tiller | Murray Bushrangers | TAC Cup | Carlton |
| 6 | 81 | Kieran King | East Fremantle | WAFL | Brisbane Lions |
| 6 | 82 | Pass | | | Brisbane Lions |
| 6 | 83 | Colm Begley | Brisbane Lions | AFL | St Kilda |
| 7 | 84 | Pass | | | Port Adelaide |
| 7 | 85 | Pass | | | Carlton |

## 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. 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.
| Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | League | Club |
| 1 | 1 | Liam Jurrah | Yuendumu | CAFL | Melbourne |
| 1 | 2 | Josh Carr | Fremantle | AFL | Port Adelaide |
| 1 | 3 | Hayden Skipworth | Bendigo Bombers | VFL | Essendon |
| 1 | 4 | Chris Johnson | Melbourne | AFL | Carlton |
| 1 | 5 | Tom Rockliff | Murray Bushrangers | TAC Cup | Brisbane Lions |
| 1 | 6 | Ben Cousins | West Coast Eagles | AFL | Richmond |

## 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.
| Round | Pick | Player | Recruited from | Club |
| 1 | 1 | Jordie McKenzie | Geelong Falcons | Melbourne |
| 1 | 2 | Liam Bedford | Geelong Football Club | West Coast |
| 1 | 3 | Casey Sibosado | Oakleigh Chargers | Fremantle |
| 1 | 4 | Wade Thompson | North Adelaide | Port Adelaide |
| 1 | 5 | Bryce Carroll | Western Jets | Essendon |
| 1 | 6 | Jeff Garlett | Swan Districts | Carlton |
| 1 | 7 | Daniel Murray | East Perth | Brisbane Lions |
| 1 | 8 | Robin Nahas | Oakleigh Chargers | Richmond |
| 1 | 9 | Marcus White | Calder Cannons | North Melbourne |
| 1 | 10 | Ricky Henderson | Trentham | Adelaide |
| 1 | 11 | Tristan Francis | Gippsland Power | Collingwood |
| 1 | 12 | Kristin Thornton | Sydney Swans | Sydney |
| 1 | 13 | Zac Dawson | Hawthorn | St Kilda |
| 1 | 14 | Jamason Daniels | Murray Bushrangers | Western Bulldogs |
| 1 | 15 | Adam Varcoe | Central District | Geelong |
| 1 | 16 | Riley Milne | Murray Bushrangers | Hawthorn |
| 2 | 17 | Rhys Healey | Bendigo Pioneers | Melbourne |
| 2 | 18 | Adam Cockie | Subiaco | West Coast |
| 2 | 19 | Matt de Boer | Claremont | Fremantle |
| 2 | 20 | Danny Meyer | Richmond | Port Adelaide |
| 2 | 21 | Thomas German | Calder Cannons | Essendon |
| 2 | 22 | Luke Stanton | Northern Knights | Carlton |
| 2 | 23 | Pass | Pass | Brisbane Lions |
| 2 | 24 | David Gourdis | Richmond | Richmond |
| 2 | 25 | Luke Delaney | Geelong Falcons | North Melbourne |
| 2 | 26 | Chris Schmidt | Brisbane Lions | Adelaide |
| 2 | 27 | Jarryd Blair | Gippsland Power | Collingwood |
| 2 | 28 | Taylor Gilchrist | Sandringham Dragons | Sydney |
| 2 | 29 | Tom Simpkin | Geelong Falcons | St Kilda |
| 2 | 30 | Liam Picken | Williamstown | Western Bulldogs |
| 2 | 31 | Bryn Weadon | North Ballarat Rebels | Geelong |
| 2 | 32 | Haydn Kiel | Brisbane Lions | Hawthorn |
| 3 | 33 | Daniel Hughes | Melbourne | Melbourne |
| 3 | 34 | Hamish Shepheard | East Perth | Fremantle |
| 3 | 35 | Daniel Stewart | Labrador | Port Adelaide |
| 3 | 36 | Christian Bock | Woodville-West Torrens | Essendon |
| 3 | 37 | Greg Bentley | Port Adelaide | Carlton |
| 3 | 38 | Pass | Pass | Brisbane Lions |
| 3 | 39 | Andrew Browne | Murray Bushrangers | Richmond |
| 3 | 40 | Ben Speight | Norwood | North Melbourne |
| 3 | 41 | Pass | Pass | Adelaide |
| 3 | 42 | Johnny Bennell | Peel Thunder | Collingwood |
| 3 | 43 | Kyle Coney | Tyrone GAA (Ireland) | Sydney |
| 3 | 44 | Brad Howard | St Kilda | St Kilda |
| 3 | 45 | Pass | Pass | Western Bulldogs |
| 3 | 46 | Tom Allwright | North Hobart Demons | Geelong |
| 3 | 47 | Luke Breust | Temora | Hawthorn |
| 4 | 48 | Clancee Pearce | Swan Districts | Fremantle |
| 4 | 49 | Matthew Martin | West Adelaide | Port Adelaide |
| 4 | 50 | Kade Klemke | Murray Bushrangers | Essendon |
| 4 | 51 | Darren Pfeiffer | Carlton | Carlton |
| 4 | 52 | Pass | Pass | Brisbane Lions |
| 4 | 53 | Alroy Gilligan | Claremont | Richmond |
| 4 | 54 | Alan Obst | North Melbourne | North Melbourne |
| 4 | 55 | Brian Donnelly | Louth GAA (Ireland) | Adelaide |
| 4 | 56 | Tobais Thoolen | Collingwood | Collingwood |
| 4 | 57 | Mike Pyke | Canada (international rookie) | Sydney |
| 4 | 58 | Steven Gaertner | Dandenong Stingrays | St Kilda |
| 4 | 59 | Pass | Pass | Western Bulldogs |
| 4 | 60 | Ranga Ediriwickrama | NSW AFL scholarship program | Geelong |
| 4 | 61 | Carl Peterson | Richmond | Hawthorn |
| 5 | 62 | Jay van Berlo | West Perth | Fremantle |
| 5 | 63 | Jesse Laurie | Claremont | Port Adelaide |
| 5 | 64 | Michael Quinn | Longford GAA (Ireland) | Essendon |
| 5 | 65 | Lachie Hill | Carlton | Carlton |
| 5 | 66 | Adam Spackman | Morningside | Brisbane Lions |
| 5 | 67 | Pass | Pass | Richmond |
| 5 | 68 | Conor Meredith | Laois GAA (Ireland) | North Melbourne |
| 5 | 69 | Lachlan Keeffe | 3-year non-registration | Collingwood |
| 5 | 70 | Pass | Pass | Sydney |
| 5 | 71 | Ross Tungatulum | St Mary's | St Kilda |
| 5 | 72 | Christopher Ogle | NSW AFL scholarship program | Western Bulldogs |
| 5 | 73 | Garry Moss | Hawthorn | Hawthorn |
| 6 | 74 | Greg Broughton | Subiaco | Fremantle |
| 6 | 75 | Pass | Pass | Port Adelaide |
| 6 | 76 | Sam Jacobs | Carlton | Carlton |
| 6 | 77 | Daniel Dzufer | Brisbane Lions | Brisbane Lions |
| 6 | 78 | Scott Reed | NSW AFL scholarship program | Collingwood |
| 6 | 79 | Pass | Pass | Sydney |
| 6 | 80 | Samuel McGarry | Sandringham Dragons | St Kilda |
| 6 | 81 | Matt Suckling | Sandringham Dragons | Hawthorn |
| 7 | 82 | Joel Tippett | Brisbane Lions | Brisbane Lions |
| 7 | 83 | Pass | Pass | Sydney |
| 7 | 84 | Blake McGrath | NSW AFL scholarship program | St Kilda |
| 7 | 85 | Will Sierakowski | NSW AFL scholarship program | Hawthorn |

## Rookie elevation

A total of 15 players were promoted from their respective clubs' rookie lists to the club's primary lists at the conclusion of the 2008 season.
| Player | Recruited from | Club |
| Jared Petrenko | Woodville-West Torrens | Adelaide |
| Scott Clouston | Morningside | Brisbane Lions |
| Michael Jamison | North Ballarat | Carlton |
| Brent Macaffer | Gippsland Power | Collingwood |
| Sharrod Wellingham | Perth | Collingwood |
| Jarrod Atkinson | Bendigo Bombers | Essendon |
| Austin Wonaeamirri | Norwood | Melbourne |
| Nathan Grima | Central District | North Melbourne |
| Michael Wundke | North Adelaide | North Melbourne |
| Nick Salter | Woodville-West Torrens | Port Adelaide |
| Robert Eddy | Gippsland Power | St Kilda |
| Andrew McQualter | Gippsland Power | St Kilda |
| Matt O'Dwyer | Calder Cannons | Sydney |
| Nick Smith | Oakleigh Chargers | Sydney |
| Beau Wilkes | Claremont | West Coast |

## Selections by league

National and pre-season draft selection totals by leagues:
| League | Players selected | State |
| TAC Cup | 40 | VIC |
| WAFL | 16 | WA |
| SANFL | 13 | SA |
| VFL | 3 | VIC |
| TFL | 2 | TAS |
| QAFL | 2 | QLD |
| NTFL | 1 | NT |
| CAFL | 1 | NT |