# 1990 AFL draft

The 1990 AFL draft was the fifth annual draft of Australian rules footballers to the 14 clubs in the Australian Football League. It consisted of the national draft held at the end of the 1990 season, the pre-season draft held before the 1991 AFL season, and a mid-season draft.
Clubs receive picks based on the reverse of the position in which they finish on the ladder during the season. This was introduced as an equalisation strategy in response to the increasing transfer fees and player salaries.

## National draft rules

The minimum draft age for the 1990 national draft was 16. Other than the West Coast Eagles, clubs were allowed to select only one West Australian player each and South Australian players were restricted to be only selected by the Adelaide Football Club which would join the AFL for the 1991 AFL season. Players in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory could only be selected by clubs other than the Brisbane Bears and the 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 8 to 6. 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 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

Pre-draft picks included Brisbane taking Darryl White from the Northern Territory which had become their 'zone'. Mitchell White and Glen Jakovich were fair additions to the West Coast Eagles squad. There were a number of notable trades. Brisbane traded Mark Roberts to North Melbourne who also secured Peter Mann from the Eagles. Geelong gave up forwards David Cameron and Shane Hamilton to get Brisbane's number 1 draft pick. The most noteworthy trade though was Hawthorn getting the rights to Darren Jarman, who turned down the chance to join the Adelaide Crows. Incidentally the Rohan Smith listed is the St Kilda one, not the Footscray one. Future Channel 7 commentator Russell Morris left Hawthorn for St Kilda.

## Players

Richmond drafted Matthew Clarke and Nick Daffy. Despite the restrictions on recruiting South Australians, Richmond skirted the rule because these two played in Mount Gambier and were registered with clubs in the Western Border Football League (VCFL). Melbourne drafted Allen Jakovich, who although a Western Australian was playing for South Australian National Football League (SANFL) side Woodville, and Brisbane were able to draft two Western Australian Football League (WAFL) players in Peter Worsfold (John's brother) and David Ogg. Matt Clape, Jakovich, Todd Ridley, James Cook, Jason McCartney, Scott Crow, Matthew Young, Stuart Anderson and Paul Sharkey were modestly successful. Matthew Burton, Fabian Francis and Derek Hall would all find success at different AFL clubs.
The only two definite successes were James Hird and Jamie Shanahan.

## Bits and pieces

Jason McCartney kept a diary on behalf of The Age newspaper detailing the weeks leading up to the draft. In it he reveals the confusion and uncertainty that a young footballer feels. McCartney from Nhill in Victoria (near the SA border) was hesitant about moving to Melbourne. He went to Adelaide as a guest of Glenelg Football Club and watched the AFL grand final on the big screen, as well as watching Glenelg lose the SA Grand Final the next day.
With Sydney and Brisbane having the first draft picks he signed for Glenelg on a two-year deal. When Sydney and Brisbane traded their selections his hopes lifted. Geelong told him that they would take Hooper first and would be attempting to get the second pick to take McCartney. Geelong were unable to manufacture a trade and Carlton ended up with the selection (they swapped ruckman Warren McKenzie to Sydney). Ian Collins, Geoff Walsh, Bruce Comben and Kinnear Beatson all drove up to Nhill to meet with McCartney, and the next morning David Parkin rang him to ask if everything went well.
On draft day Carlton opted for Tasmanian James Cook. Parkin said that he felt that Cook had the potential to be an even better player. Collingwood drafted him and McCartney openly admitted he was devastated and that Collingwood was last on his list of clubs.
The trades which made the above possible were Carlton swapping McKenzie to Sydney for 2 pick overall, and Collingwood swapping Terry Keays to Richmond for 4th pick overall. One recruiting officer commenting about the decision making of Sydney and Richmond said, "those clubs deserve to be in the position they are in if they are going to make choices like that".

## Preseason

Michael McLean joined the Brisbane Bears after having been not encouraged to stay with Footscray. Sean Simpson switched from St Kilda to Geelong and the Cats again demonstrated their ability to revive careers. David Cloke was encouraged to saddle up for one more season at Richmond who was finding recruiting a ruckman nearly impossible. Kevin Dyson was recruited to Melbourne. Collingwood audaciously recruited the recently retired Gerard Healy in the hope of persuading him to play on, but he didn't.

## Pre-draft picks

| # | Player | Recruited by | Recruited from | Games with new club |
| 1 | Paul Mifka | Brisbane | West Coast | 0 |
| 2 | Danny Noonan | Brisbane | Clarence | 55 |
| 3 | Roger Smith | Brisbane | Southern Districts | 0 |
| 4 | Shane Strempel | Brisbane | Swan Districts | 3 |
| 5 | Darryl White | Brisbane | Pioneer | 268 |
| 6 | Ben Aulich | Sydney | Belconnen | 0 |
| 7 | Justin Clarkson | Sydney | Melbourne | 3 |
| 8 | Jason Love | Sydney | North Melbourne | 23 |
| 9 | Darren Morgan | Sydney | Geelong | 0 |
| 10 | Robert Neill | Sydney | Eastlake | 21 |
| 11 | Brad Sparks | Sydney | Melbourne | 0 |
| 12 | Glen Jakovich | West Coast | South Fremantle | 276 |
| 13 | Mitchell White | West Coast | Subiaco | 151 |

## Pre-draft trades

| Player | Recruited by | Recruited from | Games with new club |
| David Cameron | Brisbane | Geelong | 16 |
| Peter Curran | Brisbane | Hawthorn | 14 |
| Rob Dickson | Brisbane | Hawthorn | 2 |
| Shane Hamilton | Brisbane | Geelong | 31 |
| Travis Martin-Benyon | Brisbane | Nth Melbourne | 0 |
| Craig Potter | Brisbane | Sydney | 13 |
| Mark Arceri | Carlton | Nth Melbourne | 17 |
| Joe Cormack | Fitzroy | West Coast | 26 |
| David O'Connell | Fitzroy | West Coast | 21 |
| Darren Jarman | Hawthorn | Brisbane | 109 |
| Paul Bryce | Melbourne | Nth Melbourne | 26 |
| Phil Egan | Melbourne | Richmond | 1 |
| Rod Owen | Melbourne | St Kilda | 9 |
| John Ahern | Nth Melbourne | Melbourne | 0 |
| Peter Mann | Nth Melbourne | West Coast | 39 |
| Mark Roberts | Nth Melbourne | Brisbane | 87 |
| Terry Keays | Richmond | Collingwood | 25 |
| Russell Morris | St Kilda | Hawthorn | 66 |
| Stephen Newport | St Kilda | Melbourne | 39 |
| Sean Ralphsmith | St Kilda | Hawthorn | 30 |
| Rohan Smith | St Kilda | Sydney | 3 |
| Warwick Capper | Sydney | Brisbane | 13 |
| Warren McKenzie | Sydney | Carlton | 21 |
| Ian Dargie | West Coast | St Kilda | 1 |
| Mark Hepburn | West Coast | Nth Melbourne | 13 |
| Dale Kickett | West Coast | Fitzroy | 2 |

## 1990 mid-season draft

| Pick | Player | Recruited from | Recruited by |
| 1 | Laurence Schache | West Torrens | Brisbane Lions |
| 2 | Dale Lewis | North Ballarat | Sydney |
| 3 | Mark Brady | Old Scotch | Fitzroy |
| 4 | Andrew Payze | West Torrens | Richmond |
| 5 | Tim Williamson | Casterton | North Melbourne |
| 6 | Craig Cross | Burnie Hawks | Carlton |
| 7 | Darren Bartsch | West Adelaide | Geelong |
| 8 | Phil Krakouer | North Melbourne | Footscray |
| 9 | Steven Cummings | Sandringham | St Kilda |
| 10 | Craig McNaughton | Sandhurst | West Coast |
| 11 | Damian Stoney | Old Xaverians | Hawthorn |
| 12 | Jamie Duursma | Melbourne | Melbourne |
| 13 | Andrew Hardiman | South Warrnambool | Collingwood |
| 14 | Paul Morrish | Richmond | Essendon |
| 15 | David Greenhill | Wodonga | Brisbane Lions |
| 16 | Paul Smit | Springvale | Sydney |
| 17 | Darron Wilkinson | Camberwell | Fitzroy |
| 18 | Scott Turner | Ararat | Richmond |
| 19 | Anthony Pavey | Churchill | North Melbourne |
| 20 | Darren Read | Dandenong | Carlton |
| 21 | Luke Hampshire | Tyrendarra | Geelong |
| 22 | Jamie Grant | Daylesford | Footscray |
| 23 | Damian Sexton | Yarrawonga | St Kilda |
| 24 | Jamie Weeding | Norwood | Hawthorn |
| 25 | Peter Vandermeer | Frankston | Melbourne |
| 26 | Stephen Anderson | South Warrnambool | Collingwood |
| 27 | David Robertson | Euroa | Essendon |
| 28 | Dean Strauch | Golden Square | Brisbane Lions |
| 29 | Tim Symes | Benalla | Sydney |
| 30 | Darren Collins | Port Melbourne | Fitzroy |
| 31 | Damian Hancock | Leitchville | Geelong |
| 32 | Michael Frost | Swan Hill | Footscray |
| 33 | Bernie Harris | Terang | St Kilda |
| 34 | Stephen Moloney | North Melbourne Old Boys | Hawthorn |
| 35 | Paul Hogarth | Northern United | Melbourne |
| 36 | Jason Morton | Wagga Tigers | Collingwood |
| 37 | Andrew Mills | North Shore | Essendon |
| 38 | Glen Bartlett | East Perth | Brisbane Lions |
| 39 | Nick Tsiotinas | Essendon | Footscray |
| 40 | Chris Melican | Glenelg | St Kilda |
| 41 | Martin Cameron | Traralgon | Hawthorn |
| 42 | David Morrison | Devonport | Melbourne |
| 43 | Michael Thomson | Richmond | Essendon |
| 44 | Barry Spierings | Werribee | Footscray |
| 45 | Jolyon Keeble | Old Melburnians | Hawthorn |

## 1990 national draft

| # | Player | Recruited by | Recruited from | Games with new club |
| 1 | Stephen Hooper | Geelong | East Perth (WAFL) | 21 |
| 2 | James Cook | Carlton | Clarence (TFL) | 25 |
| 3 | David Donato | Fitzroy | Clarence (TFL) | 12 |
| 4 | Jason McCartney | Collingwood | Nhill (WFL) | 38 |
| 5 | Stewart Devlin | Geelong | Horsham (WFL) | 0 |
| 6 | Allen Jakovich | Melbourne | Woodville (SANFL) | 47 |
| 7 | Damian Hampson | Carlton | Subiaco (WAFL) | 0 |
| 8 | Paul Gow | Footscray | Swan Districts (WAFL) | 7 |
| 9 | Matt Clape | West Coast | East Perth (WAFL) | 29 |
| 10 | David Ogg | Brisbane | Swan Districts (WAFL) | 9 |
| 11 | Danny Sexton | Nth Melbourne | Lemnos (GVFL) | 0 |
| 12 | Shane Porter | West Coast | North Launceston (TFL) | 0 |
| 13 | Todd Ridley | Essendon | Claremont (WAFL) | 25 |
| 14 | Andrew Hamer | Collingwood | Lakes Entrance (EGFL) | 0 |
| 15 | Andrew Harrison | Brisbane | Benalla (VCFL) | 0 |
| 16 | Todd Menegola | Richmond | Swan Districts (WAFL) | 19 |
| 17 | Brendan Hehir | Geelong | Darley (VCFL) | 0 |
| 18 | Dan Miller | Nth Melbourne | Morwell (VCFL) | 0 |
| 19 | Gary Merritt | Melbourne | Tatura (VCFL) | 0 |
| 20 | Robbie West | West Coast | Wodonga (VCFL) | 13 |
| 21 | Richard Ambrose | Essendon | Shepparton (VCFL) | 0 |
| 22 | Paul Sharkey | Collingwood | Cath C. Bendigo (VCFL) | 26 |
| 23 | Ben Thomas | Brisbane | Port Fairy (VCFL) | 0 |
| 24 | John Fidge | Essendon | Glenelg (SANFL) | 0 |
| 25 | Peter Worsfold | Brisbane | South Fremantle (WAFL) | 31 |
| 26 | Dale Hall | Sydney | Hobart (TFL) | 0 |
| 27 | Brad Davis | Fitzroy | Burnie Hawks (TFL) | 5 |
| 28 | Chris Smith | Richmond | Assumption Coll. (APS) | 0 |
| 29 | Byron Donnellan | Geelong | Donald (VCFL) | 0 |
| 30 | Matthew Young | Hawthorn | St Pats Launceston (Tas) | 21 |
| 31 | Nick Faull | Brisbane | Golden Point (BFL) | 0 |
| 32 | Matthew Moylan | Footscray | Shepparton (VCFL) | 0 |
| 33 | Matthew Kelly | Nth Melbourne | Wedderburn (VCFL) | 0 |
| 34 | Brad Read | Hawthorn | East Fremantle (WAFL) | 0 |
| 35 | Stuart Anderson | Nth Melbourne | Sale (VCFL) | 61 |
| 36 | Matthew Burton | West Coast | Subiaco (WAFL) | 0 |
| 37 | Glen Hoffman | Essendon | Jeparit (VCFL) | 0 |
| 38 | Grant McFarlane | Collingwood | Wodonga (VCFL) | 0 |
| 39 | Nigel Palfreyman | Brisbane | Sandy Bay (TFL) | 15 |
| 40 | Mark Collins | Sydney | South Fremantle (WAFL) | 0 |
| 41 | Mark Jenkinson | Fitzroy | Willaura (VCFL) | 0 |
| 42 | Mark McQueen | Richmond | North Hobart (TFL) | 5 |
| 43 | Glen Thomlinson | Geelong | Rochester (VCFL) | 0 |
| 44 | Scott Crow | Hawthorn | Port Fairy (VCFL) | 13 |
| 45 | Craig Jennings | Nth Melbourne | Traralgon (VCFL) | 0 |
| 46 | Brian McInnes | Footscray | Wick.-L. Bolac (VCFL) | 0 |
| 47 | Luke Chambers | Brisbane | Lucknow (VCFL) | 0 |
| 48 | Willie Rioli | Hawthorn | South Fremantle (WAFL) | 0 |
| 49 | Nick Daffy | Richmond | North Gambier (SA) | 165 |
| 50 | Craig Ellis | Nth Melbourne | Stawell (VCFL) | 0 |
| 51 | Jarrod Carter | Essendon | North Hobart (TFL) | 0 |
| 52 | Brendon Retzlaff | Collingwood | Swan Districts (WAFL) | 0 |
| 53 | Stephen Pears | Nth Melbourne | Perth (WAFL) | 0 |
| 54 | Brian Stanislaus | Sydney | St Mary's (NTFL) | 1 |
| 55 | Steven Byers | Fitzroy | New Norfolk (TFL) | 0 |
| 56 | Matthew Clarke | Richmond | West Gambier (SA) | 0 |
| 57 | Chris Barzen | Geelong | Mooroopna (VCFL) | 0 |
| 58 | Adrian Goldup | Sydney | Redcliffs (VCFL) | 0 |
| 59 | Cameron James | Carlton | Morwell (VCFL) | 0 |
| 60 | Rodney Harvey | Footscray | Trinity-Ararat (VCFL) | 0 |
| 61 | Michael Scoon | North Melbourne | Monbulk (VCFL) | 0 |
| 62 | Ben Herrald | Hawthorn | Assumption Coll. (APS) | 0 |
| 63 | Fabian Francis | Melbourne | Southern Districts (NTFL) | 1 |
| 64 | Derek Hall | West Coast | West Perth (WAFL) | 2 |
| 65 | Stephen Fry | Essendon | Clarence (TFL) | 0 |
| 66 | Bowden Hamilton | Collingwood | Colbinabbin (VCFL) | 0 |
| 67 | David Griffin | Sydney | South Bendigo (VCFL) | 0 |
| 68 | Peter Whyte | Brisbane | South Barwon (VCFL) | 0 |
| 69 | Gavin Cooney | West Coast | Clarence (TFL) | 0 |
| 70 | Stuart Johnstone | Richmond | Melbourne | 0 |
| 71 | Dennis Ryan | Geelong | Kyabram (VCFL) | 0 |
| 72 | Brian Wilson | St Kilda | Melbourne | 7 |
| 73 | Anthony McDonald | Carlton | Ballarat YCW (VCFL) | 0 |
| 74 | Paul Campbell | Footscray | Cobram (VCFL) | 0 |
| 75 | Robert Panozza | Melbourne | Wodonga Raiders (VCFL) | 0 |
| 76 | Robert Bowden | Hawthorn | Robinvale (VCFL) | 0 |
| 77 | Niall Buckley | Melbourne | County Kildare (Ireland) | 0 |
| 78 | Dean Harding | Fitzroy | Wangaratta Rovers (VCFL) | 19 |
| 79 | James Hird | Essendon | Ainslie (ACT) | 253 |
| 80 | Scott O'Donohue | Collingwood | Bungaree (VCFL) | 0 |
| 81 | Luan Morley | Hawthorn | North Ballarat (VCFL) | 0 |
| 82 | Leigh Campbell | Sydney | Campbelltown (NSW) | 0 |
| 83 | Mark Williams | West Coast | Sandhurst (BFL) | 0 |
| 84 | John Peter-Budge | Richmond | St Kilda | 0 |
| 85 | Brad Dowling | Geelong | Mooroopna (VCFL) | 0 |
| 86 | Sam Jones | St Kilda | Sandy Bay (TFL) | 3 |
| 87 | Danny Morgan | Carlton | Boolarra (VCFL) | 0 |
| 88 | Peter Jacks | Footscray | Ballarat YCW (VCFL) | 0 |
| 89 | Simon Wood | Nth Melbourne | St Arnaud (VCFL) | 0 |
| 90 | Adam Ahern | Hawthorn | Devonport (TFL) | 0 |
| 91 | Adam Rudd | St Kilda | Numurkah (VCFL) | 0 |
| 92 | Jamie Shanahan | St Kilda | Hobart (TFL) | 125 |
| 93 | Adam Houlihan | Essendon | Kyabram (VCFL) | 0 |
| 94 | Chris Ryan | Collingwood | Morwell StVincents (VCFL) | 0 |

## 1991 pre-season draft

| # | Player | Recruited by | Recruited from | Games |
| 1 | Michael McLean | Brisbane | Footscray | 87 |
| 2 | Paul Hawke | Sydney | Collingwood | 1 |
| 3 | Matthew Bourke | Fitzroy | Hawthorn | 2 |
| 4 | Mark Trewella | Richmond | Fitzroy | 4 |
| 5 | Sean Simpson | Geelong | St Kilda | 114 |
| 6 | Tony Antrobus | St Kilda | Essendon | 6 |
| 7 | Matthew Ryan | Brisbane | Sydney | 18 |
| 8 | Mark Athorn | Sydney | Fitzroy | 15 |
| 9 | Justin McGrath | Fitzroy | Hawthorn | 8 |
| 10 | Andrew Underwood | Richmond | Essendon | 12 |
| 11 | Jamie Lamb | Geelong | St Kilda | 14 |
| 12 | Darren Davies | St Kilda | Footscray | 2 |
| 13 | Darren Tarczon | Carlton | North Melbourne | 11 |
| 14 | Allan McKellar | Footscray | Richmond | 0 |
| 15 | Carl Dilena | North Melbourne | Fitzroy | 10 |
| 16 | Dale Fleming | Hawthorn | Hawthorn | 0 |
| 17 | Nick Sebo | Melbourne | St Kilda | 0 |
| 18 | Cory Young | West Coast | Richmond | 1 |
| 19 | Mathew Medew | Essendon | Essendon | 0 |
| 20 | Derek Percival | Collingwood | Golden Square (VCFL) | 0 |
| 21 | Adrian Menara | Geelong | North Melbourne | 0 |
| 22 | Saade Ghazi | Footscray | Central District | 0 |
| 23 | Leigh Capsalis | Melbourne | Melbourne | 0 |
| 24 | Ian Kidgell | Brisbane | Hawthorn | 3 |
| 25 | Andrew Peck | Sydney | Melbourne | 0 |
| 26 | Wayne Peters | Fitzroy | Richmond | 0 |
| 27 | John Mrakov | Richmond | Collingwood | 8 |
| 28 | Russell Merriman | Geelong | St Josephs (VCFL) | 25 |
| 29 | Damien Pearce | St Kilda | St Kilda | 0 |
| 30 | Ben Robertson | Carlton | Noble Park (VMFL) | 3 |
| 31 | Scott McDonald | Footscray | Bell Post Hill (VCFL) | 0 |
| 32 | Peter Baldwin | North Melbourne | Geelong | 0 |
| 33 | Anthony Paynter | Hawthorn | Brisbane | 0 |
| 34 | Kevin Dyson | Melbourne | Oakleigh | 70 |
| 35 | Craig McNaughton | West Coast | West Coast | 0 |
| 36 | Darren Williams | Essendon | Essendon | 0 |
| 37 | Stephen Anderson | Collingwood | South Warrnambool (VCFL) | 4 |
| 38 | Jon Henry | Brisbane | Carlton | 0 |
| 39 | Darren McAsey | Sydney | Sydney | 3 |
| 40 | Jamie Bond | Fitzroy | Hawthorn | 1 |
| 41 | David Cloke | Richmond | Richmond | 22 |
| 42 | Stephen Jankowicz | Geelong | East Gambier (SA) | 0 |
| 43 | Dean Greig | St Kilda | Camberwell (VFA) | 33 |
| 44 | Mark Bouw | Carlton | Carlton | 0 |
| 45 | David Ross | Footsray | Darwin | 0 |
| 46 | Anthony Palmer | North Melbourne | North Melbourne | 0 |
| 47 | Mark McLeod | Hawthorn | Richmond | 0 |
| 48 | George Gorozidis | Melbourne | St Kilda | 0 |
| 49 | Brad Edwards | West Coast | Brisbane | 0 |
| 50 | Mathew Strickland | Essendon | Essendon | 0 |
| 51 | Ross Duffy | Collingwood | North Hobart | 0 |
| 52 | Paul Williams | Carlton | St Kilda | 0 |
| 53 | Phil Krakouer | Footscray | Footscray | 7 |
| 54 | Dean Barwick | North Melbourne | North Melbourne | 0 |
| 55 | Craig Young | Hawthorn | Hawthorn | 0 |
| 56 | Passed | Melbourne | NA | NA |
| 57 | Peter Higgins | West Coast | West Coast | 0 |
| 58 | Shane Heard | Essendon | Essendon | 11 |
| 59 | Gerard Healy | Collingwood | Sydney | 0 |