1986 VFL Draft
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The 1986 VFL Draft consisted of just the national draft, made up of 65 picks to be drafted between 13 clubs.
The West Coast Eagles, who were to debut in 1987, had exclusive access to players from the Western Australian Football League and were not eligible to take part in this draft. As the other new team to the VFL in 1987, the Brisbane Bears' did not have access to a strong local league, the Bears were given 6 priority draft picks, plus the number one draft pick.
As such most players were recruited from the South Australian National Football League, Tasmanian or country Victorian leagues. Victorian based clubs still had exclusive access to each of their metropolitan zones, however country zones were abolished prior to this draft.
Most of the players selected were well proven players in their mid 20s, as opposed to the more recent philosophy of selecting the best performed junior 17 or 18 year-old players [1]. This was in part a reflection of the less restrictive player list environment that was in place at the time. Compared to the current limit on 38 senior players with up to 6 rookies, in the late 80s each team had up to 60 players on their list, and as such could afford to be more speculative with their selections.
It was also very common to draft players, but to have them remain interstate for a few years, with the No 1 selection of Martin Leslie being a prime example. Leslie didn't move to Brisbane until 1989, preferring to remain with Port Adelaide until they won a premiership in 1988.
[edit] National Draft
[edit] See also
- WikiProject AFL for more AFL information
- Official AFL Draft page
- A historical account of the early drafts
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