Connor Blakely

Adelaide delisted McPherson, Jackson Hately, Tariek Newchurch, and Tyler Brown while Port Adelaide delisted Riley Bonner, Trent Dumont, Brynn Teakle, and Nathan Barkla. Luke Dunstan retired from Melbourne and Gold Coast saw Connor Blakely hang up the boots.

McPherson played 28 AFL games since being drafted in 2017. He had to overcome a series of soft tissue injuries and played nine games. He won both the Mark Bickley Emerging Talent Award and Brian Sando OAM Award for professionalism on Club Champion night. The hard-working defender was a regular in Adelaide’s senior side in 2021 when he played 18 games, however injuries have restricted him to just one AFL game since then. Hately has also played 28 AFL games including 15 with the Crows after he joined Adelaide from GWS at the end of the 2020. He played 11 games in 2021 and one this year while performing strongly in the SANFL. Newchurch joined Adelaide as a Category B rookie from its Next Generation Academy in 2020 and has been a valuable contributor to the Crows’ SANFL side for the past three seasons, as has Tyler Brown who joined the club as a rookie in January and played one AFL game for the Crows to go with 27 at his former club Collingwood.

The AFL National Draft and Rookie Draft were held in late November. All the selections are listed below by team so readers can scroll to their favorites. The listings are as follows: the first number is the selection, followed by player name, (junior club), age, height and weight, in metric with the conversions in ( ), and position. Many players tested at the draft combine. Twenty meters is 65 feet and 2 kilometers is 1.24 miles. Many also represented their state at the national tournament which is referred to here as the U-18's.

ADELAIDE

17) MAX MICHALAMEY (Norwood, SANFL), 18, 190 (6'1"), 78 (171), medium defender
Disciplined and team-oriented, uses his reach and speed with great effectiveness against opposition forwards, runs well and uses the ball well. Represented South Australia at the U-18's and was best on ground against the Allies and Vic Country, winning All-Australian honors. Played three senior games for Norwood. Has already signed with the Crows as a father-son selection as his father John was a four-time premiership player with Norwood and played over 200 games. Showed his athletic prowess at the draft combine with 3.03 seconds for the 20 meter (65 ft) sprint and 6:30 minutes for the 2km (1.24 miles) time trial.

43) WILL DOWLING North Adelaide, SANFL), 18, 187 (6'), 80 (1767), medium midfielder

Just days after the Preliminary Finals concluded, there were a number of retirements and delistings. Players from several clubs including Adelaide, Brisbane, Collingwood, Fremantle, and Geelong were released or had veterans choose to retire. The exodus including three players surnamed Brown but only two of them were related.

Adelaide defender Luke Brown, 29, has retired after 189 games in 11 seasons. Brown was prelisted by GWS from his SANFL club Norwood ahead of the 2011 draft before being traded to Adelaide. He established himself as a very reliable defender, often lining up against the opposition's most dangerous forwards.

The AFL Draft was held during our Thanksgiving holiday period. The Western Bulldogs kicked things off with a trade of draft selections to better their chances of snaring Sam Darcy, son of former champ Luke. They gave Geelong their first selection (number 23) to Geelong in exchange for the Cats' selections 32 and 34. GWS was interested in Darcy so the Dogs needed a strong draft hand to match the bid. During the trade period, several clubs tried to coax a deal with North Melbourne for the number one selection, but the Kangaroos turned down all offers. The Bulldogs and North also flipped picks for next year's draft. The Bulldogs were not the only club busy trading, with Port Adelaide moving up two spots by giving West Coast their selection 14 and a future round two pick. The Roos were also involved in a trade with Collingwood and received the Pies' second round pick of number 36, giving up a third round pick (No.38) and a future third round selection.

As in years past, it is club by club. The number in front is the draft selection followed by player name, (junior or club of origin), age, height, weight and position. The Rookie and Preseason drafts were held just after the national draft, so those selections are included here.

ADELAIDE

The reborn Carlton Blues shocked the Fremantle Dockers with a thrilling last gasp victory that left the Dockers vulnerable to dropping out of the top eight. The inspired Blues’ third win moved them from the bottom of the ladder and have now won two of their last three games. The Dockers have lost their last two games against teams sitting in the bottom three on the ladder and will rue their second quarter, where they allowed Carlton to dominate the game for long periods.

Chris Kowald reporting for AFANA from Optus Stadium, Perth

Optus Stadium became an over sized pressure cooker as the temperature rose to 87 degrees Fahrenheit and the Eagles used sizzling ball movement to overcome a wounded but resolute Fremantle Dockers. A record Perth crowd of 56,521 witnessed scintillating football with several dashes of spice, which forced umpires to extinguish spot fires, as tempers rose and passions boiled over.

Chris Kowald reporting from Optus Stadium, Perth

Before play started, the new Optus Stadium resonated to the sound of Prince’s classic song Purple Rain. The Fremantle Dockers responded by being ‘on song’ to defeat the Essendon Bombers, who last week defeated last year’s Grand Finalists, Adelaide.