West Coast will have the opening pick in Wednesday’s Mid-Season Draft following their 50-point loss to Essendon on Saturday night.
In what was the Eagles’ ninth consecutive defeat, the home result secures the Perth club’s place atop the 2023 Mid-Season Draft order for the second successive year.
The Eagles will be able to open the draft by moving injured midfielder Jai Culley, who was selected with Pick 1 last June, to their inactive list. The club are yet to confirm Culley’s placement on the long-term injury list, nor the decision for any other player that could open a second list spot, however it is expected the Eagles will look to add to their list by listing Culley as inactive.
West Coast are likely to be looking toward local forward Jack Buller or Gippsland talent Ryan Maric, both of whom would be in consideration to help alleviate the forward line workload of in-form spearhead Oscar Allen.
North Melbourne loom as the likely holder for Pick 2 ahead of Sunday’s matchup with Collingwood, with the Kangaroos needing strong enough win to go ahead of Hawthorn – a result that looms unlikely.
A defeat will have the Roos second on the clock come Wednesday night, however the Arden Street club is still needing to open up a list spot to enter the draft, something they can do through moving forward Josh Mahony to their inactive list following a season-ending shoulder injury.
Having claimed an upset win on Saturday afternoon, the Hawks will likely have Pick 3 in the Mid-Season Draft, which will likely be followed by second-round selection after moving Max Lynch to the long-term injury list.
A win against Port Adelaide on Sunday afternoon for Richmond would see them leap into 14th place on the ladder, while a defeat will see the Tigers maintain 15th spot and be fourth in line at the draft.
GWS’s shock win over Geelong has seen them overtake the Tigers for the time being, with the Harbour City club having two open list spots after ACL injuries to Adam Kennedy and Darcy Jones earlier this year.
Carlton (currently 13th) and Gold Coast (12th) are currently without open list spots, with the 11th-placed Swans potentially the next club in the draft order after ruling out veteran Sam Reid for the rest of the year.
With Adelaide yet to open up list spot, Geelong are the next in line in the selection order, with Fremantle, Essendon and the Western Bulldogs to follow respectively with each club having one vacancy open.
The Bombers could open up a second spot after confirming Harrison Jones’ season was over this week, while Richmond will weigh up whether they use one or two picks after Jason Castagna’s retirement and Kaleb Smith’s move to the inactive list.
The current top five – Collingwood, Brisbane, Port Adelaide, Melbourne and St Kilda – do not have list spots currently open ahead of the Mid-Season Draft, however the Power could open up a vacancy due to Mith Georgiades’ ACL setback.
Clubs are required to confirm their number of open list spots by Tuesday prior to next week’s count.
Current/expected Mid-Season Draft order as of 10:00am (AEST) Sunday.
Pick 1: West Coast* (Jai Culley inactive list)
Pick 2: North Melbourne* (Jack Mahony inactive list)
Pick 3: Hawthorn (previously open list spot)
Pick 4: Richmond (Kaleb Smith inactive list)
Pick 5: GWS (Darcy Jones inactive list)
Pick 6: Sydney* (Sam Reid inactive list)
Pick 7: Geelong (previously open list spot)
Pick 8: Fremantle (previously open list spot)
Pick 9: Essendon (open list spot)
Pick 10: Western Bulldogs (previously open list spot)
Pick 11: Port Adelaide* (Mitch Georgiades inactive list)
Clubs with potential second-round selections: Hawthorn (Max Lynch inactive list), Richmond*(Jason Castagna retirement), GWS (Adam Kennedy inactive list), Essendon* (Harrison Jones inactive list)
*Yet to open list spot but have long-term injured/retired player