The 1997

AFL Draft The Australian Football League draft is the annual draft (sports), draft of unsigned players, especially new nominations, by Australian rules football teams that participate in the main competition of that sport, the Australian Football League ( ...

was held at the conclusion of the 1997

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

(AFL) season. A Pre-season Draft and the second Rookie Draft were held prior to the 1998 season. It is considered to have been one of the most successful drafts ever, with the top 11 selections each playing over 100 games of AFL football. Other significant selections include

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

ists Simon Black at 31 and

Adam Goodes Adam Roy Goodes (born 8 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Goodes holds an elite place in VFL/AFL history as a dual Brownlow Medallist, d ...

at 43, as well as future Hawthorn captain Richie Vandenberg and Port Adelaide and Carlton star Nick Stevens. Black and Goodes played in seven Grand Finals between them from 2001 to 2012, Black winning three and Goodes winning two. Another notable player from this draft was Matthew Scarlett, who played a pivotal role in Geelong's 2007, 2009 and 2011 premierships. The

Melbourne Demons The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

received the first two picks in the draft: one for finishing bottom of the ladder and a Priority Pick for winning just 4 games. Melbourne traded pick no.2 to Fremantle in exchange for Jeff White. Fremantle traded this pick to Richmond in exchange for Chris Bond. In total, there were 86 picks to be drafted between the 16 competing teams.

1997 national draft

1998 pre-season draft

1998 rookie draft

References