THE 2024 National AFL Draft has now officially been run and done, after night two saw a further 44 player land on AFL lists. The renowned depth of the crop made for 71 overall selections before today’s Rookie Draft – catch up on how it all went down on Thursday night at Marvel Stadium.

>> AFL Draft: Every Pick | Night One Talking Points

As was the case on night one, Richmond opened the show and targeted another tall for what looked like being its final pick of the intake. The Tigers called out Northern Knights ruck-forward Thomas Sims, adding a seventh player to their haul and a fourth key position one at that.

The Western Bulldogs were then in the gun with two of the next three picks, prioritising speed and running power at both ends of the ground with dashing defender Lachie Jaques and hard-working forward Josh Dolan.

The wait was finally over for Jobe Shanahan between those picks, as the highly touted key forward was selected by West Coast. His Coates Talent League teammate James Barrat was St Kilda’s man at pick 32, joining another Bendigo Pioneers gun in Tobie Travaglia at the club.

That selection in particular laid out the Saints’ intentions with regards to their Next Generation Academy members, both of whom are key defenders. Lennox Hofmann was bid on by Geelong down at pick 66 and the Saints declined to match it, and remain uncommitted to Adrian Cole ahead of the Rookie Draft.

Much like Shanahan, the wait was finally over for Jack Whitlock as Port Adelaide called out his name with pick 33. His brother Matt, who was drafted with the last pick of round one on Wednesday night, was on hand to celebrate alongside him in Shepparton.

Hawthorn’s opening pick arrived shortly after and Noah Mraz was the Hawks’ man, even after a trade period which yielded two key defenders in Tom Barrass and Josh Battle. GWS also pulled off somewhat of a surprise in holding a fourth selection to snap up tall midfielder Jack Ough.

Essendon was one of the big winners in terms of targeting each area of the field. The Bombers secured key forward Kayle Gerreyn and dashing defender Angus Clarke with picks 37 and 39, before taking a second small forward in Rhys Unwin (61) and a hybrid defender/midfielder in Zak Johnson (70).

Having expected him to be taken with one of the Bulldogs’ earlier picks, Christian Moraes was a great get for Port Adelaide at 38. Carlton then saw out the second round by addressing a list need, adding key defensive depth in the form of Harry O’Farrell.

The raw, athletic swingman attacks the ball hard aerially and is a lifelong ‘Bagger. His father famously represented Carlton in the appeal which saw skipper Patrick Cripps cleared before going on to win his first Brownlow Medal in 2022.

Round 3 is where things got chaotic. Geelong shook things up with two bids upon its entrance at pick 42, placing bids on Brisbane Academy forward Ty Gallop and Carlton father-son Ben Camporeale. Both bids were duly matched, leaving the Cats to add spring-heeled Norwood forward Jay Polkinghorne.

Camporeale’s twin brother Lucas didn’t have to wait too long to hear his own name called out at pick 54. Carlton took little time to match having committed to adding both brothers to its senior list before the fact. The sons of Scott are super competitors across the midfield line.

More bidding drama saw Collingwood join the party with pick 47, though the Magpies’ selection went unmatched. It meant they netted Swans Academy defender Joel Cochran. He was one of four unmatched bids, showcasing how much clubs valued the depth of the draft.

Along with Cochran and the aforementioned Hofmann, former Giant Cooper Bell (pick 49) landed at Gold Coast, while Melbourne missed out on another Andrew as Riak (55) was free to join Sydney. A little earlier, the Swans also picked up the first mature-ager in Werribee running machine Riley Bice.

Fellow VFL star Sam Davidson added to the long line of Fothergill-Mitchell-Round Medal winners to land on an AFL list, after being selected by the Bulldogs. A happy coincidence followed as Geelong nabbed Jacob Molier ahead of Sturt teammate Alex Dodson (St Kilda), who was one of the night’s big sliders.

The Saints had also been shrewd to trade up into Essendon’s pick 45 to secure midfielder Hugh Boxshall ahead of West Coast. The Eagles responded by packaging a pair of Vic Metro teammates in mid-forward Tom Gross and mid-defender Lucca Grego.

Another trade in saw St Kilda move into pick 60 and land Calder Cannons bolter Patrick Said. That came after Richmond dealt with Gold Coast for pick 58, landing Jasper Alger – who was linked to the Tigers as high up as the second round.

The Western Bulldogs pulled a similar move for Collingwood’s pick 62, taking midfielder Luke Kennedy who became the ninth of 10 Sandringham Dragon to be selected. He famously won a senior best and fairest with Ormond last year.

More club-tied business happened late in the piece. Adelaide claimed father-son Tyler Welsh (pick 59), while Fremantle ended up committing to 20-year-old Jaren Carr (63), the son of Matthew. Hawthorn took NGA product Cody Anderson a pick later, while North claimed River Stevens (son of Anthony) and GWS rounded out the draft with Academy ruck Logan Smith (71).