Top three in the 2022 draft: Aaron Cadman (left), Will Ashcroft (top right) and Harry Sheezel. Photos: AFL MEDIA

The 2022 AFL national draft has been completed after the second night at Marvel Stadium saw another 38 players have their footy dreams come true.

When taking into account the 21 youngsters who had their names read out on Monday night in the first round, all up, 59 footballers made it onto AFL lists this year.

Some famous names were revived on the second night of the draft, with twin brothers Alwyn and Jayden Davey, sons of former Essendon forward Alwyn senior, both selected by the Bombers with picks 45 and 54 respectively, while with pick 56, North Melbourne picked up Cooper Harvey – son of the legendary Brent.

Surprisingly, Alwyn junior wasn’t bid on until the third round when, fittingly, Essendon’s arch rival Hawthorn finally forced the Bombers’ hand, but the Essendon brains trust would be rapt at the small price they had to pay for him.

Meanwhile, not content with mischievously bidding on GWS academy player Harry Rowston and Adelaide father-son prospect Max Michalanney in the first round, forcing both clubs to use earlier-than-expected picks to secure those players, Sydney were at it again on Tuesday night.

The Swans cheekily used pick 27, which they acquired from Hawthorn during an in-draft trade, to draft Hawks academy player Cooper Vickery – and because he was taken so early in the draft, Hawthorn had no way of countering Sydney.

Some other hastily arranged in-draft trades saw Carlton receive pick 30 from Collingwood in order to pick Tasmanian defender Lachie Cowan, and Adelaide grab pick 43 off Gold Coast and 50 off Brisbane to secure North Adelaide midfielder Billy Dowling and GWV Rebels midfielder Hugh Bond respectively.

And of course, earlier in the night, the highly-regarded Max Gruzewski (pick 22), Harry Barnett (23), Charlie Clarke (24), Lewis Hayes (25) and Brayden George (26) made their way to GWS, West Coast, the Bulldogs, Essendon and North Melbourne respectively.

But it wasn’t all about the youngsters on Tuesday night, with 23-year-old Wangaratta Magpies forward Joe Richards plucked from obscurity by Collingwood with pick 48, and former North Melbourne and Melbourne player Corey Wagner given a third crack at the big time by the Dockers after they picked him up with selection No.57. It’s been three years since Wagner has played an AFL game.

ADELAIDE
2022 draftees: Max Michalanney (Norwood) – pick 17, Billy Dowling (North Adelaide) – 43, Hugh Bond (GWV Rebels) – 50
The Swans might’ve been cheeky with their early Michalanney bid, but make no mistake, the kid can play. An athletic defender who is not only capable of effectively negating his direct opponent, but can also launch attacking waves from the backline. Dowling is a ball magnet who is capable of kicking a goal or two, while Bond is a tough on-baller who won’t stop running all day and relishes the physical stuff.

BRISBANE
2022 draftees: Will Ashcroft (Sandringham Dragons) – pick 2, Jaspa Fletcher (Brisbane Academy) – 12
Drafts don’t get much more straightforward than the Lions’ 2022 experience – merely matching bids for two potential future father-son superstars. Ashcroft is the complete package who can play a variety of roles on the ball. There was a reason why he was rated as the best player in the draft by many given his sensational performances throughout the year at under-18 level, averaging 35 disposals a game for Sandringham Dragons. He also won the Larke Medal as the best player at the national championships representing Vic Metro, averaging 34 touches per match. And Fletcher is a silky-smooth user of the ball whose 2022 was marred by a foot stress fracture, but still showed enough playing for the Allies at the under-18 national championships to suggest he has the makings of a very good footballer.

CARLTON
2022 draftees: Oliver Hollands (Murray Bushrangers) – pick 11, Lachlan Cowan (Tasmania Devils) – 30, Jaxon Binns (Dandenong Stingrays – 32, Harry Lemmey (West Adelaide) – 47
Hollands has as huge tank who could become a very valuable addition to Carlton’s on-ball division over the coming years. Capable of playing in defence or up forward as well, Hollands has modelled his game on Carlton superstar Sam Walsh and some of the highly-rated midfielder’s greatest attributes are his defensive pressure and endurance. Cowan is a dashing defender who, like Hollands, also looks up to a current Carlton player in Sam Docherty. Cowan was the joint winner of the Morrish Medal this year as the NAB League best-and-fairest. Binns is a speedy wingman and Lemmey is a key forward project.

COLLINGWOOD
2022 draftees: Edward Allan (Claremont) – pick 19, Jakob Ryan (Glenelg) – 28, Joe Richards (Wangaratta) – 48
Allan, the son of Hawthorn premiership player and Fremantle’s inaugural captain Ben, was another youngster who had his last season ruined by injuries. But luckily for him, his performances in the games that he did play were so strong that he still ensured he was a top-20 pick. Allan is a hard-at-it midfielder who averaged 25 touches and six marks a game this year and at the 2022 draft combine, he won the 20-metre sprint (2.814 seconds). Ryan is a utility who has a fantastic kick on him, but is probably best-suited to defence, while Richards, a noted goalkicker in the bush, is one of the stories of the draft as a mature-age selection.

ESSENDON
2022 draftees: Elijah Tsatas (Oakleigh Chargers) – pick 5, Lewis Hayes (Eastern Ranges) – 25, Alwyn Davey (Oakleigh Chargers) – 45, Jayden Davey (Oakleigh Chargers) – 54
Tsatas only played six games for Oakleigh Chargers this year due to a fractured foot, but that was more than enough to prove himself as a star of the future as he averaged 33 possessions a game, showing class and poise in each of his outings. Meanwhile, the Bombers will be hoping the Davey boys will bring speed and forward pressure to their team – two areas which were sorely lacking in 2022, thanks largely to the brief retirement of Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.

FREMANTLE
2022 draftees: Hugh Davies (Claremont) – pick 33, Tom Emmett (Sturt) – 41, Max Knobel (Gippsland Power) – 42, Corey Wagner (Port Melbourne) – 57
Davies is a key backman who possesses enormous courage and isn’t worried about getting in harm’s way for the greater good of the team. Emmett, 21, is a powerful mature-age forward, Knobel is a developing ruckman who is the son of former Brisbane, St Kilda and Richmond big man Trent, while Wagner gets his third opportunity at the big time after an impressive stint with Port Melbourne in defence in the VFL.

GEELONG
2022 draftees: Jhye Clark (Geelong Falcons) – pick 8, Phoenix Foster (Norwood) – 52
Clark is a physical on-baller who is incredibly talented, as evidenced by the 25 possessions he averaged per game for Geelong Falcons this year. After captaining Vic Metro, Geelong will be hoping that Clark’s competitiveness and organic leadership qualities will complement their line-up over time. Foster is an athletic key forward who has a reliable pair of hands and has the capability of being a serious aerial threat, as well as pinch-hitting in the ruck.

GOLD COAST
2022 draftees: Bailey Humphrey (Gippsland Power) – pick 6
The Suns will really like what they’re getting with Humphrey who is not only an extremely capable midfielder, but can also have an impact in attack. He’s so skilful that it’s hard to tell whether he’s a left- or right-footer. Had a fantastic campaign with Gippsland Power this year, averaging 20 touches and six marks a game, and kicking 21 goals.

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GWS
2022 draftees: Aaron Cadman (GWV Rebels) – pick 1, Harry Rowston (Griffith Swans) – 16, Darcy Jones (Swan Districts) – 21, Max Gruzewski (Oakleigh Chargers) – 22, Toby McMullin (Sandringham Dragons) – 34
While many viewed Ashcroft as the best player of the draft, the Giants saw fit to opt against bidding for him and make their man Cadman this year’s No.1 draft pick. And it’s fair enough too because he has the potential to become a serious menace for opposition backlines for many years to come. The Greater Western Victoria Rebels product exploded in 2022 to kick 34 goals, earn All-Australian honours and was widely viewed as the best key forward prospect at the draft. Rowston is a very reliable on-baller who possesses excellent footy IQ and relishes the contested aspect of the game, but GWS hope he will also be able to have an impact up forward as well. Jones is a slightly-built, but extremely quick, midfielder who the Giants hope will turn into a damaging small forward. Gruzewski is a tall utility who can plug a hole basically anywhere on the ground and has a fantastic leap at his disposal. McMullin is a midfielder/forward who boasts defensive pressure as one of his biggest strengths.

HAWTHORN
2022 draftees: Cam Mackenzie (Sandringham Dragons) – pick 7, Joshua Weddle (Oakleigh Chargers) – 18, Henry Hustwaite (Dandenong Stingrays) – 37, Jack O’Sullivan (Oakleigh Chargers) – 46, Bailey Macdonald (Oakleigh Chargers) – 51
Mackenzie has the potential to be a midfielder that the Hawks will be able to rely on for many years to come. A superb kick and brilliant decision-maker, he was a driving force behind premierships for both the Sandringham Dragons and Vic Metro this year, averaging 24 disposals a game for both teams. Weddle is a key defender who has shown an uncanny knack of doing very good blanket jobs on opposition forwards. Hustwaite is a defender/midfielder who owns a deadly left foot.

MELBOURNE
2022 draftees: Matthew Jefferson (Oakleigh Chargers) – pick 15, Jed Adams (Peel Thunder) – 38
Jefferson is a key forward project player who the Demons will no doubt in the long run see as a possible answer to their attacking deficiencies which derailed their 2022 premiership campaign. His seven-goal haul for Vic Metro against Western Australia made recruiters sit up and take notice. Adams is a tall backman who has exquisite kicking ability and is adept at chopping off opposition forward forays.

NORTH MELBOURNE
2022 draftees: Harry Sheezel (Sandringham Dragons) – pick 3, George Wardlaw (Oakleigh Chargers) – 4, Brayden George (Murray Bushrangers) – pick 26, Cooper Harvey (Northern Knights) – 56
Sheezel is an incredibly gifted and exciting medium forward whose intelligence allows him to kick a goal from almost any situation. He finished with 49 majors across all competitions this year, but he can also find his own ball, averaging 20 touches a game while winning the NAB League goalkicking with 36 majors for Sandringham. Wardlaw is a beast of a midfielder and although hamstring injuries curtailed much of his 2022 campaign, such is his promise that North weren’t put off and had no qualms adding him to their list with an early pick. The Roos also took a punt on George who was on track to be a first-round pick, but a ruptured ACL in August cruelly scuppered those plans. Harvey is a midfielder/forward who enjoys a goal like his old man.

PORT ADELAIDE
2022 draftees: Tom McCallum (Tasmania Devils) – pick 36, Thomas Scully (West Adelaide) – 53, Kyle Marshall (South Adelaide) – 59
McCallum might be seen by many as mainly a key back, but don’t let his height (192cm) fool you because the versatile 18-year-old is capable of playing pretty much any role in defence. Scully is a key forward project player who kicked 37 of his 50 goals for West Adelaide’s under-18 team this year in a seven-game period, and finished the campaign with three bags of seven goals. Marshall is a key defender who can pinch-hit in the ruck.

RICHMOND
2022 draftees: Kaleb Smith (East Fremantle) – pick 49, Steely Green (South Fremantle) – 55
Smith is a quick defender who possesses impressive athleticism and is also capable of having an impact up forward. His natural attacking instincts make him a potentially damaging playmaker from the back half who can break the lines. Green is agile and is a beautiful user of the ball who has the ability of playing both as a midfielder and a small defender.

ST KILDA
2022 draftees: Mattaes Phillipou (Woodville-West Torrens) – pick 10, James Van Es (GWV Rebels) – 31, Olli Hotton (Sandringham Dragons) – 35, Isaac Keeler (North Adelaide) – 44
The athletic Phillipou is widely regarded as the best player to emerge from South Australia at this year’s draft. He is a superb player both in the midfield and in attack and also has a strong pair of hands, especially overhead. After making a splash in 2021, when he averaged 23 disposals and booted 25 goals for Woodville-West Torrens in the SANFL under-18s, he took his game to greater heights this year. Van Es is a key back who is a fantastic interceptor but can also do a job on dangerous forwards. Hotton has the potential to add more versatility to the Saints’ list as a highly-regard forward/midfielder, while Keeler is a raw ruckman/key forward who has a big vertical leap.

SYDNEY
2022 draftees: Jacob Konstanty (Gippsland Power) – pick 20, Cooper Vickery (Gippsland Power) – 27, Caleb Mitchell (Murray Busharangers) – 40
Konstanty is a feisty small forward already being spoken about as a potential apprentice to Swans’ star Tom Papley. Cooper Vickery is a speedy half-back with good foot skills, who can also play on the wing. And the Swans are particularly happy with the acquisition of left-footed wingman Caleb Mitchell, whom they rated a lot higher than his eventual selection at No. 40 in this year’s draft.

WEST COAST
2022 draftees: Reuben Ginbey (East Perth) – pick 9, Elijah Hewett (Swan Districts) – 14, Harry Barnett (West Adelaide) – 23, Coby Burgiel (Gippsland Power) – 29, Noah Long (Bendigo Pioneers) – 58
A side in desperate need of a full rebuild has begun that mission with a crop of five draftees, including four top 30 picks. Rueben Ginbey is a highly-rated midfielder, Hewett is a realistic senior chance after playing at the level for Swan Districts, and Harry Barnett is an athletic ruckman with good pace for his size and a strong aerial presence. Burgiel has genuine pace, and Long is a tenacious small forward/midfielder from Bendigo Pioneers.

WESTERN BULLDOGS
2022 draftees: Jedd Busslinger (East Perth) – pick 13, Charlie Clarke (Sandringham Dragons) – pick 24, Harvey Gallagher (Bendigo Pioneers) – 39
Busslinger played only half of last season after shoulder surgery, and the skinny key defender will take some time, but is a handy intercept defender who wins plenty of ball. Clarke is a hard-working half-forward who kicked 29 goals in 15 games for Sandringham Dragons this year. Gallagher, meanwhile, has played both forward and back, and finished the under 18 season off in style with a string of high possession games.