Veteran AFL recruiter Matt Rendell has explained just how Sydney champion Adam Goodes fell so far in the draft.
The two-time Brownlow Medallist was taken at pick 43 in the 1997 National Draft by the Swans, despite having a strong under 18s season.
Rendell said because clubs could only take one 17-year-old per draft, and the Swans were one of the few teams who held onto their underage selection, they were able to wait until 43 to snap up Goodes.
“He was a pick 43 in that draft and it was before my time, but that was back when you could only take one 17-year-old,” he told SEN Afternoons.
“They (Sydney) finished second, North beat them in the Grand Final, they had one of the later picks and so what happened was in the first 15 or 16 picks everyone took a 17-year-old.
“So of course the best 18 year olds were around when the Swans had their pick so they took the 18-year-old knowing they could take a 17-year-old later on because I think there was only two or three teams left who hadn’t taken one.
“That’s why he went so late in the draft if everyone’s wondering because he had a fantastic finals series in the TAC Cup as it was back then.”
The Swans took defender Jason Saddington with their first pick in the draft, who would go on to play 142 games for the club.
Goodes would play an incredible 372 games, making four All-Australian teams on top of three Bob Skilton Medals and two Brownlow Medals.