In every draft crop, fans, prospects and pundits are always left scratching their heads at some selections.
Why did that player get picked so high? Why did that prospect slide so much? Who is that? Why did we make that trade? These are some of the questions footy followers are asking themselves.
So, we thought we'd summarise all the bolters and sliders of the 2024 AFL Draft and perhaps why they got selected when they did.
GWS trifecta shocks most
The Giants' haul on the opening night of the 2024 AFL Draft took most people by surprise.
Oliver Hannaford (Pick 18), Harrison Oliver (Pick 19) and Cody Angove (Pick 24) were all taken in the first round, with many pundits having them much later in the draft.
Of the trio, Angove was the biggest bolter, tipped to go late in the draft or potentially rookie listed on Friday.
However, the Giants snapped up the crafty midfield-forward who is no stranger to speed, which is why the New South Wales club snared him early in the piece.
Angove's biggest strengths are his outside game and running capacity, which has quickly become a strong feature of Adam Kingsley's style.
The fleet-of-foot forwards - commonly known as the 'Orange Tsunami' - has taken the AFL by storm in the past 24 months.
As for Hannaford and Oliver, the pair were tipped to have wide draft ranges, but clearly, GWS recruiters knew what they wanted.
Faull and Armstrong swap places
The two leading key forwards of the 2024 draft were bound to find homes on the first night, but where they both fell caused eyebrows to rise.
Both Jonty Faull (Pick 14) and Harry Armstrong (Pick 23) ended up at Richmond as part of a massive haul for the 2024 wooden spooners.
However, leading into the draft, Armstrong was heavily linked to Melbourne's pair of selections in the top 10 and was expected to go much higher.
As for Faull, he was likely to wait toward the end of the evening to hear his name called out.
Murphy Reid - Pick 17 (Fremantle)
Touted as a potential top 10 pick, it was strange to hear the Sandringham Dragons midfielder's name called out relatively late.
Reid's 2024 season was dominant, but in the eyes of the selectors - and clearly the recruiters - it wasn't as much.
The 18-year-old was also excluded from the AFL Academy, and slipping outside the top 10 has seen him find a point to prove.
"Definitely," Reid said.
"Probably keep notes of teams that didn't pick me, but I missed out on a few things over the years, and it adds the extra determination for me."
The Dockers will benefit from the midfield-forward, adding another classy player to their mix.
North's bold move
North Melbourne made a bold move before the last pick of the first round, trading its 2025 first-round selection for Richmond's Pick 27 and its future second round.
The Kangaroos used Pick 27 to land key forward Matt Whitlock.
Realistically, the Arden Street club handed over a potential top five pick next year for Pick 27 in the 2024 haul and Pick 19 or 20 for 2025.
We'll have to wait 12 months to see the outcome of the strategic decision, which most are already deeming questionable.
AA ruckmen slideย
GWS academy prospect and All-Australian ruckman Logan Smith was arguably the biggest slider of the 2024 draft, taken by the Giants with the final selection (Pick 71) of the crop.
Smith is one of the premier ruckmen of the 2024 intake, but rival clubs rated the likes of Kayle Gerreyn (Essendon), Jacob Molier (Geelong) and Alex Dodson (St Kilda) ahead of the Allies product.
Most tipped the 204cm to go in the second round of the draft, but GWS would be pleased he continued to fall before they selected him with their final pick.
Dodson too was a significant slider, having earned potential first-round interest before being taken by the Saints 53rd overall.
Swans, Giants pass on Academy prospects
Usually a rare sighting in the draft, but Sydney and GWS, in the space of three picks, passed on two Academy prospects from their own club.
Collingwood bid on Swans talent Joel Cochran at Pick 47, whilst Gold Coast went hard for Giants youngster Cooper Bell two selections later.
Both New South Wales clubs opted not to match the bid, allowing their development work to be seen at a rival club.
Melbourne also went against matching Sydney's bid for over-age NGA talent Riak Andrew, the brother of Gold Coast young gun Mac.
Another surprise came in the form of Geelong's bid for Brisbane Academy forward Ty Gallop at Pick 42, however Brisbane made moves to secure the local prospect.
