The 2024 AFL Draft is almost here and with each new intake of exciting teenagers comes fresh trends, changes and fallouts that come throughout.
This week's highly-anticipated haul of selections could exceed the 70-pick barrier for the first time since 2018, with the 2024 draft class running deep and able to suit every list need.
The current draft order consists of 92 selections, with almost a third of those picks either being absorbed in matched bids for club-tied talent or being passed on late into proceedings.
With this year's count set to be a fascinating event, we look at five things to expect across the two nights of the AFL Draft.
3. Positional trends to play out across top 25
The top end of this year's draft class skews towards midfield talent, with the several leading prospects all seen to be ball winners who each offer their own strengths and points of difference.
Most - or maybe even all - of the top 10 could be midfielders, with North Melbourne's plans for Gippsland swingman Alix Tauru and the selection of Sandringham Dragons spearhead Harry Armstrong the best chances to split up that trend.
The following 10-15 selections may then be littered with a mix of key position players and midfield-forward hybrids before the rest of the pool opens up to a more even playing field -with clubs then placing more focus on list needs.
Clubs keen on a promising tall forward will hope to have a pick in that 15-25 range but would expect Armstrong to be off the board, while sides looking at the ruck options would have their sights set on South Australia's Alex Dodson early or bank on one of their later picks instead.
Key defenders are spread out evenly across the board, with Tauru and Vic Metro's Luke Trainor seen by many as the best two options, with the latter's range one of the largest among this year's class.
