Hawthorn will be one of the league's key players in the 2021 NAB AFL Draft with the club currently holding three picks inside the top 25.
With a month to go until the draft kicks off, we’ve put together a list of the information you need to know including all the key dates and the Hawks selections.
Hawks make most of the off-season
Key dates
- Delisted free agency period: 3 – 9 November
- AFL Draft - First round: 24 November
- AFL Draft - Second and subsequent rounds: 25 November
- Pre-season and Rookie Draft: 26 November
- Pre-season supplemental selection period: December – March
How it works
Following on from the conclusion of the recent trade period, clubs have now turned their attention to the draft as they sort through list spots and likely live picks, with a minimum total of 56 picks and maximum of 67 selections expected.
However, pick swap deals and signings of delisted free agents could still change the draft hands and available picks for clubs.
Pick swapping between clubs is open until Monday November 15 before a blackout period stops clubs from wheeling and dealing until the night of the draft the following Wednesday.
The Hawks' picks
After not having a first-round pick for several years, Hawthorn will go back-to-back this year with a top-six selection after taking key defender Denver Grainger-Barras with Pick 6 in last year's draft.
As it stands, the Hawks currently hold three picks in the top 25 – 5, 21 and 24 – with picks 59, 65 and 81 also in addition.
What the club has said
“We’ve had eight picks over the last 10 years in the top 30 and now we have three in one year,” Hawthorn List Manager Mark McKenzie said earlier this month.
“While we can still potentially improve those picks in the next month or so – if it remains with three picks inside 25, and then we’re able to get that again over the next two years – that’s a strong development for our footy club."
Indicative draft order – First Round
- North Melbourne
- GWS Giants (received from Collingwood in 2020)
- Gold Coast
- Adelaide
- Hawthorn
- Fremantle (received from Carlton as par of Adam Cerra trade)
- Richmond
- Fremantle
- St Kilda
- West Coast
- Essendon
- Port Adelaide (received from Sydney as part of Peter Ladhams trade)
- GWS Giants
- Brisbane
- Richmond (received from Geelong in 2020)
- Sydney (received from Port Adelaide as part of Peter Ladhams trade)
- Melbourne (received from Western Bulldogs as part of a pick swap)
- Brisbane (received from Melbourne in 2020)
You can keep up with all Hawthorn’s draft news via our website at www.hawthorn.com.au and our social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
