1997 AFL draft
Round Pick Player Recruited from Club
1 1 Luke Williams Oakleigh Chargers Melbourne
1 2 Stephen Jurica Richmond Hawthorn
1 3 Dean Rioli South Fremantle Essendon
1 4 Chris Bossong St Kevins Old Boys Richmond
1 5 Brad Dodd East Fremantle Fremantle
1 6 Simon Fletcher Geelong Carlton
1 7 George Bakoulas Calder Cannons Geelong
1 8 Barnaby French Sturt Port Adelaide
1 9 Passed N/A Brisbane Lions
1 10 Mark Brown Numurkah Sydney
1 11 Conrad Chambers East Fremantle West Coast
1 12 Paul Lindsay East Fremantle Geelong
1 13 David Round Western Bulldogs North Melbourne
1 14 Lincoln Reynolds Geelong Falcons Western Bulldogs
1 15 Lachlan Brown St Kilda ( reserves ) St Kilda
1 16 Ben Marsh West Adelaide Adelaide
2 17 Jamie Cann Calder Cannons Melbourne
2 18 Glen Bowyer Murray Bushrangers Hawthorn
2 19 Winis Imbi North Ballarat Rebels Essendon
2 20 Greg Tivendale Gippsland Power Richmond
1998 rookie draft
The 1997 AFL Draft was held at the conclusion of the 1997 Australian Football League (AFL) season. A Pre-season Draft and the second Rookie Draft were held prior to the 1998 season. It is considered to have been one of the most successful drafts ever, with the top 11 selections each playing over 100 games of AFL football. Other significant selections include Brownlow Medalists Simon Black at 31 and Adam Goodes at 43, as well as future Hawthorn captain Richie Vandenberg and Port Adelaide and Carlton star Nick Stevens. Black and Goodes played in seven Grand Finals between them from 2001 to 2012, Black winning three and Goodes winning two. Another notable player from this draft was Matthew Scarlett, who played a pivotal role in Geelong's 2007, 2009 and 2011 premierships. The Melbourne Demons received the first two picks in the draft: one for finishing bottom of the ladder and a Priority Pick for winning just 4 games. Melbourne traded pick no.2 to Fremantle in exchange for Jeff White. Fremantle traded this pick to Richmond in exchange for Chris Bond. In total there were 86 picks to be drafted between the 16 competing teams.